Air to water heating - any good?

[hecofachance]

Hi,

I'm considering having an air to water system installed in my 3 bed terrace. I would like to know if anyone has any experience with these systems and wheter they can answer these questions

Are they a genuine 'green' alternative to a combi gas or oil boiler?
Are they efficent and cost effective to run?
Are they reliable?
What is the general cost of installation and maintenance?

 

[Renewable M]

Reliability: staggeringly good. No annual service, no flue gas, life expectancy 15 years plus.
Cost of maintenance: Zero. Nada. Nix.
Efficient: 300 to 400% efficiency..... no other heat source does that for you
Green alternative: no local emissions, much longer life so lower manufacturing carbon footprint, less exploitation of the planets resources etc etc

A small property like yours is ideal for an air to water. Just cover the basics like upgrading your loft insulation.

theres more info here if you scroll down the page theres some stuff on emissions and comparative running costs.

For a 3 bed terrace, you would be able to have one of our systems supplied and fitted for something in the region of £6500. That would be the heat pump, cylinder, radiators, controls, primary pipework, fitting, commissioning. It's about a weeks work.

If you already have primary pipework and it's just a case of upgrading, then the cost would of course be less.

If you have any questions, feel free to ring me on (local rate) 0844 5796546....also if you want to see one working on a 3 bed family home.

all the best.

 

[hecofachance]

Hi,

Many thanks for your response. No maintenance costs sounds a bit too good to be true to me. How is this the case, are you telling me once these systems are installed that's it?

Having had both oil and gas systems fitted previously, from scratch, the £6,500 price tag seems high. However if the efficency and maintenance costs are as u say then the cost benefit is there over the long term I guess.

Have you fitted many of these systems and genuinely would you recommend these over a standard gas or oil combi?

Also do you think these systems will become more popular with the general public as I have tried alternatives in rental properties such as night storage heaters and fusion boilers and folks just don't seem to like it if it aint oil or gas????

 

[Renewable M]

The air source heat pumps themselves don't require an annual service. When you consider they are basically similar technology to a fridge.... when did you last have your fridge serviced? Thats not to say that over time, radiator valves or a pump etc might pack in, but that goes for any heating system.

Heat pumps have been around since the 70's. These days, they are mainstream bits of kit. You can orderr one from any plumbing merchant in the country, same as buying a boiler. They already are popular with the public - because there is the positive association between renewable energy and low running costs.

You know the house it's going into, you could be right that 6500 is high.

What do you pay for a good oil or gas service? Maybe £80 at todays prices.....and a landlord safety etc etc. None of which are required for a heat pump. So the extra grand that it costs to buy (over the cost of a good combi) is soon recovered by fuel savings etc etc

I've got one on my house, stand alone. My parents have one with a backup oil boiler (big house). We've all been warm over the cold snap. Good ehat pumps perform well at low temperatures. Our 12kw heat pump still kicks out 8.4kw when its minus seven outside!

 

[Cds]

I am yet to be convinced by ASHP especially if you have mains gas. Have a look at
[DLMURL="http://www.nottenergy.com/energy-costs-comparison3"]http://www.nottenergy.com/energy-costs-comparison3[/DLMURL]

It gives cost comparisons for different energy usage and shows that a Mains Gas Boiler (would be a condensing boiler) costs 4.3p/kWh to run and an ASHP 4.56p/kWh to run.

You would be better spending the additional money an ASHP would cost on improving insulation etc.

If you do not have Mains Gas then the ASHP does become a more viable and is much better than other forms of electric heating.

 

[Renewable M]

agreed, you may find this post useful, I've listed some pros and cons there.

Money should be spent on insulation regardless of the fuel used. Why do people only think of sorting out the loft when they have a heat pump fitted? They could have been saving money for years!

ASHP's are viable for reasons on top of fuel saving. You think of a landlord or housing association. Every property needs an annual service, and safety certificate, all of which are paid for. They need a carbon monoxide alarm. And that's every year, before any breakdowns.

An ASHP doesnt require annual servicing, there are no local flue gases (so no carbon monoxide), no landlords safety.....and they last for years.

I only have one issue with the data you have presented. It assumes a very low seasonal efficiency for the air source heat pump of 250%. They have got this figure from the SAP, which was produced years ago when air source heat pumps were virtually unknown. At the time the BRE were still deciding what to do with them and how they fitted into the regulatory framework. Hence a lot of the early contradictory information. (I know someone who was on this original focus committee) Sap2009 is still in consultation.

One of the industry benchmarks requires seasonal efficiency of 400%, and there are loads of air source units on the list.