2 years living with a heat pump - any regrets?

[@fmulleady]

Those differences are so marginal. The payback time is the issue. Even with the grant, acquisition and conversion costs can be very expensive. It's the same with solar panels because of the significant outlay initially. Not everyone can afford that. It's the same forcing people into EVs. Not everyone can afford them. We need proper government policies to address these inequalities. Reducing your carbon footprint is a privilege many can't afford. P.S. I still admire your principles and what you've done with your lovely Victorian property.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi fmulleady, thanks for engaging with the video. Your comment makes me a think a few things.... I agree that grants and subsidy are not sufficient to facilitate change for most people, and we need change in energy levies that currently subsidise gas over electricity to see payback improved. And I agree we need a better government to help with the transition. There are several organisations that are now offering heat pumps after the grant at the same price as a gas boiler. Your point about EVs, I agree they are unaffordable for most of us, partly because most of us don't buy new cars, I never have, we are reliant on the second hand market, which is growing for EVs. And will get bigger and cheaper over the years. EVs are cheaper to run and maintain so one day, this will be good for us. I would challenge that reducing your carbon footprint is a privilege many can't afford... the main responsibility for CO2 is industry and the wealthiest, those that can afford to fly around the world, that have big homes with big energy demands, that drive around in big cars, that consume more stuff, it is for those with the biggest shoulders to bare the biggest load in terms of CO2 reduction. And those who have less disposable income, we should help to reduce costs, improve homes and their insulation etc. The world needs to reduce emissions, and we should do our best to reduce as much as possible at our homes, communities, work places etc Thanks Tom

[@fmulleady]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle I totally agree that we should still change our behaviours. Small things become big things collectively, point accepted. Still a lot of public policy change and new economic thinking needed though. I still admire what you've achieved and the sincerity of your video

[@kennethmaley2443]

So you mean all the delegates that fly to COP meetings and expect every body, other than them to cut they carbon footprint hypocrist do as l say not as l do.

[@garymenezes6888]

I find the Return of investment (ROI) argument strange. Most people already have heat pumps in their house, in the back of their fridges and freezers, do they expect an ROI on those items. When they purchase a new gas boiler do they expect an ROI on that. I agree buying these goods is expensive for most people, It makes more sense for them to switch, when their gas boiler dies, or is near the end of it's life.

[@JSM-bb80u]

EVs would achieve price parity with gas cars next year according to Goldman Sachs.

[@Xanthopteryx]

A tip if you have the space: When you have electricity prices tied to time, like hourly prices (i have that here in Sweden), then you should install large water tanks. A bit depending of the size and heat need but think at least one cubic meter. Then a pump that is connected and knows the prices per time unit. This makes it possible to heat a lot of water when it is cheap, and then use that hot water to heat the home during the rest of the period. Often it is cheaper during night as an example, and then it will run like hell during that time, and then shut off during expensive day time. To refine even more, you could tie it to weather forecast and outside temperature to find the sweep spot where the outside temperature makes it more beneficial to run since is is more efficient in high temperatures compared to cheap electricity price. This is just basic math so really not difficult at all although manufacturer have not stepped into this game yet, so you have to build it yourself. Basing on electricity prices, here there are available solutions already.

[@iamjesper]

Funderar på att skaffa en luft luftvärmepump som komplement till fjärrvärmen, och koppla den till när spotpriset är lågt. Vad finns det för utrustning som kan sköta detta?

[@Xanthopteryx]

@@iamjesper Mycket bra fråga. Generellt rekommenderar jag Mitsubishi. Min erfarenhet av deras luft-luft är att de är jäkligt bra och har väldigt tysta uteenheter. Har du räknat på vad du betalar per kwh värme på fjärrvärmen? Tänk på att du bör även kompensera till viss del för temperaturen ute då luft-luft inte är lika effektiv vid -20 som vid 0. Kolla vad exempelvis Mitsubishi har att erbjuda? Sedan kan du ju säkert hitta andra system som kan styra pumpen som en fjärrkontroll, eller bygga en egen med raspberry pi eller motsvarande.

[@dpn1604]

Terraced house... 50% less external walls! 3 of our neighbours across the road jumped on the heat pump bandwagon (detached, 1930, no insulation) and are now fuming after freezing their behinds off last 2 winters. They are all now insulating their houses. Insulate your house first, external walls, underfloor, loft! Effectiveness before efficiency. The most efficient energy tarrif is the one you don't have to pay.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi dpn1604, thanks for the comment. Absolutely, we are sharing some heat with our neighbours, we live on a hill so we have 2.75 external walls but the point still stands. We are told that heat pumps can't work in old homes but our 1870s terrace has a heat pump that works well. Sounds like the systems weren't designed or installed well. If installed correctly, a heat pump can heat any building. But insulation is great, improve comfort, reduced costs, reduced emissions - win win. And yes, many homes need insulation, but how much insulation? Our house has double glazing and loft insulation and a fairly modern extension. If we have to insulate to passivhaus standards before installing a heat pump then we will slow the transition down significantly. We need to insulate buildings but need to be reasonable in how drastic this needs to be. Thanks for engaging with the video Tom

[@mateo_dequ]

and it will only be worse when demand for electricity will increase due to EVs popularity and more and more ppl jumping on heat pomp nonsense. I got good thermal insulation, good condensing boiler and few other eco options which mainstream media dont tell you about and I'm loughing at the bills.

[@sharonthomas7284]

​@@mateo_dequ why demand in electricity? Most systems recommend solar power

[@polaris7122]

@@sharonthomas7284 hahahaha, have you seen the sun lately????

[@sharonthomas7284]

@@polaris7122 don't need sunshine, just daylight

[@aaronvallejo8220]

Great real time economic data! Thank you! Here in Canada some spend $2,500 for natural gas per winter. We invested in 3" going to 4.5" foam in the perimeter walls and 2" in the basement and floor. We then used our tiny wood stove daily so our electricity was $224 in Jan and $194 in Feb 2024. Next year we are getting a $15,000 air sourced heat pump and year after solar PV along the fence.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Sounds like a big bit of refurbishment and I suspect it will mean a much more comfortable home!

[@aaronvallejo8220]

@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Yes indeed it was a deep gutting and renovation for low energy high comfort. Well worth the cost and big effort.

[@billkingdom5038]

Thank you Tom. I am 18months in my heat pumps. We fully renovated a Georgian Iron Stone home with wall, roof insulation and new fenestrations replacing the old oil boiler with 2 x Stiebel Eltron 14kW air source heat pumps. Love it now I am comfortable with how they work and even though electricity bills are steep they still cost less than if I was using Oil like we used to do and we are warm. More importantly we are well into double digit Carbon tonnage reduction...

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Fantastic to hear Bill - I think there are a lot of opportunities for savings moving from oil to heat pumps. My mother-in-law is in a similar situation, had a heat pump installer who wouldn't even quote for an installation, which is frustrating! My challenge to you is to tell as many people as you can about how it has gone, the struggles, the learning curve but also the art of the possible! Thanks for commenting!

[@salibaba]

😳😳28kW demand! That must be a mansion, or a hotel! In seriousness, I suppose the walls are very leaky (heat)

[@Nailnuke]

You said it. Oil ! It is hugely expensive. Gas is nowhere near the same price so you can't compare gas boiler costs. Sounds like your total installation costs, including insulation & water heating would have been huge, around £100,000. If you had gone from using gas, your outlay payback time, taking into account gas boiler replacement and fuel savings over the period would be somewhere in the region of 233years ! But of course in that 233 years you would need many more heat pumps. Which means payback time would become exponential

[@m.dm.d6790]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle hi what happened to your boiler you forgot to mention ?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

@@m.dm.d6790 hi m.dm.d6790, the boiler was scrapped. What else would we have done with it?

[@MarkGaudie]

DUDE!!! I didn’t know your hometown was Southport? Mike Simon commissioned our Heat pump installation. I live in Crosby now, but are used to live in Southport near the football ground on Forest Road. I am more than happy with our heat pump. I ended up installing all my own solar PV and home battery, saves me an absolute fortune!!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Love it! Yeah I was in Sowie from ‘98 to 2008, went to Norward, Birkdale, KGV but then left for Uni and never came back…! Was there for a mate’s wedding in June. Had a message from Mike about one of my videos and then a 45 minute call to help check my settings. Top bloke! Loved making the Southport connection. Pleased to hear about your system. It’s the future!

[@TonyTheNerd]

Well, I wasn't expecting that - it certainly goes against what we keep hearing about HP's not working well enough to heat the house. Well presented, useful information Tom 👍

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thanks for the comment Tony. I think there’s a lot of disinformation out there so trying to give people an honest case study

[@petercollins7848]

Unless a heat pump is very carefully matched to the properties requirements and that there is good insulation then then heat pumps will be a failure. You have also to factor in the expense of installation £thousands before talking about savings. Then there is the ongoing maintenance and replacement of parts as they wear. A £2000 gas boiler will last 15 or more years and cost roughly the same to replace when it fails. Also no one knows that when people come to sell their homes that a prospective purchaser will want to take on all those responsibilities for the future. It may deter many from looking at the property.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Peter, thanks again for all your comments, can you explain why a heat pump would not be matched to a property's requirements? Our insulation is fairly standard in an 1870s terrace, the heat pump is performing well. I have been fairly clear in my videos that the priority is not financial savings but the significant CO2 savings, why do you keep commenting about £? I would be much more interested in buying a property with a heat pump than with a dirty fossil gas boiler. Happy to have a conversation off KZbin about all this Peter, it sounds like you are very angry about other people reducing emissions!@@petercollins7848

[@petercollins7848]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle I think that I said that a ASHP should be ‘very carefully matched to the properties requirements’ in all my comments, which is absolutely right. Also I have said that I am all for cutting pollution and CO2, but it must be done in attainable and practical ways that does not damage people’s pockets or put them in a worse situation than they would be if they kept their gas boilers. So that is why the good but also the bad aspects of installing a heat pump needs pointing out. Time will tell if heat pumps are a long term viable solution to people’s heating needs. It is far too early to just claim ‘success’ at this stage and point in time. In fact there is emerging a lot of evidence that many people are regretting having an ASHP fitted and are having to resort to supplementary heating or face large electricity bills.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

I would be thrilled if you could share that evidence...? Heat pumps are not new, how long do they need to work until you would be happy? 2 years isn't enough? Casting doubt like this is exactly what slows the process, and doubt without evidence!@@petercollins7848

[@DarthCoco]

A very genuine clear, and interesting analysis, for what I am studying!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Great stuff - pleased it can be of help! What are you studying? I touched upon heat pumps in my engineering degree 15 years ago, but I didn’t get their significance back then

[@DarthCoco]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle I am studying a new degree called Sustainable Built Environments!

[@Juan_lauda]

A saving of £200 a year when the upfront costs are double that of a boiler means it will take at least 10 years to pay for itself. At least.

[@chrisfletcher86]

Seems like the real win is if you have solar panels, at least until install costs are similar

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Selbalamir and Chris, apologies I missed this comment a couple of week's ago. A few things, yes costs are reduced even further if supported by Solar Panels, or a subscription to an organisation like Ripple Energy. My situation is a bit different to most, we are told in the media that heat pumps will increase costs, and that they don't work in old homes. Well we live in a 1870s terrace, and are happy with the warmth delivered by a heat pump, and our costs have been decreased from a gas boiler. Yes, there is not a return on investment in a simple sense, but counting the wider impact on the investment - increased house value, we are more comfortable now, improved air quality outside our back door, AND, importantly for all of us, reduced CO2 emissions. What is all that worth in terms of payback? Thanks Tom

[@tenforward7485]

It’s not worth anything, those are all subjective, you can’t ignore the payback time and justify it with subjective benefits because the payback period represents amortisation of the capital cost which itself is merely a representation of embodied energy input and most of the time carbon was produced to produce the energy. A better way of representing the benefits would be to use a model that projects the closing of the gap between electricity cost and gas cost to the consumer. There will come a time where heat pumps will be a better choice than gas boilers but that time is not now and if we pretend that it is, it will only muddy the waters and produce poor investment decisions at a national and personal level.

[@chesshooligan1282]

Double? Try four times more, that is, unless you get the government grant of five grand. It's nice when someone else pays for your stuff, innit? Theft may be immoral -- more immoral than tiny carbon emirssions -- but who cares about that when you can virtue signal about saving the planet?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

HI @@tenforward7485 I would suggest you are working under the economic paradigm that has got us into this mess, where cost is more important that value. But yes, we could produce a model on the future costs of gas and electricity, we could campaign for changes to energy levies, we could ask for better grants or better finance, we could wait for heat pump prices to come down, we could wait for policy on carbon tax etc etc. Waiting isn't sufficient to respond to climate change. We do not have the time, so even if the traditional payback model isn't perfect, I am going to still encourage people to explore getting heat pumps. All the best Tom

[@markgilder9990]

I dropped my boiler temperature to 45 deg and set the over night temp to 18.5deg and the day time temp to 20deg and that keeps th house. Very cozy. That is using a lot less energy compared to last year.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Love that! And you’re proving a heat pump could work at your house, especially now it’s got cold!

[@SvenLippens1]

Don't forget the cost associated with installing a heat pump vs gas boiler. Same with solar and batteries, the energy isn't 'free'. You pay for it when you pay for the installation and should calculate the payback period or cost/kWh over the lifespan for it. I don't know which subsidies are in place where you are at but it would be interesting to me to know the payback period for the installation. Nonetheless good explanation and heat pumps are the way to go.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Sven - thanks for commenting, of course there is a capital investment to install a heat pump or solar PV or a battery. There would also be a capital investment, and ongoing emissions, to install a gas boiler, that we should also count. The costs for our installation we £11k, currently the government has a £5k subsidy so it would have cost us £6k to install our system, let's assume we weren't going to install a new gas boiler but let our system limp on for several years and compare with an old gas boiler. An older boiler would have an efficiency much less than the 95% I used in my calculation, so the savings would be higher vs gas. My savings around around £200 for this year (noting, last year we broke even rather than saved), so 'payback' could be estimated to be around 30years. A solar PV system could cost around £6k as well, a battery, another £5k, there are no subsidies on these, but would offer a more attractive return than a heat pump system because electricity is much more expensive. The key thing for all this is how much do we value decarbonising? If we have the resource to install any of this technology is it worth just the savings we make, or do we count the investment in a property, or the impact we have on the world around us? What should we be counting and how do we value it? I am thrilled to have reduced my emissions linked to heat by 1.5 tonnes per year. How much is that worth to me and future generations... priceless!

[@Xanthopteryx]

Also consider that the gas prices WILL go up. I can promise that. And sooner or later it will be forbidden, just like coal. Although UK seems to live decades behind Sweden on this sense - we removed coal as heating like, so long ago so it is ridiculous, and oil has been steadily going down extremely fast and less than 1% of Swedish households heat by oil now. It is biofuel for some and the rest mostly go by heat pump or district heating. There is no reason at all continuing with the gas heaters at home. It is actually better to burn that in a powerplant to create electricity so you can run your heat pump! It will save a hell of a lot of energy! And then use the leftover heat from that powerplant in district heating and save even more.

[@BluntyBlue-e1l]

My council giving us one for free is that worth getting

[@Eriuqsrednef]

@@SvenLippens1 Just remember, a boiler uses gas & that is cheaper than Electricity. A boiler can last 20 years & more if looked after. The best boilers were the old floor standing types & Combi types too. But how long will it be before Heat pumps, refrigerant Solar Panels etc need replacing & how much more will it cost your pocket & will you have paid the last new install back yet. Plus I hear its not all plain sailing with selling back to the grid, especially as more wind farms are in use. So have you looked at the overall picture or just the immediate one.

[@kalshinken1168]

Hi Tom, a very interesting video and great to hear your getting on with your heat pump. I have pushed for the full setup of heat pump, solar PV and battery and I am getting very significant savings as you have mentioned. As I also have a electric car I am using the Octopus intelligent tariff and have been optimizing my energy use on appliances and when the heat pump heats the water tank i.e. timing the cheaper energy tariff over night and using solar during the day. What is also worth mentioning is that we don't use gas for cooking so the gas was previously only for the boiler, so once we got a heat pump the house is gas free and I no longer needed a gas meter so I don't get charged the standing fee for having a gas meter so that's another saving there.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Kalshinken1168 - fantastic to hear your story, you have basically done it all, the end goal! A very low carbon, low cost home!! Is there anything left to do? Is there anything you would do differently if you had a second chance? Thanks for engaging with the video!

[@kalshinken1168]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Hi Tom, in my case I had been fortunate to be able to gradually upgrade my house over a number of years starting from 2014 taking advantage of various government incentive grants such as home insulation and solar PV feed in tariff, rather than having to pay and do it all at once. So I can honestly say there's very little I would do differently given the technology that were available at the time. The only thing I can do differently is more a result of improving technology such as higher efficiency home batteries such as Tesla power wall or Myenergi Libby which was not available at the time. I plan to add additional battery's to cover the winter period when there is less solar and use more of the cheaper EV Tariffs rates. There were a number of benefits that came with the solar pv and heat pump which I didn't know I would get such as my home is now energy grade A rated which improves the value of my house and solar pv means my house is black out proof.

[@philipbroggio9315]

Hi Tom, Love this video this is great to dispel the naysayers and FUD we are experiencing atm. I am a year behind you but to backup what you have found I did not freeze in Dec 22 !! Our stats were were Heating 2667kwh ==> 9682 kWh (sCOP = 3.64) DHW 532kWh==> 1270KWh(sCOP = 2.39). We also have solar but no battery so we used further 867kWh using Eddi diverter 68% of which was free ! Our average cost of electricity was 24.5 p/kWh as we used roughly 50% at night rate on GO Faster. One thing you could have factored into your video is not paying the gas standing charge so saving a further £129 on top of the usage charges . WE are now looking forward to Ripple 2 savings like you and considering the final step of a battery. Keep the videos coming . Thank you

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Philip - fantastic stuff! Great to hear your experience and see your figures. Brill to see a heat pump supported by solar PV, it just makes sense! We aren't gas free at the moment as still have a gas hob, and still paying the standing charge... we'll get there one day! Thanks for commenting, appreciate the support!

[@petercollins7848]

Sounds like you are spending a fortune to save a bit. I am not against these heat pumps and other new technologies - far from it, for I love technology and have all sorts of ‘gadgets’ around the house. But the major point is, that unless these technologies can be afforded by the millions of poorer people in this country then they simply will not be adopted. Millions can hardly afford to live already in this ‘rip off’ country - they are certainly not going to spend tens of thousands of pound on an experiment! ( Not saying the technology doesn’t work, it does, but not always in every situation).

[@Xanthopteryx]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyleWhy do you still use a gas stove? Any special reason? Bad for the health and not that efficient - not very efficient at all in fact - compared to a modern induction stove.

[@willeisinga2089]

I have a Heatpump for 12 years now. A little math. I payd 250 a month 3000 a year in 2012. Rooftop Solar, Inductioncooking Heatpump 60 degrees, No gas Rooftop Power no Energybill for 12 years. Is a savings of 36.000 euro. Over a period of 12 years. And that is not All. I let a House same System. Rooftop Solar, Inductioncooking Heatpump Therma V Monoblock 60 degrees. Cost 3575 euro subsidie 3075 euro. No gas Rooftop Solar, Savings again 3000 euro a year. Makes a savings of 72.000 savings with two Houses No Gas no Energybill. ❤👍🌹 Thank you for this video. Greetings from Groningen Nederland.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thanks for sharing your context, great to hear of a success story like that from over in Netherlands!

[@willeisinga2089]

@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Hello Tom. It Works. At the moment it is freezing and snowing here. Stone Cold. And the whole house warm. With LG Therma V Monoblock 60 degrees Heatpump on the radiators. Rooftop Solar Inductioncooking. No Gas. Kitchen Boiler 125 euro and bathroom boiler 175 euro. It is really very simple to do. I have it since 2012 and replaced the old Heatpump 60 degrees for a LG Therma V Monoblock 9 KW 60 degrees. Did it myself and a professional for Electricity connection and Thermostate. A plug in job. And apply for subsidie 3075 euro. The LG cost 3575. Check LG Therma V Aircoplaza Zwolle. Thank You.👍🌹👍🌹🌹🌹🌞🙋

[@Lewis_Standing]

I'm getting my airex smart airbrick installed soon, and then will get quotes for a heat pump. Hopefully by reducing heat loss I won't have to upgrade the pipes. Happy to get larger radiators to heat the house more effectively but don't want to ruin my flooring by changing all the pipes. Might have to anyway 🤷 Looking forward to getting rid of gas. I suspect my usage might be similar to yours, similar property type in Whitley Bay with similar gas use per year, so hopefully get similarly great results.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Great stuff - would be interested to hear about your Airex experience and whether you notice any difference. We didn't change any pipework in our house but that may be a reason our efficiency is limited to some extent. Would be great to hear how you get on in the medium term!

[@Lewis_Standing]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle my wood floors are freezing so I hope so!

[@petercollins7848]

Hope that you have taken into consideration the costs of installation before claiming any ‘savings’, also if it doesn’t work and if you take the government grant there is no going back to a gas boiler without paying the grant back!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Peter, I can assure you Lewis is very much taking to account all the costs and risks associated with installing a heat pump, he is following the facts and making a good decision. Rather than trolling people on youtube....@@petercollins7848

[@petercollins7848]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Not ‘trolling’ at all! Just offering good advice. Lots of people if you look at the comments are finding problems with heat pump installations and the costs associated with them. It is common sense to look at the subject objectively.

[@milesripley8839]

Amazingly produced video. Using this for a essay for my degree as a experience of someone with a air source heat pump. Really helped!!!!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thanks Miles - pleased I can be of some help! Where and what are you studying?

[@hvacdesignsolutions]

Glad you're breaking even on the Heat Pump, but solar is expensive, especially solar batteries. It would be nice if the Govt introduced some domestic carbon credit to households who've adopted renewable energy. I think there would be a bigger uptake of HP systems, if they did.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi heatingdesignservices - yes I think there is a lot government could improve upon in helping households decarbonise. As we electrify heat and transport, I think there is a case for solar that would payback in a relatively short time, but if we don't have the capital in the bank to invest in the 1st place many would struggle. I think there are interesting loan schemes in Italy and Ireland that help with investment and / or give tax breaks on the cost of investment. There are a lot of creative ways we can subsidise the transition!

[@Burtis89]

Loooong term low monthly payment 0% or low interest rate so they get a little back green gov backed loans on all of it is the only way I reckon. Should be able to buy bundles of insulation, solar, battery and heat pump or any variation of the above. Push the cost of gas up with a green tax to help fund the transition and make it more level in the costs

[@stevenbarrett7648]

Government will never give out decent grants for solar with battery back up as they are primarily funded by oil and big business, it makes no sense to bite the hand that feeds you does it. If the next government offers realistic grants imagine how many people would find new energy jobs, literally thousands in solar equipment manufacturing, installation, maintenance, training the list is endless, what a wonderful world we could live in if those in power would just do their jobs

[@Klaus-777]

Please answer this question. How often do they need serviced and what is the cost? Thank you 🙏

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Klaus - we have had our heat pump serviced once a year, initially this was included in the cost of the installation. Going forward, I do not know! I will find out in the summer...!

[@Klaus-777]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle ok great and thanks :)

[@veneration1]

What about noise levels ? 60 houses in a village are being built next to me (30 metres from house) with these things on. Will I now suffer a drone forever more that I live here ? 60 all at once is so much, especially at night when right now it is silent.

[@Neilukuk]

"The sound safe system ensures that it is hardly audible during operation. With sound power as low as 54 dB(A) the Arotherm plus 3.5, 5, 7 and 12 kW outputs have been accredited with the quiet mark"

[@allanallen1835]

My neighbour about 3 houses away has one and it makes an awful taos hum kind of drone, like a diesel engine ticking over far away, awful.

[@veneration1]

@@allanallen1835 That is what I dread. At the moment the builders leave a water pump on overnight whenever it rains and that creates a dreadful diesel engine ticking over noise too, and that is just one, it may not be a heat pump but it is still the same kind of sound and that is 50 metres away, the houses will start from 30 metres away, 60 of them cramped together in the field. Can I ask how far away is the neighbour of yours with the heat pump ? Is theirs new ?

[@polaris7122]

@@Neilukuk why then did they tell me I had to install a 6 ft solid fence to protect my neighbour from the noise!

[@Neilukuk]

@@polaris7122 I don't know, I got that from their website.

[@adamwilson3064]

Hey Tom, thank you for this video. I am about to start our heat pump journey. We have a 1900s stone house. We are having external wall insulation and bigger radiator and solar panels. Long term plan looks like trying to buy a battery to store energy to offset electric aswell. Thanks for giving me the confidence im making the right choice

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Adam, thanks for the comment, pleased to hear you are starting your journey, and sounds like you are taking a good approach. Hope it goes well, will be thrilled to hear how you get on. All the best Tom

[@davideyres955]

Hi Tom. Interested in how you actually run the heat pump. I’m out for most of the day so I would probably not have the heating on and therefore I would want to know how long it takes to heat the house from cold. The time this takes will likely to be longer with a heat pump vs a boiler due to the delta T.

[@sidperry7748]

That is the question that gets avoided by most , all but one , the nice chap that installs them and is very good at it .

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi David and Sid, it is a good question, and you are right, because we have lower flow temperatures the heat up time is much slower (although if you ran a gas boiler efficiently, it would be lower flow temperatures too). I guess the key is the 'set-back' temperature. If you want it to be 20°C in the morning and evening, then setting the system to 18°C during the day would save on energy use, but mean the system could get back up to the right temperature quickly. If you turned the system off completely during the day then I think it would struggle to reach temperature when required. I'd suggest this could be a bit of trial and error though depending on the house. If the house doesn't have much heat loss, it may hold temperature for most of the day, if it was draughty then it may lose temperature quickly... At least one of us is working from home most of the time, so we tend to have the system running all day, providing a small amount of heat to maintain temperatures, rather than a big load of heat in the morning and evening. The physics of what is happening is interesting... a house with an external temperature of 0°C will lose a certain amount of heat, in our case, around 5 kW. To lift the house internal temperature from 19°C to 20°C at that external temperature would take a certain amount of energy in kWh, that energy doesn't change if you do it quicker, so keeping the house at a constant temperature would use a simialr amount of energy to letting it drop during the day and lifting the temperature when you are in the house... I might do a video on that...>! Tom

[@allthegearuk]

If you have smart controls you can set the temperature you want at a certain time and the system will learn what inputs are required to have the house be that temperature at that time. So easy you get back at 6pm. On a mild day it might start at 5pm but on a cold day it might start at 3pm so the house is 'warm' at 6pm.

[@MikeGleesonazelectrics]

If you're on the Cosy tariff you will want to run the pump during the cheap periods, ie early morning and late afternoon.

[@gazvids]

But what temperature is your house in winter? When it's freezing? How many minutes of hot showers a day do you get?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Usually about 19-20° We have as many showers and baths as we want. Always hot enough. I did a video of a cold snap last year … How did our heat pump cope in a cold snap? Heat pump stats January 24 kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6S4dGt3ls2Nibs

[@o00scorpion00o]

The moral of the story is keep your Gas boiler and save money over very expensive heat pump, after all most electricity is generated with Gas in the first place, Coal, Oil etc. So heat pump makes no sense from an environmental view, unless you got an expensive solar array but then again in Winter that's not much use unless you can export a lot of excess in Summer to the Grid and buy back. I chose another route, Klover pellet boiler stove, delighted with it. I live in an inefficient bungalow and it was by far the cheapest option compared to spending a fortune on insulation and air tightness necessary to justify a heat pump. I get the pellets from a local saw mill here in Ireland which tell me the U.K is their largest market for pellets. The greatest thing about the pellet stove is that the house is much warmer than you'd find the average house with a heat pump.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Scopion - thanks for engaging with the video. Not sure I follow your conclusions... In the UK over half of electricity is generated from low carbon sources. But even if electricity was made from gas power stations, a heat pump would still use less gas than a gas boiler so in terms of energy security etc, it would make sense to move to heat pumps. As it is today, a heat pump in the UK reduces heating emissions by about 70%, reducing with every new wind turbine or solar installation. We don't have a solar PV array on our house, but I still think we are saving vs a gas boiler giving the same heat. Fair enough on your pellet boiler, I am concerned about the air quality impacts of burning things in a domestic setting, and where the pellets are imported from, if you are getting them locally, great, and you are lower emissions than a gas boiler so ... well done. Just to clarify, we live in a victorian house with double glazing and loft insulation, this isn't a huge amount of insulation improvements or plugging draughts, there is more we could do. Why would a pellet stove make a house warmer than a heat pump? The house gets as warm as you set it to on the thermostat...? Thanks for the comment, some of what you have assumed about heat pumps isn't accurate, but interesting to hear a different approach Thanks Tom

[@marcellop3163]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Who cares about the Co2 emissions leave that to brainwashed greeniacs, we only want to know it you really save money with these heat pumps or not, period.

[@TheRamblyChannel]

Great video Tom. I got my ASHP in September 2022 and my experiences are similar to yours. I have no regrets, the house is warm even through some very cold snaps and it’s amazing how it works. There’s so much nonsense printed about green technologies whereas those of us who have made the switch are proving them all wrong. Good luck with your future plans! Andy

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thanks Andy! Great work with your channel!

[@returner323617]

Well done. I'm just waiting for Radiators to be delivered, and then the ASHP will be installed by Octopus. It's Phase 4 of our personal decarbonisation journey - 1. Solar PV, 2. EV, 3. Home Battery - and I'm really looking forward to pulling the plug on Gas... Yes, in pure financial ROI, it's marginal, but there's a better picture and a moral obligation on these that can, and should.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Robert, that’s fantastic news. Well done! I wonder whether, with solar PV your ROI will be quite good. Free heat and free miles from your roof. Would be interested to hear how you get on over winter and what costs look like for you. Our next step, I think, will be an EV. Our 100,000 mile petrol car struggles through its MOT each year. I reckon the 2nd hand EV market is pretty much there for us to look at, soon! Thanks for engaging! All the best with the install Tom

[@petercollins7848]

There is nothing ‘moral’ about fitting a heat pump! You have simply made a choice. All this ‘saving the planet’ stuff is just a new religion which is being foisted on us by zealots. We will be using natural gas decades from now, believe me. People will not accept being bullied into vast expense and inconvenience.

[@jayp913]

Great content and it certainly demystifies things for me. What do you suppose the reason for the bad press is all about? After all people in Scandinavia have had HPs for over 50 years!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

A good question! Probably a few things - I think there is some misunderstanding in our traditional heating systems (ie running boilers very ‘hot’) which means more efficient systems at lower temperatures don’t seem to be performing well. There may have been some bad installs and I am sure there will be more. And there is some delay / misinformation from the incumbent fossil boiler industry… But if we are serious about decarbonising heat, and want to be comfortable in our buildings, heat pumps are the main way forward. Thanks again for commenting! Tom

[@davidt3321]

Hi Tom. Great video. You can only really look at this as a carbon saving. I have thought about this from a cost saving side of things, and with the heat pump batteries and solar panels, it is roughly a 20k outlay. With the solar installed since April I've saved 1.08T to date of c02 based on what the apps telling me. So still a substantial carbon saving. But unfortunately the heat pump cost is just not viable right now

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi David, thanks for the comment and engaging with the video. I think a £194 saving on bills is worth celebrating, even if that wouldn't have paid for the installation! So the CO2 saving + the small bills saving, on a heat pump that people say won't work in an old property, I am pretty chuffed with that. The quick way to work out CO2 savings for solar would be multiply the kWh generated by 0.2 kg CO2 per kWh, that will give you a value in kg for the system. If 1.08 tCO2 is right, that would be around 5,500 kWh of electricity. Must be saving you a fortune! Next step is to electrify heat or transport so you can make as much use of that electricity as possible. But understand that we can't do everything at the same time, we don't have PV or an EV yet but will hope too soon! Tom

[@Xanthopteryx]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyleAnd remember that gas prices will go up.

[@Brynoize]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle You what mate? £200 is an average call up on a Friday night who cares?. But in all seriousness, CO2 saving needs to consider the carbon footprint of installation and manufacturing of your equipment. Would it be better to service an old gas boiler than install this new system?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi @@Brynoize thanks for the reply. As I mentioned, £200 saving is a bonus on top of the emissions savings that the heat pump gives, even with the embodied emissions of a heat pump. This article helps explain why - foresightdk.com/why-i-replaced-my-new-gas-boiler-with-a-heat-pump/ Ultimately, no it would not be better to service an old gas boiler than install a new system, you will lock in emissions that will never reduce, a heat pump would pay for itself in emissions terms in less than 2 years, and continue to reduce in emissions as the grid decarbonises. It is good to service an old boiler from a safety perspective, and you may increase some efficiency, but it isn't going to reduce emissions substantially Thanks Tom

[@bobbazley5376]

Hi Tom, thanks for the update and very interesting and looks like it is working very well for you. I have solar and battery and have Airconditioning units throughout the house as they do heat and have a slightly higher SCOP as a air to water solution (ASHP) Airconditioning units being Air to Air. they get installed next week. The main issue with Solar while it is absolutely is the way to go and absolutely get battery with it as that maximises the full potential, the winter sun is not good at a time when you have the most heat demand so while it is still great value you might not see as great a saving from solar in winter to meet the peak demand for your heating. Having said that if you match it with a battery it will give you the option to offset the time you charge the batteries with cheap Cosy rates and then use them in the evening for your heat demand. Sounds like you are on a great journey and thank you for sharing.

[@Deiphobuzz]

Those SCOP numbers need a little attention. At what temps do they reach their numbers? A decent Air to water heatpump is twice the size of an air to air AC unit. An AC typically does not have an SCOP close to a dedicated heatpump heating system.

[@chrisjones6542]

I’m not so sure I have fitted one of these in my living room (and similar in the kitchen), and they are pretty good… I have saved 1/2 the oil I used to use… and never turn the CH on in spring/autumn.. so for me (with a house full of micro bore) it’s working great

[@Runningtorchbearer]

i am moving into a new bungalow that has a heat pump, with this large thing outside and a hug boiler like thing inside, the large boiler thing seems to have a screen which says 30. I have turned all the radiators to frost as not moved in yet, and turned the therostat down yet the screen on this boiler still says 30 in fact it has gone up from 22 to 30. the housing association told me it was better to keep it running and there was no need to alter anything apart from the thermostat, but i am concerned about this 30 degrees or whatever it is. I wonder if i should switch it off but concerned i might break it or it doesnt come back on?? I am nearly 77 and just concerned that the heat on is going to cost a fortune.

[@David-bl1bt]

The key words, conveniently omitted when stating gas boiler efficiency is " when in condensing mode". Just like heat pumps this figure is continually variable and dependent upon many factors. The stated efficiency of gas boilers is based upon the best performance parameters possible, WHEN THE BOILER IS IN CONDENSING MODE. The parameter that determines the maximum efficiency is that the return water temperature is required to be less than 54 degrees Celsius, as condensing will only occur when a change of state (of the exhaust flue gasses in this case) occur. The state of change for maximum effeciency is from a gas to a liquid when the flue gasses are at "dew point", around 30 degrees centigrade (variable). At this state change, the latent heat contained within the exhaust flue gasses is extracted, thus increasing efficiency as more heat is extracted from the volume of gas burned. So, as this efficiency can only be achieved whilst these parameters are in place, the additional metric to consider on how efficient a gas boiler is, is the length of time that the boiler is in this actually operating in this magical "condensing mode". This is extremely complex to accurately determine but what is certain, is that a gas boiler will NEVER be in condensing mode 100% of the time it is in use. Firstly, Combi boilers do not condense in hot water mode. They produce hot water "on demand" and will heat the incoming mains water to around 60 degrees centigrade, so will not be condensing. When providing heating via radiators the boiler will not be at its quoted efficiency for the whole time that it is providing heating. In reality, in the majority of such heating installations, condensing mode will only be achieved for a relatively short period of time, typically 5-15 mins from firing from cold. To achieve maximum efficiency the return temperature must be maintained at lower than 54 degrees C ALL THE TIME.....this NEVER occurs. Why? Well, unfortunately we are a nation of lazy heating engineers. To achieve these magical figures, the heating system must be designed to satisfy many parameters. Firstly the exact heat loss of each and every room must be fastidious calculated taking into account the syructure, fabric and u-values of all the dirrering materials used. Then the radiators must be accurately sized to ensure that they align exactly with those calculated figures. Then the system design must be such to achieve the required flow rate to achieve the 'delta t 'required to align with the radiator manufacturers figure to ensure that the radiators are able to achieve the manufacturers design temperature output. That done, it is now possible to calculate the heating load that must be satisfied by the boiler, thereafter a boiler with EXACTLY that specification needs to be identified. So far, so good, job done! WAIT .... it isn't installed yet! The installer now needs to ensure that the designed system is installed as such to ensure that it aligns with the design, so needs to take in account pipe sizing, routing, calculating flow resistance of each circuit (the number of bends and fittings used affect the resistance and thus flow rate around the system, also being mindful not to leave any burrs where pipes are cut or and dents or kinks when installing). Phew! a sigh of relief when this stage is reached! All that needs to be done now that all that has been achieved is commission the system, then hand it over to the delighted homeownner....except, the system requires accurate and tedious balancing to ensure that all these parameters are reached. Remember the magic number mentioned earlier? A 54 deg C return temperature is required for the boiler to START condensing, so our Installer needs to accurately balance the system to achieve this figure to get the maximum efficiency right?....well, no.... At this return temperature the boiler will not be fully condensing and will only be 87% efficient! So wheres the claimed 95%+ efficiency then? Well to achieve 95%+ efficiency the return temperatures must be 45 deg C. To achive this the flow temperature from the boiler must be at a maximum of 65°C, 20°C of heat must be emitted I to each room from the radiators, to ensure the return water is at 45°C. This makes radiator balancing vitally important to ensure that sufficient heat is emitted from radiators in every room to lower the return temperature to 45 deg C. Boilers are typically set by manufacturers to provide a flow temperature of 80 deg C and return at 60 degC. At these settings the boiler does not condense and it certainly will never reach 90%+ efficiency! Notwithstanding the above, another factor preventing a boiler reaching anywhere near the quoted efficiency is output oversizing. It is a culture on the UK to oversize boilers! Installers choose this practice as a safeguard, because they will not have undertaken all, or indeed any necessary design steps detailed above to achieve the correct system design, so they oversize output to cover their back, or if fitted as a replacement boiler, will simply size the output of he new boiler to match that of the old one being removed or even to appease the homeowner to match their expectation (see below). Homeowners are also part of the problem too. If they are getting quotes for a replacement boiler they expect it to be at least the same size (in output) or bizarrely even bigger! ....because they perceive it to be better! An installer quoting for a smaller output boiler is highly likely to be looked upon with suspicion, cutting corners to save costs to achieve a sale perhaps? Oversize boilers waste gas due to continual "cycling", their minimum output will be far in excess of that required for condensing purposes so will NEVER reach their quoted efficiency either. Then there is the issue of adequate controls to ensure efficiency is maintained. Controls, again, need to be accurately specified and correctly installed. Typically, adequate controls will not be specified or quoted by the installer to keep their quote competitive, and if offered as an option, are often declined by the homeowner to save costs. Trv's are the norm here on the UK, probably the least appropriate control of all. An easy sell and simple fit for the installer, certainly, but remember talking about the importance of accurate system balancing earlier? Well these "controls" severely impact system balance thus negating all their "perceived " benefits, and as there is no communication between them and the boiler it cannot accurately adjust for the reduced system load that is induced when they operate......so zero chance of achieving anywhere near the efficiency that you were told and expecting. So, now knowing all the above, it's obvious to the Intelligent, that there should not be any "boiler replacements " because the system that was installed a decade and a half or more will not have been designed or installed to fulfil the parameters of todays hi-tec condensing boilers and cannot achieve perceived or quoted efficiencies. Perhaps you, dear reader, have had a replacement gas boiler installed with the expectation of a 95%+ efficiency? Just a dream and a misleading marketing ploy I'm sorry to say. Considering having a new has boiler installed? ..... It's time to get your pen and pad out to document pertinent (aka embarrassing) questions for your installer when quoting you for your new all singing, all dancing state if the art, high efficiency gas boiler. Here are starter questions for you to consider... Q1. What output is the boiler you are installing? Q2. What efficiency can I expect from this boiler? Q3. Can you show me your calculations for room by room heat loss, radiator outputs and the suitability of this boiler in providing the design temperature, system design schematic detailing pipe sizing calculations, flow rates and flow & return temperatures? Q4. What controls and other measures are you putting in place to ensure that the efficiency that you have quoted can be maintained. ... if you are still engaged in meaningful discussion after these questions...Congratulations ... you may have stumbled upon a rare. professional installer who knows exactly what they are doing, however I suspect that the price that they quote will be way out of the competetive ballpark figure you were expecting.

[@bordersw1239]

Four bed detached house, 4 occupants minimum, total gas bill £680 for the year - flow turned down to around 55C , less for the shoulder months.

[@hero28]

We just bought a heat pump install today foe next week, we also have solar panels and an EV car. The money we have saved has been amazing can't wait for our pump

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

That’s great news. How did you find the installer? What heat pump are you getting?

[@salibaba]

Well done, you’ve pretty much done the largest domestic carbon reduction in one hit. Next big £ saving you’ll make is with a battery; add solar at the same time and you’ll prob save on VAT. We’ve got a similar system to @evmanuk Started with EV 1st, then solar and battery naturally thinking free miles 😅, after that it was full external insulation & an ASHP. Got rid of the gas meter and the battery covers about 70% of our peak winter heating. We only draw a small amount during the day for a few weeks of the year once the battery has been used. All charged from off peak GO. Well under 3p/kWh of heat in the past winter.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thanks for the comment. Great to hear your story. We’ve started with the heat pump and may go EV next before our roof needs replacing and gives the option of PV. It’s great when it all works eh? Electrified home has the potential to be very low cost!

[@petercollins7848]

And it has cost you a fortune to get all this! Saving? 😄

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Peter, I think salibaba talked about a cost of 3p per kWh of heat, which would be a substantial saving vs a gas boiler, which has been as much as 10.5p per kWh of heat over the last year. So at 12,000 kWh of heat a year (average home) that would be a saving of £900 per year@@petercollins7848

[@petercollins7848]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle . Not knocking heat pumps at all. I think they are a great innovation which can be used in suitable premises. But at a £900 a year saving, it would take roughly 15 years to break even, then in all probability, if not before, you would have servicing and breakdown costs to consider, if not replacement of major items. There is no real ‘saving’ with these devices. Surely it has to be on an environmental basis that people would install these systems?

[@petercollins7848]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle . Not knocking heat pumps at all. I think they are a great innovation which can be used in suitable premises. But at a £900 a year saving, it would take roughly 15 years to break even, then in all probability, if not before, you would have servicing and breakdown costs to consider, if not replacement of major items. There is no real ‘saving’ with these devices. Surely it has to be on an environmental basis that people would install these systems?

[@gileslewismortimer]

Great video and it's good to see numbers on a more typical potentially less insulated house. You're right, it's not all about cost it's mainly about carbon. Although I still do see the cost argument. If I spend 10k on solar panels and that saves say £500year I do not fully agree with the payback period of say 20Years as it does not consider that even the simple interest on £10k of savings would save around £450/year , so the "additional" saving above this £450 is quite negligible. . . . something always conveniently omitted from "payback time" calculations unfortunately.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thanks Giles, apologies for the slow response to this comment. Fair point about the potential interest and 'payback' of this kind of low carbon investment. I prefer to see it as a lifestyle choice, a bit like buying a new kitchen, or a big holiday, things that don't have a financial payback but we can make the case because of the impact they have on our lives. But also, with higher grants, and reducing costs, maybe a heat pump is becoming a much smaller investment than it used to be. Thanks for engaging with the video, all the best for the new year Tom

[@stuartkennedy4202]

The cost for heat pump systems is way more than what you will save even after many years and to spring it on normal people as what is happening here in Scotland is just unaffordable to many people. It’s a complete false economy.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Stuart, I understand the grants in Scotland are higher than in England, so cost to install is likely to be less. I would point out that our home is a victorian terrace, without substantial insulation upgrades. If you live in a less leaky home, you may have a higher efficiency and therefore your savings may be better. I think Scottish government is a long way ahead the Westminster government on this. thanks Tom

[@ericboxer3053]

Way ahead of them in woke green neo Marxism? I live in am American southern state drive a huge truck and own a very carbon intensive business lol I'll leave my truck om an extra hour a day from now on to spew some extra carbon for you!!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Eric, thanks for the comment, made me laugh on a slow Friday afternoon I’d be a bit concerned about your gas bill just to get on the nerves of an obscure KZbinr thousands of miles away… All the best, Tom

[@wobby1516]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Two points you seem to have miss the first is gas is a Finite resource, the other is we have to stop thinking of just ourselves, and if your a parent perhaps think about your children and grandchildren. We can’t keep burning fossil fuels indefinitely or you and I will leave behind a terrible legacy for the generations to come. We have to change our ways there is no other way.

[@mryan4452]

​@@ericboxer3053this is a wild comment 😂

[@stevemorris1881]

Hi Tom great post, but I would like to see more about what temperature you keep you home at and how quickly you can heat a cold house to say 21deg C, same for the hot water, I use lots of hot water and would need a system that could heat a tank of water in 20 to 30 minutes. Is your system capable to do that 👍

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Steve, thanks for following up. We keep the house at about 19°C (that is what we are comfortable at), and after 3 years of living with the heat pump have settled on keeping it at that temperature all the time, unless we go away. This is the most efficient way to run the system, so compared to the first year when I had set back temperatures, we have used less electricity but delivered more heat and maintained comfort throughout the winter. So answering the question on how quickly it can heat a cold house to 21°C, is difficult to answer.... and depends how the system is set up. A heat pump can be set up like a gas boiler, to run 'hot' but inefficiently and lift the temperature of a space up quickly, but it tends to use much less energy if just supplying enough heat to deal with heat loss. So I suggest we would not let a house get cold, unless unoccupied for a long period of time. In terms of hot water, our system has provided all the hot water we have needed when we need it. There is also an immersion coil within the tank that can provide hot water quickly where required. We would tend to store water at a level ready to be used whenever needed, and size the tank to provide hot water as required. So, short answer is - yes a heat pump can provide all the hot water needed, longer answer.... 20-30 mins from a cold tank... probably not, but we would be unlikely to keep water cold in a tank.... Hope that is helpful Tom

[@frederickbowdler8169]

i think when it breaks down you will be stuck with a system which will not be fixed as easily as a condensing boiler for which a whole generation of plumbers are experts.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

We’ll deal with that when we come to it.

[@vecamiolo]

If you can fix an air conditioner you can fix a heat pump.

[@jean-marcgruninger9019]

as more pumps are fitted more techs will train for that market.

[@davidsaunders2906]

And what was the installation cost? And what was the net cost to the environment of replacing a servicable existing system with the cost to the environment of manufacturing a new system?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi David, installation cost was around £11k before the boiler upgrade scheme existed. Net cost to the environment? Well in terms of emissions this is a helpful blog. And the emissions pay back will have improved since 2019 www.raponline.org/blog/why-i-replaced-my-new-gas-boiler-with-a-heat-pump/ Thanks for engaging.

[@Fatsimbacat]

What about the noise pollution and the yearly maintenance and does it really work for a couple who are out at work all day and don't need the house heated constantly

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Noise is fine in our system, I did a video about it kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaTVco2DYtGXf5osi=NGyH8Qqs-ZuVindw I think you can probably make it work but it would need a shift in how you use heating. Maybe using set back temperatures rather than heating off when you’re out. What’s the plan if you didn’t get a heat pump?

[@Fatsimbacat]

Not sure, still doing the research but such a big initial outlay needs more certainty

[@tobiwaan1476]

A great informative video, but it would be helpful to understand what average temperature do you have your Victorian house at during the Winter? How many hours do you have your heat pump heating your house during the winter? Instead of comparing the costs over the entire year… (you don’t have heating on during the Summer) what would your costs be over the Winter - Oct to April ? As we all know that this timescale is when the Electricity prices are at their most expensive… this I feel would be a more accurate reflection of a heat pump compared to gas boiler…

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thank you - I have done a few videos about heat pumps in winter, here is one - ‘Heat Pump stats - January 2024 - how much did it cost to run?’ kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ7WfolsdtWqhZY but a couple of others on the channel too. We keep the house at about 19° and keep the heat pump running all the time, this means we can run it most efficiently and is the conclusion I have come to for lowest costs and best comfort. If it’s helpful… our whole electricity use for the year in 2023 was 5104 kWh and about 650 kWh was used over the summer (ie May to September). So majority of our electricity use is winter. Around 700-800 kWh in Dec and Jan. Those times may be the most expensive electricity. But also the windiest weather. So in the future may be bountiful in cheap electricity. Hope all that’s helpful context! Tom

[@monckfish]

the difference you didnt mention is the temperature in the house? gas may not be as efficient but the temperature in the house would heat up quicker and to a higher level? what temp do you set your house to during winter?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi monckfish - thanks for the comment, I have done a load of videos about how our heat pump has performed over the last couple of years, didn't include that kind of review here but maybe should've done... sorry! Yes, we tend to use gas boilers inefficiently by running them hard to deliver heat quickly, in reality, if we wanted to reduce gas boiler emissions we would run them at lower temperatures (similar to a heat pump) and this would improve efficiency. Heat pumps work most efficiently at low flow temperatures so we try to keep them low and slow, and run them over a long period of time. We don't think in the same way about heat up time. We keep our house at about 19°C during the day (it varies a bit throughout the house, it is an old draughty victorian terrace) and then a 'set back' of 18°C overnight. It is pretty much always at the temperature we want. We used to have the gas boiler running without a space thermostat, just on and off on a timer, this would bring the temperature up for a couple of hours, then we would sit cold for a few hours before topping up again in the evening. I think we are much more comfortable now, but delivering a similar amount of energy... Does that answer your questions? Thanks Tom

[@monckfish]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle thanks for the reply. I wasn’t being negative now that I read back it might have come across as that. But my arguments were the standard arguments that gas can heat fast. Just generally interested to see what temp you can get. 18-19 is fine for most people (that’s what we set ours too). Just need to change mind set of setting the heating on at the point of wanting it but more leave it on all day ticking over.

[@stuartkennedy4202]

Here in Scotland in winter 19 degrees would be too low can your heat pump go higher say 22 degrees if so what does that do to its efficiency.

[@stewartbridge5162]

Thanks for giving such detailed answers to the comments. Also, thanks for explaining emissions, 1kw in for 3kw out seems amazing. Is that 300% efficiency?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thanks for the comment Stewart. Yes that’s 300%. The system is using a little bit of electricity to take heat from the air and multiply it to deliver heat inside the house. I try to explain it a bit in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKnQeoqfeq-iis0&feature=shareb Thanks Tom

[@stewartbridge5162]

@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle I've watched the video, which is also good, but I'm wondering what happens when the outside air temp reduces from say 10 Celsius to 1, to my mind there'd be less heat available to turn the liquid to gas, if that's true then which part of the pump has to work harder, maybe the fan to suck air in faster? Does the fan consume much less electricity compared to the compressor?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Good questions. A couple of points to answer - there is heat in air down to absolute zero (-273°C) and a heat pump can extract that heat as long as the air temperature is above the ‘evaporation point’ of the refrigerant in the system. In our case, the refrigerant is r290 or propane, that evaporates at -40, so technically, if frost doesn’t block the air movement, our heat pump can operate down that low. The fan uses very little power but yes the compressor works harder to provide the same heat at lower temperatures. There is less energy / heat in the air, so we need to add more from the electrical connection powering the compressor. The hum noise that a heat pump makes (albeit not very noisy) is mostly the compressor operating inside the box (rather than air movement from the fan). Hope that helps!

[@johnsmith-dz1nv]

Thank you for your video. We are just catching up in California. I'm looking at all the options. For a small house, I'm looking at window units. Reversible heat pumps that act as air conditioners in summer and bring in heat in winter. About twice the price of an air conditioner but would quickly recoup the cost in electric savings. My cousin is a green specialist, city planner, in Shropshire. She'd be impressed with your scheme.

[@wag-on]

You mentioned central heating, but how does hot water compare to a gas boiler?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hello - we had to install a hot water tank to provide hot water using a heat pump. We used to have a combi boiler so this was a change in how we generate hot water. Thanks Tom

[@bazcurtis178]

My Octopus install starts on Monday. Looking forward to it.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Fantastic, hope all goes well Baz

[@stephenjordan5976]

Hi whats the insulation cost if you don't mind as there is a £7500 grant

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

@@stephenjordan5976hi Stephen - good question but not a simple answer… you don’t necessarily need to upgrade insulation to install a heat pump. I hope this video is helpful …. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIebeH6BjMeEbqssi=PBOLxHhuDXishRV3 Tom

[@dougpatterson7494]

I recently installed a heat pump and new high efficiency gas furnace in my Canadian home. This is the most efficient way to heat and cool a house. My cold weather heat pump can heat until -30 Celsius but I’ve read that the efficiency is greatly degraded. I am also getting solar panels installed so that will help as well. I should get a 0% interest loan from the government to finance my solar panels so, while it may cost me slightly more during the first five-ten years, once they are paid off in ten years I will save money on electricity!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Great to hear your story Doug, and the different approaches around the world. We don't ever get down to -30°C, maybe -5°C is the coldest, so I am pleased to hear your system would work in that manner, even at lower efficiency. Thanks for engaging with the video Tom

[@fbeale3537]

What was the total cost of supply and fit the heat pump system?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi fbeale3537, total cost of the installation was about £11k, so this would be £6k after the boiler upgrade scheme grant Thanks Tom

[@PeterUn-h1i]

Bet this is an advert for the manufacturer seems to be loads of these online all with same make

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Peter - no not an advert for the manufacturer. I have no link to Vaillant. I want to help people transition away from fossil fuels which is why I make videos about heat pumps. Tom

[@edwardlsanders]

Thanks for this video. Like you, like millions, I also live in a small victorian terrace. Your example helped to persuade us to get a heat pump. Order is in subject to the survey going well. Our logic was simple -- if you could feel comfortable heating a home in County Durham then it'd work just a well in sunny Oxford. The only downside of the process, so far, is that the quotation is relatively expensive due to needing to upgrade all our radiators. My estimate is that you have underestimated your potential savings. I assume that you don't cook with gas so having a heat pump would mean not needing to be on the gas grid. Did you add this to the £194? Our standing charges are £106 a year so this isn't a trivial saving.

[@abegosavi6462]

I've just been quoted £1100 by octopus to install ASHP system, in 4bed/4storey semi detached house. We have an EV, currently on the octupus intelligent tariff. no solar or battery storage... Work from home most of the time. Is it worth making the switch at this price? House is 4 yrs old, well built as part of a small development of 6 houses and well insulated. Is it likely to add to the value of the house of put off prospective buyers?

[@trashertrisher]

We got quotes 1138 for a 3 bed detached, but I still think it was a good price, but I'm in the same boat, EV, WFH, no solar, no battery. I'm just hoping it works out cheaper than gas.

[@abegosavi6462]

@@trashertrisher our neighbours are having it installed this week so we might see how they get on with it first haha. Although they have solar and battery storage installed too. British gas are doing the install.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi both, ~£1100 is about a cheap as you might get a heat pump installed, so that sounds like a good deal. I have seen one octopus install near me and they are very happy with what has gone in. New properties like the ones you have should be fairly well insulated so the heat pump should be quite small, as long as you can run the heat pump efficiently, ie at low flow temperatures, it should be cheaper to run than a gas boiler. What manufacturer are they proposing? Are they changing radiators? New tank? My wife works from home, and we are much more comfortable with the constant heat from a heat pump rather than the peaks and troughs we used to have from a boiler. Hope that is helpful Tom

[@abegosavi6462]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle thanks for the reply Tom! So the heatpump they are installing is Daikan branded one, the new octupus branded heat pump is not available for us yet. And yes new tank installed too. We have a mix of underfloor heating on main floor then radiators everywhere else, I believe the install would include radiator upgrades if needed. Definitely will see what neighbour's experience is like before proceeding. Thanks, Abe

[@AndyY499]

Im getting one soon, with a 210L water tank. Question : Will I ever run out of hot water? Say for instance, I want to take a shower, then someone else does right after me, will there be enough hot water?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Andy - great to hear you are getting one soon! We have a 200 litre tank and for two of us we don’t tend to run out of hot water. We have had 3 people living in this house. But I guess it depends on how long a shower you want, 9 litres a minute would use 210 litres in 23 minutes, but it would also be blended with some cold water so should ve more than 23 minutes of showering…. We haven’t found it to be a problem or really noticeable at all Hope that’s helpful Tom

[@bookerman16]

Where do we get these solar panels and batteries? Assume they’re free or I missed the cost being included in the calculations

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Bookerman16 - thanks for the comment, this video is about life with a heat pump, our installation cost around £11k which would be £6k after the boiler upgrade scheme grant. We don't have solar panels or a battery, this is partly because our roof is quite old, I think original 1870s, so needs replacing before we get a solar system. To find out what could be installed I would recommend being in touch with an installer through MCS - mcscertified.com/find-an-installer/. A standard domestic solar system should be between £5k-7.5k, add another £5k for a battery system. Thanks again Tom

[@myatix1]

Can I ask what type of cylinder you are using?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Myatix - we are using the Vaillant cylinder, 150litre slimline version, professional.vaillant.co.uk/specifiers/products/unistor-hot-water-cylinders-for-heat-pumps-53888.html Does the job for us! Tom

[@dmitryrozhdestvenskiy3987]

I'd like to ask you a few questions. - noise level - maintenance cost - how warm is it in the house?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hello - I did a video about noise- kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaTVco2DYtGXf5o We had 2 years of servicing included in the installation. For the 3rd year it cost £225, which was pretty steep! Warm is subjective, but we are happy, we heat our most occupied room to 21°C Thanks Tom

[@NeilMartin98]

Do you see any benefit of a hybrid system of both a combi boiler and heat pump?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Neil, half replied to this on another comment, but overall, I don't see much benefit in hybrid systems. Especially if you have space for a water tank. I am concerned that a hybrid system risks over complication, and keeps the standing charge for gas, as well as maintenance liability on the boiler. There are probably some instances where it wouldn't hurt, but I would say if you are installing a heat pump, you may as well go the whole way. Hope that is helpful Tom

[@NeilMartin98]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Ace thank you!

[@LivingTech]

Great video Tom, thank you. In June 2023, at our home in Kingston Ontario Canada, we installed an inverter-based air source heat pump and 20.25kW solar panels a month later (max feed to grid is only 10kW, but 20.25kW helps capture more solar when sun at unfavorable angle, cloudy days, etc.). We are now on net-metering with the electricity company, so we store our unused solar energy in our local grid, for consumption during late Fall, Winter and early Spring. As such, we don't have batteries to maintain. We'll see how it all works out, but after just 49 days we've generated over 3.01MWh of electricity, and 1,245kg CO2 emissions reduction. Of note is that our new heat pump will generate heat at down to -30C ambient. As such, I don't think we'll be using much propane this winter.

[@markhoffman]

Yes it will generate heat at -30 but not as cheap as natural gas.

[@NedNew]

I live near an old wallpaper factory and have heated my home by burning their old reject stuff for the past 7 years and it hasn't cost me anything. I've also been generating about 4kWh of electricity daily using vinegar (bought in bulk), potato peelings and ferro-magnesium shavings that you can pick up for free at any iron mongers - it's worth the effort if you have a bit of space and don't mind the acidic smell.

[@SteveJones-gz4vd]

I have a end terrace house and insulated myself Lime back pointed welsh slate tiles and insulated between rafters to building regs , insulated down stairs suspended floor , I have oil boiler which costs me about £800 a year to run , I own a small solar generator and my Elect bill is less than £50 a month , I'm guessing with an air source heat pump you also need an electric immersion heater / Tank ? I'm V Happy to stick with what I have and my wood burner , I'm an Electrician BTW so know how to keep bills low.

[@rogerdickinson6944]

Hi Tom, we’re also in Durham and have bought a house with a recently installed gas and heat pump combi system. We’re getting some building work done so I’m going to have the boiler removed and go full heat pump. The original installer put bigger radiators in but left the old 8mm pipe work so I’ll get that upgraded to 20mm. Apart from that it’s a early 80s house with UPVC, recent cavity insulation and loft insulation. Judging by the window condensation on a morning, it’s well insulated. The new extension will have underfloor heating. Did you do anything else fancy to upgrade your heating and insulation systems when you installed the heat pump? My wife is concerned she will be cold but I’m confident!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Roger - brill to hear your plans! We are in a 1870s terrace, with double glazing, loft insulation and an extension built in 2018, that is a small area of underfloor heating. I don’t think there is much unusual in our house… you’d be welcome to come and visit to see it if you’re nearby (we’re in Neville’s Cross) It sounds like your house will have less heat loss, so should be able to run your heat pump efficiently. And there is no reason you’ll cold if heat pump is sized and installed correctly! Would love to hear how you get on Thanks for commenting Tom

[@rogerdickinson6944]

I agree, the system was installed with a grant for the previous elderly occupant. Someone who had no interest in heat pumps, so the install wasn't great. These are the folks who complain of cold houses afterwards, no wonder if they keep the 8mm pipework. The installers just go after the grant money and try and make as much profit as they can. The gov would be better off giving grants to young families who might actually understand the system. My wife has prevailed and the boiler will be kept for now, I will try and run heat pump only in one of the cold months and see how we get on!!@@petercollins7848

[@rogerdickinson6944]

Hi Tom, my wife has prevailed and the boiler will stay (but be moved) until the heat pump has proved itself! Building work has started but I am still researching underfloor systems. Hoping to get some pricing back from engineers next week. Interesting that you are in Neville's Cross, we're in Meadowfield. Small world. @@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle

[@petercollins7848]

Do you not leave some windows open at night to relieve condensation? Or perhaps you have an air exchange system? To upgrade as you say, you will have to spend quite a bit of money, I hope you get the temperature levels you are hoping for or your Wife will make your life a misery!

[@rogerdickinson6944]

@@petercollins7848 I think I’ll look into a PIV system if condensation remains an issue

[@arvinkumar4407]

simple question, what kind of temperature do you get with your water and central heating when the weather was -3 degrees few months back? Did it heat your home to 21/22 degrees for as long as you needed it ? Because I read a few people saying theirs one struggled and was at 16/17 degrees. I am planning to get a heat pump and would like to hear some real life experiences.

[@alennovak8446]

Thats what i was asking myself that question. I have 6kw ongrid solar system so it will be maybe cheeper for me but if i dont have heating as i need that its not worth it if i need to heat it up with aditionaly heater to get around 21°C in the house.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Both - thanks for the question. Short answer, yes the heat pump can heat to the temperature we set it to. For us that’s about 19/19.5°C but it could heat to higher if we set it to that. I did a video about the cold snap we had last month ‘How did our heat pump cope in a cold snap? Heat pump stats January 24’ kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6S4dGt3ls2Nibs You’ll be able to see that I changed some settings when temperatures first dropped but the system was able to heat to what we asked it too. Hope that’s helpful?

[@arvinkumar4407]

Thanks @@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle I just had a look at the video, does your Heat Pump run 24 hours a day, or at least as long as it needs to run to maintain the 18-19.5°C? Or is it like a lot of us would do with our boiler, that is set it to heat couple of hours in the morning and afternoon / evening ? Would combining a Heat Pump with Solar Panel give me much more savings that using a boiler? My boiler packed up this week and I am at the point of deciding if I should get another boiler or a Heat Pump. We have kids in the house and our insulations are more or less ok, with new double glazing fitted in Dec 2022.

[@maciekzeus82]

In Poland was - 21 deg 2 months ago and heat pumps still cope

[@tedbearfudge]

I understand about global warming problem but I have a relatively small gas combi boiler and do not have room not only for a water tank but also the huge external air source heat pump. Also my son takes a 20 minute shower after that i can also take a long shower and so can I and my other son. From what i understand and i admit i could be wrong but this would not be possible with a heat pump as it only heat up water in the tank. Once that has gone water has to be heated up using an immersion heater. If i am wrong please tell me.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi tedbearfudge, thanks for commenting. Well that is a long shower! In 20 minutes your son would be using around 180 litres, so you may well need to have a big tank so that you have enough water for your son, you and your other son. Showers tend to use about 9 litres per minute, and may well be blended hot water with cold water from your tank, but worst case, is 9 litres a minute from the tank. Heat pumps can heat up water tanks over a period of time and you could have it so that it is reheating the water as it comes in, but if you all showered simultaneously, and didn't have a large tank, you may be pushing it. Most hot water tanks would have an immersion coil as well, so yes that could get you out of the problem, but we haven't used an immersion since we installed the heat pump except for legionella pasteurisation. The main issue, that you highlight, is space. If you don't have space for a tank then we may be struggling, our tank has gone in our utility room, and we lost a bit of storage. Our external unit is not massive, and is placed just outside our back door. There are products (like sunamp) that can store heat for hot water in a much smaller space, so there may be a solution available for you. There could also be electrode boilers that would replace the combi like for like, although these are quite expensive to run. Combi boilers are fantastic at delivering lots of heat from a small space, but mean we are using a lot of gas to do that. Heating in this manner isn't sustainable in the long term and we should look to move away from that kind of system. It would be good to make a plan about where you could find the space for a tank (loft? Under stairs? A small area of a bedroom like an airing cupboard?) All the best! Tom

[@tedbearfudge]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Hello Tom, thanks for replying and the comments. you are right 20 minutes is a long shower but as my wife used to say "i would rather him have a long shower than smoke, do drugs or run around getting girls pregnant" pretty sure they do none of these, not yet anyway. whilst we do not have a large house we probably could find a space to fit an immersion tank but it would mean taking space from an existing room and a lot of expense as the 10mm diameter water pipes and rads may need replacing with larger pipes and rads. We are lucky to have a small rear garden but don't really want a chunk of it taking up with a heat pump either. I understand that gas is probably harming the planet but the UK (from what I have read) only contributes about 1% to gobal warming. I really do not see why people from the UK should suffer while China build more coal powered stations. I have heard that houses built from 2025 will have heat pumps installed rather than GHC, It will be interesting to see how these sale and any problems that arise. TBH this will not affect me as I am 63 and not be around long enough to really have an impact but it will for my children. What happens if we have some kind of power problems, every year thousands of people are affected by downed power lines through storms etc. I think last year some people did not have any power for around 3 weeks. At least with a gas supply I can get heat, cook and take a hot shower, if we go all electric we are screwed. My opinion is 2 options are always better than one. My gas supply has never failed to my knowledge. By the way I like electric cars but the infrastructure, range and battery issues are a major problem for me. Good channel though and I like what you have done although it probably would not work for me. Take care and stay safe.

[@antoineboulet6950]

Hi tedbearfudge. Correct me if I am wrong. Do not all boilers need some form of electricity to run? Even if the heat comes from gas, do you not need electricity to run the pumps that circulate the water around?

[@Soldmysoulfor]

I am buying a new build house in milton keynes and it comes with a heat pump and electric charging point as standard. Wondering how the efficiency will be. Can I reach 4X efficiency which is the max?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hello - I don’t have much experience of heat pumps in new builds, but really depends on how the system is set up by the installer / builder. The insulation standards of a new build will mean that you don’t need high temperatures in the radiators to keep the house warm. So, if you can come to terms with the controller, making sure the heat pump is on weather compensation and on a low curve, will help run really efficiently. There are some systems on a site called ‘heat pump monitor’ that have 4.5-5x efficiency. But 4x would be great Would be interesting to see how you get on! Tom

[@thesecretauthor9983]

Tom you are a star, already an Octopus customer and loved there green package. Wife is just about to move in to a detached bungalow and asked me about heat pump - so you have helped me as I agree very mixed views. Normally when government scheme it’s not really good idea. Only thing I am trying to work out is summers are getting hotter and thinking air to air heat pump. Going to research

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hello Secret Author - thanks so much for taking the time to comment, apologies it has taken me an age to come back to you! I can see the attraction in an air to air system, particularly with future heat. Daikin do a system that has 'floor standing' emitters that look a bit like conventional radiators - www.daikin.co.uk/en_gb/residential/products-and-advice/product-categories/air-conditioners.html#tabs-cd671d05da-item-2b7718988d-tab An air to air system will give a different experience in terms of comfort to a traditional radiator circuit heated by an air to water heat pump that is sometimes not to everyone's taste, but it can still keep you warm! Air to air systems aren't eligible for the boiler upgrade scheme, but I understand tend to be cheaper installations that many air to water systems. I would be interested to hear how you get on Thanks and happy new year! Tom

[@florin9868]

at that difference in costs/year gas boiler is still cheaper to install. here in Romania heat pumps are very expensive to buy and install compare to gas boilers

[@raymondcorreira847]

Why not solar panels and mini split units?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Good question - we haven’t got solar panels yet as our original roof is likely to need some work in the next few years. We have a membership in 3 ripple energy schemes that will contribute to our costs. Split units definitely have a place in the energy transition. We installed an air to water system as there was a grant to do so, and would serve our existing radiator system, and would provide hot water to our home. A split system is unlikely to be able to heat the 8 rooms around our house, and would require a separate hot water heater. Although I do think they have a role in some buildings! Tom

[@raymondcorreira847]

@ my understanding is every dollar in electric cost nets 2.90 dollars in heat, look into EG4 they have a off grid mini split set up with solar panels, inverter inside unit along with auto switching from PV to AC complete in unit, plug and play ready.

[@MyMateYourMate]

That's a really helpful explanation of the efficiency economics. We're about to get a whole heap of solar panels and batteries installed but I'm struggling to know just where we can fit a heat pump that's convenient and efficient due to the layout of our house. One day we'll get there (and maybe they'll be cheaper by then too).

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thanks for the comment - you may be interested in this example on Twitter of PV and self consumption for the heat pump over the year x.com/zapaman/status/1692176586051837985?s=46&t=5Ro34wtPZIKPoqNqfBV2NA Solar and a battery is a great step forward. And brill to hear you are thinking heat pump too. Hope it all goes well!

[@Eriuqsrednef]

GREAT. BUT. Once major item you miss out. How much did the entire heat pump & other equipment cost to buy/install, ££££. Truth please. How long is the install guaranteed for. ? How long will it take to reclaim costs for the overall expenditure laid out on all this. ???.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hello! I had talked about this in a number of videos, I had not expected the video I made last year to be seen so much without that other context.... so sorry for not giving the full picture! Install cost was £11k in 2021. There is currently a £7,500 grant from government. MCS suggests an average heat pump install is now £13k. Guarantee on the heat pump parts of 7 years, no guarantee on the installation (that I no of). A simple payback for my system would be 18-20 years, but that does not consider the improvement in comfort, reduction in emissions, improvement of air quality on my door step etc etc. We don't tend to calculate payback on many lifestyle decisions (new sofa, new car, expensive holiday etc) but for some reason people need to know the pay back of a heat pump. There may be small savings, depending on what you are moving from, but you could calculate those savings in lots of different ways. In the last year I calculate we have saved £200 vs a very efficient gas boiler providing similar comfort, but many people will be replacing an inefficient gas boiler so savings could be higher. Ultimately, if we are taking climate change seriously, we need to stop burning gas. Domestic heating is about 15% of UK emissions, heat pumps are a way to reduce that significantly. Thanks Tom

[@andrewbailey2547]

Question is your airsouce pump is outside, if you were to house it in a shed with a radiator that obviously warms up from the pump, would warming a shed with the pump inside increase temperature and lower the costs??

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Andrew, apologies for the slow response to your question. Interesting idea! Although I think that would not add much benefit. A heat pump is moving heat from one place to another, and using electricity to do that. Heating the shed would be waste heat as it would not be delivered to the area that it is needed so it would really just make things less efficient. You would be using the same amount of electricity to deliver less heat where you need it. I hope that make sense. I think your idea comes down to the 1st law of thermodynamics - i.e. energy cannot be created or destroyed. There are situations, particularly in cities or industrial settings, where we have waste heat from a process, or a ventilation system etc. If we were to house heat pumps in areas with waste heat, this would could give the benefit you are imagining... Thanks for engaging with the video. Happy New Year Tom

[@andrewbailey2547]

@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle thanks for getting back to me, you say near the end that waste heat energy from other sources would benifit. I'm not sure if you got what I ment. Let's say the heat pump was warming my heating. Now am I correct the heat pump finds warm air and this is how the heat pump works ? If this is the case then let's say instead of the shed the heat pump was stored into the attic where one little radiator is just to help boost the air a little making it warmer than the outside air, wouldn't this help to generate more heat ?

[@longnoseboi]

@@andrewbailey2547 The heat pump doesn't "find warm air" as such, it will extract heat from whatever air is around it. Cold air still contains a lot of heat energy, it's just less than warm air. The reason heat pumps are so much more efficient than convential heaters is because it's actually _moving the heat_ from one place to another. With your attic setup, the heat pump would be removing heat from the attic, only to move it back again through the radiator, which defeats the purpose of the heat pump. It might help to visualise what's going on if you imagine the heat as a physical object. For fun we'll say heat energy is a collection of marbles - the more marbles there are, the hotter it is. Let's say you need a decent number of marbles inside a room in your house to stay comfortable, but you're prone to losing them. On cold days especially they like to escape through windows, doors and any other gap they can find. This is no good, because you can't function properly when you've lost your marbles. A conventional heater is like going to the shop to buy more marbles to replace the ones you've lost. You go to the shop, buy 10 marbles, put them in your room, now you have 10 marbles in your room. But we can do better than that. A heat pump works differently. It uses 1 marble bought from the shop to find 2 marbles that were just outside your home (maybe those that escaped), and moves them inside. This is a 300% efficiency - for every 1 marble you buy, you get 3 marbles inside your home. The efficiency will be bigger when there are more marbles available to find outside - maybe it can find 3 or even 4 marbles outside for every 1 you feed it if there's enough. If there are very few (it's very cold), maybe it'll only find 1 - but no matter how cold it is there'll still be at least some outside (you have to get to -273ºC/-460ºF to reach 0 marbles). Let's say we have a marble-pump outside, and a marble dispensor (or radiator) inside. There are 100 marbles in your room, but this isn't enough for you. You buy 10 marbles from the shop to feed the pump, and it uses them to find 20 marbles outside and moves all 30 over to the marble dispensor - which dispenses them in your room. You have just gained 30 marbles for the price of 10 - leaving you with 130 marbles in your home. Crucially, these new marbles physically came from outside. We can't just conjure marbles out of the ether. Now let's say we have the scenario you described, your marble-pump is in your attic and it feeds a marble dispensor in the same room. We will again say we start with there are 100 marbles in the attic. We'll also buy 10 marbles from the shop. Because there are more marbles in here than outside, the marble pump is able to find 3 marbles for every 1 it's fed. This means the marble pump uses those 10 bought-marbles to find 30 marbles from the attic. It finds them, and pushes all 40 to the marble dispensor. We've just removed 30 marbles from the room and added 40, leaving us with 110 marbles. The extra boost from having more marbles available hasn't helped us, because all those marbles were just taken out of the attic and put back. In the end, the only marbles we added to the room were the ones we got straight from the shop. This makes the pump no different from a conventional heater.

[@ianpeddle6818]

The people two doors away have a heat pump - the noise is awful. We live in a rural area and every noise can be heard. We have electric central heating - silent and very efficient no need to alter the boiler etc. is your pump silent of very quiet?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Ian, just replied to your other comment but on noise... I did this video about how noisy ours is - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaTVco2DYtGXf5osi=HiNFIdOlql0tScOa I think it is fairly quiet, and not able to hear when it is in use during the winter. You can notice when you are stood next to it! What electric system do you have? Thanks Tom

[@jason6347]

Does a heat pump work on a mixer shower also or do you need to install a power shower on a new build . Will be looking to build soon just curious.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Jason, yes a heat pump can work with a mixer shower but you tend to need a hot water tank to generate hot water with a heat pump. Tom

[@Evphonehome]

Hey, just wondering what power (kW) your heat pump is and if it’s a high temperature one or not? Did you replace radiators?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hello - we have a 5 kW Arotherm plus from Vaillant - www.vaillant.com/home/products/air-to-water-heat-pump-system-arotherm-plus-12096.html I think technically this is a high temperature heat pump, and can heat hot water to whatever we want it to be (i.e. above 60°C). We did change some radiators but they are not significant in size, double panelled (rather than triple). There are probably things we could do to increase radiator size and I may have done that if we did it again... Thanks Tom

[@tonyfeasby1437]

Love the man maths. Gas is 4p or less on Oct variable currently. I'm in favour of ashp and just had a survey last week but genuine savings on bills are touch & go especially considering capital costs

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

'man maths' is a bit much! That was the price guarantee rate that I have been paying for my gas use on our hob over the last year. The flexible Octopus tariff I am on is now down to 7.43p per kWh. I guess the message I am trying to get across is the substantial CO2 savings, with monthly costs reduction, a bonus. There isn't necessarily a 'payback' with our system on a bills savings basis, but that doesn't consider the potential increase in value of our house, the marginal improvement in air quality, the increase in comfort and the reduction in emissions. And then the potential of coupling with solar, or a scheme like Ripple Energy, could be often some good savings. Our neighbour has just installed a big PV array, heat pump and battery, after a full year of bills, I think their costs will be very low... Thanks Tom

[@roverchap]

How long will it take to recoup the cost of installation? Oh, you said it later on. I have a modern gas boiler (2018) very efficient. I just try to use it less and heat individual rooms with interesting vintage electric fires. They are probably not so efficient but they look fantastic (like space ships) and being fully electric I can subscribe to green energy and possibly solar panels. A heat pump works for you but I don't have space for the tanks and pipework required, that's why I got rid of my old boiler and water tank.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Roverchap, thanks for the comment. Heating in that way is ok, and electric heaters like that will give you a path to very low carbon heating. At some point we need to get gas use to zero, so you are definitely one step along the way. Heating with a heat pump would be about 1/3rd of the cost of heating with electric heaters, but if that system doesn't work then, brill you will be reducing emissions every time you heat with electricity vs your gas boiler. Thanks Tom

[@Sreevloguk]

Electiric heating reduces room humidity by greater amount, is heat pump provide quaity of heat / humidity in the way gas heating works or electic heating works please.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

A heat pump like mine heats via a radiator system like a gas boiler so would provide a similar standard of heat to a gas boiler. There are heat pumps (like air conditioning systems) that heat the air directly and these may alter the humidity of the air.

[@ianmarchant-qu6jf]

So essentially it will take many decades to get a return on your investment… they need to make it less expensive to run and less to install. What I don’t know what is the life expectancy of a heat pump?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Ian, we should be aware of increased comfort and reduced emissions, these have a value that many people would pay for. We don’t tend to calculate pay back on a new sofa or a new car… But yes, making electricity cheaper would make heat pumps more attractive. At the moment the levies on energy bills punish the use of electricity but subsidise gas, which does make it difficult for heat pumps to make significant financial gains. Ours is slightly cheaper even in an house with OK insulation, could be much cheaper in a modern home. If serviced and maintained well a heat pump should last for many years. If the heat pump does break it would not need a new tank / new radiators etc so would be much cheaper to replace than install. Tom

[@grahametindale8292]

20 years life expectancy

[@MrReakes123]

Hey tom! So whats the situation with the water storage for baths,showers and sinks etc. do you need a big tank fitted in the garden or loft to store the hot water? And do you ever find yourself running out of hot water? Thanks!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi MrReakes123 - good question, and I would say this is the biggest change for us, yes we installed a hot water tank that seems to meet all our hot water demand, and is programmed to always keep the water ready for use (so is replenishing as we use it). It did take a small change in mindset, and it does take up some space that used to be storage. Thanks Tom

[@JefferyWhitfield]

Thanks the truth is vital for decision making. Keep up the great work.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Absolutely, and that is part of the reason why I make videos, sharing real experience of living with heat pumps, I hope, can dispel some myths!

[@jakeartis955]

Intending on retrofitting my ex pit house with underfloor heating and a heat pump next year as part of the full renovation of the property. The property was fitted with some leasehold solar panels so hopefully we'll get more use out of the energy it produces. Currently the property is well insulated but the old back boiler just is too inefficient. My goal is to make the house as efficient as possible to make future living costs lower

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Jake, fantastic to hear your plans, hope it goes well. Would love to hear how you get on Tom

[@simon7790]

Hi Tom, good vid, thanks. We have 3.5KWP solar and I modelled our solar production against heat demand by week in KWH. We're still on gas at the moment. Solar already mostly heats our hot water anyway, at least most of the year. Basically for Dec, Jan and Feb solar comes nowhere close to meeting the electricity demand if we had a heat pump. Solar production in Dec and Jan can be

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Simon, absolutely agree that solar is not the solution for supporting heat pumps in the depths of winter, where it comes into play nicely is in those 'shoulder' months of spring and autumn where we are heating but also get some daylight for generation. And then we would generate more in the summer that we wouldn't be able to use but would provide all our hot water and potentially miles in a car or e-bike.... Solar can supplement heat pumps nicely, but absolutely won't generate all the energy needed to meet the heat pump demand Thanks Tom

[@simon7790]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Hi Tom, yeah, I agree it would be useful in the shoulder months. I looked at our degree days and mapped it against solar production by day for last winter. Because I don't know the U values for the house or heat loss Watts/Kelvin. I just compared degree days versus solar production *3 (to imply how much heat in KWH an ASHP could supply using just solar). Really poor methodology, but it did give some indicative results that matched well with what we encountered. Which was that in Dec/Jan/Feb on only a few days per month would a decent chunk of the heat demand on a ASHP be met by solar, but that rises substantially from March onwards obviously as it's relatively warmer and lighter and the tipping point is reached. Nothing we don't already know, but still. If you don't have solar data then maybe using MIDAS Open solar data, or data from a someone local to you with solar data would help. You'd have a good working model to tell you how much of your electricity demand you could meet from solar, and maybe it could help spec your array size.

[@MikeGleesonazelectrics]

You should get an AC coupled storage battery, prices reasonable now about 3 or 4k for a smallish one but makes such a difference in winter on cheap overnight tariff of 7.5p / kwh.

[@telboyofpeckham]

What a clear & informative video. Take into consideration that gas prices will rise much faster than electricity and how much cleaner it is. Especially with the new installation that I have to do on my new home (gas boiler has been condemned) , the grants available, it's a no brainer.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Pleased to hear you are thinking the same way!

[@robertsmith9810]

ONCE you have taken the governments pieces of silver grant their is no going back to gas or oil just saying ,hope all go`s well

[@petercollins7848]

I hope that you have taken into consideration the initial outlay, minus the government grant of course, before you start making ‘savings’. Also the ongoing maintenance and future replacement of parts of the system as it wears. These things are still in their infancy and to take a leap where you cannot go back seems risky!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Peter, not sure telboyofpeckham mentions savings...? But with your multiple comments I am starting to think you have something to gain by casting doubt into other people's actions? Do you want us to keep using gas? Funding Putin? Poisoning our skies? And risking climate change? Commenting on multiple other people's comments on an obscure youtube account is fairly odd behaviour.... are you ok?@@petercollins7848

[@petercollins7848]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle I am very OK, thank you. I don’t think it is strange to comment on other people’s submissions when I think they are promoting something that is going to turn out to a big mistake for a large number of people and is being sold to us as a way of ‘saving’ and saving the planet. I am not against heat pumps for one minute, in fact the opposite when they are installed in the right situations. But now we see that British Gas and Octopus Energy are now pushing these things to the whole country. They are ‘guaranteeing’ that people will have the same temperatures or they will take them out. This is brave talk indeed and I feel it will come back to bite them - we shall see won’t we? My motive in replying to multiple comments is simply to inform other people of the realities of fitting a heat pump, both financially and performance-wise, before they take an expensive ‘leap’! All these issues are well known by those in the know, but not always by customers contemplating fitting an ASHP. I would have thought that to be transparent would be in everyone’s interest. As I have said in a previous comment, I would have an ASHP immediately if it could match my boiler performance and could be installed in my situation (a flat). As far as keeping using gas - Yes, I do think we should, and it will be with us for many decades yet. Also the electricity to run people’s heat pumps is being generated by gas too don’t forget if the wind does not blow, and even if it does it is only a percentage of electrical generation and will remain that way for some considerable time. And we are not ‘poisoning the skies’, people are living longer than ever before. As far as Putin is concerned, we have reduced our gas supply from Russia to next to nothing and are concentrating on our own home gown energy resources and this will only increase. We need also to keep looking for oil, as oil is in everything that makes the modern world - even heat pumps! Without oil we would would return to the Middle Ages. So I believe my approach of caution and evaluating the cost effectiveness of heat pumps is the rational and sensible view to take.

[@deborahperry7199]

Hi Tom, thanks for your video, I have been reading and hearing conflicting views on heat pumps. I have been given a govt grant of heat pump and a radiator in every room. Ideally I would like to go 'off grid' with solar panels and a battery. Do you know what the cost of a battery would be? And do you know if there are any differences in battery type or solar panels please?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Deborah, thanks for commenting, and good question. Costs for solar and battery systems change an awful lot depending on what you are installing, MCS has some data on this page about average costs - datadashboard.mcscertified.com/InstallationInsights. I would say an average sized solar panel + battery installation could be around £8,000. There are lots of different battery manufacturers that are more or less using the same technology (Lithium Ion) to make the batteries, some will have better 'smart' features or app integration. The main difference in price for different batteries will be the amount of storage or size of battery i.e. bigger battery, high cost. There won't be much difference between types of solar panels in terms of quality or generation. Most (although not all) solar panels are made in China so come from similar companies. Installing solar and battery can help drive costs for heating with a heat pump down, but being 'off grid' would take a very big battery and a very big solar installation. And, because of the steps forward in cleaning up the electricity grid, we can rely on clean electricity from the grid without our own solar panels and battery. I did a video recently about solar - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoi6m2qpj8ylZs0 - the conclusion being that a heat pump is the best step to reduce emissions you can take! And solar helps reduce costs but doesn't really reduce emissions. So well done for moving to a heat pump! I hope that is a helpful response? Thanks Tom

[@katzolitamason6729]

My heat pump is saving me money providing I keep it on at all times- That’s how it’s most efficient. I dint need other heaters anymore. There’s a lot to how you use it to find out how to correctly use one- Keep it on between 19 and 22 degrees . That’s what I do anyway. My bills have gone down.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Thanks for commenting, I have a similar experience Thanks Tom

[@apollocreed1000]

What is n the battery that he's referring too? I've never heard about installing them in houses

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi apollocreed - thanks for the comment. The battery I am talking about would be a domestic energy storage battery like a Tesla powerwall or givenergy or powervault. It is becoming more fashionable to install batteries like these alongside a solar PV system as the costs come down. This would allow you to use more of the power generated on a roof. Some people are installing them to take advantage of time of use tariffs. The battery is similar to those in an electric vehicle, although quite a bit smaller. Hope that answers your question? Thanks Tom

[@edamski8882]

Hi Tom, how do you find the noise of the pump? Looking at getting one but conscious of the noise.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hello - I did a video about noise a couple of years ago that you may find helpful - How loud are heat pumps? - Low Carbon Lifestyle Episode 38 kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaTVco2DYtGXf5o I haven’t found it an issue! Tom

[@glynstorer3269]

How much to install it

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Glyn, My system had an overall cost of about £11k, which would be £3.5k after the boiler upgrade scheme government grant. Thanks Tom

[@pastpaperguy8744]

Did you include the standing charge for the gas?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hello - we actually still pay a standing charge for gas as we still have a gas hob, but if that was removed, we could remove the supply and save the ~£180 per year.... Tom

[@mryan4452]

​@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle I'm reading your comments the amount of fairly dubious "ifs" in your comments is crazy. If this were the case, this would be cheaper / better / more economical. I'll be keeping to my cheap gas boiler and cheap gas for the foreseeable future. I commend you though on your concern for the environment.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

@@mryan4452 Hi Ryan, I am not sure what you mean is dubious....? The one you have replied to here is just saying 'if' we decided to remove a gas hob we could remove our gas meter and therefore stop paying gas standing charge...

[@mryan4452]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle why don't you do it? Because it's costly? If that's the reason, it's the same reason why I won't go near a heat pump at least until it becomes more economical.

[@neilbarnett3046]

Tom, where does the cold air go? Looks like it blows across your backyard, so is it always wet or cold there? If not, why not? It must be a bit of a pain when it's frosty or you want to sit in the sunshine but it's a cool day.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Neil - it is cool in front of the heat pump, but we don’t tend to spend much time outside when the heat pump is running, ie the winter. It is a small area impacted by air movement (about 1m), outside that, it’s difficult to notice. The air movement actually means the ground in front of the heat pump remains drier than the rest of our back yard! Really no pain, and you can notice the air is cooler but not a problem. I kind of answered your questions in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKnQeoqfeq-iis0si=HYeoFRXt7hMu5dyb Finally, the cool air goes to the same place as gas boiler exhausts. The atmosphere. It mixes with other air and recirculates back to the heat pump. A gas boiler just dumps fumes in the atmosphere 🤮

[@Redbullluva]

Hey we’re looking at getting one - how noisy are the fans/pumps?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hello - i did a video that I hope will help answer that ….. How loud are heat pumps? kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaTVco2DYtGXf5o

[@Redbullluva]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Yea, thanks very much for the response!

[@davidjones190]

My mates put one in 12 years ago he was very keen all going well for the first three years then air flow pump failed and he needed a new one 6 1/2 thousand pounds. That one also failed, just under three years old, but was still in warranty, so he had another new one. he and his wife are 75 years of age and they can take up to 5 to 6 weeks to replace his nervous about this one breaking down and is thinking about a back up gas boiler. to be honest, it’s put me right off!

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

HI David, thanks for the comment. I suspect that systems may have changed and I hope improved over the last 12 years. Although I agree I would be very frustrated with a failed heat pump. Ours has worked well for the 1st 2.5 years. There shouldn't have to be a 5-6 week wait to replace a unit, particularly if plumbing and electrics are all in the right place. There are also much more engineers / installers available today than there were 12 years ago. Thanks for engaging with the video, we need to reduce emissions linked to our heating so I hope you will be gaining some more confidence in heat pumps asap! Tom

[@davidjones190]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle hi Tom, thanks for your comments by coincidence. Another friend who is on benefits is having solar and heat pump fitted in the next few months. The government is paying and it’s come to £46,000. This includes insulating the house and some of the work which is to help the environment, I’ll keep you posted to see how successful in the world he finds it with modern equipment

[@MsJustice4ever]

What temperature do you have in the house though? Due to an elderly family member’s health condition, we can’t turn down the thermostat in our house. It’s at a minimum of 22 Celsius. And my costs with a latest model efficient gas boiler were the same as yours in my 3 bed semi with solid walls (no cavity wall).

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi MsJustice4ever - we keep the house at about 19°C which we are comfortable at, understand that others need to be warmer. It is difficult to compare one house to another, heating is impacted by location, wind direction, insulation levels etc etc. I am pleased that your modern boiler is working well and has similar costs to us. It would also have at least 3x the emissions, which is a bit of a shame...! Thanks Tom

[@vecamiolo]

19 would be way too cold for us. Especially when used to wood stoves like we have for primary heat that is often warmer than we need.

[@jackb8194]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle thank-you for the video. how warm did you keep your house when you had a gas boiler? what EPC rating do you have? have you dont any work to draft proof the house?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

@@jackb8194 Hi Jack - I think we tended to turn the heating on when we were cold, rather than try to heat to a consistent temperature. This means a big change for us with a heat pump, and lots more comfort. Our house is EPC C (although I don't put much weight on EPCs). We have not done much to draft proof the house, we do have an extension at the back of the house that was built in 2018, double glazing throughout and loft insulation, but still have ventilated / suspended wooden floors. Hope that is helpful Tom

[@jackb8194]

@ in the video you have the consumption of electricity + heat output when heating the house to a steady 19C. Before you had the heat pump and used the gas boiler only when you were cold, how did the annual kWh consumption compare to when you heated the house with the heat pump

[@nigelhayes40]

Thanks for the review. Did you keep the heat pump constantly on and if so at what temperature?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Nigel, apologies for the slow reply to this comment. I have actually changed the way we run the heat pump over the last couple of years, from heating in a similar manner we used to with a gas boiler (certain hours of the day) to keeping the heat pump running long hours on a weather compensated curve. So yes, we now run the systems all the time to maintain 19°C in our kitchen / diner (the area we spend the most amount of time) and leave the heat pump to run 'low and slow' i.e. over long hours but not with a huge output, just trickling in heat rather. One unexpected benefit, is that it means we are much more comfortable. We don't have the peaks and troughs we used to and still using much less energy than we ever did Hope that makes sense! Thanks and Happy New Year Tom

[@daidavies6210]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyleHe runs the heat pump all the time on low due to Expansion problems with them when not in constant use, They fail to operate at time after long periods of no usage…. You then have to call a engineer out to sort out the problem thats very expensive 3 x more than a Gas engineer would charge you,

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Dai, I’ve been living with a heat pump for 2.5 years now and not had to call an engineer out…? What do you mean? I have changed the way I run the heat pump but not for the reason you describe. Thanks for engaging with the video Tom

[@JohnBell-rf6oj]

@@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle Right in thinking, leaving HP 'on' doesn't necessarily mean 'running' all the time, but simply kicking in when it falls below your desired temperature, and 'low and slow' means maintaining temperature of the fabric of your home, so the HP doesn't have to reheat from cold all the time? BTW; You didn't mention whether you had to install larger pipework?

[@Divinefemininemiracles]

Hi I have a brand new gas boiler in old stone cottage I have been offered a 12kw samsung ashp plus insulation and 6 solar panels for free due to benefits , am wondering what to do? Gas boiler is LPG tanked due to living in the sticks I am on top of a hill I already have new radiators. I am really worried about costs of ashp as I have heard horror stories about cost to run. This is an energy scheme so i have no choice in brand etc.. advice needed pls

[@MrJohnny2hands]

There’s a famous case in Sunderland of a flagship development of high rise blocks taking gas out and installing heat pumps. After 4 years, they’re all being taken out. Not against heat pumps - they have a big part to play - but there needs to be a big review on training and standards.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Johnny, I knew about the Sunderland installation with Kensa and Sunamp (I live in Durham so some local interest), but hadn't heard that it was being taken out - do you have any links that I can read up on it? Sounds like a big shame!

[@allthegearuk]

I would be interested in more information about this case. I would suspect the education about how the system works and how to use it was lacking so residents complained.

[@benbrown3782]

Hi, is it possible to pay for the remainder of the cost of a heat pump/installation through installments - assuming a government grant application has been successful?

[@derekpaisley620]

Great video, I am in the North East and invested in solar and a battery. Looking at the heat pump now to reduce carbon and increasing efficiency. Can I ask what the heat loss is on you're properly?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Derek, thanks for the comment, and pleased to hear you are looking at heat pumps. Couple with solar and a battery, you'd be likely to reduce costs compared to heating with a gas boiler. Heat loss for us was just over 5 kW at -2°C. We are a 3 bed mid terrace house, built in the ~1880s but with some insulation improvements (double glazing, loft insulation and an extension to modern building regs). Would be great to hear how you get on with installers in the North East Tom

[@simonpowell1605]

why is the COP so low on your installation ?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Good question, I have worked quite hard to improve the COP of the system. And think it is nearer 3.5 this last 12 months. It was probably quite low for the first couple of years because I was trying to utilise time of use tariffs a bit more, which meant I wanted bigger swings throughout the day. This year, I have settled on a constant temperature at low flow temperatures and weather compensation curve. This seems to have really helped with efficiency. I’ll do a year 3 update in a couple of months!

[@kevphillips02]

I am not technical so a lot of info goes over my head . Currently I have electric heaters which cost a fortune and they do not heat the home very well . Soon I am moving and I have my eye on a house with a heat pump built in 2007 . Am I better moving to a house with gas heating or heat pump ?

[@JaSon-wc4pn]

Alot of rumours about Scotland getting forced to buy a heat pump for new builds and houses for sale. Under a new legislation So expect alot of site traffic from up north, Im also curious about how you heat your water for baths and general cleaning of dishes. Is the heat pump similar to a combi both open for hot water & closed for heating Or is this only for heating and you have an alternative gas/ electric boiler or even a quooker Just asking for curiosity sake My flat is so small and airtight, I dont need heating over the winter. (My old plasma tv is pretty warm) And I only use Gas for showers, but pay more for pipe rental than cubic flow of gas ???

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi JaSon, I am not up to date with the policy north of the wall, but in England the future homes standard will prevent gas boilers being installed from 2025 (it should be the case already but not long now!) Hot water - as part of the heat pump installation we needed to install a hot water tank, a combi boiler uses a lot of power very quickly to provide instantaneous hot water. A heat pump can't do that so heats the tank slowly as required. Our hot water tank has an immersion heater too that could heat up the tank quickly where required. We tend to store the hot water all day at a level that provides nice hot water when we need it. Great to hear your flat is efficient and doesn't need much heat, it is a shame you have to use gas for hot water, just using electric hot water for that would be a quick and cheap way to reduce gas use for you Tom

[@SteveN-pw4dj]

Good you are honest and show you don't actually save much money, but have a lot higher installation costs... HP are just great at reducing carbon output, but you aren't going to halve your heating bill as they would have us believe. What you say tallies perfectly with what i have said for years.

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi Steve, I would point out my experience is in a victorian property that most people say heat pumps would not be able to heat. So, in many more modern properties with better insulation, I would expect better performance and therefore probably lower costs. I don't remember ever reading that heat pumps would halve costs but if you have seen that then I would agree that is a bit exaggerated. Our savings are around 15-20% over a gas boiler. If we were able to couple with a solar system, a time of use tariff and a battery, or even a novel energy tariff, like through Ripple Energy - rippleenergy.com?ogu=6499&rtrfn=Tom-B then you would start to see even better savings. We currently subsidise gas over electricity, which is unlikely to last forever, if there was less subsidy for gas, or more for electricity, things may swing in Heat Pump's favour. Installation costs are also coming down as we as a nation get more experienced with the technology. We need to move to heat pumps to reduce our emissions linked to heat, saving money on bills is a bonus Thanks Tom

[@w.m9494]

Wonder how much a pcb or compressor will cost to replace i the event of a fault?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Good question. Hasn’t happened yet so don’t have an answer but I’ll let you know when I find out!

[@spent808]

So, how much does a heat pump system, solar panels and a battery cost?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Hi General General, it would be different for every home. We only have a heat pump, which had an installation cost of £11k, but with the current government grant the cost would have been £3.5k. Increasingly companies are offering heat pumps for a similar price to a boiler replacement. But I’d say we have improved comfort, reduced costs and significantly reduced emissions so better all round having a heat pump. Panels and battery, it depends on the size. 👍

[@BB-zi5wi]

Are u also up to date with the trivalent 100% organic & gluten free covid boosters?

[@TomBray-LowCarbonLifestyle]

Well that wins an award for one of the strangest comments I have had on this channel… please do share your email so I can send the award! Not sure what you mean? Reading between the lines, you think that Covid vaccinations are a conspiracy, and my video on reducing costs and emissions linked to heating, is a similar conspiracy? I’d love to see your working!