@ruyalar, thanks for the comments and welcomer to the forums. 

The price isn't that bad (for the UK) - what kind of radiators have they quoted for? Are they K3s?

Just read Mike's comments, and might have to retract my comment about it being an OK price.

I think it is an OK price.  Ours was (very roughly) £12k for ASHP plus cylinder, all ancillaries and fitting.  Then another £4k for 12 radiators, all pipes and fitting. We had no central heating. 

@kev-m thanks Kev

Hello,

We are very excited to find this forum. Looks like lots of real world advice on what seems like a bit of a minefield when choosing what renewables are best for us. 

We are currently at the quotes stage for ASHP and considering solarPV with battery storage if the budget allows. 

We have just spent our first winter in our 100 year old semi detached stone house in the Scottish Borders. 
With an aging gas combo boiler and under spec’d rads, it was a very cold (but expensive) one. We have suspended wooden floors and lath+plaster interior walls. 
Looking at new windows first then adding solid insulation to the attic room. 

Had quotes for two types of ASHP with new piping for upstairs rads and UFH for down stairs. Both 12kW but one Nibe and the other Vaillent. 

At the moment we are weighing up if the Vaillent (high temp) would be a bad move due to running costs. Quotes both come in at just over 20k. 

Is there a thread discussing high temp ASHP on here? I’m struggling to find it if there is. 

Looking forward to getting involved!

@gordonville don't even think about a heat pump yet. Sort out your insulation, first, second and third. 

Hi Gordonville,

Welcome to the forum.

I fully agree with Batalto in that you should start with improving the insulation, which not only will be better for the environment, but will probably be much more cost effective.

Your quotes of £20k+ seem rather excessive compared to prices paid by others on the forum. What exactly are you getting for your money?

Are you on mains gas? If you are you will probably find an ASHP more expensive to run, particularly if you have poor insulation.

How large is your property and do you have any heat loss calculations?

Even if you do not decide on an ASHP I would certainly recommend installing a Solar PV system, along with a power diverter to provide hot water, though you probably don't have a hot water tank if you have a combi gas boiler.

Hi,  We are currently having a retro-fit ASHP fitted to our modern-ish, large-ish 4 bed house in mid-Suffolk, all radiator heating.  3.8 kW solar on the roof too.

Oil boiler currently being pulled out of the wall (HRM Wallstar) no going back now.

At the moment I have concerns about the quality of the radiator replacement work. Vaillant 12kW machine arrives tomorrow.

Hi @witchcraft and welcome to the forum.  I assume the boiler being removed is oil? 

What concerns do you have about your radiator replacement? Are you having all replaced or just some?

@kev-m We have managed to get a singed carpet.  Yes it is replacing an oil boiler (we are in the sticks in Suffolk)

@witchcraft, yikes 😯 that's not good.  Make sure to let us know how the system is when it's up and running.

Hi All

I am an installer who has been installing both ground and air source units for over 20 years. I am not here to sell, I am here to help and dispel some myths and explain why things are happening and help people rectify problems. If you have any queries or need some help, give me a shout.

I am currently listing to (Ep5) Our Second Winter Air Source Heat Pump Experience, there seams to be some issues with this system, either the control (which I suspect as the flow temperature is a stable 45 Deg C), a system design issue or the unit is undersized.

Air source heat pumps work very well but, below 4 Deg C and above 0 Deg C is the worst operating band for air source heat pumps and the quantity of moisture in the air is very high and the units frost up very quickly, this requires energy to de-frost and this will come from the house.

If you have any queries or need some help, give me a shout.

Brendon