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ASHP - a few (probably dumb) questions about the lived experience
Posted by: @lickofpaintI just wanted to say a quick thank you for all the answers and discussion.
And thank-you for having the courage to post in the first place.
I hope you will do so again as you further consider a heat-pump installation.
I don't yet have a heat-pump...
... but would almost certainly self-install rather than use an MCS-accredited company.
That would mean foregoing the £7500 government grant, but I'm now confident that others here on the Forum could provide the knowledge required.
(I can buy an ASHP suitable for my 300sq.m house direct from a Chinese manufacturer for less than £3000 incl shipping.)
I already have a self-installed whole-house ventilation system with a heat exchanger in the loft (MVHR).
And I have underfloor heating... again DIY installed a room at a time.
Feel free to pick up whatever information you require here, no matter how 'dumb' you may think the question to be.
I can assure you we will provide a sensible and polite response!
Save energy... recycle electrons!
Heat pump sizing does matter, but not sure it matters as much as made out, with modulating heat pumps. An example above where a 12kW unit turns down 3.5kW is a prime example, that's the same figure as my 6kW turns down to.
One issue with oversize is the flow rate still needs to be accommodated, a 12kW heat flows at twice the rate of a 6kW heat pump. So bigger pump, bigger pipes etc are needed with big over sizing.
But taking consideration of setting and operating the unit they can be run cost effectively and in some ways add flexibility. We have a house heat demand at -9 of just over 3kW. We have a 6kW heat pump. Last year we batch heated the floor mostly in 7 hrs of E7. The colder days this extended well in to the day to get the required kWh's into the floor. A bigger heat pump would have reduced the time spent in the expensive part of the day.
This year running pure WC, even on very low demand the 6kW works just fine, it runs for 20 to 40 mins and is off for an hour or many more. Just adds heat in as required. Coping really well even adding heat at an average of 0.1 to 0.4kWh over the past few weeks. When running we seem to get a CoP of between 5 and 6+. Has run down to 2.5 degs OAT so far.
Important bit is understanding exactly what short cycling is and when it's occurring and mitigation, this will vary from one house and heating system to the other. Plus most manufacturers recommend that a heat pump should not run routinely less than 10 mins as this results in lubrication issues.
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