Ooh I would love underfloor! I assume they've looked at every possible insulating solution? Even lining the inner walls? Such a shame that they've had to resort to a wood burner after all that. A good, ethical, installer wouldn't install in a house with a poor heat loss calculation result so it's strange that they've had that problem
I wonder if the noise you're hearing is the pump indoors rather than the ASHP? Ours is a Vaillant 5k, and the warp drive sound we can hear is the pump in the attic - the same one that was there when we had gas
I think it is the pump indoors which is in the airing cupboard; it's noisier than the outside pump. This is something that I was not aware of at the beginning. It's a Grant heat pump system. It wasn't cheap, even with the £5000 government grant.
We also still use the wood burner on the coldest evenings. Works well with our under floor system though but we do have a high ceiling in the sitting room which means more heat is needed so we do need the wood burner at times.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
We had to have a detailed inspection to ensure the house was super-insulated etc before we got the Scottish govt. grant. We do have a lot of glass in the house but it is triple glazing. We do have underfloor heating throughout the house, and the ASHP system works well with it. It is our choice to have the temperature set to 21C throughout the house. Downstairs is mostly open plan, and the lounge is a double height room so it doesn't feel too hot. We do have a whole house ventilation system with heat recovery, so it isn't ever sweltering. We are in Scotland and in a frost pocket, it got down to -12.5C in December, but we were nice and warm inside.
Solar with a battery wouldn't work here as we are in a river valley and the house/garden gets little sunlight during the winter months. We did get a quote, and the payback was 20 years!
Bee x
Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
We had an ASHP put in when we had this bungalow renovated and extended in 2019-20 when we moved over from England. The decision was an easy one because the oil boiler (no gas) was ancient and the oil tank had sprung a leak. (The first winter was a bit of a trial, with no fixed heating - we survived with 3 electric heaters for the whole house. And a lot of clothes!) It took a long while before the new system was operational because it turned out the house needed re-plumbing as well as re-wiring. Holes in walls in every room... In order to qualify for a grant we had to double our loft insulation to a foot, and have 4" of external insulation fitted. Our living area thermostat is set to 20 by day, 19 at night; bedrooms are 19 by day and 18 at night. We were advised not to lower the nighttime temperature by more than a degree or so from the daytime setting, or the ASHP would have to work too hard to bring the temperature up in the morning, and would actually use more electricity than maintaining it at around the same setting for the whole 24 hours (in a well-insulated house).
We had PV panels and a battery installed this Feb, the Irish government having seen sense and just introduced a feed-in tariff for the excess electricity produced. So far we've had up to three quarters of our energy needs (we're all electric) covered by solar. Still waiting for the electricity board to install our smart meter so we get the feed-in tariff though.
All this is expensive. But if you have savings it can make sense as an investment - lowering your fuel costs substantially and improving the resale value of your home.
Edited to add: there's a flower bed a couple of metres from the pump fan. It makes things flower a bit later, and blows them about a bit, but it's not cold enough here, generally, to worry the plants.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Presumably ASHP has the same issue as solar and wind, in that they are weather condition dependent. As I understand it, ASHP extract heat from the air and move it into the house. If the temperature outside is low surely there must be less energy available to extract, or am I missing something.
@Liriodendron were you given any estimate of the payback time for PV panels, with and without feed-in tariff. Also, how long will the feed in tariff be guaranteed for? From what I've read over the years the UK government set the feed in tariff high to encourage people to install panels, then cut it drastically.
I'm over 70 now so can't see any of the renewables providing effective payback at a level which would encourage me to use my savings on it. A couple of weeks in the sun to recharge my own batteries is far more appealing.
You'd think there would be less heat to extract when the outside temperature is low, @KT53, but the ASHP still manages to heat this house to 20C even when it's below freezing outside. I think you need someone like @raisingirl to explain the science - it's certainly beyond me. Edited to say: it obviously must take more energy to extract the heat when it's very cold outside, and therefore costs more to run at that time. I know, but don't pretend to understand, that an ASHP typically is 300% efficient...
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Yes, all the firms we contacted who gave us estimates for PV payback gave us an estimate of the payback time. Payback will take a bit longer with the system we chose because it includes a battery, which is expensive, but allows us to use that stored energy at times when the sun isn't shining. 12 years was the estimate from the company we used - so we'll be in our 80s by the time it's paying back... but it was a "green" decision to do this, not just a financial one. We have children and grandchildren, and feel since we could afford this, we should do so, in order to do our (little) bit for the future of the planet.
We just cross our fingers regarding the feedback tariff, to be honest. No point trying to second guess any government decisions...
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
... but it was a "green" decision to do this, not just a financial one. We have children and grandchildren, and feel since we could afford this, we should do so, in order to do our (little) bit for the future of the planet.
That's just what we thought.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
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We also still use the wood burner on the coldest evenings. Works well with our under floor system though but we do have a high ceiling in the sitting room which means more heat is needed so we do need the wood burner at times.
We do have underfloor heating throughout the house, and the ASHP system works well with it.
It is our choice to have the temperature set to 21C throughout the house. Downstairs is mostly open plan, and the lounge is a double height room so it doesn't feel too hot.
We do have a whole house ventilation system with heat recovery, so it isn't ever sweltering.
We are in Scotland and in a frost pocket, it got down to -12.5C in December, but we were nice and warm inside.
Solar with a battery wouldn't work here as we are in a river valley and the house/garden gets little sunlight during the winter months. We did get a quote, and the payback was 20 years!
Bee x
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
We had PV panels and a battery installed this Feb, the Irish government having seen sense and just introduced a feed-in tariff for the excess electricity produced. So far we've had up to three quarters of our energy needs (we're all electric) covered by solar. Still waiting for the electricity board to install our smart meter so we get the feed-in tariff though.
All this is expensive. But if you have savings it can make sense as an investment - lowering your fuel costs substantially and improving the resale value of your home.
Edited to add: there's a flower bed a couple of metres from the pump fan. It makes things flower a bit later, and blows them about a bit, but it's not cold enough here, generally, to worry the plants.
Edited to say: it obviously must take more energy to extract the heat when it's very cold outside, and therefore costs more to run at that time. I know, but don't pretend to understand, that an ASHP typically is 300% efficient...
We just cross our fingers regarding the feedback tariff, to be honest. No point trying to second guess any government decisions...