Air source heat pumps - a bit off putting, or is it just me?

[FolornLawn]

I was surprised to see how big and ugly they are.

This article shows a picture of one, and I wouldn't want it in my small garden. Also the report says people will need room for a boiler and a water cylinder.

I'm quite surprised at how negatively I feel about the new plans. There's something about having to remodel bits of my house and garden that feels like an imposition, when I happily recycle, use washable sanitary pads and kitchen roll, go without a tumble dryer etc. Is it just me?

@Marelle it doesn't have to be attached to your house it could be alongside you fence. If you have a garden you have space.

@StatisticallyChallenged

There's very little in central Edinburgh, lots of places are much further behind than London. The council recently announced they'd installed 66, about half of which were at edge of the city park and ride sites. In many places if you don't have offroad parking the infrastructure isn't there. We had a PHEV living in town but only managed because we had resident parking permit so could park right outside and run a cable out the front door - we weren't allowed to install a proper charger because it was a conservation area (you can see why an ASHP wouldn't be allowed then )

Intrigued by the fact that you could run a cable out of your front door for charging purposes. Does it cross the pavement? We are not allowed to do that where we are. It’s considered dangerous to pedestrians. We need to use an on-street charging point.

Marelle it doesn't have to be attached to your house it could be alongside you fence
Good luck with that, my garden is on a steep slope.

@daisypond it was a mews so no pavement, the front door opened straight on to the cobbled road. So there was no risk to pedestrians - but that's obviously a pretty unusual setup!

@80sMum insulation isn't suitable for every house , houses need to breath thats why so many have damp and condensation issues
Some houses just can't be as easily insulated as others

@Marelle
There’s lots of places a heat pump could go in that photo you posted. The bifolds don’t go near the edge of the building, and there’s space in the garden too. I’m in a narrow terrace with a galley kitchen with no external walls at the back. There’s just a door. I have wondered if heat pumps can go at the front. My front door opens directly onto the pavement, so I guess it would block people walking along the pavement. The only thing I can think of with mine is that the back door -they are double doors - has to be partially blocked up at one side. Likewise, anyone with doors or glass right across might need to block some off if there’s no other space.

[quote daisypond]@Marelle
There’s lots of places a heat pump could go in that photo you posted. The bifolds don’t go near the edge of the building, and there’s space in the garden too. I’m in a narrow terrace with a galley kitchen with no external walls at the back. There’s just a door. I have wondered if heat pumps can go at the front. My front door opens directly onto the pavement, so I guess it would block people walking along the pavement. The only thing I can think of with mine is that the back door -they are double doors - has to be partially blocked up at one side. Likewise, anyone with doors or glass right across might need to block some off if there’s no other space.[/quote]
Its not her house. The poster said right by the picture "Like this (pic from Google). Where would the box go?"

Yet are we not being told be prepared for power cuts ? And we plan to go almost fully electric
Loads of new build estates around here none have built with solar panels for about 10 years
My friend has solar panels in a ha house build a good few years ago , its only just been connected by them
We live in a 14 year old house and its well insulated / terraced we only have heating on when really cold and rarely have the radiators on upstairs at all as house stays warm with just a small anount of time heating is on
But not all homes can be insulated and houses to have to breath a little as well so its a balancing act.

Like this (pic from Google). Where would the box go?

In the garden. There is plenty of space.

@C8H10N4O2
I know it’s not her house. As I said, “that photo you posted”. There’s several spaces where a heat pump could go in that photo.

Our heat pump is on our garage wall not the house wall. They are quite ugly but you can stick them behind some trellis if needed.

Ours is noisy if you stand right in front of it but one of our bedroom windows overlooks it and we never really notice it at night, despite the window being open.

@StatisticallyChallenged well in London, in Sadiq Khan's words-

But he said Khan needed to go further if he wanted to reach his target for London to be carbon neutral by 2030. He added: “There is only one way to go: petrol and diesel cars out. Active, shared and electric mobility in.”

I expect owners of petrol cars to pay £12.50 per day for the privilege of driving their vehicles in a few years time in London (zone1-3) and maybe even in outer zones. Most London houses (esp in inner zones) do not have drives so they will have to get on with the electric charging infrastructure or we would not have cars. Also all the Ubers need to switch if they want to pick up people in central london.

[quote daisypond]@C8H10N4O2
I know it’s not her house. As I said, “that photo you posted”. There’s several spaces where a heat pump could go in that photo.[/quote]
Not sure how that is relevant. The pp clearly stated the back wall was fully bifolds and the garden is fenced and steep, not walled.

In other words a very common configuration for modernised terraces in suburban and urban areas. What she is showing is a very common problem for urban dwellers looking into heat pumps.

The picture was to illustrate the type of configuration - its irrelevant really but since you wanted to comment on that picture I doubt a heat pump could go on the bits of wall either side of the bifolds. When we had someone look at our house for a heat pump there was a clear requirement for minimum clearance all round and particularly from opening doors and drainage.

@worriedatthemoment all homes can be insulated, damp only becomes an issue if there is poor ventilation or if the insulation is badly specified or installed.

Likewise, anyone with doors or glass right across might need to block some off if there’s no other space.
Erm no. I paid £5k for the bifold door and another £5k for the builder to take down the wall and install it. I’m not taking it out.

Our heat pump is on our garage wall not the house wall
You’re privileged if you’ve got a garage. Most people haven’t. My back wall is fully glass and I don’t realistically think a heat pump could go on the front of the house, so I’m not sure where Boris thinks I’m going to put it?

@Marelle

Likewise, anyone with doors or glass right across might need to block some off if there’s no other space. Erm no. I paid £5k for the bifold door and another £5k for the builder to take down the wall and install it. I’m not taking it out.

Then I suppose you do without heating if that’s your choice. If you’re not allowed a gas boiler, what are you going to do if you won’t install a heat pump? Anyone with a huge expanse of glass at the back of their house has plenty of room to put in a heat pump. The world is changing.

If you’re not allowed a gas boiler, what are you going to do if you won’t install a heat pump?
The same as flat dwellers I suppose, who also don’t have walls to put heat pumps on. Or maybe I’ll get an Aga or burn wood. British houses and gardens are very small, often terraced, and there’ll be thousands of houses that don’t have external wall space for a massive box.

Wonder if there is a cunning way of them being fitted into a loft, if people have one. Maybe with the opening coming out through the soffit or something.

Reckon we will have solved this soon if the thread keeps going.

@Marelle I am in a flat, we have a big communal garden so we could install it in the garden and put small air pumps on the walls...

www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/heat-pump-retrofit-in-london-v2.pdf

Fully internal air source heat pumps offer a potential low
noise solution without the need for an external fan unit.
These can be installed on a flat by flat basis.
• In some cases, roofs, roof terraces, balconies or
walkways may provide a suitable location for an external
heat pump unit and hot water cylinder.
• Shared ground loops with individual heat pumps in each
dwelling offer a viable solution for flats. These are already
being retrofitted to blocks of flats in London. These
systems also have the potential to provide cooling for
buildings that overheat in summer (an increasing problem
in London).
• Air source heat pumps with Variable Refrigerant Flow
(VRF) can be used in blocks of flats, with small individual
units within each flat capable of providing heating and
cooling.
• Individual heat pumps with integrated hot water cylinders
can take up small amounts of floor space

Yes, there are thousands in flats and tiny houses who won’t have space. But anyone who has a house with big bifold doors, as in the photo you posted, clearly does have lots of space, so you are really lucky you will be able to choose what adjustments to make. No doubt some people claimed they had no space to put in Anderson shelters in the war because they didn’t want to dig up their flower beds, too.

@Marelle I know, but I was trying to point out they don't have to be attached to the wall of your house, there are other options including putting them in your garden.

Let us hope we can all fight them for as long as possible and see where we go.

@daisypond

Yes, there are thousands in flats and tiny houses who won’t have space. But anyone who has a house with big bifold doors, as in the photo you posted, clearly does have lots of space, so you are really lucky you will be able to choose what adjustments to make. No doubt some people claimed they had no space to put in Anderson shelters in the war because they didn’t want to dig up their flower beds, too.

That kind of door is commonplace on the tiny terraced 2 up 2 downs in cities. They are there not because the houses are big and expensive but because its the only way to get much light in and make the place feel a bit less cramped.

Every cm2 is living space in those houses. The idea that someone "obviously" has loads of space just because they have replaced a brick wall with glazed doors to let light in is bloody ridiculous. You are suggesting that people have the unit in their living room or make a small bedroom into a box room and sleep with it.

I'm honestly not sure if you have never been in one of these houses or are just being a GF.

I won't be buying one of those they are hopeless and extremely expensive.
I live in a no gas rural area and have an electric boiler, electric heaters and a big old woodburner.
There is no way I'm giving up my woodburner. I don't really use the upstairs rooms in winter, I shut myself away with the woodburner.