Part 2 https://youtu.be/1rKNT7-42J0?si=lLdm5_o4P8s3jBoJ
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Roger interviews an air source heat pump owner who has been heating his house with the system for 5 years.
John’s LG Therma V Monobloc Air Source Heat Pump
https://www.lg.com/uk/air-to-water-heat-pumps/monobloc
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Air Source Heat Pump Pros and Cons
Air source heat pumps (ASHPs) have garnered significant attention as an eco-friendly alternative for heating and cooling homes. They extract heat from the outside air, even in cold weather, to heat homes and provide hot water. This technology offers several advantages but also comes with some drawbacks.
PROS
1. Energy Efficiency: ASHPs are highly efficient, often delivering three to four times more energy than they consume. This is because they move heat rather than generate it, making them more efficient than traditional heating systems like boilers and electric heaters.
2. Reduced Carbon Footprint: By using electricity, often from renewable sources, ASHPs lower the carbon emissions associated with home heating. This is crucial in the context of climate change and the global push for greener energy solutions.
3. Lower Heating Costs: Over time, the efficiency of ASHPs can translate into lower heating bills, especially when replacing conventional electric, oil, or coal heating systems.
4. Cooling Function: In addition to heating, ASHPs can cool homes during warmer months, working like an air conditioner but often more efficiently.
5. Government Incentives: Many regions offer incentives, such as tax credits or rebates, for installing energy-efficient ASHPs, further offsetting the initial investment.
CONS
1. High Initial Cost: Installing an ASHP system can be costly, especially when retrofitting older homes. This includes the cost of the unit and any necessary modifications to the home’s existing heating system.
2. Performance in Extreme Cold: While ASHPs can operate in cold weather, their efficiency drops as the temperature falls. In freezing climates, supplementary heating might be necessary, reducing the overall benefit.
3. Noise Level: Some ASHP units can be noisy, which might be a concern in densely populated areas or for homes where outdoor units are near living spaces.
4. Aesthetic Impact: The external unit of an ASHP can be large and may not blend well with the building’s exterior aesthetics.
5. Requires Electricity: While more efficient, ASHPs still rely on electricity, which can be a downside in areas with high electricity prices or frequent power outages.
While air source heat pumps offer an efficient and environmentally friendly option for home heating and cooling, they also require a significant initial investment. They may not be ideal in all climates or settings. The decision to install an ASHP should be based on individual circumstances, including local climate, the current heating system, and financial considerations.
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#heatpump #homeimprovement #heating
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25 Comments
They should also give you a bunch of earplugs for you and your neighbours especially at night.
Does the external Air Source Heat Pump ice up when still above air freezing, because its body is intrinsically colder due to heat transfer to the house inside (exact opposite to the warm rear of a fridge) ? Can southern placements or wind-break louvred cupboards not help ?
As a roads engineer dealing with winter road maintenance, I have always said that the UK temperature fluctuating above and below freezing point daily, make coping worse than in Scandinavia.
Midwinter is often -2 overnight and +5 daytime, so we slightly freeze overnight, then partially thaw during the day – after thawing by sun or salt this surface water may run to drains, but if any salt used is diluted and brine is still lying as drains are blocked with slush, or unsalted water does not evaporate, it can ice up again at night, even if no more precipitation.
Well done to Roger for continuing to have an open mind. A big well done to John for leading the way and doing what you've done. Hopefully you get sorted.
And in the words of Roy Keane, Adam is doing his job.
Just picking up on a comment Roger made about gas boiler servicing. I took out a service contract with Worcester Bosch 7 years ago to look after my boiler. All was well for the first few years when they sent out WB technicians who seemed to do a proper job of the servicing. More recently I have been getting white-van plumbers who just stick a probe in the flue and put the cover back on. Each year the cost of this "service" has been increasing at more than the rate of inflation so this year I cancelled the contract. I feel like I have been taken for a ride.
See our follow-up video with Adam from Heat Geek: https://youtu.be/1rKNT7-42J0?si=lLdm5_o4P8s3jBoJ
And underlying this, electricity is 3 times the price of gas per kWh! Heating oil price has been dropping this month and I filled my tank in the summer at a price almost the same as gas (ca. 10 kWh/litre).
NEWS FLASH. Shoddy design and shoddy installation results in an unsatisfactory system.
I had a heat pump hot water system and a multipsplit heat pump with five inside units fitted six years ago. The only problem that I had was that I didn't realise that the light on one of the inside units had been turned off by the remote. A service call under warranty solved the problem. Proper design and proper installation results in a well working system.
Most of the comments here seem to be from people who already have heat pumps. For those who don't, the video suggests heat pumps frequently are (if owners were honest) a disaster vs existing gas boilers i.e. on the comparators of installation and servicing costs, stress and lack of knowledgeable and available service providers. Throwing more taxpayer eco grants in this direction doesn't seem like a very good idea until there's an industry infrastructure available to support it.
Interesting, I bought an 18th century farm in Sweden last year, the main house currently has a wood fired system, it works really well, heating the house beautifully with 70 0dd degree water, but, I need to be at home and load it three or four times a day when it´s cold which as you can imagine can be a bit of a pain, we have a guesthouse on a seperate system that is heated by burning grain, similar to a pellet or wood chip burner but converted for water damaged grain that I then dry with fans, this system is a bit more automated but I still have to service the burning unit once a week during winter and have to fill up the grain bunker as and when required so I am looking to install heat pumps within a hybrid system just to take care of that base heat level and boost when required. Being a Brit living in Sweden I found it hard to get the information I wanted but watching this video has made me confident I am thinking along the right path. Thanks mate! If you have any opinions on my setup I would love to hear them
I moved in last year to an old house it has no cavity walls let alone insulation, I ran the air pump for about two weeks according to my smart meter I was consuming 0.90 pence an hr and it wasn’t that hot, I’m a pensioner living off state pension I really can’t afford that, my housing manager told me I’d be breaching my contract if I didn’t have the heating on, I now get by with an oil radiator on half power at .30 pence an hr I huddle up in my sleeping bag and a fleece to keep warm at night, air pump heating is noisy, I also figure that it’s using the immersion heater to top up in the winter, not very economical in my opinion .
What a fiasco….just run a simple, easy to use boiler….
i live in NZ and have had two properties with heat pumps. Log burner was our best heat source. You would need an expensive full blown system if you wanted comfortable heat. The house needs to be heavily insulated too, not a cheap way to heat your house
Hi Roger, I’m really glad you interview people with real experience rather than theoretical discussions. I’m also a similar age (probably a bit older) than you. I have a reasonably well insulated house and a 7 year old super efficient boiler Ideal Vogue 40HE, running on opentherm with an Evohome zoned setup. I’ve looked at solar panels and heat pumps and concluded I’d be long dead before any remote chance of payback. I’ll save more money buy running my current heating for the next 20 years if I’m lucky enough to last that long. I wish the government came clean about this, especially with older people, the investment in heat pump technology is not worth it. Why are they not investing in alternative low cost heating which suits the British weather? I believe Worcester Bosch did a successful conversion to Hydrogen where the cost of converting boilers was a fraction of the cost of heat pumps. They should s-end their effort on researching lower cost alternatives which are a lot less complex.
If your heating is on a thermostat then the boiler will turn itself on and off to maintain the preset temperature. The thermostat must be positioned correctly – either in the hall or the room most used. Radiator thermostatic valves help control room temperature as well. It really should be set and forget
Hmmm… since heat pumps work by producing constant heat, I wonder if it's actually more suitable as a under-floor system rather than the radiator system. More surface area, more material mass to warm up, which will take longer to warm initially but once it's at temp, the heat pump shouldn't have a problem maintaining….
Would be very interested for Patrick Harvey to view this video and comment on it!
Total waste of money. Cost a fortune…and will never pay for themselves.
What's the point if you need a backup
New Buildings; HP yes, property designed around it. Existing maybe, be aware of the limitations.
My understanding is that Sweden has used heat pumps in a big way for 20 years. A video talking to a group of h.p. users in Sweden might be illuminating.
The biggest mistake a potential heat-pump owner can make is listening to YouTube double-glazing salesmen pushing gas boilers. Heat pumps are mature technology in some of the coldest regions of northern Europe. We've been living with a 20-year-old ground-source heat pump for over 10 years now. It still works fine and doesn't need any servicing. Yes, it gets noisy in the utility room every hour or two for about 10 minutes, but with basic sound insulation, barely noticeable in the rest of the house. Air-source heat pumps work fine too in cold Scandinavian countries, but not in Britain? Nor do they depend on wind direction, for goodness sake! But this guy knows better, does he? Really? BS!
Basically we're guinea pigs. Also in UK we generate electricity with coal and gas and nuclear, that's a bit ironic isn't it
Climate change net zero is all bollocks
only a fool gets heat pumps always looking to save money heat pumps for the poor fool's
He has much, much more patience and tolerance than I could have.