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Air Source heat pump?

10 replies

Dillydollydaydream · 19/10/2013 08:47

We are hoping to move from renting to buy a house. One of the houses we've looked at is fairly new (2010) and doesn't have gas/oil central heating. The house uses an air source heat pump?

I haven't the foggiest idea if they're any good/economical. The vendor of course says it's good but they would do, wouldn't they?

Does anyone have a home that uses this method or knows about it?

TIA:)

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SuperiorCat · 19/10/2013 09:00

We do't have one as we can't afford one, but DH works (kind of) in the industry and would have one like a shot.

It's free energy basically, and so long as it has been well maintained you'll be grand.

Just make sure you have some form of back up just in case it should get damaged.

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Dillydollydaydream · 19/10/2013 09:25

Thanks for replying.
Good point about a back up. There's no gas in that part of the village. The living room has an electric fire but that's it. There's a hot water tank but I didn't check if there was a separate immersion heater.

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oricella · 19/10/2013 09:26

It's not exactly free energy; it is basically an electric heating system that is far more efficient by extracting heat from the air outside. Combined with decent insulation (which should be the case in a new house) they make for very efficient heating systems and should reduce your energy bill considerably compared to a similar property with gas/oil heating. Of course if you have solar PV's on your roof you would be running the heatpump for free whenever the sun is shining (which isn't a lot in winter when you need it most)

check out the energy saving trust for more info

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oricella · 19/10/2013 09:29

They can be a bit noisy though; probably not so much inside, but you will hear them when in the garden - but if it's warm enough to be in the garden you probably won't need the pump on

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ZacharyQuack · 19/10/2013 09:32

We have one, it's fantastic. They are very popular here in NZ.

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ThePortlyPinUp · 19/10/2013 09:34

We have one and it is quite noisy, we have got used to hearing it but visitors find it hard to get to sleep. Our house is a HA house and all of my neighbours have the same heating and we all have the same problem that it just isn't reliable, the systems they have installed just aren't powerful enough according to engineers. In winter it's quite annoying going out and never knowing if you are coming to a cold house, we have to do the turning off and on trick quite a bit. On the plus side it is cheaper than oil and we can turn it off and on with the flick of a switch.

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Dillydollydaydream · 19/10/2013 09:38

Will check out the link thanks oricella

Haven't seen/heard the pump in action so will have to check that out.

I'm always a bit dubious when people sell new builds so quickly. It's only a small estate but there's 3 homes for sale all built between 2010/2011.

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wonkylegs · 19/10/2013 10:01

I've put them in commercially and they are surprisingly good. The main reason they haven't caught on is cost, they also require outside space.
I would also have a back up heating source (logburner, electric, open fire) in case it broke down as it might be harder to find somebody to fix it and you'll want some heat whilst waiting.
Make sure you get full details of the installer and who maintains it.
There is a layperson guide to them on the Which? website
There is also good info on Energy Savings Trust Website

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wonkylegs · 19/10/2013 10:03

You should also have a back up heat source because when it's exceptionally cold outside they don't really work. So if we had a very cold winter there may be periods when you'd want a logburner etc to give a blast of heat.

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Dillydollydaydream · 19/10/2013 11:22

There's an electric fire but I'm not sure that will do a good job heating a 4/5 bed house. I've always wanted a log burner though...