BUS Scheme likely to extend to Air to Air Heat Pumps :)

wrf12345

If climate change gets real serious I can see the A2A guys having to adopt a pensioner for the hottest part of the day...

NedS

wrf12345 said:

If climate change gets real serious I can see the A2A guys having to adopt a pensioner for the hottest part of the day...

Most local authorities operate Cool Spaces for people to go and stay cool during heat waves. For example:

https://apps.london.gov.uk/cool-spaces/

Martyn1981

I've been trying to find out more about the BUS (boiler upgrade scheme) expansion to include A2A units, with a £2.5k grant.

Looking at the Government response to the consultation document, I think most of my questions have been answered (especially the biggie).

Boiler Upgrade Scheme Consultation Government Response

Page 27 covers the MCS requirement. I won't claim to fully (or even partially) understand it exactly, but it does seem to be allowing slightly more choice of qualification.

With that in mind, another big question for me, was the requirement for DHW, but that appears to be answered on page 12. Leading me nicely (as it's in the same paragraph) to 'my biggie' (oh err missus). Do the A2A unit(s) have to meet 100% of your heating needs, and in the owrst case scenario? In my case, I have some oil rads to top up in the 'upstairs corners' which are harder to reach, and a resistive leccy towel rad in the bathroom.

The good news (almost essential I believe, given the issue of trying to spread A2A heat throughout a property) is that non FF top up heat (think electric?) is OK.

The reason this means so much to me, is down to the problems and cost associated with wet ASHP's, to meet the MCS requirements of being 100% 'perfect'. Looks like A2A units have far more wiggle room:

We intend to begin providing grants to support the installation of air-to-air heat pumps (AAHPs). We will do this by creating a new grant category for AAHPs with specific eligibility criteria, guidance, and a grant value of £2,500. To be eligible for BUS funding, AAHPs will need to be installed to provide space heating. They will also need to be MCS certified products, as well as meeting ecodesign requirements for heating and cooling. We will allow AAHPs to be installed alongside other electric appliances that provide supplementary space or water heating.

My bold - I read that (and some other earlier mentions of water heating) to mean that DHW is not an issue for A2A grant qualification, other than choosing an electric solution (I got an immersion HW tank installed).

Again my bold, but the best news seems to be the allowance of supplemental electric space heating, giving (IMO) wiggle room on getting the A2A just right, as that may not be easy/possible. But getting it mostly right, is (again IMO) not too hard.


Hopefully this option, lets call it HP lite, will appeal to many, especially as it's much easier, simple and faster to deploy than a full wet ASHP system.

For smaller properties, maybe one A2A plus a HW tank at ~£1,500 each may suffice. In my case (3bed 1930's semi) 2x A2A plus HW tank, so maybe £4,500, minus the £2,500 grant, will work, for some.

I think this is potentially a major improvement to the HP support grant, though it may need explaining at first, since most folk will not be aware of this option/solution at all.

QrizB

It just so happens that Heatable have recently posted a video about using A2A to heat a home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G29qaR3Ky00

wrf12345

If I could get away with it, I would just have one A2A in the lounge and let it heat up the bedrooms by circulation post 8pm (ie opening the doors). Don't heat the kitchen and have a wall mounted halogen heater in the bathroom. I do have gas CH at the moment. As it stands, if you later want A2W, having a heat pump already will exclude you (as will getting rid of the gas). On-demand electric water heating and electric shower are probably the cheapest way to cover hot water (not that I use any but sale-proof the bungalow). Anyway, see what develops when MCS do the final certification process. If you can get away with installing the electric water heating before the grant, cheapest way to go, as you don't have to add the expense of agents and MCS certification. Bear in mind, if the EPC is D then getting rid of gas may push you into C, which excludes the property from other grants.