Is a Heat Pump Cheaper to Run Than a Gas Boiler?

[@jeanh9641]

Adam was so patient. His confidence in his skill and knowledge spoke a thousand words. Well done Heat Geek.

[@richardlewis5316]

But most of his words were to convince people that a heat pump is a viable alternative to a gas boiler - which they are not under normal domestic conditions in a small house.

[@HeatGeek]

Thanks again for the collaboration SB! Great to see it still running at 520% efficiency for the last 30 days as anyone can see by following the link. Heat geek guarentee the efficiency due to our belief in the ability of small family run businesses putting their heart and soul in to their work, with a bit of help from our training. This has resulted in an average SCOP across our installations of 4.44 to date. Here’s to the next!

[@hrvojelasic5794]

you actually don't know the efficiency. You only can measure electricity spent.

[@HeatGeek]

@@hrvojelasic5794 yes we do. It’s a very simple equation that only requires 3 sensors. Watch our mass flow rate video on how.

[@edc1569]

@@hrvojelasic5794there’s a sensor that measure the heat produced, they use metering grade sensors, such as the ones you have on communal heat schemes so they are very accurate as they are used for billing.

[@hrvojelasic5794]

@@HeatGeek You need to measure the entering/leaving water flow temperature on the HP, the mass flow of water through the HP, and the electricity input on the HP. This is the only correct way. If you do that good. First three inputs you get heating capacity q=mXcpXdt and divide that by the electricity input and you get COP.I didn't watch your video though.

[@HeatGeek]

@@hrvojelasic5794 yes.. very simple and very standard. We do this and it’s supplied and verified by a 3rd party.

[@peterbee8892]

I had a heat pump installed under the old gas boiler replacement scheme. The first year it was expensive but not a big problem but one room was struggling to make temp. After the original installers could not find fault I found a heat geek from the website and after a one hour visit the controls were adjusted and a blending valve turned off the system has wor,ed like a dream all winter with much smaller bills and all rooms working. I cannot speak more highly about the heat geek and skill builder videos.

[@advance-heating]

What temp is your dhw cylinder set to ?

[@theq-1]

1st Law of Thermodynamics... it will always be scrap.

[@shmink2]

Watching some stuff from urban plumbers here and there and it generally seems like blending valves aren't good in a heat pump setup I think.

[@peterzmuda]

I’m a heating engineer for the last 25 years and I think you may have started to convert me to the idea of heat pumps Thanks for the great videos

[@johnchoice1371]

Big ugly box on side of wall with noise issues.

[@stuartburns8657]

​@@johnchoice1371??

[@that0guy9]

@@johnchoice1371 I suggest you watch the previous video on the noise. I’d have to say it’s better looking that the cabinet my outside boiler is in.

[@stamfordmeetup]

@@johnchoice1371 get a divorce then

[@_Dougaldog]

@@johnchoice1371 My HP isn't noisy at all, if yours is then it needs seeing to.

[@billirvine9078]

A briliant set of films.Thanks to Heet Geek Skill Builder and the gentleman who allowed us into his home.Entertaining and thought provoking.

[@jam99]

And the conclusion is that yes, heat pumps can be great, but you need a very competent installer. How many are there in the country and how do you separate them from everyone else? The argument should never have been, "Do they work?" It should always have been, "How do I guarantee finding a (local) competent installer capable to advise and fit a heatpump system well, with the necessary aftercare?" A successfully installed heatpump system can only be achieved with more competence, care and education on the part of the installer compared to a traditional boiler system (and sufficient space). That is the issue; competence and quality of service, and that costs.

[@steveholliday1599]

Kudos to SB and HG. SB for having the courage to start this journey and invite HG in, and HG for taking up the challenge and showing how good vs bad installation makes all the difference.

[@Retiredrovingroger]

Informative video and I wanted to replace our old Baxi back boiler, I replaced four radiators had my cavity walls insulated but then it was time for my Octopus survey. I had nothing but trouble with my Octopus survey, paid my £500 deposit and the first appointment they did not turn up, when they arrived on the second appointment, I had two surveyors one training the other. They were at my property for four hours and it all went well Octopus needed to install three radiators heat pump to the front of the house with external pipes going up to the loft and into my airing cupboard to the new tank. A week later I got an email to say they needed to do another survey and when the surveyor arrived, he said straight away sorry but as you have a room in the loft the pipes from the heat pump cannot be covered. So, no heat pump install, it took me 5 months to get my £500 deposit back and that was only by going to the energy ombudsman, we did get £200 compensation from Octopus in the end but the communication from them was awful. My only concern with going to an independent is the cost my quotation from Octopus on the first survey was £4300 install.

[@barrybarry6592]

The costs are eye watering with insulation and installation. Plus no other options but one source of energy. Ventilation in an old building is paramount

[@warpcode]

Even though Roger has been critical of heat pumps in the past, it's great to see him bring in people who know about them, shows they can be good etc as long as it's done right. The scare mongering around heat pumps need to end and this level headed showcase has been great

[@Steve-j7z]

They had about 12 people doing the instal and probably 3 or 4 constantly monitoring it to make sure it works. Do yo think the average Joe is going to get that standard of care for the price of a gas installation?

[@warpcode]

@@Steve-j7z because they corrected an existing bad install which is far more work because it's not just about fitting new stuff, it's debugging the new issues created. Plus it gets the job done faster. I'm getting quotes right now and been quoted £3, 500 on average after the tax break and they all done full surveys and install plans

[@blahdelablah]

@@Steve-j7z They had more people in to do the install because it sped up the installation. It's possible to get the same results with fewer people if the work can be done over a longer period of time.

[@defragsbin]

I think it's been informative and really cool to see Adam & co put their money where their mouth is. They've shown that the installs can work if the installer knows their onions. Roger on the other hand has been in the building trade long enough to recognise perverse incentives when he sees them. One of Roger's main points is correct: the government is throwing money at this in a stupid way. If folk like Adam were in charge of the regulation and certification so that customers had comeback on bad installs, and we had tens of thousands of well-trained heat geeks to do the work, it would be much plainer sailing. Take my mate who bought a new build family home with 3 bedrooms -- it's a decent size but not a mansion. A few years down the line, he wants to replace the gas boiler with a heat pump because he already has solar panels and isn't satisfied with the way the boiler is set up. He gets a quote from two local firms. One wants to put a very high powered unit in and is not very willing to answer questions etc. The other guy specs something that he knows to be more reasonable, answers questions and also figures out that radiators in one of the bedrooms is mis-sized and the thermostat isn't working correctly. Second guy gets the gig and does a great job, my friend is happy with it. I sincerely doubt he'd have got the same result with the other company. If your chance of a good install is 50/50 and there's no comeback on a bad one, we're miles off doing this on a national scale.

[@digitaria]

Just take the damn vaccine, the government says it’s ok. All the top medical boffins say it’s ok. After watching the programs and news on TV I am convinced it is ok. Oh, sorry this is a heat pump conversation, so who do I blame if it all goes wrong in 3 years? The fact of the matter is without top quality insulation throughout you won’t benefit from the flaming things.

[@jebimasta4604]

Adam sitting very patiently waiting for the data to do all the talking 😂 smashed it heat geeks!

[@thomaslundberg5588]

Looks great but you really need data from December - February before making that judgement in my opinion 😉

[@Doug....]

How much did he pay for that system 🙈😳🤔

[@eurovisie2010]

@@Doug.... it's in the video, somewhere in the 2nd half

[@michaelfraser5723]

with help from a little bit of manipulation of the math

[@Doug....]

@@eurovisie2010 Yes euro. I certainly did catch that point. 😂 I should have written it as " And he paid HOW much to get slightly cheaper bills". How many normal people can afford that sort of outlay???. Very informative video for sure but like electric cars its all pie in the sky.

[@JakeBrumby]

Adam explains things so well - he simplifies things, which really helps to learn about this "new" heat pump technology (the Scandinavians have been using heat pumps for decades!).

[@vandyFixer]

As smart and invested as John seems to be, I am surprised that he hadn't done the ceiling insulation first. I am extremely pleased to see that the system is now working for them. Well done Heat Geeks, John and SB.

[@hm21370]

Hi - yes, a very good point. But when the EPC was done, the house came up to scratch, so I hadn't realised there was more to do. That become more apparent as the years wore on.....

[@vandyFixer]

@@hm21370 Thanks for the reply, John. I am really pleased that you did get it sorted and are still married 😀 Soon the bad taste from the previous installation will recede and you can bathe in both the literal and figurative "Warm Glow" not to mention reap the financial savings as well. Greetings from a heatpump user in New Zealand.

[@rabhaw2327]

Maybe if they had all the insulation done they wouldn't have needed an expensive heat pump!!

[@Doug....]

Roger. Ive been following this poor guys saga from the beginning. I love what you said about the space under the kitchen cabinets. Thinking outside the box that. 👍👍👍

[@willeisinga2089]

Rooftop Solar, Inductioncooking, HT Heatpump. No Gas. Makes a lot of Money. Power from the Sun, heat from the Air. COP 4. Works for 12 years now.❤👍

[@Ben-gm9lo]

Unless someone in the house has a pacemaker. Then ceramic hob instead of induction, but the rest is still good!

[@manolis1080]

If you use an electric cooker appliance it's more efficient than induction hob because the heating element is internal and no heat is wasted

[@willeisinga2089]

@@manolis1080 I have Electric Cooker, Microwave, Airfryer and Inductioncooking 👍

[@willeisinga2089]

@@Ben-gm9lo 👍 Thank You.

[@jackiechan8840]

Struggled to do my scrambled eggs on induction hob.

[@rogergriffiths207]

The most informative set of 1/2 hr clips on heat pump problems, solving a problem, measuring the performance of the asset, & comparative savings to boot ! Very impressed with Rogers stand back and see if Adam can prove us he is right attitude, and he most certainly was ! thanks very much all involved. It does show up the problems with the installation side of the industry, however Heat Geek are an exceptional inspiration to anybody watching these clips that show if you are properly trained up with certification, then nightmare installations should be a thing of the past. After that praise though you have to think later down the line you cannot go back if things fail plus there will not be a £7000 grant to help you out either.

[@Daniells1982]

This is a brilliant series of videos. Really enjoyed the journey. Glad to see John has a functioning, efficient system and a comfortable home now. It's no doubt been a stressful and expensive few years for him and the good lady. All the best and hopefully we get another follow up video at some point.

[@j4ck888]

what a fantastic journey from youtube beef right through to diagnosis and science behind the whole system. well done to all parties, I have learnt a lot from this

[@Lewis_Standing]

I was previously rude to you SB and I'd like to apologise, I'm glad Adam reached out to you and ha shown you the positives of heat pumps and how to design them.

[@johnchoice1371]

Negatives: Big ugly box, noise issues, trashing a good , working gas boiler.

[@mikeypc3592]

​@@johnchoice1371this guy's on a rampage in the comments😅.

[@armoris66]

@@mikeypc3592 Old school gas engineer I'd guess. Sad really 😔😆

[@pauldavies7251]

​@@armoris66what he's saying is true tho, Gas boilers are cheap to buy & very cheap to run, instant heat & instant hot water, np need for storage tanks or oversize pipework & radiators

[@yngndrw.]

@@johnchoice1371 Our neighbour's oil boiler is noisy, while our heat pump is essentially silent. It's about the same physical size as an external oil boiler too.

[@hauskalainen]

I moved from the UK to Finland 20 years ago. I'm amazed at how our radiators never get hot like my radiators in the UK but we are always at 23°C room temp. They feel warm (but only at the top) when it's minus 20 C outside. Insulation is great. Our building is moving away from multifuel district heating to ground source heat pumps with Solar panels on the roof as of next winter. Also our powered ventilation is going to start heat recovery so the warm air will no longer be vented. It will last 20-25 years and will repay the loan taken within the first 7 years. After that we will be quids (euros) in for the next 15 years

[@egocd]

BuT tHEy Don'T WoRk whEN itS coLD OutSiDe 🤣 More people need to realise that heat pumps have been in use in Scandanavia for over 30 years.

[@_Dougaldog]

@@egocd And in many commercial buildings in UK for just as long, UK domestic market is behind rest of world.

[@skasteve6528]

@@_Dougaldog To be fair, in the past the sums didn't add up for heat pumps for a single house. In Finland, more people live in blocks of flats. The underground work for the heat pumps is done at the same time as the foundations are laid. Typically, Finnish apartment residents have free hot water (you get a bill if you abuse this) and free heating.

[@hauskalainen]

@@skasteve6528 I assure you we don't get free hot water! Everything is paid for, albeit that it is not metered at the household level. Collectively the residents pay for their water whether it is cold or heated.

[@skasteve6528]

@@hauskalainen You are quite right. The cost is included in the rent in many (but not all appartment rentals), it isn't actually free.

[@JohnMoor1970]

Congrats to everyone for a balanced and grounded discussion - plenty of food for thought.

[@rgolianeh]

I installed a heat pump on our home here in California a month ago. It produces a fresh cool air throughout the house 24/7. I am amazed at it. It's very quiet. I recommend it.

[@ambassadorfromreality1125]

Damm Roger, Adam and John for ruining my day because I have to watch it before doing anything else and damn them again for compelling me to waste time writing to say how good it is.

[@nigelbarnbrook3477]

An excellent video, gives a great insight and perspective of a heat pump system. I live off the Gas grid and rely on multiple sources of heat to warm our 100 year old + house. We have a pellet stove, an oil Rayburn, open fires and a multi fuel stove ! we hardly have the CH on. I agree with Rodger, with the perfect scenario a heat pump will be excellent, however for some folks it just wouldn’t work.

[@anthony208]

For a true comparison it would be interesting to compare apples with apples, i.e. a gas boiler system with ASHP, both with similar standards of insulation and weather compensated to really compare like for like. A few issues, they use gas for cooking so the standing charge saving is a non starter unless the cook with electricity in which case the electricity cost would rise. Without the grant and favourable electricity rates currently offered for ASHP heated houses, the payback period would be significantly longer, so making it much less realistic an option for many, particularly if you aren’t in your house for life and plan on moving. The original install was circa £16k, heat geek suggested £20k, I’m guessing that the cost of the refit was significantly more than £20k if all hours were charged and not done for promotional reasons. I’m guessing, but i imagine that the greater percentage saving comes from upgrading the insulation, windows, draught proofing and weather compensation than from the heat source itself, ASHP or new gas boiler. I admit i am biased because i don’t believe the cult of saving carbon, so that factor would never enter my thinking, albeit that i accept the government have already and will increase taxes to manipulate the carbon net zero ponzi schemes. I’m open minded to any heating system though and my son is a heating engineer, fitting ASHP on new build schemes and gas boilers

[@Felix-st2ue]

Well, to get a reasonable comparison, you can take the amount of heat this install has produced and then multiply it so that you calculate with an efficency of 90-95%. Then you would have the gas consumption. And then it's just about comparing the rates of gas vs. electricity. 95% efficiency is about the maximum you can expect from a boiler. But most installs are way below that due to bad setup and configuration.

[@rkan2]

Also if you don't go for name brand heatpumps, you can get monoblocks with the same power as in this installation for like 1/3rd the cost.

[@jcjko5504]

I agree. Too many political spinning as fas as those "carbon net zero".

[@barryfoster453]

It makes me smile how loss of interest is never taken into account. If you stick with your (less efficient) gas boiler, then you spend a little more on energy. But if you change the system to something which means a capital cost, you lose interest (that you would have gained). Spend £10,000 and you're actually losing as much as £500 a year in lost interest (on the money which you have removed from your account). The guy from Heat Geek makes no mention of it...of course! I don't like anything which involves ANY complexity (I'm a heating engineer and consultant). For me, simplicity is the key to a happy heating system. My home has an electric heating system on daytime rate electric (21p per kWh), and it costs me £3,000 a year (3-bed detached). Each room is time and temperature controlled and it never breaks down, of course. It costs more to run than a heat pump system, but there's nothing to go wrong! I love it, and wouldn't have anything else.

[@GrumpyOrc]

Big thanks to John for letting us in on this saga. It's a great example of the benefits of this type of heating system, but also how it can go wrong, and hopefully will help people to make the right choices for their own situations.

[@REDGRIFFIN100]

Great vid and explanations. I keep tossing between the comfort idea. I accept a steady constant temp is comfortable from the point of view of being awake and moving around the house, feel of drafts, radiance from heatsink walls etc. Where I struggle is the idea of a constant temp day and night, I value the significant drop in temperature at night, 18c is an absolute max for me to sleep and lower is much better, then the room warming in the morning naturally wakes me as an alarm. With a more consistent day to night temp this comfort goes away for me, I don't sleep as well and I don't wake up as well.

[@_Dougaldog]

MCS standard is 21C Livingroom, 22C Bathroom & 18C the rest. The flow temperature can easily be set to step down (or up) a few degrees using programmed schedule in control panel, then step back again before getting up. Or controlled by mobile App to step up or down if needed, although the system does take a little while to react.

[@Felix-st2ue]

Or you simply adopt the flow rates for the different rooms accordingly. That way the all have a constant temperature but not the same

[@rkan2]

Install a programmable (remote control) thermostat to your rad.

[@reganovich]

absolutely brilliant..open mind, fair minded approach and great insight..fair play lads..this is top

[@ascot4000]

I'd love this but honestly the amount of highly skilled people needed to sort this all out is just beyond us regular folk. Indeed, what would be the labour cost of all those 'Heat Geek' engineers required for this particular installation? The science and engineering is fascinating and clearly it can all work but I don't think it can be replicated for us regular folk. The skills are not out there in the numbers needed and even in this case, with all the knowledgeable pre-work (and previous efforts and results all noted), the actual cost of the final skills & labour required in this example looks to be extreme. I'd sign-up in a heartbeat if this massive team was available to me at an affordable price. However, skilled people do not work for peanuts (nor should they, their enhanced skills have to be rewarded) - even if you could find them.

[@egocd]

It takes 2 skilled people about 2 oe 3 days to install a heatpump in a regular property. I believe they got all these chaps in to do it in less than a day. It was more for the video than anything. You absolutely do not need this number of people.

[@HeatGeek]

Weve trained 2k heatgeek so far and are massively ramping up this year

[@edc1569]

You just need one person who knows what they’re doing.

[@andybarnard4575]

​@@egocd So how come the cost (before grant) is £20k? £5k per man day? Clearly the kit must be pretty pricey at the moment.

[@davidbarker954]

Finally some sense talked and whilst not in the market for getting rid of our gas boiler heating just yet, it gives me hope for the future.

[@Sheyii]

I have enjoyed watching this series of videos. Thanks for always coming back with feedback... The heat geeks are real pros

[@sirjohng1]

With weather compensation on a replacement gas boiler installation like I designed for a small business office complex using Danfoss equipment made for this purpose the system runs automatically 24/7 with good insulation and correctly sized radiators all with rad stats. This was over 20 years ago and worked efficiently and at much lower cost than the original gas boiler installation. It did, however, require the first electrician to be replaced as he could not understand the wiring! Some tech: The boiler had input and output boiler temperature sensors which enabled pump overrun without firing and there was an outside temperature sensor so individual rad heat output was system balanced. Nighttime system temperature was automatically lowered as the offices were unused during this time. Hot water was zoned.

[@ianpuddick]

HGeek clearly a super decent honourable outfit 👍

[@castlesteve1]

I live in Virginia USA and have just had a new heat pump put in to supplement the second floor hvac. It’s a Mitsubishi mini split and is almost silent. So far we are very pleased with it.

[@SkillBuilder]

Good to know it is working well for you, long may it continue.

[@ShaunPeterKelly]

They are absolutely correct about searching for a company who has well trained fitters before you consider having a heat pump.

[@leedavies7580]

Ground source heat pumps are the best of the heat pumps , put one in a farm 14 years ago & still going strong . Alot of factures to make sure you can get the best out the air source heat pumps ,miss one thing off and they under perform !!

[@alanmuncaster7357]

Insulation done. 9KW of PV, full house MVHR, 16 KW of battery storage. Next month the ASHP. Goodbye gas. The 12 year journey is nearly complete. Great set of videos.

[@advance-heating]

look up defrost cycle before ashp

[@pauldavies7251]

Full cost of what you've had fitted/fitting!!?? A small mortgage may cover the cost

[@rkan2]

​​@@pauldavies7251Probably getting a 1000£/year cheaper to install though!

[@anthonybennett-u8k]

very impressed with HEAT GEEK. I think a big problem is , companies claim to be mcs , they are the office staff, they then employ plumbers to do the installation . i have fitted a few for a company but have nothing to do with the commissioning etc .

[@andysPARK]

Okay, if I can get a heat pump I'll definitely go to heat geeks for install direction.

[@_Dougaldog]

As an aside, OVO are partnering with Heat Geeks for those who didn't know.

[@billybobhouse9559]

This is great to watch, 2 conficting opinions managing to find common ground. We the consumer benifit from both parties opinions and i really appreciate your mature approach to a controversial topic.

[@markburton8303]

Always nice to see Glyn Hudson on the leader board with 4.7 scop on his self install!

[@stamfordmeetup]

and he lives in old terrace house with solid walls and hence minimal insulation. It highlights that the problem is the rogue installers and not the equipment. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZyxqWWliLRgiZY

[@markburton8303]

@@stamfordmeetup Absolutely! This video also highlights that too. It's a shame the chap had to deal with the run around.

[@markburton8303]

@@dorsetengineering ah right, so potential gains to be had there too. From watching his video the heat loss modelling seemed to be the key to it all?

[@markburton8303]

@@dorsetengineering Big rads, low flow temp, so I believe?

[@advance-heating]

Skeptical about SCOP of estim 4.5 from 19'40" onwards because the chart records that flow to DHW is only 50.8°C. Four problems here: 1. The hot water cylinder setpoint is probably 43° +/- 4°C. Oops! There's no Legionella cycle of 60°C for an hour a day. John & sensible, gas-loving wife are unwittingly in mortal danger of respiratory infection according to the corrupt HSE anyway. (Actually I'd agree with Heat Geeks about skipping Legionella heating). 2. Dhw loading will only kick in when sensor is at 39°C so John's teeth will be gnattering under the shower because he won't achieve a comfortable 38°C at the actual shower head. New mixer designs are ruined with an internal cold bypass so as to meet the ridiculous TMV regulations. Mixer manuals specify a hot supply of 10K above the safety-button temperature (yes, that one that was painstakingly adjusted by the patient and well-trained "commissioning" plumber). John's shower actually requires dhw setpoint of 52° +/-4°C and the heatpump must therefore load it with a flow temperature that rises to at least 60°C. How's your COP doing in January now? 3. British air source heat pumps suffer from our moderate & damp British Island air. You need some ice in your water & lemon? Just scrape it off your ashp evaporator. On many days this ice has to melted off REVERSING your heat pump and shoving warmth to the OUTSIDE of your home. Costs 40p/kWh maybe? Did John notice that the "defrost cycle" is not mentioned in the glossy sales brochure ?? 4. Getting 1kW of electrical energy in your home requires around 3kW fuel energy from gas, coal, or wood pellets in the power station, because of combustion, steam and transmission losses. So now your heat pump's true efficiency is only 1.5 (ie. scop of 4.5/3). Without all the home insulation measures and the Heat Geeks' help, your heat pump's true efficiency will plummet from 1.5 to below 0.9. Then you might as well have stuck with a gas boiler and produce three times less CO2 for the environment every year. Sorry XR, we really thought heat pumps would reverse Climate Boiling. What's the answer? Whatever the Government nudge or force you to do, do the opposite.

[@plinble]

Don't doubt the COP when it's a bit cold and windy outside. My garden is a frost pocket, have 100% doubts when it's still and freezing weather. Annualised is no good, need most heating when it's really cold. All the hot water takes less than 3kWh/ day with resistive. (e.g. 1.2kWh for a shower).

[@stevesanders4071]

We just need a lot more heat geeks

[@HeatGeek]

Coming soon!

[@emorell96]

For older buildings vacuum glass is great. It allows you to retrofit into the existing frames a glass with an U value of less than 1. Even better than triple glassing for Benglass for example with U=0.4W/m2K. We are doing a retrofit of a listed building in Holland right now and we do have to ask for permits but it should be approved, and we can definitely not have to be cold.

[@M4l3k0]

I want to see how these work with a standard semi-detached house from say the 1930's. Not to mention a terraced house! Space for all the gear, what would need doing with pipe work, radiator replacement etc. etc. etc.

[@JoshuaStringfellow1]

Getting one installed in a ~1930s semi-detached house in about a month, will be able to say if I've made a big mistake or not in 6 or 7 months.

[@Lewis_Standing]

Do you want to search for urban plumbing by szymon cyban. He's got a couple of videos of London terraces with solid walls where they are working perfectly.

[@johnchoice1371]

More trouble than it's worth!

[@gulfstream7235]

@@JoshuaStringfellow1 Best of luck with it. I am in a similar situation with age and type of house but just had new gas boiler fitted so won't be converting anytime soon.

[@keithprice5208]

@@JoshuaStringfellow1 If it turns out to be a mistake, it'll be an expensive one.

[@LivingALife4Me]

Looking at moving house and thinking about buying one that needs new heating and this is giving more confidence in a heat pump!

[@scottlewis7893]

Don’t do it

[@gordonmackenzie4512]

I see loads of heat pumps when I’m out n about. Most are in the Badenoch and Strathspey area, where there is no mains gas. Think Cairngorm Mountains and Aviemore ski resort. They must be replacing oil fired boilers and LPG with a heat pump. I’ve asked a few about it, and everybody seems very happy.

[@johnchoice1371]

I have noticed heat pumps too, on industrial buildings. But, these big ugly units might look out of place on the side of a thatched cottage in the English countryside.

[@rodgerq]

Great video and a highly impressive result on the revamped system. Its quite fun to see the arguments against heat pumps. "Oh well why dont you try fitting one to an igloo in the middle of the arctic circle and comes back tk me" 😂

[@ArnoldCommentator]

Don’t even get me started on the issues trying to run a heat pump efficiently on the moon, absolute nightmare mate

[@rodgerq]

@@ArnoldCommentator scrap the whole tech I say.

[@geimfarinn]

Here in Iceland we use geothermal underfloor heating to keep the rooms at a constant 22°C. Whilst it's not a heat pump, it concurs with what you were saying about a constant background heating is much better than the Yo-Yo heating method of gas boilers

[@frankief7111]

I have a gas boiler and keep a constant temperature, it’s not a problem for a gas boiler to maintain a constant temperature . People do Yo-Yo to save money.

[@theelectricmonk3909]

@@frankief7111 "People do Yo-Yo to save money." - Or because they had no idea there was another way. I've had gas combi heating for almost 30 years in my house, and no-one has ever said I can run my boiler in any other way than flat out, with the rads getting scalding hot before cooling off again. I'd much prefer a constant heat - especially at the transition in & out of summer, when the house is either too hot or too cold, and rarely "just right".

[@QuinchGaming]

Just found your channel. I work as a QS for a plumbing & heating company & we work in the new build environment so are currently working with ASHP & UFH systems. Going to share your channel around the office as the knowledge & opinions all match what we're working within now. We're all privately waiting for hydrogen production & infrastructure to get going to be honest.

[@SkillBuilder]

Thank you for sharing the content, the more people who see it the better,

[@RR-mt2wp]

Great it sounds grand, I still prefer a wood burner,Simples. Great video Roger many thanks bud.

[@stamfordmeetup]

wood burners destroy the planet

[@crm114.]

That’s the dinosaur solution - dirty, polluting and not sustainable

[@ozzman2685]

sustainable, low outlay, not much to go wrong, cheap to maintain , works without electricity , and if necessary not impossible to find fuel !

[@theelectricmonk3909]

@@stamfordmeetup No, they don't. Asteroids destroy planets. Exploding stars destroy planets. Vogons destroy planets. Wood burners are almost entirely carbon neutral, the main problem with them is the soot/ash they produce is toxic in high concentrations, and if all 7bn human beings used wood burners, there'd be a) no wood left, and b) smogs like you've never seen before.

[@barryfoster453]

Yes, I'm with you. A log burner is THE perfect heat. Completely sustainable and renewable - wood all around - so perfect for the planet as well! The particles are a pain, but apart from that it's great.

[@Flat-Five]

Great series with a satisfying ending. Would also be interesting to compare maintenance costs for gas vs heatpump over that period.

[@bobphillips2188]

Me again! I have never had gas CH/HW as I am off the gas grid. My old solid fuel CH/HW was decommissioned when I had ASHP CH/HW installed on a Scottish Gov. 100% grant. Since I do not have any other form of heating to fall back on - which Skill Builder seems a tad fixated on, i.e., gas - I am 100% dependent on my heat pump system. Yet on the NW coast of Scotland, where winter is longer if not actually much colder than the south of England (Gulf Stream/maritime effect), my heat pump is just brilliant, the house is very cosy, I have no complaints at all. Yet in this video, SB dude seems to want 'back up', 'just in case'. Why? I have never been cold in the two years since my ASHP was fitted, and I spend on electricity - and I'm serious - less than 40% of what I formerly did on coal and wood. If I had gas heating I wouldn't need or even want a back up, so why so with a heat pump system?

[@advance-heating]

yours is a good case for a heat pump. The weaknesses you face are: creating nuclear waste, susceptibility to either blackouts or disconnection by the thought police via your smart meter. Your solid fuel gave you fuel independence - perhaps you might have been able to double its efficiency?

[@Jaw0lf]

Well done for the collaboration. It shows talking to each other is always the best way.

[@steveunique3075]

Great video series, I am on board with everything up until the upfront installation cost and it's a shame it was glossed over in all videos here. £20k (£13.5k with grant) for an installation is insane, I have been quoted £3.5k from octopus energy which is easier to stomach but still struggle to understand how they can get away with charging £11k. 5 years ago we had a combi replaced and all radiators for just over £2k all in. I appreciate the savings generated but upfront costs are what most people will base their decision on!

[@Das_Tipples]

True, plus factoring in your ROI. There's also a lot more to go wrong compared to a combi.

[@djenson]

How is there more to go wrong in a heatpump than a gas boiler. Their a lot more simple really.

[@donovanvaz3289]

I think this comment needs to be bumped to the top for an answer.

[@calderjack7818]

I think the 20k quote was because John boys gaff is massive

[@haydnmartin4022]

Definitely the next video for skill builder and heat geek is to fit one in rogers house ! I think that’s the video everyone wants to see lol

[@CommercialGasEngineerVideos]

Not convinced on heat pumps yet. Not been around long enough, plus I'm sure the designers can make them more efficient and more rapid whilst taking up less space.

[@egocd]

Heatpumps have been in use in Scandanavia for over 30 years. The size is required for the heat exchanger. The smaller you make it, the less efficient it becomes. Can't bypass physics, unfortunately.

[@HeatGeek]

How long have fridges and freezers been about? Pretty proven tech.

[@edc1569]

Been around longer than the condensing boiler

[@edc1569]

Bit like saying I’m sure they can make a much more efficient car, these are already highly optimised appliances, far more important is the quality and design of the install than the spec of the equipment.

[@_Dougaldog]

Heat pumps have been in use in UK commercial market for many years now, and Worldwide have matured over past 60-70 years, with first ever made in @ 1856.... Modern monitoring and control along with precision engineering and design make them very efficient at recovering heat from atmosphere.

[@mateuszbieniek4791]

Amazing job Roger, this is a well applied scrutiny in a civilised manner, we need more of this from everyone!

[@PhillipWalker-o3t]

Just to try and add a bit of balance, personally even after all these videos on this installation, I'm still not convinced that they've really made a strong financial case for installing a heat pump system. Firstly I'll freely admit I'm not a massive fan of these systems so may be I'm showing a little bias but when considering the two systems and the real overall costs I think the arguments regarding cost savings aren't that compelling. For a start as it was said in the video the original installation cost I believe was around £20,000 including insulation. Had the insulation alone been done and then the overall running costs re-calculated for the gas only system I doubt the benefit would subsequently have been so large. Next the system cost £20,000 when it didn't work effectively, so how much more did it cost to actually get it to work properly and how much additional cost was incurred whilst it was being fixed? A heat pump system uses more hardware and has more moving parts that can wear out, has a larger overall foot print, and from my experience cooling fans tend to get noisy as they get dirty/wear and external pipe insulation can crack and deteriorate over time. If the system takes 10 years to payback the investment and that was after discounting the BUS money I believe, then even at that break even point what is the remaining expected lifespan on the equipment going forward? I suspect the cost of maintaining a heat-pump system is also greater than your average boiler system. Don't get me wrong I'm not against Heat-pumps and EVs for that matter and I'm not just trying to be a miserable old Luddite, it's just that I'm not totally convinced that financially the claims that are made for them are really that strong. I appreciate the desire to be green and for those that are happy to pay the premium to support the cause, fair play to you and well done. However I'm more interested in taking up new technology once the financial case has been proven, I've no desire to be an early adopter if financially it is going to come at an additional and avoidable cost to me. Once the financial argument and overall benefits are beyond doubt then I'm more than happy to consider adopting them provided I am not required to make any other unreasonable sacrifices. Until then I'm happy to stick with my old boiler and an airing cupboard with space to air clothes in, rather than one with more vessels, pipework and valves than you can shake a stick at.

[@Lecia-lithium]

Yep, it's a farce

[@anthony208]

To be fair Heat Geeks are selling a product so are bound to paint it in a favourable colour. I think the original install was stated as £9k + £6-£7k extra presumably in an attempt to get it working better which ultimately failed. Heat Geek estimated that they would of allowed £20k for the original install. Obviously the true refit costs aren’t known as all the engineers gave their time for free and clearly they flooded the site presumably to do the work in a day or just over. I agree that the financial justification was glossed over somewhat and for many, particularly if you intend moving or are of senior citizen age, the payback and subsequent actual annual savings may never be achieved. As i have commented elsewhere, I’d be interested in a true like for like comparison of ASHP and gas boiler systems with similar insulation and weather compensation upgrades. Like you i suspect a greater portion of the savings is due to these factors over the method of heating. Especially when the BUS grant doesn’t sweeten the deal and electricity rates rise further as demand rises for electricity in all areas not just domestic heating

[@iwilltouchyourtoes]

There is no financial cost argument though it's only appealing to people who think this is helping the climate 20k for a pump or 2k to have your boiler replaced it's not even close, that's before you factor in the insulation requirements But once there's a certain amount of people who've paid to have them installed you'll be able to move into a house where some other schmuck has paid for one to be installed and no cost to you

[@theelectricmonk3909]

"A heat pump system uses more hardware and has more moving parts that can wear out, has a larger overall foot print, and from my experience cooling fans tend to get noisy as they get dirty/wear" - The larger footprint is true, yes, but since the HP is outdoors, and could be mounted on a wall in theory, I think it's less of a downside than you might think. I'm not sure that there are fewer moving parts, though; a boiler has various valves inside (both for gas & water flow), and any modern combi has at least one fan (the exhaust fan). It also has to have an igniter, flame sensors etc. Also - when was the last time you heard about a heat-pump explosion blowing a whole house apart...? There are domestic gas explosions most years in the UK, some of which are so big they're headline news. If nothing else, that should be an incentive to switch: Not having your house randomly explode! (Of course, it may not be your boiler causing said explosion... but heck, seems nuts having a flammable gas piped into your home when there are safer alternatives!)

[@PhillipWalker-o3t]

@@theelectricmonk3909 I have heard of the odd house explosion over the years but I can't honestly say I have ever heard of one that has been directly attributed to an exploding otherwise fully functioning boiler. Cracked gas pipes, leaking gas fittings, following recent diy work possibly but have never heard of one being directly attributed to an un-tampered with otherwise fully functional and only ever worked on by qualified gas fitters, operating boiler! That said I have seen many claims of self combusting electric powered vehicles, be they hover boards, scooters, e-bikes, BEV,'s or hybrids. All that said I don't recall suggesting that Heat Pump systems self explode I just said they appear to be more complex and therefore reasonable to imagine a have higher associated costs to maintain at optimum operational performance.

[@ColinDutton-hx1vy]

Here is my experience. The house is a 1960s 4 bed 2000square foot bungalow that was extended to its current size about 6 years ago and brought up to current (then) insulation standards. A year ago I had an 11KW Ecodan ASHP installed and a 11KW solar system installed. I retained a 4 zone programmable controller with 3 zones UFH and 1 radiators in the old part of the house which are mainly bed and bath rooms. The installation was done by a firm based 3 hours away. Comments on ASHP. - The house was quite comfortable over the winter months although during rapid cooling cold snaps we did use some additional electric heating whilst the ASHP caught up. We are on the Octopus Cosy tariff where electric is cheaper from 4am-7am and 1pm- 4pm. My main concerns are (1) it wasn't that cold this year as last, so I am thinking of more permanent additional heating in the form of fan heating. (2) There is a lot in these videos about running the heat pump continuously at constant room temperatures, I didn't do that allowing the temperatures to fall over night. (3) The installers had to come back to correct some plumbing errors where radiator zone was becoming warm when off, this was due to backflow from the UFH getting into the radiator loop and was only solved by me after two visits and after I had done some research watching KZbin videos and taking temperature reading! (4) Service costs and getting people in to do it are proving about double or treble that of a gas boiler. I've been waiting for over 6 weeks for Mitsubishi to get back to me to arrange the annual service. There seems few if any people local to me who could do it. Ironically part of the sales pitch for ASHPs is there lower requirement for maintenance and higher reliability but what’s the point if when it does require work there's no one around that is available to do it! Comments on 11KW PV installation with 2 x 5KW batteries. - I maximised the size of this array knowing that the output would be poor when I needed it most for the ASHP. And yes your right the output in December and January comes no where near suppling the heating. The batteries help by giving me another 16KW of cheap electricity per day. The way I look at it I'm using Octopus energy as a "Seasonal battery". That is to say I sent them a lot of electricity in the summer when output is high and take a lot back in the winter when the ASHP needs it. Currently my cheap energy times are charged at 12p/kwh and my export is paid at 15p/kwh, I can't believe this will last, but even before the recent price drops the incoming cost was 17p, so a marginal cost of 2p/kwh is not bad. I have had a problem with the inverters disconnecting from the grid under certain circumstances which is still an outstanding issue with the installer who is ignoring me after they sent a man in, blamed me for changing a setting which was within the permitted range and after they changed (which the should have been able to do remotely but didn't) tried to charge me. I pointed out that the fault was present before I changed the parameter and also after they changed it back and obviously refused to pay. Conclusions - (1) Get local suppliers if possible. (2) I am concerned about service and maintenance for the ASHP especial in winter if a fault occurs. (3) the combination of PV panels and ASHP is a powerful one. Its difficult to calculate the exact savings because of price and weather variations however I can say that I have saved in the order of £3000 using this years prices against my gas and electricity consumption for the previous year. This far exceeds the amount of interest the installation cost was earning in my savings account. I think the adoption of both these technology’s together can have a significant effect on bills and emissions.

[@_Dougaldog]

Is your heat pump running in weather compensation (or weather dependent) mode to allow it to best adjust for outdoor temperature ? " There is a lot in these videos about running the heat pump continuously at constant room temperatures, I didn't do that allowing the temperatures to fall over night." Trickling a little heat into building 24/7 means the whole structure is up to temperature (the thermal mass) and can work out better than letting house temperature drop and then trying to blast in heat to warm it up again.

[@rkan2]

Heatpumps remain the most efficient when the temperature differences are the smallest. Thus obviously you should try to avoid yo-yo and always run the heatpump.

[@rabhaw2327]

That must have cost a fortune!

[@danielmcdougall6662]

Now that small water heater is very interesting if it can fit into the space where my combi boiler was I would be very interested

[@Johny40Se7en]

"Sort the insulation out first" Spot on!

[@keithprice5208]

It's good to know that this man, with a big house, has got his heat pump working quite well. However, he's been set up with a very knowledgeable, and experienced installer, who rectified the previous set up. How many installers are this experienced? Let's also note that the new installation needs a significant amount of room, and many houses have not got enough space. It doesn't seem like a solution to everyone's needs.

[@HeatGeek]

Currently we have trained 1000, with another 1000 half way through the training. Looking to ramp up exponentially this year.

[@RedRupert64]

Excellent Roger. Thanks very much for such a great series. You and I are one the same page regarding most things. Very interesting. I'm surprised that people are still cooking on gas. In an enclosed area, even with decent ventilation, you are poisoning yourself. Our oil central heating also has outside temperature monitoring to help heat more efficiently. Here in Latvia we get temperatures as low as -30 and need the heating on for around 200 days per annum. For our 200m² house we need around 200L of diesel per annum, hot water included.

[@advance-heating]

Our English homes are very draughty, which is what contributes to our very fine nature. There's almost no chance of NOx poisoning from a gas cooker, but every chance it will work well during the inevitable future power cuts as more and more idiots ruin their lives with heat pumps and electric cars. The National Grid would crumble if this subsidy madness continues. Typical homes consume 2MWh electricity and 20MWh gas annually. Now swap your gas boiler for a heat pump and imagine the added strain to the copper wires under your road... Get out the JCB again.

[@RedRupert64]

@@advance-heating What do you mean by very fine nature - is it that you're heating the countryside with your leaky houses so that stuff grows so well in nature to make it so fine, or the fine nature of the people who commit the knife crime that you're famous for?

[@advance-heating]

@@RedRupert64 ha ha, what heat? The English are used to a slight chill at home, so we invented woolly jumpers! I met a fella running a city print shop once, who lived in a farmhouse with his ageing mother and an oil Aga cooer. They never turned on the central heating. "A house is supposed to proved shelter from rain and winds" he said. If we're honest, these detailed heating tech videos are dealing with First World problems ! I'm amazed you don't consume more than 200ltr of oil though in Latvia at -30°. I can't imagine you've got something like John's five empty bedrooms all kept rock solid at 20.3°C ?

[@Candisa]

I personally had a condensing gas combiboiler installed just 2 years ago, I have a reasonable heating bill and my electricity price is still about 5 times higher than my gas price (it is going down, 2 years ago it was over 7 times), so I'm not changing over any time soon since it would take many many years to earn the investment back. Heatpumps are definitely the future, they're getting more versatile, more efficient, cheaper, the knowledge in the field is improving thanks to people like Heat Geek. However, a lot of the tricks to improve efficiency of a heatpump can also help the efficiency of a condensing boiler: oversized radiators or in floor heating, as low flow temperature as possible, weather compensation, lower hot water temperature with legionella cycles instead of maintaining a constant 60°C, improving insulation and draft-proofing, having an appropriately sized boiler instead of one that's 3+ times more powerful than necessary...

[@rkan2]

Can you give some numbers? Power, cost of electricity & gas /kWh?

[@Candisa]

​@@rkan2 Last time I checked my price for electricity was around €0.25/kWh, and €0.05/kWh for gas (when I installed the gasboiler it was around €0.30/kWh and €0.04/kWh). Unless the ratio drops faster and prices skyrocket, I don't see how it would be profitable to abandon my gas boiler prematurely and buy an ASHP. Instead, I invest in oversized radiators and reducing heat loss, so I have to burn less gas and I can make the switch when the boiler gives out or if the ROI makes sense to do it prematurely at some point in the future.

[@davidgreen1337]

Two adult engineers coming together and having a good discussion. Been ace to see this guys. May the love continue 😃

[@haydnlawrence8167]

Yeah reach arounds all round.🤌

[@johndevlin980]

Really enjoyed these videos guys, excellent

[@forbiddenknowledge5722]

So glad the customer is happy. Well done guys. I'm not converted myself. I still much prefer the ability to zone my heating and cooling zones.

[@egocd]

You can still do that with a heatpump, you'll just lose some efficiency.

[@forbiddenknowledge5722]

​@@egocd Yes, I know.

[@tikaanipippin]

Lovely to listen to, yet... the UK has had an "unusually" mild winter (again!!!). In the UK we are positioned geographically between the Arctic and the Sahara, the Northern Atlantic Ocean and the Eurasian continental mass. Depending upon global climatic variations, our weather can be dependent on prolonged Zonal conditions - basically air flow from similar latitudes, roughly East and West, or Meridional - from similar longitudes, roughly North and South. These highly unpredictable variations result in phenomena such as "The Beast from The East", "Spanish Plumes", and "blocking Highs". April 2024's continuing chill results from a northerly Atlantic High drawing down polar air from Scandinavia over the UK. Had this Meridional airflow occurred in midwinter, instead of the mild, wet Zonal weather we had from the mid-Atlantic, I'm not sure this video would have sounded so positive.

[@salibaba]

Well done everyone for the input to this collaboration. I can only dream of that kind of COP. My system has higher COP (3) running the Mixergy than our heating! (2.5)

[@albertoporras04]

The point about horses for courses and gas boilers still being around for some after most homes have heat pumps has a major flaw. As the number of gas users falls, at some point the cost per user to maintain the required infrastructure for supply gas will become unfeasible. It will cost too much to sustain the gas supply industry in order to support as small number of thinly scattered gas users. It will be cheaper to put in electric (non heat pump) heating - even if those customers require subsidies.

[@advance-heating]

The globalists are pushing wasteful, hopeless electric heating because it means that we become indicidually susceptible to their surveillance and control. Say one wrong thing in China/ UK on FaceBook and whoops your Smart Meter shuts down inexplicably. At least with gas fires and cookers they can't disconnect your means to a comfortable life remotely. Even a gas boiler can run from a decent UPS and solar pv.

[@_Dougaldog]

@@advance-heating There are gas smart meters as well, I just had mine removed after eight years, how does your Farcebook theory stand there ?

[@jfinnie78]

You're looking at least a couple of decades into the future there though, surely?

[@advance-heating]

@@jfinnie78 Using electricity for heating is an apalling idea. Average UK consumes 2MWh/pa electricity for sensible purposes of light, noise & movement, and 22MWh/pa gas for heating. The grid already struggles to maintain enough power, and there's certainly enough radioactive waste sloshing around Sellafield with no prospect of making it safe. So here's a bad idea: "Lets increase the demand for electricity 10 fold by getting rid of gas and oil heating."😳

[@jfinnie78]

@@advance-heating I think it is a reasonable idea in new builds if the houses meet the highest standards, have their own renewables supplies, and hence place little extra demand on the grid. The retrofit market is the huge problem here. Money being paid to subsidise retrofit generally for more affluent customers should be put into building new energy efficient homes and upgrading the grid for more green energy and capacity. Then retrofit the houses with the worst systems, and the rest of the retrofits will happen organically as older gas systems are decommissioned. Distorting the market by throwing huge subsidies has been a recipe for cowboy city on every scheme introduced, resulting in the realisation of a fraction of the benefits possible for the level of investment.

[@brianwood5220]

Loved the video, nice to see you all collaborating and getting along. I think it would be good to get Rodger involved with Szymon on a full Install and Commissioning of a Heat Pump System.

[@SkillBuilder]

The trouble is that we don't want to turn into the heat pump channel so, apart from the videos we have in the pipeline and the Installer Live debate I am having with Adam next month we are going to look at some other hot topics. If the government continues down the path of banning gas and oil boilers we are going to need something more realistic than heat pumps. There are other ideas out there but they are being starved of investment because of this wrong-headed approach.

[@dpn1604]

Wow! Who would have thought that insulation comes before heat pump!!! Shocking!

[@jebimasta4604]

Bit of a facepalm moment there haha!

[@HeatGeek]

Only loft and double glazing which most of the uk already have.

[@Lewis_Standing]

There's a good phrase of fabric fifth!

[@nealm1814]

Insulation should come before fitting any heating method.

[@HeatGeek]

@@nealm1814 to a point. IWI and EWI would never payback in the same way

[@richardmarkham8369]

Great to see a lot of the issues getting sorted. Just need to fix the installers and hope that the kit runs for more than 10 years without issues. I assume the warranty is longer than 10 years? Funny how people spend £1000's to save money with heatpumps when they could just spend a few hundred and insulate the loft, keep the gas boiler and save money right away.

[@MadAsBagOfMonkeys]

Anything wrong with just adjusting the radiator flow temperature between 34 to 45°C as I do with our Vaillant LPG condensing combi? Easily modified to maintain 24/7 20°C in every room with adjustment to radiator valves. 3 bed semi in a rural situation, cavity and a bit of loft insulation. £1000/year cost.

[@advance-heating]

amazing. well done. Could weather comp take over yourntweaking though? We added it to our Vaillant 618.

[@MadAsBagOfMonkeys]

@@advance-heating my only question, why did it take so long? Wasn't there any experts, scientific folk working for the boiler manufacturers who years ago should have said, bigger radiators, cooler radiator flows adjusted automatically to maintain internal ambient temperatures. Why did installers fit the wrong sized radiators, site the thermostats in the wrong positions, and set the flow temperature to 70C? Imagine how much CO2 we've wasted, how much ££££££s the energy suppliers and gas companies have made.

[@advance-heating]

@@MadAsBagOfMonkeys love yr observations. Spot on. Boiler makers to this day disguise the advice given in their own manuals which craftily guide the installers to keep their boiler well OUT of condensing mode. Acidic condensate inside HExs are a real drag on warranty claims. Eg. Grant Thornton oil "condenser" warns not to set the return temp below 52°C. Swindlers! The FLOW should be set as far below 50° as possible. ha ha

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Absolute great result. But as said, insulation should be the starting point. Having my house well insulated now gives me more comfort. I did external wall insulation, new windows and a new warm flat roof on the extension and garage, and the difference is huge. No cold drafts and with the bit poor April weather now, 10°C during daytime and around 0°C in the morning the small wood stove downstairs is still enough to heat the whole house. I'm typing this behind my computer upstairs, no heating on since the end of March, and still 18,5°C. When the woodstove isn't on I use air to air to heat, and the downstairs 7kW unit runs at 20% modulation (which is the minimum) and keeps it warm. A lot comes in draft proofing as well, but ventilation must be assured. Old houses without draft proofing however have a much higher air replacement rate than you need for the air quality to stay good.

[@HeatGeek]

Most homes already have loft insulation and double glazing though.

[@deanchapple1]

Love it!! Such great publicity. ❤

[@wobby1516]

Even with heatgeek approved installers, I’ve had two quote for my three bed 10 year old semi you can’t be sure of a good reasonable price installation. The first estimate was £15000 and the second was £15000 to £20000 dependent on a £250 survey. The second one said we didn’t need to change the cylinder he would use an external coil. Octopus installed for £8800 all in with new cylinder and two radiators and the deposit was fully refundable if we chose not to go ahead. We did and it’s working great, what’s more it’s cheaper to run than gas. The only thing I would say is Octopus are very picky on where and how they’ll instal.

[@AdamChapman-q8m]

I don’t think an octopus installation will be fitting the same efficiencies as heat geek

[@andrewhead6267]

Spend £20,000 to save £1,100 a year is not a true comparison. As you need to compare the cost of an original installation (say in new builds). Retrofitting say if you gas boiler needs replacing. That £20K for £1.1K saving gives a return (not accounting for inflation) over 18 years. Of course the technology in that install won’t last 18 years. So you won’t actually get that return. I think the comparison with two new builds same house design one with a gas boiler and one with a heat pump, is the only way to get a true comparison. You will see the impact in terms of original instal costs, running costs, and how the technology impacts the space within the House.

[@Felix-st2ue]

The more relevant comparison would be replacing a faulty boiler with a new one vs. installing a heatpump. For new buildings, it's even more in favor of a heatpump.

[@chrisellis1232]

@@Felix-st2ueyou are correct due to the insulation standards required for the heat pump to provide the required heating, and of course the extra cost in doing so, driving new house prices up 🤔 now imagine the same comparison in the 80-90% of existing homes which don’t have the same built in insulation 😉

[@Felix-st2ue]

@@chrisellis1232 As can be seen in this video it's not the heatpump that is necessarily requiring higher insulation standards. They would also work with less insulated buildings provided the heated surfaces are big enough. However better insulation obviously reduces the required amount of energy for heating. But that's completely independent of the actual heat source.

[@ridethelakes]

Very true, as soon as the system has paid for itself it's time to upgrade negating the financial benefit. And remember that if your household goes out to work every day like most people then the savings are far less as a heat pump necessitates having the heating on constantly as it can take days to heat up a house. If the government ever take away the grant then it would make zero financial sense to get a heat pump.

[@mikeypc3592]

​@@ridethelakespeople spend their money how they want. If someone feels a heat pump is beneficial to them, financially or otherwise, then that's up to them. No-one's asking you to contribute and you're not being forced to buy one.

[@louissatt8497]

Reminds me of an old adage in engineering design "if it works perfectly working to a couple of thousandth of an inch great but if you have to go searching for 1/2 a thou it's never going to be any good, you look to be constantly searching for half a thou. But great videos.

[@billirvine9078]

Electricity prices are volatile esp since privatisation.

[@seanduffy2214]

Only because the price of electricity is set by the cost of gas...

[@DavidJohnson-yg8qm]

​@@seanduffy2214More like electricity is set by the roof and windmill feed in tariffs and gas is adjusted up.

[@edward_grabczewski]

That's an interesting comment about keeping the gas boiler. I though they'd be incompatible with heat pump radiators but now I know they can be kept in the loop just in case.

[@timfallon8226]

If we are going to rely on windmills for electric and it isn't windy what will the scop be on a calm day?

[@HeatGeek]

The same. Scop is created be the heat pump not the power source.

[@edc1569]

Wind increases heat loss, so I guess a bit higher? - but that’s actually a beautiful correlation as more wind equals more low carbon electricity to heat homes.

[@Pete-rf6zz]

I don't miss having a smelly gas boiler, having that small fear of a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning has gone and now our house is more comfortable with a heat pump. I would like a 3rd party energy monitor for the heat pump, but our heating cost has reduced for sure. Good stuff glad you could help this gentleman ❤❤

[@convertorx]

Smelly gas boiler......what idiotic comment

[@newbeginnings8566]

If only everything was done correctly then heat pumps could be more accepted.. And for some homes heat pumps will never be a solution..

[@shaun159]

Really enjoyed this real life problem before and after videos.

[@michelelenci]

It only depends on how much you pay gas and how much you pay electricity in any particular country. In Germany for example it is impossible: heat pumps and gas boiler from a pure cost perspective are equivalent. ( Without PV ) And and and. The above is true only if the property is well insulated. If not gas will definitely be cheaper.

[@Lewis_Standing]

Insulation makes both cheaper. Heat pumps only struggle in poorly insulated houses if you don't size the pipes and radiators properly. Otherwise they do just fine.

[@edc1569]

Sadly germany closed its nuke plants so you have a long way to go to bring down the electricity price

[@andrewtitcombe8378]

So with the best efficiency and tariffs payback in 10 years. With all those moving parts in the heat pump . And the lack of skills to repair a heat pump. That heat pump will get replaced in less than 10 years. And because new tech is being brought out all the time. That system will be obsolete.For example R600 systems have flammable refrigerant and so that that outdoor unit would have to be piped to a different location.Also older systems did not have an app interface. Because Aircon manufactures were too quick to design systems. It's not always the installer. It's the equipment available at the time.

[@banquo46]

A wood burning stove will warm your house, cook your food and dry your cloths...and never goes wrong!

[@gdfggggg]

True. I’ve had mine on throughout the winter. A modern stove when used correctly won’t produce any smoke. I get a few deliveries a year of logs and burn HT pallet wood. I leave it ticking over and it warms a large 3 bed house right up into the loft conversion. I light it at about 5ish It goes out about 12am most nights. We’ve only put the heating twice when it was below freezing in the afternoon. Best thing I ever did 👍🏻

[@TheDoosh79]

Won't heat every room though and nobody wants cooking or clothes hanging around in the living room. I love log burners but I'm not daft enough to think they're anything but a novelty.

[@gdfggggg]

@TheDoosh79 it does heat every room, you just leave the doors open. We dry our clothes next to it, and there is no smoke at all, except sometimes you may get a small wiff of smoke when you chuck another log on. They are a fantastic heat source and very cheap if you're prepared to chop pallets, which I enjoy.

[@gdfggggg]

@TheDoosh79 it's the main source of heat in my home.

[@martinp17]

@@TheDoosh79 'but I'm not daft enough to think they're anything but a novelty.' - really! I have them in my last 2 homes and they are far from a novelty: heat spreads, they can be used to heat a water cylinder and if you have one with a hotplate they can be used for cooking (in a kitchen of course), especially useful as a back up and believe me kept my energy bill down by 30% - why would you think that?

[@oldboyuk]

We live in an old semi-detached country cottage with no heating apart from a log burner. Great to see it's possible with ASHP and enjoyed following the series but will probably go with oil boiler this time around. Our connected neighbour has a heat pump but in winter is forking out £150-200 a month on electric. In 10-15 years when we likely need to replace hopefully by then heat pump installers will have the necessary understanding like these guys. In the meantime we'll make upgrades to insulation/airtightness.

[@edc1569]

If you’ve survived with no central heating perhaps give a small air to air system a go, far cheaper in every way possible than installing a wet oil system. If you do go the wet route, design it to be heat pump ready with low flow temperatures, will save skipping it all in 10 years time.

[@craigpirie475]

I live in an old stone cottage. For the same reason we got a hybrid system - heat pump and oil boiler. Got the full Scottish government grant and interest free loan on it. It was a no brainer going hybrid to get best of both worlds and ability to control how to heat my house.

[@bordersw1239]

It would cost you almost the same amount to install oil compared to air source.

[@_Dougaldog]

@@craigpirie475 Scottish grant only covers Hybrids under specific conditions, otherwise only for non fossil burning installations ?

[@oldboyuk]

@@craigpirie475 what kit do you have in the hybrid system?

[@nonewworld]

I am leaving this comment here so that after some hours, days, weeks, months or years when someone likes or comment on it, I will be reminded to watch this video again😄

[@gillscorner794]

Too many large companies taking the subsidy money and not delivering a quality installation - finding the right independent local firm with experience is the key

[@nicksimmons7234]

£754 to heat a 6 bedroom house for the year. But apparently heat pumps don’t work. Well done Adam.

[@dannyhowarth1728]

That's on half price electric

[@nicksimmons7234]

@@dannyhowarth1728 which is available.

[@g4egk]

@@dannyhowarth1728 15p on OVO but cheaper tariff exist, myself and many friends on Octopus with 7.5p overnight rate

[@petercarter9866]

Roger I have watch this and it appears to put heat pumps as a better way to heat your house However We and my customers would switch their heating systems off at night The government the taxpayers are putting in a £7500 per installation It is based on a electrical unit cost I have never really believed that heat pumps will perform as they claim. Although prior to the installer show I was coming to the point that I was wrong and the experts in heat pumps were correct. Although at the show I came away realising that I was correct. You need to judge heat pumps on a level playing field. From my knowledge you won’t get the bus grant if you choose to keep your gas boiler. So then the figures are not true. Love to hear your comments Roger and Adam Been a professional heating engineer for 40years Peter

[@gdfggggg]

There’s no way I’d have that big ugly box in my garden. I’ll stick with my combi and log burner thanks.

[@edc1569]

No worries :)

[@robertoleszek8361]

Mine definitely. It used witch scop 4.11 sliglty less than gas. The big difference is my solar panels that cut the bill by another third.

[@the1beard]

Spend £20,000 and save £500 a year? will take 40 years to get your money back and will the heat pump gear even last that long

[@GaryBox]

Exactly, same issue with EV cars. We are constantly being told that now wind and solar is the cheapest energy yet the unit price for electricity per kWh is much more than gas.

[@the1beard]

@@GaryBox Exactly And all the equipment is made in China using COAL powered Electricity The payback time will probably never cover the manufacturing transport etc The numbers do not stack up We are living in foolish times .. where they want you to buy nonsense at 10X the price of sense

[@liveloud9894]

And don’t forget about maintenance / breakdown and repair costs Look at the issues this customer has had here trying to get this system fixed and working properly It took an army of industry experts to put it right Also in an attempt to mask the true cost the government is propping up this technology , for now , with grants , aka our own money, which will eventually run out In reality it will never save you a penny and will simply cost a lot more than a conventional system in the long run Fancy flowered up performance graphs and a very smart sales presentation doesn’t convince me to part with my gas combi and log burner

[@the1beard]

@@GaryBox & It is all manufactured in China using Coal power this is the most foolish time in human history

[@hans.vbaalen]

Kinda forgets the point that boilers need replacing as well, so it's not £20k on top, it's £20k ( if it's that) - £5k that a normal boiler for this size house would have cost. So the actual cost is 20-5-7.5, he only needs to find 7.5k to make it back. And it saves 700 a year, and he lives in a more comfortable house. But the discussion is like for EVs. The biggest arguments against are made by people who never had one, so take their experience from other people shouting loudly. Robert hits the nail on its head. HP and EVs are great for most situations, but not for everywhere.

[@flatfoot]

Adam / Heatgeek really put their balls on the block here. I was almost nervous for them. Well done HeatGeek and thank you Roger for letting data trump rhetoric.

[@pumpkinhead456]

I went from gas to a heat pump and a very large battery, annual costs have dropped from £4k to £1.5k - nice

[@pauldavies7251]

4k!!!! We're you growing marijuana? How the heck can you spend 4k a year on gas?

[@callsignprofessor]

​@@pauldavies7251I spent 4k a year too. My house is 165m2 so not that big either

[@eliotmansfield]

doesn’t mean much without more context - such as insulation changes and capex of all equipment

[@johnchoice1371]

That's strange, because gas is cheaper than electricity.

[@GrrMeister]

[@mrpaulglenn]

This is a great video, just one thought, why when talking about getting as much efficiency from a gas boiler as possible, no one seems to talk about Opentherm?

[@advance-heating]

Great point. One of my gas customers wants to do an opentherm project for his house but has run aground. Viessmann VD200, Yorkshire wood boiler, Solus heat buffer, ufh and rads to control. He needs help.

[@pstanyer1]

16k many years before you get a saving. 10 or 11 years. But no mention of the repair costs in case it goes wrong.

[@j.b607]

and did they mention the renewal costs as the system ages and will need to be replaced

[@mikeypc3592]

Nothing like a heat pump video to bring the trolls out😅

[@nicksimmons7234]

@@j.b607you would have been keeping your coal fires 50 years ago. Dinosaurs don’t like change.

[@dannyhowarth1728]

Plus they added insulation, which would of been part of the energy savings

[@j.b607]

@@nicksimmons7234 Simple question "did they mention the renewal costs as the system ages and will need to be replaced"