Laminate is floating. Didn’t even know that bonding to the screed would increase heat transfer!

Posted by: @transparent

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Posted by: @shaeney

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I heat the underfloor mass etc with cheap energy.

For clarification @shaeney
so that UFH pipe is all running through a new solid/concrete floor, correct?

Concrete thickness?

Insulation below it?

I suspect that approach allows your heat-pump to operate more efficiently.
The high thermal mass, slowly heating over many hours will diminish/eradicate the HP from cycling.

Here's part of my house with the UFH pipe stapled to insulation prior to the concrete pour.

 

@editor -- it would be great if this could in some way be reflected in one of the heat calculators you're contemplating for this site.

But I'm unsure how to achieve that.
It needs input from one our tame HP physicists/engineers 🙂 

It would be a useful feature for members here to evaluate the different efficiencies which be obtained depending on how they implemented the heat-emitting elements for their home:

• radiators
• UFH (suspended floor)
• UFH solid floor with high thermal mass

Maybe this would be better illustrated with a theoretical house, rather than the householder putting in their own details.

The spreadsheet simulator that I created was designed to allow comparison of possible changes to insulation level, heat emitter capacity, heat pump operation etc.

@transparent after your post I had to go check!

I took a vent off the wall to take a look.

I was wrong, the double is on the inside, single outside.

I took this photo with a torch for reference.

It’s Flemish Bond brickwork, I believe.

Oh wow!
Good brickwork... and decent black mortar too 😀 

Flemish bond is immensely strong - far more than would be required to support a typical Welsh roof.

The torch has also picked up what's left of a century-old website.

How far have we strayed from @editor 's original interest in your Stiebel heat-pump?
Was that a self-install?

Any piccy?

@transparent

Self install? lol. The unit is outside an outhouse, which houses the "plant room" with all the "gubbins"

self install? I wouldnt know where to start.

Oh, that's an amazing installation!

You're going to have everyone here drooling over the neat pipework and 'proper' insulation!
Who's the installer, and where are they based?

The use of Unistrutt channel on the wall to hold pipes in place with Munsen rings shows good planning and attention to detail.
Let me just add this graphic so that others can spot the components in your plant-room photo.

Have you got labels on the various valves, or were you presented with a schematic diagram of what was installed?

@transparent You may have noticed an Immersion heater on the tank?

I have Solar and if there's excess, rather than send back to the grid, I can boost the tank temp much higher using the immersion.

I started doing this using a device called a Solar iBoost, but when I got batteries, the trick new inverter had that functionality built in, so the iBoost is sitting there unused at the minute

You are mentioning all the right keywords @shaeney 🙂 

And we are left awaiting a slightly greater level of detail please!

1: Solar (presumably PV) at what max output level?
Was this installed prior to the heat pump...
... or did you just tell the installer "give me one of everything!" 🤑 

2: What inverter do the solar panels connect to?

3: Batteries...
type / manufacturer / model number?

This forum is all about sharing good practice.
So if you've got something that works, then please broadcast it here.

Ideally with photos...
screenshots of any App you use to monitor or control...
and where you've needed to 'tinker' with settings etc.

And I still want to know who this installer is.
From what you've described thus far, it's possible this is the first heat-pump installation I've come across which actually complies with the Building Regs.

That may seem a pretty low bar to aim at,
but the UK has a plentiful supply of installers who try to walk straight through the high-jump by waving a piece of paper. 😢 

@transparent @shaeney I'm impressed by the use of a Spirotech Spirotrap high flow rate low head resistance dirt filter. Its only the second one I've ever seen on an ASHP install picture (the first one being mine). So many installs use narrow-bore boiler grade ones.

The Spirotech Spirotrap, available widely, including BES

@iancalderbank I have absolutely no idea what this means 🙂

@shaeney It's another indication that you have got a particularly well-designed heat-pump installation. 🙂 

I'll leave Ian to describe why he favours that particular filter.

However, I'm still interested to know who the installer is and how you arrived at the decision to have the particular devices which have been used.
Was it the same installer who was also involved with the storage battery?