heat pump installation

[han7681]

hi

I have leased the business unit and am considering install a heat pump.

What is the price range and is it efficient , compared to a gas boiler?

Does anyone have any experience?

and am I eligible to claim a government grant as a tenant?

welcomes any advice and experience

thanks

 

[HFE Signs]

Heat pumps don't generate anything like the heat you get from a conventional boiler, for this reason they are not suitable to all buildings. You need a survey where your heat losses can be calculated, then you'll see what options you have.

 

[WaveJumper]

Unless you have a new build you're wasting your time, have a plumber in the family installed six in a clients rental portfolio (against his advice I should add) the guy has had to rip them all out and put boilers back in to the level of complaints from his tenants.

 

[MikeJ]

Why do you say that? Is it because you need good insulation for it to be effective?

 

[WaveJumper]

Apparently so, heat pumps don't apparently operate at the same high temps as a boiler so if your house is "leaking" heat like a sieve i guess you're never going to feel warm, which was apparently the case this guy had. Another issue apparently another client experienced after insisting on placing the unit down the side of their house several feet away from the property next door then due to the noise have had to move unit and re route all the pipe work

 

[MikeJ]

That's interesting. We've underfloor heating in a 4 year old house (radiators upstairs though), and I've wondered if a heatpump would be suitable for us. We've also got a pretty big garden, so a ground heat system may be worth investigating. The boiler is (obviously) only for years old, so I'd rather get a few more years out of it first.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

My understanding is they work a far lower temperature's than offered by Gas or home fuel, so need to take a long time to warm up the office / home, but left on they work well, therefore the better insulation the quicker the place warms up to comfortable level. My first house had centre consul electric storage heaters which took 24 hours to heat the house, not so good in a sudden cold spell

 

[fisicx]

Just spent the last hour reading up on the different types of heat pumps. It’s complicated.

You need all sorts of prerequisites for them to work efficiently and they can get very expensive. And you may still need a water heater.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

As already stated Unless the building is designed to be heated by this method or your are a leftie it will be a waste of time

 

[WaveJumper]

Another dream our government are trying to sell that they appear to know nothing about, I bet there's a strong heat pump lobby group who have a warehouse full of kit they cant get ride of ....... god I am getting so cynical in my old age.

Over dinner last night "dad why you not got a smart meter yet" hang on a moment you both have them, one works but you never look at it and the other has not recorded anything since it was installed, think ill just keep reading the meters myself

 

[DontAsk]

It's damp proofing and insulation all over again. It's cowboy installers who don't know what they are doing or clients who won't take no for an answer when told a great pump isn't suitable.

 

[IanSuth]

Another dream our government are trying to sell that they appear to know nothing about, I bet there's a strong heat pump lobby group who have a warehouse full of kit they cant get ride of ....... god I am getting so cynical in my old age.

Over dinner last night "dad why you not got a smart meter yet" hang on a moment you both have them, one works but you never look at it and the other has not recorded anything since it was installed, think ill just keep reading the meters myself

EON keep ringing me trying to arrange an install

When i say, you do realise the current meters are in what was the understairs cupboard reached by climbing through a kitchen cupboard and are in the centre of the extended house in which i don't get any mobile signal downstairs at all, so just how will they send their reading and if they don't will you relocate them at your expense (including the gas piping on to the boiler) they say they will check and then never ring me back.

Back in the late 70's (oil crisis time) my dad had an electric meter on a board with a trailing lead and 2 sockets. It was moved around the house measuring what used what and us kids were berated over leaving doors open or how much power the tv used if left on etc etc - I don't need a "smart" meter to tell me anything that involves heating or cooling water (or damp air) uses a lot of energy