Posted by: @dwynwen

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Waiting for a tutorial.

They are not called tutorials, but you have received advice in this thread that comes to the same thing. You have to bite the bullet and start doing what needs to be done. It's not complicated, and can be summed up in a few words: make your system as open circuit as possible (turn off or even remove the heads from TRV valves) and set the system to run in weather compensation mode (Water Law in Samsung-speak) and then adjust the Water Law up or down as required to get comfortable temperatures. You may or may not need to balance your radiators, depending on whether all rooms heat evenly or not. All of this is well withing the capabilities of anyone who knows which end of a screwdriver it the business end. It is also (sadly) common that home occupiers have to do all this because installers can be lazy and fail to do it.

Domestic hot water - temporarily use an immersion heater if you have one. In due course put it on a timer on the heat pump.

Posted by: @dwynwen

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It seems as though the scheme is open to abuse. I wonder how many people have accepted their installations without complaint because it was "free". I still cannot believe that some things were thought acceptable, that guidelines could be interpreted as a licence to exclude householders from any decisions about what was being done in their homes.  As I have said before, read the small print.

Unfortunately, as I observed upthread, there appears to be no limit to the ingenuity of human beings when it comes to abusing the money of others.  Its not unique to this scheme, its not even unique to government funded projects (although they perhaps more susceptible because some people see ripping the Government off as a 'victimless' crime). Sadly this is a reflection of the human race.  I doubt there are many people who, at one time or another, have not been victim of a scam of some kind.  

However there are also people, such as many on this forum, that are willing to try to help.  Ultimately its up to you whether you accept the offer or not.

@cathoderay What is a screwdriver?

Posted by: @dwynwen

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What is a screwdriver?

There is then no hope for you!

Posted by: @dwynwen

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@cathoderay What is a screwdriver?

 

If you are one of the scammers, vodka and orange over ice, garnished with a slice of orange.

@jamespa And drunk in a long haul destination 5 star hotel.

@dwynwen It is what is known as a chisel before it is set against a grinding wheel.😉

Hello again

Finally, some good news to report…

Radbots disabled with the exception of 2 in bedrooms

Flow temp reduced to 35 degrees 

Heating and HW on 24/7, set at 18 degrees by day and 15 at night. HW set at 45 degrees

The house has warmed up considerably! The electricity usage is still making our eyes water a bit but when we average it out, it’s probably costing what oil plus firewood would have cost. So… we are much warmer and not so scared! And much greener which definitely warms the cockles too. 

Huge thanks to everyone who has taken the time to offer advice and words of encouragement - in particular @jamespa @cathoderay @toodles @judith 🙏

Finding this forum has been amazing. 

Now to my next question - what to do with the now defunct oil boiler that is only 2 years old..? But that’s for another thread! 😁

Posted by: @jaynieq

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The house has warmed up considerably! The electricity usage is still making our eyes water a bit but when we average it out, it’s probably costing what oil plus firewood would have cost. So… we are much warmer and not so scared!

Good news, well done!

it is indeed very important to average costs over a season. Heat pump running costs are disproportionately high in cold weather because of the double whammy of more energy needed just as performance (COP) drops significantly, but equally the running costs become disproportionately low in moderate to mild weather when the energy demand falls and performance (COP) increases. Neither looking at a cold month nor indeed a mild month will give you an accurate picture of overall running costs, you have to look at the whole season.

@jaynieq Thanks for the feedback, its always good to hear what happens as it helps us do better next time.

You may find you need to fine-tune the weather compensation settings as time goes on.  If I recall correctly you have a Vaillant which has preset curves, so this shouldn't be necessary,  but its just possible you find you need change the curve a tiny bit from midwinter to spring.  You will soon work it out, the key thing is not to fiddle constantly and for the most part leave it to do its thing. 

For what its worth the night time set back may be costing money (counterintuitive I know).  The way Vaillant does setback this it less likely than the way some do set back, but it may well be that you could run 24*7 at a lower flow temperature still without it.  It wont make much difference either way so if its more comfortable with setback my advice is leave it on.

If you have any further questions please ask.

@cathoderay Indeed you do need to look at the overall figure over time. At present, our pump has a COP below 3 and we are consuming an average of ~2kWh for about 18 hours each day with a drop for about 6 hours. On Cosy, that amounts to ~£35 or so a week for us. Glad to hear the system is settling down and that you are now comfortable JaynieQ. Please feel free to enquire further - your success is our satisfaction! Regards, Toodles.

@jaynieq I’m glad I helped (even if only a bit!). I am amazed that you still have your oil boiler I thought they had to be physically removed. Our gas boiler was removed by an opportunist scrap merchant the following day! 
So sell it! Particularly before someone helps themselves or it goes rusty if outside. Consider it a help towards your bills. Our boiler was only good for parts because it was faulty and 15years old but 2 years must be worth something and whoever buys it would have bought a different oil boiler anyway.

A young member of the family might be good at on-line sales?