Air Source heat pump - an update

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

Hi
I posted a thread on here a while ago as we were considering replacing our boiler with an air source heat pump and wanted advice ftom people who had done this.

We were concerned about retro-fitting and whether the new system.would heat the house effectively.

In the end we bit the bullet and went for it, with the new system.being fitted the week before the Beast from the East hit.

So, three weeks in and so far so good. Our house has never been this warm. The pump is louder than I expected but we can't hear it from inside the house. It has to be said it's also quite ugly but we have had it fitted to a wall where we can't see it from the garden. We did also have to replace 3 of our radiators for bigger ones which added a bit to the cost but has made a huge difference to those rooms.

Just thought I'd update for anyone considering the same. We are really glad we overcame our reservations and went for it. I still don't really understand how it works though!

if you compare last year's electricity metered usage to this year's, how does it compare?

What did it cost to install?

We did it because we were oil and the delivery tanker had to use a neighbour’s drive to fill up our tank. We felt dependent on their goodwill and wanted to be self sufficient. No gas anywhere near!

We think we spend less than the oil. However we have a large house and two heat pumps. Plus a third for the pool. They are Mitsubishi ones. They work like reverse fridges! They push out cold air when you are near them but are very quiet and tucked away.

If radiators needed to be increased they were undersized. We didn’t have to change any and ours was retro fitted. We also have underfloor heating and our system has worked well. The water temperature is lower than before but that’s no hardship.

As we are all electric, we do have concerns about any interruption in supply but the boiler needed replacing anyway. We had the access issue and no gas. So if it costs a bit, so be it.

Hi PigletJohn
The system cost just over £10k. Plus the cost of the 3 new radiators. Our subsidy works out at £9600 so it's effectively paid for it.

Our (oil) boiler was very old/inefficient and needed to be replaced at some point. Because of the change in regulations we would not have been able to install a new one in the same place in the house. Plus, like Bubbles we had real issues with the access to our oil tank which meant that one of us had to be home to allow the tanker access. It was a real pain.

I know our electrity usage will go up. We talked to someone in a nearby village who had used the same company we used. Their house was quite similar to ours in age, size and insulation. They reckon their electricity bill has gone up by just under 50%. Prior to having the pump installed we were using £70 of electricity per month and we are expecting that to rise to well over £100. But of course we will no longer be paying out for oil. Or worrying about the oil running out......

Some of the radiators in our house were quite old and too small and they were the ones which needed replacing. We knew that would be the case. In a more modern house that shouldn't be an issue.

thanks, that's interesting.

If we get a really cold spell (below freezing) let us know how it runs. They can get frosted up. You'll need a year or so to see how the cost goes.

The Beast from the East arrived 4 days after it was installed and it coped fine with that! But yes, I'm aware it might not be as good in a prolonged spell of below freezing temperatures.

Remind me in a year and I'll post another update!

We have had ours since 2010. It does not suffer from frost issues.

That's good to know Bubbles

Emma - any updates on the heat pump? Thanks!

@EmmaGrundyForPM