Heat source pump new builds

[40andlovelife]

I'm hoping to buy a new build and been told by the developer that all new homes from 2025 will have to have a heat source pump instead of a gas boiler. Does anyone have any experience of this? What have you personally found to be the benefits? Or indeed drawbacks? Thank you!

I’ve got one for my new build. Not done a summer here yet, so can’t feed back on a full year!

Got underfloor heating downstairs and radiators upstairs. Floors and radiators are never hot hot. It takes a long time for the house to heat up. The idea is that you just have thermostats set always and the system does its thing. And it works. Haven’t been cold at all, now that we’ve figured out what settings suit or family best. I have it set to 14°C overnight and 18°C in the day (coming up at 5am so it has time to warm up).

The pump itself is fine. I don’t notice when it comes on in when I’m in the house. When I’m outside I do hear it, because we’ve got our washing line right next to it. It wouldn’t be a problem I was gardening or chilling though - it’s not loud. It does make some wind, but only noticeable when stood in front of it. It is quite a big thing though, so visually isn’t the best. I’ve put plants on top of ours! But the physical thing was the hardest part for me to get my head around.

Electicity-wise it’s hard to comment because we don’t have a comparison. I can see that we’ve been using less in March, which makes sense because it hasn’t been so cold out.

Hot water is electric as well here - there’s no gas to the estate at all. That is pricey! Solar panels are on our list to get, which will help with that.

I would happily recommend a ASHP in a new build. The insulation etc in the house means that the system works efficiently.

I have a heat pump with underfloor heating downstairs and radiators upstairs. Moved in early June, so have done most of the summer all winter. It is marvellous. Bills are a third they were in my old house, and the house is always nice and toasty. In fact, I haven't actually put the heating on upstairs at all, because it's more than warm enough without it. About 21 degrees during the day, and 18 at night.

Is your water heating by pure electric (immersion heater) or is it also done by the heat pump ?

There is no reason why heat pumps should be bad in new builds - the installation should be appropriate for the house and the heating/insulation solution should be designed holistically.

I guess the bad news is that when it comes to boilers and things like heat pumps often the builders will install the cheapest crap possible, as very few people tend to look at the boiler make/quality when buying a new build house.

Doesn't mean much without more detail. You say bills are a third the price. That could be because your old house was using electric. Or because your old house was very poorly insulated. Or your old house was twice the size of your new one.

My bill for January was £107.00 in total. I was orettt pleased with that, it being one of the coldest months of the year and the far north of Scotland.

Is your water heating by pure electric (immersion heater) or is it also done by the heat pump ?

Honestly, I’m not sure. Still waiting on proper details from the developer. The official home demo info was “this is all heating/hot water equipment. Don’t touch it, call us if there’s a problem”. Which I was not happy about! But I do know that showering makes a massive difference to our electric usage for the day.

Sounds like you may have a separate system that runs off pure electric for the hot water. It can get pretty complex using heat pumps for hot water because they run efficiently at much lower temperatures. Still I guess even if you are using pure electric that is exactly the same cost as using electric showers.

If you have a hot water tank maybe worth considering some sort of solar heating supplement.

That’s what I was vaguely thinking. We’ve got a big roof facing the right way, so room for options. I don’t know if installing solar heating and power is a viable option or not. Would be good if it was.

It's probably viable.

If your house is a new build it is a little strange that it didn't come with solar of some sort, at the very minimum direct water heating. Maybe it did and you will soon find out !

I think solar is the #1 upgrade you can do, provided your roof is correct for it.