Air Source Heat Pumps

greendwarf

richardc1983 wrote: »

The instructions advised him to from the manufacturer!

I'm wondering if it was meant for some other pupose/climate where you might get a lot a solar gain in the loft which you could use for hot water rather than space heating and get the benefit of cooling the living space below?

Andy_WSM

greendwarf wrote: »

I'm wondering if it was meant for some other pupose/climate where you might get a lot a solar gain in the loft which you could use for hot water rather than space heating and get the benefit of cooling the living space below?

No, that's not what they said at all. The English instruction manual specifically says that units up to 5KW/h can be installed in the loft - clearly they can as it worked for a year and worked fine under our normal weather conditions, but this icy spell, which we wouldn't usually suffer here in the sunny SW finished it off! When the temps drop below freezing the unit struggles anyway - and more so in the loft where the temps were dragged down a few degrees colder.

Now it's on the back wall it's working "ok" - It was below -5C again last night, so it had a hard time, but this morning the temp has risen to -2C and the system is just about holding it's own. House temps are all up to set point (21/22C), so it's doing what it is supposed to do.

Andy_WSM

I do wonder how well the heat pumps in this picture work?



Mine is suffering a bit of ice build up. The drain hole is completely blocked now and ice is dropping out the sides of the casing!



The temp fell to nearly -6C again in the night, just as well I put plenty of insulation on the pipes?

richardc1983

The units in the pic appear to be lg. The drain hole can't get blocked as there is a small strip that heats during defrost mode.

I bet there working well mine has about a foot of snow on top and in front of it!

richardc1983

The units in the pic appear to be lg. The drain hole can't get blocked as there is a small strip that heats during defrost mode.

I bet there working well mine has about a foot of snow on top and in front of it!

richardc1983

Heres some of mine...

Andy_WSM

richardc1983 wrote: »

The drain hole can't get blocked as there is a small strip that heats during defrost mode.

Poor design I know, but there is no such sensible heat strip in mine, so it was indeed frozen solid. I saw it do a defrost this afternoon and water was spewing out of every hole / over the sides, but not the drain hole! I got a ladder out this afternoon and defrosted it myself with a kettle of warm water, seeing as the temps have gone slightly above freezing. Thought I'd give it a fighting chance!

Amazing these things can still work when buried under ice & snow isn't it?

richardc1983

Yes you want to be careful because this water could be getting into the compressor area they are not always sealed off.

Keep an eye on that.

Andy_WSM

richardc1983 wrote: »

Yes you want to be careful because this water could be getting into the compressor area they are not always sealed off.

Keep an eye on that.

Yes, hoping that because it is always on the heat from the compressor will prevent condensation problems with the electrics.

Temp has dropped below freezing again now, glad I defrosted it when I had that small window of opportunity earlier!

richardc1983

What I am saying is that you dont want the compressor sat in water if it cant drain away, I think thermal blankets are the only things that separate the fan area and the bit where the compressor is I dont think it is "walled in" .

Do you understand what I mean not sure if I am making myself clear thats all.