New Grant hp r290 65 operating advice

Paulste71

Hi. A newbie to this forum and a newbie to heat pumps. I moved into an older property a couple of months ago with an ancient oil boiler and rusty oil tank. After looking at the prices between oil and heat pumps it was a no-brainer to go with the heat pump. This week I am currently having the install. My question is (as I have never had a heat pump before) I have no clue how to operate them and so a total numpty on the tech side, I thought I would ask for your help. They haven't been through the controls yet (on fri) but I wondered if anyone can give guidance on when to have it on (not 4-7pm as that is peak electricity), how long for etc?

I really need a very basic explanation from someone please on what to have my settings on. Please don't come for me for not being clued up.

Many Thanks folks

StewedApple

Is there anything on the manufacturer's website to assist - there are often PDF versions of manuals as well as tips.

stripling

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6685089/new-grant-hp-r290-65-operating-advice

Ok there's 2 easy things you can do: 1) see if there's a Grant HP users group on Facebook (or if it's installed by 🐙 asking in the Octopus unofficial Daikin facebook group); 2) join the Renewable Heating forum.

Both these are friendly and helpful. The Renewable Heating forum is run by a guy who wrote a couple of books for new users too. Both the FB groups and the RH forum are used by owners and fitters so you can get lots of brilliant help.

Otherwise, to get you started let go of all your previous ideas about heating and think of it as a fridge that heats. Do you switch your fridge off when you go out or go to bed? I hope not. 😂

Low and slow (water temp in your radiators) is the way to efficiency and a happy heat pump. Specially in old houses that heat up more slowly but retain heat for longer.

I have a Daikin so can't help with Grant specifics but the principles are the same. Read up, learn ask Qs. The RH forum taught me loads with lots of patience and understanding.

There's also some great stuff on YouTube if you search.

Then you have to be careful because you turn into a heat pump geek. 🤓

NedS

Always on, low and slow is the way to go. If the house is well insulated, you may be able to turn off or turn down the temperature during the 4-7pm peak and minimise peak rate usage.

The other important setting is weather compensation, make sure this is enabled. This adjusts the flow temperature (the temperature of the radiators or underfloor heating) according to the outside temperature. A heat pump is cheaper to run the cooler the flow temperature, or more expensive the hotter those radiators are, so the idea is to have them on all the time, but running that the coolest temperature possible to just about keep the house at the desired temperature.

Hopefully your installer will run you through the options and how to control it. It will likely take your first winter to get the weather compensation set just right, but you will soon get a feel for it. We love our heat pump which replaced our old oil boiler. So much cheaper to run too.

What tariff are you on? Do you have solar and/or a home battery?

Reed_Richards

You can operate a heat pump in exactly the same manner as you would an oil boiler and that is not a bad way to begin. Set the output water temperature to a fixed value, say 50 C. At this time of year that should warm up a cold house quite quickly; you will find that your heat pump runs for a while then is off for a while, just like your oil boiler. But this is not the most economical way to run a heat pump; that is achieved by keeping the output water temperature as low as it can be to keep your house warm enough. Your heat pump will do this by using a system called Weather Compensation, which sets the output water temperature according to the outdoor temperature; higher when its cold outside and lower when it's warmer. The problem with this is you don't know exactly what the settings you need are; that depends on the heat loss from your house. Hopefully your installer will guess some settings for you which will be approximately correct. If you are so-inclined you can then tweak these settings for better economy as you learn what works.