Heat pump experiences

[dicko]

When we had ours fitted at the olde gaff I did the loft insulation myself.

It wasn't expensive or difficult, less than £200, and being a bungalow had a larger loft footprint than a house with the same number of bedrooms.

Anyone paying 2 large for loft insulation is gullible, owns Wembley stadium, or a very heavy tipper.

Yeh but, have you certifications for the install, probably not if DIY? The other thing is just how many people can actually do what you did?

 

[dicko]

Octopus are now offering a " turbo " install " option which is basically just swapping the gas boiler for a heat pump and leaving all the existing pipe work and radiators as is. Runs at 55 degrees so not quite as efficient as running at a lower temperature through larger radiators but still vastly more efficient than a gas boiler.

Yes, we upgraded all our radiators for new modern low temp ones it has made a lot of difference.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Octopus are now offering a " turbo " install " option which is basically just swapping the gas boiler for a heat pump and leaving all the existing pipe work and radiators as is. Runs at 55 degrees so not quite as efficient as running at a lower temperature through larger radiators but still vastly more efficient than a gas boiler.

Everything I have read says that you need loads of extra work done because they can;t run at that high a temperature

I think our gas boiler runs at 60 degrees - so a drop to 55 would probably be OK

but then why all the fuss about insulations and so on so you can run the heating at 40 degrees??

 

[Drago]

Yeh but, have you certifications for the install, probably not if DIY?

I didn't, but that is easily surmountable. In any case, the question never even arose when either applying for funding or later on when selling the house. It's a non problem.

The other thing is just how many people can actually do what you did?

Any able bodied and moderately fit person in the age range 16-60 could do it, ie, most people.

Even paying someone else wouldnt have come near 2 large. That'd be equivalent to £600 odd an hour, a hilarious amount.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

ANother thing about heat pumps that I have seen

Is that they quote the lower heating costs for the house after the installation

BUT
part of the installation os a big upgrade to the insulation of the house to enable the heat pump to run at 40 degrees

then the say this will save £xxxx compared to the current costs
which is totally irrelevant as they should be comparing it to the amount it would have cost if they had just done the insulation work and left everything else as it is
Or done the insulation and upgraded to a totally up-to-date gas boiler

Some of the things I have read seem biased and somewhat dishonest because they miss this point out totally

 

[dicko]

I didn't, but that is easily surmountable. In any case, the question never even arose when either applying for funding or later on when selling the house. It's a non problem.



Any able bodied and moderately fit person in the age range 16-60 could do it, ie, most people.

Even paying someone else wouldnt have come near 2 large. That'd be equivalent to £600 odd an hour, a hilarious amount.

I quoted £2k because I some cases it will be plus with the flyboys around that’s the way some will go, remember Rogue Traders?

 

[Drago]

, remember Rogue Traders?

I don't have a TV licence so only know of it.

Didn't one of them get sent down for fraud? Seemed appropriate somehow.

 

[Fastpedaller]

Octopus are now offering a " turbo " install " option which is basically just swapping the gas boiler for a heat pump and leaving all the existing pipe work and radiators as is. Runs at 55 degrees so not quite as efficient as running at a lower temperature through larger radiators but still vastly more efficient than a gas boiler.

Says who? Probably Octopus?

 

[Milzy]

I'm sure the bacterium knows and respects the difference!

The Covid virus did follow the rules, if you were sat having a meal it couldn’t spread.

 

[rogerzilla]

Octopus are now offering a " turbo " install " option which is basically just swapping the gas boiler for a heat pump and leaving all the existing pipe work and radiators as is. Runs at 55 degrees so not quite as efficient as running at a lower temperature through larger radiators but still vastly more efficient than a gas boiler.

55? My boiler won't effectively heat the house, and certainly not the hot water, unless it's set to about 80 degrees. And my radiators are bigger than in most new houses. EPC "C" and insulation is almost at new house standards.

To get a heat pump to work, I'd need underfloor heating (no space for bigger rads) and I'd be heating hot water with a lot of immersion assistance.

 

[Gillstay]

I'm sure the bacterium knows and respects the difference!

I don't think they need to as they don't occur in domestic systems.

 

[Gillstay]

Our cavity wall insulation (installed 2017) on our home built mid 80s is a feather type insulation installed by a private recommended installer not one of these nation wide companies. He charged me £1k and also did my loft too exceeding the recommended depth (we never open our loft).

So why on the previous post did you say it costs £2500 ?

 

[Drago]

So why on the previous post did you say it costs £2500 ?

Inflation. It's hit this thread hard.

 

[presta]

Cavity wall insulation, if you have a cavity, £2500, and if no cavity £25,000 for external cladding insulation.

To complicate matters, my house has solid wall upstairs and cavity wall downstairs.

 

[tyred]

It's amazing how much difference insulation makes. When I spend a night at my parents' (which I did last night), the house seems to be like a fridge.

A 1970s bungalow, they had the cavity walls pumped with insulation, I insulated the attic with 6" of insulation years ago myself, and the original mahogany single glazed windows have been replaced with triple glazing a few years ago, yet the place feels like a fridge first thing in the morning in comparison to my new build flat.

They don't stint the (oil-fired) heating but it cools down so quickly. I suppose a big part of the problem is the uninsulated concrete floors. I know a lot more could be done but they are set in their ways and don't want any more hassle or expense.

I'm very happy to have a modern property with lots of insulation and a heat pump as I never feel cold and it costs pennies to run compared to my previous flat with gas heating.