@derekdeleon, welcome to the forums and we look forward to hearing about your optimisation work.

Hello,

Im Simon, from Nth Lincs.

A couple of years we moved into a 3 bed detached bungalow which has a Ecodan 8.5kwh heat pump and 3kw solar pv array. 

Having never understood how the HP worked or how to get the best out of it, I've already met some very helpful folk over in the ASHP section and am beginning to get an understanding. 

Next up will be solar pv optimisation and looking into battery storage and all other potential energy saving options!

Hello,

Im Simon, from Nth Lincs.

A couple of years we moved into a 3 bed detached bungalow which has a Ecodan 8.5kwh heat pump and 3kw solar pv array. 

Having never understood how the HP worked or how to get the best out of it, I've already met some very helpful folk over in the ASHP section and am beginning to get an understanding. 

Next up will be solar pv optimisation and looking into battery storage and all other potential energy saving options!

Hello,

Im Simon, from Nth Lincs.

A couple of years we moved into a 3 bed detached bungalow which has a Ecodan 8.5kwh heat pump and 3kw solar pv array. 

Having never understood how the HP worked or how to get the best out of it, I've already met some very helpful folk over in the ASHP section and am beginning to get an understanding. 

Next up will be solar pv optimisation and looking into battery storage and all other potential energy saving options!

@si-fillo Hi Simon. I just sold my old self-build bungalow which had 3.9kW of solar and a 5kW Ecodan HP which i installed myself. If I can help in any way just ask.

Mark

Hi

My first post here.  We bought a house with solar already installed and have just had a 12kw LG Therma V ASHP running UFH downstairs and radiators upstairs.  It's all very new to us so we have a lot to learn.  Current subjects of interest are configuration and monitoring.  Our current config is working fine, using weather compensation, but what we want to know more about is monitoring to get the best efficiency.  Our installation was done properly by an MCS company but we want to know it is working efficiently.  When I asked about monitoring I got a blank look so I spent some time looking at openenergymonitor.  Are there an alternatives out there to monitor the ASHP system for COP and solar and domestic consumption?

Mark

Hello @mblinko and thanks for joining us.

Yes, there are specific monitoring devices for heat-pumps, usually promoted by the installer who would like to sell you an optional extra!
I'm sure others with knowledge of LG heat pumps will comment further about these in a while.

Having said that, I would also encourage you to further explore the use of Open Energy Monitor hardware/software.
It will provide you with a wider view of energy consumption within your house, rather than just the inputs/outputs of your LG Therma.

I'm surprised/disappointed that ASHP installers don't fit a monitoring system which allows them remote login as standard.
Not only could the end-user then better see what is happening, but the installer themselves could access the data in the event of a customer query.
It saves another site visit which may prove to be unnecessary.

The BEIS-funded ASHP Trial of 250 houses in SE England, which finished over a year ago, showed that the majority of installations would greatly benefit from further optimisation to increase efficiency.
That's unsurprising. You wouldn't expect every installer to be able to configure the system perfectly on the day on which the installation was completed.

Weather conditions will change, and the desired settings will become apparent once the house has returned to normal daily operation.

It is a requirement in Part-L of the Building Regulations that the customer is supplied with adequate information about their Heat Pump installation, not only to operate it effectively, efficiently and safely, but to maintain it.

Hi, We,ve just moved into a new build with ASHP LG Therma V and in common with the rest of the road we have no idea what we’re doing!  Hoping to get some insight on here and find out if solar and batteries are the way forward too.

I’ve just read the post above with interest as I had no idea that the lack of instructions with a ashp installation was contrary to building regs.  Interesting!

@transparent Interesting in that we have a whole new development with ashp, nobody knows how to operate it although we’re starting to learn and question the setting of 55 flow temperatures due to very high electricity bills.

Thanks for picking up these points @beachcomber

This might be obvious to you, but for the sake of the rest of us, could you please clarify:

1: Are all these ASHPs implemented on a "per house" basis, in the same way that boilers used to be installed?
Or is it a number of ASHPs in central (community operated) heating hubs, each of which which supply multiple properties?

2: Are these new-build houses all from the same developer?
And does that developer operate within the umbrella of the National House Building Council (NHBC)?

3: Whereabouts are you, roughly?
It would help us to know your electricity Distribution Network Operator (DNO), and your Local Planning Authority (LPA).

The lack of documentation and training which complies with Part-L (and Part-P) of the Building Regulations needs to be taken seriously by the Building Control Manager of your LPA.
This applies even if building control services in your area are no longer directly implemented by your Borough/District Council.

You have a number of avenues open to you, including

• a meeting with the local councillor(s) for your ward. It's possible that they're up for re-election in May, and on the lookout for issues to get their teeth stuck into!
• a written complaint to your LPA, possibly requesting that they send a council surveyor to assess if other aspects of the Building Act have not been properly implemented
• notify the solicitor who acted for you when purchasing the property. Failure to work within planning conditions and building control legislation are normally regarded as a breach of contract
• check the other documentation which has been supplied (via your solicitor) as part of the house purchase. Does this include the full printout of the SAP Score (energy efficiency) for your house, or is it just a diagram with a couple of figures stating the EPC rating?
• form a properly constituted Residents' Association which then has the ability to act of behalf of all its members. That enables you share any costs and appoint professionals to advise or act on your behalf without falling foul of the rules for 'conflict of interests'.

Is that enough to start you off?

Please tell your neighbours that we're discussing your houses here on the forum.

I anticipate that @editor will soon move the above comments from both of us to a fresh topic with a suitably apt title.
Others arriving on this forum in months/years to come may need to find this series of posts, should they find themselves in a similar predicament.

Hold on a minute @transparent.... 

They need to be very careful about how much visibility this gets in the first instance. They may be able to work through any issues with the developer etc. first with some support. 

Too much visibility and house prices on that estate risk plummeting... I have seen that happen when i worked for a national estate agent chain for a few years. It is a real serious risk. Sometimes very hard to recover even when issues are resolved. 

I appreciate you didn't say do all those things at once. Just be careful when and how to  escalate. 

Please be careful about posting anything that could identify the estate right now. 

@beachcomber hi I keep coming across very high electric bills but no one ever seems to state what a high bill is and even more importantly when. My bills for nov £230 and Dec £510. Dec is high but only for a month and we dropped down to -5 in Fife with a 5 bed old cottage with 2 extensions. Overall in a 12 month run my total elec bill breaks down to £244 per month which includes charging an RV for 4000 miles and also running a diakin air to air heat pump for my wife’s log cabin office from august. The point I’m trying to make is that a high reading for one or two winter months must be treated as a 12 month average. Incidentally we now have an 8kwh ground based solar system with 9.5 givenergy battery which from start of the month has been giving an Ave of 9 kwh per day which is estimated to raise to 35-40 kwh May to sept and we expect to be off grid apl to end sept