ASHP Standby Electricity Consumption
This was a discussion on another site, with some reports of over 200W standby and some of near zero. The higher usage was attributed to compressor crankcase heaters or similar. That can add up to a lot of money at today's prices.
What are others' experiences? You'll have to have some sort of monitoring on your ASHP or electricity supply and and clamp on meters are not always reliable for this.
My ASHP uses about 24W, whether on stop mode (system running but ASHP not) or standby (system off at the controller). I think that's due to standby power for the controller unit and the pumps. I'm not unhappy with that although lower would be better.
Anyone else?
I have certainly noticed something similar. A few months ago, when we were running HVO, our heat pump was in standby mode and when I’d go into the utility room, I would notice that one of our mandated RHI metres (because we’re running bivalently) would occasionally flash its red light indicating that the heat pump was using electricity, but not generating heat.
I raised this with Global Energy Systems and they assured me that the pump was not working and consuming electricity.
Our heating has been off completely since late April so our consumption is down. The heat pump is doing HW and is in standby 24/7.
I noticed something odd a few weeks ago on our SolarEdge app. We get hourly spikes in consumption. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then last week, I turned our heat pump off completely to see if it was responsible. It was. With the heat pump off (not in standby) the spikes vanished.
Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU
Follow our sustainability journey at My Home Farm: https://myhomefarm.co.uk
Posted by: @editorI have certainly noticed something similar. A few months ago, when we were running HVO, our heat pump was in standby mode and when I’d go into the utility room, I would notice that one of our mandated RHI metres (because we’re running bivalently) would occasionally flash its red light indicating that the heat pump was using electricity, but not generating heat.
I raised this with Global Energy Systems and they assured me that the pump was not working and consuming electricity.
Our heating has been off completely since late April so our consumption is down. The heat pump is doing HW and is in standby 24/7.
I noticed something odd a few weeks ago on our SolarEdge app. We get hourly spikes in consumption. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then last week, I turned our heat pump off completely to see if it was responsible. It was. With the heat pump off (not in standby) the spikes vanished.
@editor Mars,
see attached. This is how Mitsubishi explains how crankcase heating works. It does manifest itself as spikes. Not all compressors (and not even all Mitsubishi ones) do this.
@kev-m, very interesting. At least that's confirmed my suspicions. It's a shame our ASHP doesn't have a timer to just turn it on to do HW in the summer. It would save the spikes and wasted energy.
Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU
Follow our sustainability journey at My Home Farm: https://myhomefarm.co.uk
Posted by: @ronin92Can an ASHP be turned off for a protracted period without damage?
Yes, I believe it can. Do you mean off off, like totally off doing nothing? We have switched our heat pump off for weeks at a time in the summer when we've had loads of sun around at the solar PV heated our HW. But as Kev suggests, speak to your manufacturer because different compressors behave differently.
Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU
Follow our sustainability journey at My Home Farm: https://myhomefarm.co.uk
I've wanted to answer this question for some time.
Recently I switched the timer for heating and hot water to off for a whole day. The power supply to the ASHP remained on.
We still used 15kWh over that 24 hour period. Not conclusive as daily demand varies depending on use of the washing machine and oven.
Last week when away I switched the ASHP off completely for 5 days. Daily usage over that period was 8kWh (6 day, 2 night).
So, I still don't know for sure what the background usage of the ASHP is but that everything else takes 8kWh.
I'm now trying to work out where that background power goes. I have a plug in power meter so can check the appliances. The fridges and freezers take about 2kWh between them. We also have a waste treatment (Klargester) unit which is on constantly. That may account for most of the rest but it's still hard to see that appliances on standby make up the remainder. I'm still investigating.
During the current hot weather I'm keeping the ASHP switched off. We don't have much need for hot showers and can turn it on again after a few days when the water gets too cold.
Mike
Grant Aerona HPID10 10kWh ASHP
@mike-patrick, how did your investigation go? Any significant findings worth sharing?
Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU
Follow our sustainability journey at My Home Farm: https://myhomefarm.co.uk
@editor I didn't discover anything further of significance.
The fridges, freezers and a few other minor appliances + the Klargetser seem to account for all the background usage. The minor appliances are the only ones that could be switched off but in reality they take so little power as to make no significant difference.
Mike
Grant Aerona HPID10 10kWh ASHP
- 24 Forums
- 1,398 Topics
- 29.4 K Posts
- 18 Online
- 1,180 Members
Join Us!
Latest Posts
-
RE: New Fogstar 15.5kWh upright solution
You can buy a Seplos kit for £500 less than the Fogstar...
By MisterB , 1 hour ago
-
RE: Is this a bad installation and is there something wrong with my Samsung heat pump?
My system installed last year in November in the loft s...
By David999 , 10 hours ago
-
RE: Are Solar Diverters Necessary for Homes with ASHPs and Solar PV?
Yeah, my diverter is off almost all the time since we h...
By Andris , 12 hours ago
-
RE: Creating a second zone on Mitsubishi Ecodan ASHP
Thanks for your time with this Gary. I have a wireless...
By BryanB , 15 hours ago
-
RE: Error on Immersun – Error 8 Load Short Circuit
@julesmp8 After a whole battery of tests? 😉
By Toodles , 1 day ago
-
RE: Delivering a smart and secure electricity system: government consultation
@abernyte Well, anything is possible, after all, we hav...
By Toodles , 1 day ago
-
RE: Heat Pump Paradox: The Industry's Adoption Divide
@majordennisbloodnok 😆
By Toodles , 2 days ago
-
RE: ASHP Cut-off Temperatures: What's Your Setting and is a Your Heating Still On?
Not seen a setting on our ASHP for auto cut-off temp. I...
By Vince31 , 2 days ago
-
RE: How to increase DHW water temperature on Samsung Gen 6 Control Panel
@jamespa I have the Samsung high temp quiet model and w...
By TechnoGeek , 2 days ago
-
RE: Need a bit of help please: problematic heat pump installation
Thanks for the replies, and looking back it is a bit va...
By Seagrave , 2 days ago
-
RE: GSHP running UFH but no feedback loop yet.
thanks! It did turn out to be a sort of fault - well, ...
By petew , 2 days ago
-
RE: My ASHP is not performing as well as I’d hoped: COP just over 2
@hcas - exactly so. I did read one other persons simila...
By HarriUp , 4 days ago
-
RE: The EPC Dilemma: How Current Ratings Fail Heat Pumps
@toodles your EPC is a limited tool that needs to be af...
By ajn9000 , 4 days ago
-
Jürgen Klopp: Similarities Between Heat Pumps & Football
We had the unique opportunity to sit down with Liverpoo...
By Mars , 4 days ago
-
RE: Aira Heat Pump: Stylish Scandinavian Heating
You surprise me, @heacol 🥸
By Majordennisbloodnok , 4 days ago
-
RE: Say hello and introduce yourself
@transparent thank you for your comments. Sorry - the ...
By ajn9000 , 5 days ago
-
RE: Stiebel Eltron Servicewelt COP figures compared with OpenEnergyMonitor
@shaeney thank you. SE have 2 portals. The standard o...
By ajn9000 , 5 days ago
-
RE: Issues with installer's use of pipework for Vaillant Arotherm ASHP
@editor Thanks for that, appreciated. I looked and the ...
By JWilliams89 , 5 days ago
-
DIY Heat Pump Installations: Navigating Legal and Regulatory Hurdles
My interest in DIY heat pump installations began when I...
By Justin , 6 days ago
-
RE: New Scottish Building Heat Standard
From what I have read it is a start, the issue is more ...
By guthrie , 6 days ago
Latest Topics
-
Are Solar Diverters Necessary for Homes with ASHPs and Solar PV?
By Mars 13 hours ago
-
Creating a second zone on Mitsubishi Ecodan ASHP
By BryanB 4 days ago
-
Jürgen Klopp: Similarities Between Heat Pumps & Football
By Mars 4 days ago