Anyone got one? Whilst the idea seems sensible the cost and practicality seems to still be a massive issue. Reviews online seem to be overly negative.
Apparently there will be subsidies from April next year, so probably not worth it yet: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57159056.amp
They were discussing it on LBC last night. The price will definitely come down when production goes up, only about 90,000 homes will qualify for a grant, (so forget it), the heat of radiators will be less so likely bigger radiators required with a heat pump, people who have them say they don't heat the water enough for a bath. The experts were recommending house insulation is ramped up if you're going to get a heat pump.
Very popular here in Norway and would recommend them highly. Tbh I hardly use mine due to having underfloor heating all over. Not the best for you carpet love Brits though
A technology very much in its infancy (for the UK). Parts are a big issue (lack of suppliers coupled with 'supply chain' issues). As mentioned by someone above it may be worth waiting till the government grants scheme fully 'kicks in' in April (if your central heating system relies on 22mm copper pipe that would have to be totally replaced along with the rads). A modern Worcester gas boiler with its dual heat exchangers (you can tell who's got one by their plastic flues and they can be connected up to solar panels) might be a better bet until the technology supply chain for the heat pumps grows.
Heat pumps won’t replicate the heat you get from a good gas central heating system. You need to use them in combination with a building designed to benefit from the way they operate. Preferably with a heat sink, like a large block of concrete with underfloor heating pipes running through it. Most British houses will need a lot of remedial work on insulation. And of course if you insulate a block of flats you get problems on fire risks now to mitigate. Insulation and breathability is another issue when retrofitting. Most houses in the UK are over fifty years old, many over 100. Anyone who retro fits foil loft insulation without getting the ventilation right will know the condensation you can get in winter. Personally I think heat pumps will not become the standard form of heating for domestic properties. I can see either hydrogen of electric heating, (if say the UK adopts a sensible small reactor nuclear power station building programme and carbon free electricity is competitive in price) An electric central heating boiler is the easiest now way to replace gas boilers, it’s virtually like for like, but electricity is too expensive compared to gas. Get the price right and I could see electric boilers taking over in future decades. Really the government should get Housing Association new builds as the place to test the use of insulation and heat pump technologies to prove the effectiveness to house building industry and private new build buyers.
I like the sound of having a small nuclear reactor, I’ve got a corner of the garden which will be perfect for it
My house in Sweden has a heatpump, it heats the underfloor heating it also heats the water, the house is 137 squaremeters . The house is four years old so the insulation is better than most in England 250mm in the walls, 500mm in the roof and about 500mm in the floor also triple glazed windows with energy glass. The heatpump runs 24/7 365 days a year. we also have solar panels, our total electric bill is less than £150 a year. The heatpump is a big unit a cost about £6000, I dont get the prices that they are quoting ie £10000-£20000. I also have a heatpump that heats the garage 35 m2 it cost less than £2000 fitted
Presumably the UK makes far fewer (if any) domestically and fitting is more expensive too as it’s more of a niche thing. While the government grant scheme looks pretty puny, I assume it’s intended to kick start the market over here and that should then drive prices down.
The heatpump I have is a Nibe F730, Nibe are in the UK. I had just checked the current price for one of these and its around 80000 sek which is approx £6750 it would be cheaper to buy one in Sweden without MoMs and pay any import duty and VAT
Not considering one as I had a new condensing boiler fitted about 4 years ago, just a topic of conversation brought up on BBC breakfast this morning. I'm not sure chucking a load of money at something that will make minimal difference is a great idea. From my understanding you need to run them all the time for the heat to build up which is bloody useless with our variable weather. SO was genuinely interested to see if anyone is happy with theirs. I think the installation costs are down to retrofitting insulation and upgrading radiators etc. Which will be needed. Personally I think green hydrogen boilers will eventually be the way to go. Especially as the existing (plastic pipe) gas network will suffice.
Once you cut away the unnecessary nuclear submarine outer cover, it won’t take up much more room than a prefab garage.
No it won't. The dihydrogen molecule is so small (and motile when pumped under pressure) that it continually 'leaks' out of the piping (pockets of explosive gas forming underground infrastructure anyone?). As an aside I now there has been a lot of work using methane (and propane/butane) and water vapour as clathrates 'trapping' dihydrogen (making it more 'manageable') - I'm assuming that accounts for that claims of the Worcester site that their boilers can burn up to a 20% dihydrogen 80% hydrocarbon mix.
The insulation is the key with a heat pump Not about the heat being put into the house Your house is most likely air tight tested with a sika seal type system No letterbox and no chimneys On any houses I've seen with heat pumps a fast would heat the house I don't think they are healthy homes Also the heatpump can only pull heat of air down to a certain temperature with returns dropping at a greater rate than temperature At a certain point emersions need to boost the heat load OK on new purpose built houses but not really practical for retro fit
Another poorly conceived and ill thought out scheme from the Government. Why they have taken so long to take action on domestic building design is a mystery. To make domestic units self contained and sustaining. I brought this up with the local MP many moons ago. Such as having a second floor and curved roofs for water usage with the appropriate filtration systems and implementing new solar technologies into house design where the panels can be moulded and colourized. A house could be entirely self sufficient. Still not enough houses with the requisite insulation either. As seen by leaked reports the Government for all it's good intentions to the environment and green issues usually just pays lip service. And will the only groups in society that benefit from this be those that can afford the technology leaving large sections in fuel poverty ? In many parts of the world the traditional energy suppliers have been up in arms at the thought of individuals being able to power their own homes for example by the use of solar energy alone. And as a result some governments have reduced subsidies, tariffs and money for providing energy to grids. So short sighted.
Is it a mystery? Or is it just the fact that the big house building companies have had the last 30 years of governments in their pocket? They spend a lot of money on lobbying, schmoozing and influencing building standards and planning laws. They want to carry on building (I say building, but that’s an insult to real builders) rabbit hutches with cardboard walls, cheap innards, matchbox-sized gardens into over-developed plots.
Houses are weird (or at least our attitude towards them is) in the main. Obviously you can tell a new house from an old one, but they still essentially look and are designed the way they always have been, with pretty much the same materials being used. It’s odd they haven’t really evolved like most other things have. Of course there are many that have, but I’m talking about the housing estates that get built with houses that look the same as they did 100 years ago.
