A2A quote for aircon

Martyn1981

barker77 said:

Martyn1981 said:

barker77 said:

Martyn1981 said:

Hi barker. The first one was the base/cheapest LG model. The second was also a LG model, but we paid a bit more for one that has a nicer looking inside unit, and also wifi.

For A/C, more control may not be needed, but for heating it's very good to be able to set schedules for timed heating, and maybe folk will appreciate the ability to control the units when away from home, to help heat/cool when on your way.

Also the wifi units allow for better monitoring. For instance, I can see that during these mild times, it switched on last night pulling about 300W for the first hour, and ~200W for the last hours (5am to 7am).

I haven't switched our 'dumb' unit on yet as temps are decent, and it's in our small conservatory, so greater heat loss (though we do have insulated blinds). The second unit schedule works great, currently switching on at 2am and off at 7am, but that time period will grow. When it gets colder, the dumb unit will be on 24/7, and I turn up the temp ~2C when I go to bed, then back down in the morning. That way it works harder during the cheap rate period. If the house is getting too warm, I can turn the 'smart' unit off, knowing that the schedule will turn it back on for the cheap rate period without my having to remember/fuss.

For both I went with Cooleasy. A decade ago, it was hard to find anyone interested in the idea, or they'd quote huge figures over the phone. I think the idea of A2A for heating, and certainly the demand for A/C in domestic properties has grown, so it may be easier to find an installer and a decent price. Cooleasy quote the prices for the units, which they can supply, and also quote a standard install price. I live not far from them, so they themselves installed my units. They do offer links to installers around the UK, who will charge the same fixed price ..... but forum friends who have tried this often haven't found installers near them. Or installers who want to install for the price.

Good news though, is that the unit and install are now VAT free.

[Edit - Just for example, cost of units (based on 3.5kW for consistency) range from low £400's to ~£2k. Cooleasy charge £600 for a standard/simple install. M.]

All the ones I can see seemingly show 800w as minimum. do you have a link at all? 

I'm totally baffled by that, unless you are looking at min output (800W(t)), rather than input? For instance a 5kW model may show 800W-5kW for heating output range in the specs, with a max power input (for the upper figures) of ~1kW. Only a 'made up' example, maybe post a link to the spec sheet of a model you are considering.

Ah I was looking at output! Mine still has a minimum of 600w input so cant modulate as low which is a shame 

Maybe I've confused everyone. When I say mine has pulled 400W, or 200W etc in an hour, I actually mean Wh. In reality, the unit will be modulating when the temp is close to target. So for example, it may be pulling 500W for parts of the hour, and near zero for other parts, giving me ~200W on the stats for the draw that hour. In reality it's 200Wh (for that hour).

So the systems should be able to modulate down to near zero, just monitoring consumption. Think of the scenario that you switch it on and ask for 20C heat, but the room is already at 22C, it won't run at 600W (maybe 2kW(t)) until the temp falls.

Hope that makes better sense. Even if the minimum power level is, for example 600W, that doesn't mean it will pull 600Wh+ in any given hour. It will depend on the actual and target temp, and an average over the hour whilst the unit modulates.


As an aside, I understand that you should choose a model that is powerful enough to heat or cold the area in question, so that it gets to modulate. If the unit is underpowered, then it will run hard pretty constantly, and that will severely reduce life expectancy.

silverwhistle

Martyn1981 said:

Yep, that's us. /SNIP/

Yes, I've no intention of putting in a unit in my N facing bedroom (unless summers get unsupportable) but found that the heat from my woodburner below helps, plus the flue goes through a chimney breast in the bedroom and you can feel some warmth after longer burns. Unless ill there seems little point in having heating in the bedroom with a decent duvet, and it helps to get going in the morning once you pull back the covers!

I replaced the wet rad in the bathroom with an electric one which can mop up spare solar or cheap rate electricity, and there is an MVHR unit in there too, so if I've had a bath let the bath water cool down.

My loft hatch is similarly improvised: spare bits of kingspan and trim, and it seems to work.

Another tip is I don't heat my office: fractionally warmer than other rooms from router etc. but in the coldest weather it can be very effective to put a heater under the pedestal desk which traps warm air right where you need it.