Anyone else rethinking heat pump plans because of the heatwaves?

Martyn1981

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82114522#Comment_82114522

How about A2A instead? No single point of failure, and air con thrown in for 'free'.

Reed_Richards

they've determined that my radiators are on a single-pipe system

That's unfortunate as these systems are not as good as the standard two-pipe system. I see no reason per se why you couldn't use an ASHP with a single-pipe system (with bypasses on each radiator). It would be subject to the same issues that you might already experience; you need the feed to supply very hot water so that means your gas boiler runs less efficiently and an ASHP would run very much less efficiently. And that would probably take you outside the standards that would qualify for the £7.5k grant.

So back to your original plan of A2A?

prowla

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82114972#Comment_82114972

Yes, I'll likely be getting A2A for heating and cooling, so an A2A water heating option could go with it.

I'll be waiting a few months until the heatwave rush is over and stocks become available again.

Otherwise just use the immersion switch.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82115064#Comment_82115064

The Heat Geek guy said they wouldn't install onto the single-pipe system, so I don't know if an A2A would do either.

I did mention that as it stands I often in the cold weather have the radiators on for an hour and then off, so something which was always on and producing half the heat would suit, but he said that still wouldn't do.

So, A2A is still in the plans.

Magnitio

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82115588#Comment_82115588

We used the immersion for the past few years to reduce gas usage. Controlled by a timer to heat up at cheap rate and then boost if required mid-afternoon on solar. Averaged about 4kWh/day. Recently had a heat pump installed and now use 0.8 - 1kWh/day. Useful saving, but if we had gone A2A I would probably have continued using immersion.

prowla

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82116317#Comment_82116317

Yep, I think I'll be having a good think about my strategy; I don't think a heat pump at that price would ever achieve break-even within my lifetime.

Reed_Richards

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82116349#Comment_82116349

As a savvy house-buyer, I might be put-off by a one-pipe radiator system, if I (or the surveyor) spotted it. So you might want to consider changes that would enhance the value of your house.

prowla

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82116427#Comment_82116427

That's a fair point which I hadn't considered, but £11k on top of the grant is a lot to bet on a maybe.

OTOH, with an A2A system I might not even have any radiators (which then gives more wall space).

NedS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82117224#Comment_82117224

For a full re-plumb with replacement of all radiators, that's probably not far off the mark. In the past I've figured around £10k in material costs plus labour - which for us took 2x3 full days of plumbers, 1 day electrician and 2 days of surveys, plus admin time at the office for system design, MCS and grant paperwork etc. These are all skilled professions, so £500/day labour charges gives £5k in labour and they need to make a reasonable profit to cover office and operating overheads if you want them to still be trading next week.

prowla

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82117356#Comment_82117356

Well, that's as may be but, as the saying goes.

My single-pipe system is adequate for my needs, so paying a lot more to replace it with something that to be honest doesn't do the job as well is just not a viable option for me.

Shortsy

The wife has directed that we need to have cooling in place before hot days return next year. I've looked into going full A2A but there are some significant practical install issues in our smaller rooms (e.g. ceiling heights not enough to install over doors), so my preferred setup is a 3 unit multisplit covering the master loft bedroom and two communal rooms, leaving the 3 smaller rooms, wet rooms and stairwells alone. We have a tall narrow townhouse and it would cover 3 of our 4 floors. The rooms and floor not covered should get secondary cooling enough to lower them by around five degrees.

As I have solar already, this setup would give zero carbon cooling in the summer and give low carbon heating in the shoulder months and is capable in the winter as well.

Like the OP I wondered what the heatwaves would do to the A2W market, but the latest A2W compressors seem to have at least 3 degrees cooling built in without any condensation risks. 3 degrees wouldn't be enough for us, but it would help those rooms not covered by A2A and HeatGeek seems be recommending having both A2W and A2A. So a setup with full house A2W and targeted A2A - eg a couple of units - as a combined solution could work for many if year round comfort is the priority. It's not the most money saving option though. One plus point could be a planning loophole whereby an A2W compressor might be installed as well as an A2A compressor under permitted development. It sounds like HeatGeek is going to advise that in his next video, it will be interesting to see, as having to do a planning application for a second compressor would be a pain.

We'll prioritise the A2A system and see if it performs as expected before trying A2W. An A2W compressor would need to go next to our front door so kerb appeal could be a drawback, and we'd need to lose cupboard space for a cylinder, although the MiniStores and future variants are a real option now, making the setup much tidier and smaller. With gas prices potentially going up a lot, A2W may still be the right path, although it makes more sense to get batteries at the same time. Getting all this green technology is definitely not cheap upfront even with the incentives.