Installers with experience of Hybrid Solar Thermal / ASHP and Combi Boiler in Sussex Area

[UKAS_Cal_Lab]

Hi, I'm looking for someone to help specify, and possible install hybrid system. Initially the bungalow was setup for all low temp (underfloor heating and Fan assist heating rads), but couldn't afford ASHP at the time, so fitted a Vaillant Ecotec Plus 937 Combi as the heat source. Now looking to do the final upgrade and fit ASHP and solar thermal, hopefully negating the need for combi boiler.

 

[SimonG]

Dont know if this is up @quality street?

 

[Brambles]

If you can send a schematic diagram of the current system - with pipe sizes and fan assisted radiator model / size - it should be fairly straightforward to develop an outline design.

For the hot water side, demand, incoming dynamic pressure and flow rate will also be required to specify a system.

When your system was originally installed was there sufficient space left available at the manifold to instal an airsource heat pump and hot water storage equipment?

Be wary of having a system that is ASHP with a gas / oil fired boiler as backup (if that is in your thinking), the control system becomes quite complex and consequently expensive



Hope this helps

 

[SJB060685]

@Brambles if he used a suitable thermal store with solar thermal coil, ashp pump coil and boiler coil could this be achieved?
This level of design is currently new to me

 

[Brambles]

SJB,

The issue is maintaining the economic priority of the heat sources ; Solar, AirSource, Gas/Oil.

Unless there is a well thought out control system as soon as gas or oil kicks in the airsource will generally trip out fairly quickly on high return temperatures. To prevent that, the control system needs to keep the gas fired input flow temperature at the same level or slightly below that of Air Source pump and reduce it further as the return temperature increases. In essence, gas is then mimicking the Air Source pump working in warmer weather.

There are other ways, but that often requires the use of a separate store.

Also bear in mind that where mains gas is available, the economic benefit of installing an air source system are marginal. So once you start to use supplementary gas on very cold days, the effective annual COP will start to fall even further.

Does that make sense?

 

[SJB060685]

Yes that makes sense. Thanks

 

[quality]

Dont know if this is up @quality street?

Brambles has about summed it up