Posted by: @toodles

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@derek-m They wish to impress upon us that the fresh air is free (I’m not so sure about the ‘fresh’, especially after the latest UK government announcement that they wish to build some more gas-fired power stations, Arrrggh) and if HMRC get to know about air still being free - who’s to say how long before new legislation is introduced…? I think their copy writer needs to work with a proof reader too! Regards, Toodles, back with a vengeance!

Of course there will be the need for more gas fired power stations in the future, otherwise we will not have any electrical power when the wind is not blowing and the Sun is not shining.

What is rather annoying is that we as consumers will have to foot the bill for these new power stations, after government policy had forced many of the previous, still operational, gas fired power stations to shut down and be decommissioned.

Highly useful forward planning. 😜 

 

Posted by: @majordennisbloodnok

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There's a lot of "inspired by", "timeless elements", "facilitated by", "leveraging" and "disrupting the market" in this marketing blurb. If I was playing bull***t bingo I'd have called out already

I had a good chuckle at this. 😉 The Aira YouTube product launch was targeting Germany, Italy and the UK markets, as a group launch of branded Vaillant product into those countries. Vaillant is made in Germany. There's a lot of marketing BS around 'Scandinavian countries are cold so we know how to make heat pumps work'. The HVAC Engineer in me shouts "it's all about the absolute moisture content, stupid!" - Cold and dry Scandi weather is less arduous for a heat pump than the milder 100% humidity freezing fog perma-dank we get. The ice maker on my patio is testament to that.

I long to see an ASHP without a parasitic reverse cycle defrost method that robs heat of the hydronic circuit. Ebac has gone half way with a passive defrost feature, but is the only manufacturer I know to do so. I have a 30yr old Ebac CD30 industrial dehumidifier in my garage, still working, on R12 gas. It uses hot gas defrost, which is incredibly quick and efficient. They know a thing or two about this.

@allyfish As I was reading the bumph about Scandi weather, I was thinking exactly the same! Apart from perhaps in Indonesia , are there any other such high humidity challenged environments? I suspect the UK is the highest in greater Europe anyway! Regards, Toodles.

Posted by: @toodles

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@allyfish As I was reading the bumph about Scandi weather, I was thinking exactly the same! Apart from perhaps in Indonesia , are there any other such high humidity challenged environments? I suspect the UK is the highest in greater Europe anyway! Regards, Toodles.

I spent 4 years working in Pakistan, not too far from Karachi, on the Arabian Sea coast, where the humidity was so high that after rain there would be remaining puddles of water for several weeks because the water could not evaporate even in blazing sunshine.

The requirement there of course was for cooling rather than heating.

I do believe that the Vancouver area of Canada has a similar climate to the UK.

 

Posted by: @allyfish

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Posted by: @majordennisbloodnok

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There's a lot of "inspired by", "timeless elements", "facilitated by", "leveraging" and "disrupting the market" in this marketing blurb. If I was playing bull***t bingo I'd have called out already

I had a good chuckle at this. 😉 The Aira YouTube product launch was targeting Germany, Italy and the UK markets, as a group launch of branded Vaillant product into those countries. Vaillant is made in Germany. There's a lot of marketing BS around 'Scandinavian countries are cold so we know how to make heat pumps work'. The HVAC Engineer in me shouts "it's all about the absolute moisture content, stupid!" - Cold and dry Scandi weather is less arduous for a heat pump than the milder 100% humidity freezing fog perma-dank we get. The ice maker on my patio is testament to that.

I long to see an ASHP without a parasitic reverse cycle defrost method that robs heat of the hydronic circuit. Ebac has gone half way with a passive defrost feature, but is the only manufacturer I know to do so. I have a 30yr old Ebac CD30 industrial dehumidifier in my garage, still working, on R12 gas. It uses hot gas defrost, which is incredibly quick and efficient. They know a thing or two about this.

To be frank, I hadn't really thought about it like that but it makes perfect sense. That said, I think it perhaps even reinforces rather than detracts from the point I was making about the bandying about of language that implies suitability without actually claiming it. 

In Terry Pratchett's book "The Light Fantastic", there is a wonderful quote covering this very topic.

"...descriptive writing is very rarely entirely accurate and during the reign of Olaf Quimby II as Patrician of Ankh some legislation was passed in a determined attempt to put a stop to this sort of thing and introduce some honesty into reporting. Thus, if a legend said of a notable hero that “all men spoke of his prowess” any bard who valued his life would add hastily “except for a couple of people in his home village who thought he was a liar, and quite a lot of other people who had never really heard of him.” Poetic simile was strictly limited to statements like “his mighty steed was as fleet as the wind on a fairly calm day, say about Force Three,” and any loose talk about a beloved having a face that launched a thousand ships would have to be backed by evidence that the object of desire did indeed look like a bottle of champagne."

Oh that we could hold Marketing departments to the same standards.

 

@derek-m Oh well, we are not alone then! Toodles.

Posted by: @allyfish

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It's a branded Vaillant product, so it should be good.

Are you saying the 'Aira' heat pump is really a Vaillant, just with a different brand name and a different exterior casing? I know they started with installations using actual Vaillant models, but I did not know the Aira brand replacement is just a white label version. Aira has its own factory in Poland.

 

@ivanopinion as far as I’m aware the Aira is a white labelled Vaillant. When I spoke to Aira on a Zoom call a few months ago they said they would exclusively fit Vaillant units in the UK. Then came the recent announcement and by all accounts under the redesigned exterior sits a Vaillant. I think it’s got some modifications and it comes with an Aira app. It’ll be interesting to see what the feedback is once the units are installed.

@editor I have them coming to do a survey soon, so I'll ask the surveyor. In a way, it would be reassuring if it is just a rebadged and reskinned Vaillant, rather than completely new. Though surely you don't build a new factory just to fit the exterior cladding? Maybe they are assembling the whole thing, using Vaillant designs and, perhaps, components?

@ivanopinion I’ll look into it. Could be a manufacturing joint venture.

I’ll be very curious to see how your visit pans out with Aira. Please keep us updated.

@editor Will do.

I'm hoping they will be a good compromise between Octopus and Heat Geek. Heat Geek are really impressive and I'm convinced would give me a really good system, but they cost £10k more than Octopus. The decision isn't just about money, but I can't say money is no object. Although I'd probably save a bit more electric with HG, there's no way I'd recoup £10k over the life of the heat pump. Octopus are staggeringly cheap, but they have overestimated my heat loss and are specifying a pump that is too powerful, so it cannot modulate enough to be efficient during autumn and spring.

It will be interesting to see if Aria are any better than Octopus. They are certainly slick with the marketing and the product aesthetics, but, as highlighted in this thread, they might be prioritising easy install and maintenance over optimal performance.

@ivanopinion I suppose that as there are no free lunches in this world, the Aria price has to incorporate likely costs for the 15 years of annual servicing and maintenance contract and I think it is also a hire purchase or lease type of purchase without a great initial outlay isn’t it? Regards, Toodles.