air source heating

[AmIAWeed]

We need a new boiler, our old one is about 30 years old, runs on oil and massively inefficient.
We've been quoted for a combi boiler, but then I noticed an ad for air source heating, government funding available etc - which is lucky as its 3 times the price of the combi!

Its appealing partly because we can get rid of the horrible oil tank, not be reliant on oil prices/taxes etc but im really struggling with the lack of info online, most reviews etc are all positive but featured on the different companies websites.
The only 'downside' I see is it works better at maintaining a constant temperature rather than up and down, but I work from home so our house is always heated so can't see this being an issue.
Has anyone got one or have any experience of them?

[MrsPelligrinoPetrichor]

Is it like the old heating in 70's houses? If so then avoid as it's a PITA.

[womaninatightspot]

I looked at it went with wood pellet stove in the end. Works best with underfloor heating and well insulated house. I have 250 year old house and thick carpets :) Although I've added internal solid wall insulation. Installer was keen to sell solar panels + air source heat pump as then your using your own electricity.

[HappyintheHills]

Air source is not the same as the old warm air heating
It uses compression of refrigerant just like a fridge running backwards en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_source_heat_pumps
I like ours as they heat and cool so good summer and winter 😃

[Khione]

I would suggest you join a forum called 'Build Hub' and ask on there. It is full of people building their own house or renovating old ones, plus professional tradespeople and experienced DIYers.

Ask on there and you will get some real understanding of what is the best solution for your situation.

[AmIAWeed]

@womaninatightspot I was under the impression the wood pellet needed lots of storage room? Its the one thing we lack and will have less space when we extend into the garage in a few years!

@HappyintheHills i'll ask if it cools as well, the salesman didn't mention it but that would be lovely in the summer, we've 2 rooms in particular that get unbearable in the summer.
We're looking at the Mitsubishi ecoDan - not sure if that's what you've got?
Any things you dislike or surprises?

[womaninatightspot]

We're in the country so have a barn for storage. It gets delivered by the ton on pallets in bags as didn't have the room for storage in the house. Takes a bag a day so not onerous. I still have oil boiler as a backup though.

[LivingDeadGirlUK]

As poster above says they work really well with underfloor heating as they don't need to get the water as hot as with a radiator system.

You can get a system that works in conjunction with a combi boiler, so you use the ASHP when its cheapest to do so then it switches over to gas when conditions are more favourable for this. But you would still need the new boiler then.

[Gizlotsmum]

We looked at it and we just don't have the amount of money needed to install it, our running costs wouldn't reduce and we would need new radiators as the air source runs at a lower temperature. Think we are sticking with oil for now

[AmIAWeed]

we don't have underfloor heating and whilst we're planning some renovation work I don't fancy digging the floors up!

@Gizlotsmum the cost is eye watering but we have an electric car to off set the shogun (and use pending on weather/task) so we're already looking at solar panels etc so whilst this will be bloody painful short term, longer term with the 7 years of Government incentive payments and eventually the solar panels we can sortof ish justify it...I think!

[AmIAWeed]

oh just to add, we don't have gas so no a new oil boiler plus this would be a no go for us as it would undo the purpose/ benefits of the AHSP

I'm not necessarily hearing bad things though? If you can get past the initial costs

[Pipandmum]

I have an air source heat pump for my pool. I guess for houses it must be different as mine only works if the ambient temperature is above a certain level, but I know there are ones (much more expensive) that work at lower temperatures. Quite noisy though.

[Muchlywrong]

If you are going for an air source heat pump, you first need to take into account how well insulated your house is. If you don't have double glazing, I would instantly discount it as an option. The next thing you have to take into account, is electricity prices. They use an extortionate amount of electricity to heat your home and as far as I'm concerned, are not yet efficient enough to warrant the expenditure. Plus going for an air source heat pump that cools your home as well as heats, will push your price up by at least 15%. Also bear in mind, that you may need to apply for planning permission to have the fan units installed.
If you are going with solar panels, it would be a sensible idea to go with solar thermal to heat your hot water as well as solar PV for electricity.
In terms of installers, look up whoever you are thinking of as your installer on companies house too, to make sure they haven't opened a business, then closed it, then opened another. I get constantly called out by people who have had the installation carried out by people who are to put it bluntly, crooks, and take the money to do a shoddy installation, then close the business down before anything goes wrong.

[Ariela]

My neighbours put in new heating underfloor and run it from air source. They had the whole house totally renovated with extension, new windows and insulation. Be careful where you install the fans for the air source - theirs blows cold air on anyone when they go to ring the front door bell! Quite draughty!

[AmIAWeed]

@Muchlywrong thanks very much for the advice, We do have double glazing, although its crap and does need replacing, has no vents and we're doing a bit of an extension so will be changing windows at the same time. Loft installation is good, have cavity wall insultation and all walls are solid, no stud walls.

We were quoted £15.5k for absolutely everything, new radiators where needed, water tank, removal of old system and oil tank. I've drilled right down into the trust pilot reviews and its thrown up a few things, they outsource the installation, don't to the RHI payments (which the salesman said they did) in reply to my email his suggestion was a call - personally id rather an email and it in writing so have declined.
I have finally found a neighbour who has AHSP so im going to ask them a few questions including who installed it - but is there a recommended place to look for suppliers?

[OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea]

I looked into it, I understand that it is very efficient and it is very common in many parts of the world. I think it depends on your home. We ended up discounting it because our house is an older house, lots of separate rooms etc which doesn't work so well with it. But lower ceilings, open plan type I understand does work well, especially with underfloor heating. If not underfloor you need bigger radiators than with traditional heating.

[Cakecrumbs]

I had one once with underfloor heating. It cost an absolute fortune to run and broke all the time. Things aren't moving quickly enough when it comes to viable non oil/gas heating systems, I can't find anything that is a suitable alternative at the moment.

[claracluck71]

We've recently had an air source heat pump fitted - the oil boiler was fitted in 1976 and was on it's last legs and we fancied the idea of moving away from oil.

So far so good, and we are really pleased with it. It works with our old micro bore heating system and we only needed two radiators changed, as they weren't large enough. We have a Samsung one. The water tank, which was also old, was replaced with a pressurised one. I don't think I'd ever go back to an unpressurised system - it's great!

Our house is over 120 years old, so they do work in older homes. The thing we've found most surprising is that the radiators never get really hot like they used to, but the house is lovely and warm.

We did have solar panels and a Teslar battery installed as part of the same work, but that's another story...

[claracluck71]

We're also getting RHI, which will help to offset the cost.

[Twinklestar222]

When we viewed a new-build property with an air-source heat pump, the immediate neighbours came out at the end and told us in no uncertain terms that whenever the property was purchased and it was commissioned and activated, they WOULD be contacting the council and formalising a complaint about the noise

Nice!

Not helpful but sadly has put me off now

[StarintheMorning]

My brothers building company has been involved with the installation of a couple of these, only because they project manage the whole job. He said don’t even think about it in an old house. They need mega amounts of insulation, to the level that is only possible in a new home. They run warm if you are lucky, and both architects specified an additional system for the coldest months.
I was gutted, as I had seen the science behind it and the payments available to help installation and thought they seemed really good. We just went with a new A rated gas boiler. I appreciate this is not an option for you OP.

[Zitouna]

If you’re reasonably insulated (EPC Band C) then ASHP should be very suitable. Agree up front costs can be high but if you’re switching from oil and you usually have the heating on all day then potential running costs savings could be massive.

[EenyMeenyMinyNo]

I work in social housing and a lot of our properties have it. Once people get their head around not trying to use it the same as a gas system ( ie flicking the thermostat up and down all the time) they really like it. A lot of the new builds have under floor heating downstairs and rads upstairs. The rads have to be larger generally as the water runs at a much lower temp. I would say of the ones i visit over 95% are very happy with it (especially when compared to their precious night storage heaters) We have both Ecodans and Daikin althermas. The most important part in my opinion is a competent installer!

[EenyMeenyMinyNo]

^'previous' night storage heaters not precious!!!!

[AmIAWeed]

Thanks all for the feedback. I've found a neighbor who has 2 systems installed (their house is 400sqm compared to our little 100sqm) and they paid £14k so I'm hoping to get a quote from their installers as a comparison. After that we can focus on solar panels for the roof - we may be green one day, and preferably not bankrupt ourselves in the process!!

[Muchlywrong]

If your neighbour trusts these installers, then all good. If you are still unsure, have a look on the energy savings trust website. They should have a recommendations on the best systems to install and then you can have a look at the company's website for installers who have gone through their training. I think the energy savings trust also has recommended installers