LG Therma V R32 Monobloc. Setup advice inc flow temperature & weather compensation
So , having paused for breath. I'll respond:
Having moved last year from a 200 YO cottage which did not lend itself to much in the way of green technology, I now live in a 30 YO bungalow with tiled roofs offering S and WSW elevations. As well as a lot of additional insulation, I have replaced and upgraded the water cylinder, removed the 30YO oil boiler and fitted an LG ASHP, replaced the electric radiators with an AAHP in that part of the house which doesn't have central heating and added 9kW of PV panels and a 13.5kWh battery. I have augmented that with 5kW of solar power in the latest Ripple Energy cooperative and I will add 7kW of wind power through Ripple as soon as they open a new windfarm scheme. In total that will more than cover my total consumption. I've also built 9 raised vegetable beds, a polytunnel, a hen coop, and 5,000l of rainwater storage to complement the fruit trees which were already here. My primary aim with all of this is CO2 reduction, my secondary aim is to recover some of my up-front costs with downstream savings, and although most of these investments will never produce a payback I will always try to use them as efficiently as possible. I have a PIH car which completes ~90% of journeys on electric power alone, and we use ebikes for local trips. I am very conscious that one round trip to the Montana for my wife and I to see our granddaughter produces five times as much CO2 as twelve months of hot tub use, so I travel less, use Zoom more and stuff insulation into my hot tub cabinet.
On heat pumps:
The industry and the technology are by no means ready for mass adoption. The control systems and documentation are complicated and often opaque, installers know boilers well but don't really understand heat pumps, and customers struggle to use them appropriately. It's much easier to set up and run them badly than well, hence the often damning reports in the press. I'm an engineer and latterly an IT specialist with 40 years experience, and it took me two months to adjust the configuration of my heat pump so that it runs efficiently, and I am still making minor adjustments, - and yet my installer was pretty good. This is all very disappointing, as the underlying technology is sound and capable of doing a good job. Maybe I can get ChatGPT to knock up a decent manual before it exterminates humanity?
On the grid and TOU tariffs:
Upgrading the grid is a necessary consequence of the replacement of locally burned fossil fuels in cars and houses with centrally generated electricity for EVs and heat pumps. One of the main points of TOU tariffs is to spread the load on the grid more evenly, and so make more consistent and efficient use of our constrained infrastructure. Local generation and storage will also reduce the need for long distance transmission If it happens that everyone , driven by their tariff, follows my lead and starts charging their EVs at 2 am instead of when they get home from work, then the tariff schedule will shift accordingly and restore the balance.
On the government:
Government interventions are confused and counter productive (for instance giving grants to pay for heat pumps, while discouraging take-up by loading green levies on electricity rather than gas). There are no easy answers, but there are some answers, just no strategic vision or political will. This government won't change, so I will vote to replace it in 2024 as I did in vain in 2015 and 2019.
1. The government could do a lot to improve the housing stock, not least by running a long-term and large-scale assisted insulation scheme rather than (as it has) setting up and cancelling "eco" schemes so often that reputable local contractors can't be bothered to apply for certification.
2. Onshore wind is cheap and green, and giving local people cheap electricity does a lot to overcome the nimby factor. The government could get this going again almost immediately through a minor planning change.
3. Personally I am in favour of a sliding scale for domestic electricity prices, with no standing charge, a very very low price for the first annual MWh and rapidly increasing costs thereafter, perhaps with some allowances made for those without access to reticulated gas. If necessary this could be restricted on a means-tested basis.
A few ideas....
Glyn
Thank you for the clarification.
I am pleased to see that you are not one of those people who would just like cheap electricity to run their hot tub, whilst some pensioners cannot afford to warm some food or heat their home.
-
Warm weather and heat pumps.
3 months ago
-
What happens when the outside temperature exceeds the upper WC point?
3 months ago
-
Savings - using Weather Compensation & Time of Use Tariffs
5 months ago
-
Daikin Octopus installation update - I saw my first defrost. 😍😂
6 months ago
-
Servicing LG Therma V
11 months ago
Currently viewing this topic 2 guests.
- 26 Forums
- 2,114 Topics
- 46.4 K Posts
- 59 Online
- 3,410 Members
Latest Posts
-
RE: No-code, plug-and-play monitoring for your heat pump
The issue with the Grant is that you have to wire direc...
By Grantmethestrength , 1 hour ago
-
RE: Is this just haze or something more?
I am not a scientist nor a meteorologist and I know the...
By Toodles , 1 hour ago
-
RE: Benefits of an extra horizontal loop for GSHP
It will improve performance, but by how much depends on...
By Brendon Uys , 6 hours ago
-
RE: The good, the bad and the not that great – my heat pump installation
Said I would pop back with a update. Only Mr Jesus h...
By Burtis , 20 hours ago
-
RE: Buffers, hot water and cooling
Thats presumably heat pump DT, what about radiator DT a...
By JamesPa , 21 hours ago
-
RE: Who's your electricity provider and what's your tariff?
@chandykris Exactly the same here. We now have 13.5kWh ...
By Old_Scientist , 1 day ago
-
Compressor and Evaporator Stratification
I have had a few issues with my Hitachi spilt heatpump ...
By trebor12345 , 1 day ago
-
RE: Wood burner with ASHP - direct air?
This depends on the size of your wood burner and size/t...
By Lucia , 2 days ago
-
RE: Difficult positioning of air source heat pump
@rikiarn It's a not a buffer it's a volumiser which is ...
By Lucia , 2 days ago
-
RE: Is your heat pump insured?
To make things clear, lots of insurance companies cover...
By Lucia , 2 days ago
-
RE: Boxt Heat Pump Installation Experience
@adrian any updates since installation? How is it perfo...
By Ashfp , 2 days ago
-
RE: Say hello and introduce yourself
Hi @seatonian - Yes, I know Seaton, and I have the Nat...
By Transparent , 3 days ago
-
@seatonian got your email. Will connect you with a reco...
By Mars , 4 days ago
-
@downfield and @toddles, this isn’t in the settings cur...
By Mars , 6 days ago
-
RE: Homely launched for Grant Aerona ASHP control
I haven't bought the Aerona Smart Controller (£700!) bu...
By Prunus , 6 days ago
-
RE: Antifreeze top up for my heat pump - is this a rip off?
For the record, Grant supply ethylene glycol for their ...
By Prunus , 6 days ago
-
RE: Compressor attempts start but fails - Nibe Fighter 2005 8kW
@skyefarmer amazing. Well done!
By Mars , 6 days ago
-
RE: Air source heat pump roll call – what heat pump brand and model do you have?
Ebac 5kw - Monobloc R32. Developed and made in UK - Mit...
By marcinwloch69@gmail.com , 1 week ago
-
RE: Is a Valliant Inline 6kW heater a BUS buster?
Just another thought - it might be worth thinking about...
By JamesPa , 1 week ago
-
RE: BUS Grant: removal of all other fossil fuel heat sources
@rikiarn - just have a think as to how much it will cos...
By Transparent , 1 week ago