Hello everyone!

I've been on an interesting ASHP journey... we have an semi-detached bungalow with an oil boiler on its last legs.  I had an ASHP replacement on the todo list since we moved in a year ago, but the boiler's imminent demise has hastened the project.  I applied for the Green Homes Grant with a quote from a local ASHP supplier on day 1 of it opening - and 7 months on we still haven't had the voucher approved.

Meanwhile, I've been looking into taking matters into my own hands, either via RHI or a non-RHI install (the latter probably doesn't make sense as I think it's too big for me to DIY, but just for benchmarking). In particular one breakthrough moment was discovering the YouTube channel by Freedom Heat Pumps who are a major supplier, and due to lockdown they've put all their installer training videos online. It dispels a lot of the mystery around heat pumps that's put about by the 'eco' suppliers - with a monobloc ASHP it's just basic plumbing that any plumber can do.

With that in mind I've put all the building measurements into the MCS Heat Loss spreadsheet and it says I need an 8kW heat pump, which seems about right.  I did some similar calculations with the Stroma FSAP 2012 software that came out roughly the same. Currently working on refining all the other parts of the system (placement, pipe runs, electrics upgrades, radiators, plumbing, controls etc) and lining up the necessary trades (installer, electrician, EPC, etc).  Learning lots along the way!

I've just joined this Forum and am looking forward to reading about the different experiences with ASHPs. 

On moving house in 2017 we inherited a wet electric system which we found to be dangerous (we had a fire one year after moving house caused by an industrial level demand on the electricity supply) and hugely inefficient and expensive: £300+ a month for a cold house throughout the Scottish winter. Imagine heating your house with water from an electric shower. That's exactly how our current system works.

Having received different quotes for ASHPs we decided on an installer who recommended the Grant Aerona R32 17kW - which incidentally have achieved the Quiet Mark - 

Our experience so far is that ASHP installers seem to require an upfront payment to make a visit to simply provide a comprehensive estimate. We also found that the size of heat pump recommended for our property varied between 11kW and 17kW. 

I have a question around planning permission and will try to find the correct part of the forum to post this and to share our experience. 

Thank you for reading so far!

Hi Jenny and welcome. I found two installers who would provide a comprehensive quote, without payment. And several others did a video review. 
I also had a range of machine sizes. The biggest issue was the 10mm pipe drops from the loft to radiators. Most installers wanted to replace. My wife said “NO!”

Ive not heard “quiet mark” boom boom 😊. What does that mean and noise level of the Grant?  I’m impressed with how quiet my Daikin Altherma 3H HT unit is. It’s R32 too. Manufacturers seemed to have made big improvements recently. 

@jennyross, welcome to the forums, and thanks for joining.

Hello everyone, to introduce myself. My wife, 3 children and I live in rural Lincolnshire in our off grid home. We have an oil boiler which was installed when the house was built in 2005. Likely be end of life soon. Adding to that my recent reading of the government’s sixth carbon budget document and the principle advisory groups contribution from the climate change committee I can see oil, and gas for that matter on its final days. I then started looking at air source heat pumps and watched the YouTube videos of My Home Farm, here I am now!

In all truth the very honest YouTube videos put me off of ASHP’s and I started looking at the renewable biofuels industry. I however see that as an unlikely option so am building confidence in ASHP’s again. I have a company coming around in a few weeks for a chat and ideas leading to a quote. I don’t expect to have anything done until clean home grant becomes available based upon expected costs and I would also prefer to see a solid commitment to electric prices being reduced by way of the renewable levies etc being applied to gas. Maybe however I will jump earlier if the RHI works out much better. I am in a learning and considering state at the moment but love this article and posts I have read so far. Regards, Phil

Welcome Phil. Top tip is to speak to several ASHP installers to get a variety of views. Unless it’s the size of Blenheim Place, a 2005 built home should have a reasonable level of insulation. Invest in more. And solar PV. 
Good luck with your investigations. 

@phil3822, welcome and thanks for joining our community. In response, ASHPs do work, but it's key to get everything aligned so that they work efficiently. As Julian has correctly pointed out, insulation is important, as is the sizing of the heat pump for your property's heat loss. I am now recommending that the emitter guide is also followed and that K3 rads are installed in any rooms where there are doubts. These have been a massive game changer for us.

As @julianc has suggested, it's important to get 3-4 installers to visit and provide proposals because that will provide you with the insights you need to make the correct decision. 

Hi @phil3822 and welcome. You sound like you live in the same part of the world as I do. As @julianc says, there is no reason why an ASHP won't work in a normal 2005 house; it seems to be working so far in my 1990 one.

What's your floor area and heating/HW requirement from your EPC? - that's usually a good pointer as to whether it will work well and you can also work out RHI payments. 

Hello all, thank you so much for all the information on here, although my brain is now completely fried!

I've just bought my first ever house for myself, my partner and very loud toddler. It's a 1950 end of terrace on the very windy hill of St Briavels in the Forest of Dean. But we've got a pub and a castle, so who cares about the wind? At the moment we have a 20 year old oil fired back boiler to heat our 123.5 m2 and provide hot water. It's not great. We want to go green and have no mains gas so have been considering an ASHP. We're in a high radon area so the house has lots of vents to improve the ventilation or make the house even more windy.

We had an assessment done by the Heating Hub and a quote from the company they recommended. Having read through lots of the stuff on here I am not sure if the sizing of the unit is right, if our insulation is too rubbish and whether we should go high or low temp or change or radiators or, basically, I'm not sure of much. I'm not sure which forum to start with, but possibly one on the correct sizing?

Looking forward to trying to get my head round the dark art of heat pump. Thanks in advance!

@amyfod, welcome to the forums. Would suggest you post your questions here: https://renewableheatinghub.co.uk/forums/renewable-heating-air-source-heap-pumps-ashps/to-ashp-or-not-to-ashp-that-is-the-question/paged/2#post-1041

@editor Thank you! I will go over there and post my multiple questions 👍 

@julianc, agree on the vermin in the lofts. We regularly hear them scampering around. Not much we can do about it.

@mikefitz, as Julian said, we'd love a review of your ASHP to be featured in the reviews section of our site:  https://renewableheatinghub.co.uk/category/reviews - DM me if you're interested and I can share some details with you.