Renewable Heating Hub Heat Pump Forums

Search with Wattson
Forums
Renewable Heating
Air Source Heat Pum...
What is the Heat Ge...
 
Notifications
Clear all

Joining the Renewable Heating Hub forums is completely free and only takes a minute. By registering you’ll be able to ask questions, join discussions, follow topics you’re interested in, bookmark useful threads and receive notifications when someone replies. Non-registered members also do not have access to our AI features. When choosing your username, please note that it cannot be changed later, so we recommend avoiding brand or product names. Before registering, please take a moment to read the Forum Rules & Terms of Use so we can keep the community helpful, respectful and informative for everyone. Thanks for joining!

What is the Heat Geek Guarantee?

 
Page 2 / 2
Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs)
Last Post by Batpred 2 months ago
16 Posts
6 Users
7 Reactions
1,393 Views
RSS
Mars
 Mars
(@editor)
Illustrious Member Admin
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 4762
Topic starter 10/06/2026 8:40 am  

@jamespa great question as we’ve not seen a single mention of the mini store on the forums.


New to heat pumps? Take the Heat Pump Fundamentals course and use INTRO50 at checkout for 50% off.
Rewritten and updated for 2027
📘 From Zero to Heat Pump Hero
🛠️ Bodge Buster
🎧 Prefer to listen? Heat Pumps Explained


   
ReplyQuote
 Michael Waring
(@michael-w)
New Member Contributor Professional+
Joined: 2 months ago
Posts: 4
10/06/2026 9:04 am  

@editor We've only installed one so far, a 60XS model, but it's performing well from a functionality point of view.

That said, I'd always choose a standard unvented cylinder where possible. They're generally more efficient and offer greater hot water storage capacity. The Mini Store isn't a direct replacement and needs to be designed carefully around the property's hot water demand and the overall heating system.

Our installation is in a small property with one shower, one basin and a kitchen sink. We also fitted 5 lpm flow restrictors to all outlets as part of the design. In that application, it's working well.

The Mini Store does have some advantages beyond being compact. There's no requirement for a D2 discharge pipe, which can make installation easier in certain properties, and it can be a useful option where space constraints make a conventional cylinder difficult or impossible.

For the right property and when designed correctly, I think it's a good solution. But if space allows, I'd still lean towards a standard unvented cylinder.



   
ReplyQuote
JamesPa
 JamesPa
(@jamespa)
Illustrious Member Moderator
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 5198
10/06/2026 9:11 am  

Posted by: @michael-w
↑

For the right property and when designed correctly, I think it's a good solution. But if space allows, I'd still lean towards a standard unvented cylinder.

Thanks.  That's exactly what I was expecting/hoping for if it does in fact fill a niche.  I think it's been clear all along that where a standard cylinder fits that is a better choice, but as you say some properties won't fit that profile.


This post was modified 2 months ago by JamesPa

4kW peak of solar PV since 2011; EV and a 1930s house which has been partially renovated to improve its efficiency. 7kW Vaillant heat pump.


   
ReplyQuote
Batpred
 Batpred
(@batpred)
Noble Member Member
Joined: 2 years ago
Posts: 1089
10/06/2026 11:16 am  

Thanks, we also heard about the thermal store, to be used in combination with a cylinder I believe. 

It was described as similar to a combi, but to be honest, I could not see how, as our combi is 28kw and the HeatPump being considered is 7kw (even if it can deliver slightly more in some cases). It would have been nice to see a diagram of how the thermal store would work. 

That also came up in the initial proposals that the system gave and it was obviously adding to the cost. We were not interested, as it could be avoided by using a smaller cylinder. We ran out of time when going through all the options. Given hot water will be 10-15% of the cost,  investing more in it will most likely have lower return, compared to upgrading rads.. 


8kW Solis S6-EH1P8K-L-PLUS hybrid inverter; G99: 8kW export; 16kWh Seplos Fogstar battery; Ohme Home Pro EV charger; Vaillant Arotherm Pro 7kW; 100Amp head, HA lab on mini PC


   
ReplyQuote
Page 2 / 2
Forum Jump:
  Previous Topic
Next Topic  
Related Topics
Topic Tags:  heat geek (6) , heat geek guarantee (1) ,
Share:

SPONSORS

Join Us!

Installer Finder

Degrees of Separation

Latest Posts

SPONSORS

Click to access the login or register cheese
Protected By
Shield Security PRO