Ok, I’ll start with some simple questions:

1. Does the house opposite have the same, daikin air source heating system?

2. Have you considered moving to prepayment (so that you are not forced into paying a large standing order each month to shore up the bank account of the energy company)?

3. How is your heating system controlled at the moment? Do you have a thermostat on the wall?

Hi thankyou

The house opposite have air source but I'm not sure it's Daiken, they havnt long had it and the outside fan etc looks different to mine so I'm unsure?

I can't use prepay as there are no shops here, very limited bus service and I don't drive, plus I have M S and only leave my home very occasionally so topping up would be a huge problem.

I don't have a thermostat on the wall, I've got a little white display thing with batteries in that I can turn heating up or down with a dial.

Thankyou 🙂

OK, that gives us something to go on. So the house opposite has air source but it might be that they are running it differently, have a better insulated and airtight house, have a different electric tariff etc etc… So we can’t really compare your place and install to theirs.

I only mentioned prepayment as the unit rates on the backstop are now the same, and the standing charge is not much more per day. The smart prepayment can be topped up online from your suppliers website or phone app - no need to leave the house at all.

Anyway, back to your heating system, can you tell is what is shown on this white, battery powered, room stat/controller? Is it made by daikin or someone else?

The next thing, can you tell us where in the UK you are?

Also, my internet signal is rubbish so I keep losing internet, if I don't reply to anyone please note I'm not being ignorant I just maybe can't access internet . 🙂

It's a Neomitis . I'm in Wiltshire. Thanks

@editor do you know if there is a way, under FOI or similar, that a representative of the tenant could request the design data for this retrofit? My wife owns her house but the sewage is provided by a private system owned by Aster, a large housing association in the south west. She has set me up as a representative (my name isn’t on the deeds) so I can deal with technical matters for her. I wonder if the collective could somehow get hold of the information required to help the OP get this system working well.

It should be considerably more comfortable and cheaper than storage heaters on E7

@winnie-wicket Anywhere near Trowbridge?

To answer your original and most pressing question - this is expensive to run because it isn’t either installed or setup correctly, or both.

If you try and run an ASHP in the same way as a gas boiler, it will eat electricity and won’t heat your house properly.

It’s installer laziness that causes this. They want to install it, show you the radiators get hot, then leave.

Hopefully we can get this configured properly for you so that you don’t suffer this winter. Having a heating system that isn’t working properly isn’t acceptable.

@winnie-wicket Can you post a pic of the main controller, which will probably be near your water tank?

Take a pic of any screens you can access easily. 

Posted by: @hughf

@editor do you know if there is a way, under FOI or similar, that a representative of the tenant could request the design data for this retrofit? My wife owns her house but the sewage is provided by a private system owned by Aster, a large housing association in the south west. She has set me up as a representative (my name isn’t on the deeds) so I can deal with technical matters for her. I wonder if the collective could somehow get hold of the information required to help the OP get this system working well.

It should be considerably more comfortable and cheaper than storage heaters on E7

The quick answer is I don't know. I will message a few industry insiders and heat pump association members to see if they have any advice on the matter.

On a related note, and this is something I've wondered about before, but it is not the responsibility of landlords to ensure heating systems are installed properly and running efficiently? In the case, @winnie-wicket had her heating removed and replaced with a heat pump, so the responsibility lies with the landlord to get it addressed. This is something I'll look into too.

Posted by: @winnie-wicket

I've just told my landlord I am not even turning it on this winter but they say I have to or pipes will freeze? 

I'm pretty certain that a landlord can't order you to turn your heating on. The system should have been sufficiently insulated during installation to prevent freezing over.