UPDATED: Air Source Heat Pumps/Air Con - Full Info & Guide, is it cheaper to run than mains gas?
Comments
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Hi - The screen on the main control was always around 37 - 40 degrees and the house and water was lovely and warm. not sure what the spacing between pipes are - have given the plans to a company to get a price.matelodave wrote: »Do you know what your u/f heating system temperature was - some have mixing valves to reduce the higher boiler temperatures from a convention boiler down to 35-40 degrees.
As said above, if you are seriously thinking about a heat pump then learn as much about it as you can, get several (at least three) surveys and quotes done. You really do need to know if your existing u/f heating will deliver enough heat to your house at 35-40 degrees. Mine runs at 30-35 degrees and works fine as the pipe spacing is 6" (150mm) instead of the more usual 8" (200mm). Running a heatpump at much more than 40 degrees will increase your electricity consumption by quite a bit.
Do the sums - you won't get much change out of £6-8k and even if you save £500 a year on your energy bills, that's a payback of 12-16years. You could buy three or four new oil boilers for that or get your existing one repaired a lot of times0 -
have given the plans to a company to get a price.
This is the potential problem with fitting an ASHP in the UK.
Many(not all) companies are unlikely to give you a frank and honest appraisal of the suitability of your system to have an ASHP fitted - and thereby lose a job.
Indeed many of them simply don't know if it will work efficiently or not. ASHP manufacturers sell their units to anyone and take no responsibility if the property is unsuitable.
As said above by matelodave:if you are seriously thinking about a heat pump then learn as much about it as you can, get several (at least three) surveys and quotes done.
Quite honestly, if you have a reasonable technical background you can work out if your property is suitable - or at least be able to ask the right questions.0 -
Hi all,
I’d be eternally grateful if someone could share their expertise on this U1 error case that I’m having with my Mitsubishi Ecodan air source heat pump PUHZ-W50VHA-BS.
The U1 that I’m experiencing occurs only when the water heating cycle is about to switch to the heating cycle. This happens most often after a lot of hot water has been used (e.g.. bath). The display on the boiler freezes after hot water cycle for about 15-20 mins, system is silent and then U1 kicks in.
During the first part of 2013 the U1 occurred unpleasantly frequently, leaving the house unheated when we happened to be out. Mitsu engineers came, saying that a bypass had to be fitted because it seemed that the hot air had problems exiting the pipes after the water cycle and that’s what caused the U1. Bypass fitted, the U1 still kept coming back. Eventually we got on Mitsu “top engineer” on the phone who asked me to change two things:
Extend the hot water cycle from 1,5h to 2h.
Change settings on the panel so that the hot water aim was 55-60 degrees and not more.
This seemed to do the trick with the U1 but we started to get random patches when there wasn't hot water after a cycle or it was tepid at best. Anyway, we were happy enough that the U1 was gone.
This all changed few months ago when the Mitsu recommended service people came to check the systems (so that the guarantee would be valid). After their visit U1 came back. They had changed the flow gauge and didn’t turn it up to the recommended 12-15 level. We changed the level ourselves but U1 is still there, although not as frequently as before summer.
My partner has been in contact with Mitsu by email and now they say that it has to be underfloor heating piping problem. As we have already used the free engineer callouts, we would need to fork out cash for their next visit + a plumber that would work with him.
All of this (and reading other posts here) makes me think that all they are trying to do is to make us spend money on their service. We strongly refuse to do so because there’s absolutely no guarantee or evidence that it is a underfloor heating piping issue - it’s in the same boat with the “you need a bypass” claim.
The whole saga has eaten dozens of hours out of our lives and it’s still not over.
All help is more than welcome!0 -
3CLM
I don't know if this will help, as have not got a Ecodan, but sounds similar to a minor problem I had recently.
I would think there is a 3 way valve in the system, that switches between DHW/Heating. I do not know if you can check it manually for operation on that unit. It could be sticking on switchover from one sequence to the other. Mine was stuck in the DHW cycle. Luckily a spray of WD40 into the electric motor part of the valve seems to have cured the problem.
Hope someone who knows more about the Ecodan can help.As Manuel says in Fawlty Towers: " I Know Nothing"0 -
Hi all,
I’d be eternally grateful if someone could share their expertise on this U1 error case that I’m having with my Mitsubishi Ecodan air source heat pump PUHZ-W50VHA-BS.
The U1 that I’m experiencing occurs only when the water heating cycle is about to switch to the heating cycle. This happens most often after a lot of hot water has been used (e.g.. bath). The display on the boiler freezes after hot water cycle for about 15-20 mins, system is silent and then U1 kicks in.
During the first part of 2013 the U1 occurred unpleasantly frequently, leaving the house unheated when we happened to be out. Mitsu engineers came, saying that a bypass had to be fitted because it seemed that the hot air had problems exiting the pipes after the water cycle and that’s what caused the U1. Bypass fitted, the U1 still kept coming back. Eventually we got on Mitsu “top engineer” on the phone who asked me to change two things:
Extend the hot water cycle from 1,5h to 2h.
Change settings on the panel so that the hot water aim was 55-60 degrees and not more.
This seemed to do the trick with the U1 but we started to get random patches when there wasn't hot water after a cycle or it was tepid at best. Anyway, we were happy enough that the U1 was gone.
This all changed few months ago when the Mitsu recommended service people came to check the systems (so that the guarantee would be valid). After their visit U1 came back. They had changed the flow gauge and didn’t turn it up to the recommended 12-15 level. We changed the level ourselves but U1 is still there, although not as frequently as before summer.
My partner has been in contact with Mitsu by email and now they say that it has to be underfloor heating piping problem. As we have already used the free engineer callouts, we would need to fork out cash for their next visit + a plumber that would work with him.
All of this (and reading other posts here) makes me think that all they are trying to do is to make us spend money on their service. We strongly refuse to do so because there’s absolutely no guarantee or evidence that it is a underfloor heating piping issue - it’s in the same boat with the “you need a bypass” claim.
The whole saga has eaten dozens of hours out of our lives and it’s still not over.
All help is more than welcome!
Hi, I have an Ecodan (8.5kW) with UFH, I work in the renewables industry, fitted loads, willing to help.
I would like to know more about your set up before making any comments.
AlThere are three types of people in this world...those that can count ...and those that can't!
* The Bitterness of Low Quality is Long Remembered after the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten!0 -
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Thus the radiators and UFH pipes are usually bigger with an ASHP. It is probable that water at 35C-40C from an ASHP will not provide sufficient warmth from a system designed for water that can be up to 80C.
... which is exactly why this sort of product has been designed: http://www.daikin.co.uk/binaries/AlthermaHT_UKEPLEN13-724_tcm511-277337.pdf
and, if installed before 31st March, it will be eligible for RHI which could well pay for the ASHP installation cost over the 7 year life of RHI.
ASHPs operating at over 53C won't be eligible for RHI if installed after April 1st.We need the earth for food, water, and shelter.
The earth needs us for nothing.
The earth does not belong to us.
We belong to the Earth0 -
3clm. One I posted earlier
U1 is the most common fault on the eco dan, it is a high pressure fault which usually occurs when poor flow rate at the dan.if the dan see's a u1 fault 3 times it will shut down.
List of checks for you to try
1.check the flow setter , mitisi recommend that it needs to be set 12.5l>15ltrs , if you don't know what the flow setter is it is brass fitting with glass window with a white tab in it, the bottom of the white tab should be with in 12.5> 15l mark, turn all the heating on and see what flow rate you are getting.
2.loss of pressure in heating system. There should be pressure gauge somewhere and that should be between 1bar > 2bar but they should run as low as 0.6 bar.
3.i take it you got 2 zones for heating, ifso check both pumps are running.one of pumps could appear to be running but might not be running to its full pottential.
4.frozen pipes can cause it also but I doubt it as it's not really been that cold.
5.iv come across some where software needs updating
6.poss might have air in the system, check your air bleed valves, undo the little caps to see if any air comes out.
7.check no valves have accidentally been turned off, especially the outdoor ones by the dan, kids love to play
9x10 it's usually loss pressure, which is just case of topping up the system and seeing if the pressure holds up.
Is your heating on constant and your hot water on auto?ifso program heating to come on/off 5mins before and after your hot water cycle and put dhw and heating to auto. So in other words a 5min time lag between the heating and hot water ,Bet that will cure it if this is the case0 -
3clm. One I posted earlier
U1 is the most common fault on the eco dan, it is a high pressure fault which usually occurs when poor flow rate at the dan.if the dan see's a u1 fault 3 times it will shut down.
List of checks for you to try
1.check the flow setter , mitisi recommend that it needs to be set 12.5l>15ltrs , if you don't know what the flow setter is it is brass fitting with glass window with a white tab in it, the bottom of the white tab should be with in 12.5> 15l mark, turn all the heating on and see what flow rate you are getting.
2.loss of pressure in heating system. There should be pressure gauge somewhere and that should be between 1bar > 2bar but they should run as low as 0.6 bar.
3.i take it you got 2 zones for heating, ifso check both pumps are running.one of pumps could appear to be running but might not be running to its full pottential.
4.frozen pipes can cause it also but I doubt it as it's not really been that cold.
5.iv come across some where software needs updating
6.poss might have air in the system, check your air bleed valves, undo the little caps to see if any air comes out.
7.check no valves have accidentally been turned off, especially the outdoor ones by the dan, kids love to play
9x10 it's usually loss pressure, which is just case of topping up the system and seeing if the pressure holds up.
Is your heating on constant and your hot water on auto?ifso program heating to come on/off 5mins before and after your hot water cycle and put dhw and heating to auto. So in other words a 5min time lag between the heating and hot water ,Bet that will cure it if this is the case
Thanks for that! I did read this post earlier but thought that maybe someone has a similar issue. It's now clear that U1kicks in after the 3rd hw cycle after running the bath full.
I've now set up the 5 minute thing that you mentioned - hope it does the trick. . .0 -
Hello im new to the site and this is my first post, I am currently building a 4 bed detached house ,nearest gas is 170mts away and quote to install was £34,000 (no kidding! not just the fuel that's expensive) looking at the ashp thread and nobody mentions rhi or green deal why?0
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