Given all the discussion on here I wonder if there is not a worrying lack of knowledge / capability when it comes to controlling these systems. I appreciate that many new ideas are being used but they still seem either not to be available or they are not installed correctly or they are configured wrongly. For instance I read a thread over on buildhub about standby energy consumption of ASHP units but I can find no definitive knowledge on how much this is for the various units. Perhaps it is not simple to calculate / estimate given different patterns of use but surely it must be possible to give purchasers an idea or set the controls up to minimise / eliminate it. 

Hi, I live in Scotland and just have completed my ASHP installation by Greener Energy Group. So I have now officially moved to the "Green" side.

ASHP OEM: Grant

MODEL: Aerona 3 10KW

I still am finding my feet as the installers were very quick in installing everything. But I am struggling with the whole set up. Probably will start a new thread with all the details so someone here can help me find the solution or tweak the efficiency.

Thanks in advance!

@macfxd welcome to the forums. There’s a wealth of Grant related content across the forums with a lot of experienced Grant users. Feel free to start a dedicated thread when you’re ready to get answers to specific questions about your system.

Posted by: @macfxd

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the installers were very quick in installing everything. But I am struggling with the whole set up.

You're very welcome here... where you'll find loads of information.

You might want to see what I posted a week ago on the topic Is this a bad installation?
I've reproduced the section of the Building Regulations which stipulate that you must be provided with site-specific information on what's been installed.

Instruction on how to operate and maintain your ASHP system is a mandatory part of the work.

Feel free to join in on that topic if you wish.
It is, in any case, full of insights into what should and shouldn't have been done on another site which was installed in Nov'23.

Hi have just joined the forum.  Installation is Stiebel Eltron WPL25 ASHP (15kW), 100 litre buffer, 300 litre DHW, UFH ground floor, rads first floor.  ASHP is placed 12m from the house (well insulated underground pipes).  House is an old cornish cottage (c.200m2) solid stone walls no insulation, 1970's kitchen/bedroom extension cavity walls no insulation, new extension very good insulation, 300+mm loft insulation.  ASHP replacing old oil Rayburn DHW + space heating (on 12/12) plus wood/coal stove (on 6/12).  Also have solar PV and a battery.  Going well so far.

I'm relived to hear that things are going well @ajn9000 
Usually when a new member arrives here that late on a Saturday night, it's bad news!
But then I noticed you're from Cornwall, where matters of time are somewhat more fluid.

Is that a 300-litre thermal store supplying DHW, UFH and 1st floor rads?
Or is it 300-litres solely for DHW?
It's a fine point of punctuation. 🤨 

So you have two extensions on the original stone cottage.
That's a good strategy to raise the EPC of a historic building.
Reducing the 'external' surface area of the solid stone wall will help keep the heat in.

@transparent thank you for your comments.  Sorry - the 300 litre tank is just for DHW.  The 100 litre buffer tank is on the heating circuit which is connected into 2 UFH manifolds and an upstairs rad circuit.  We have a 3 way valve to isolate the rad circuit, which has the same flow temperature as the UFH circuits.  We essentially have 2 UFH zones due to the heat loss characteristics of the property.  Heating COP yesterday was 5.12 - but see my other thread querying margin of error.

Hello Everyone,

I had solar panels and battery installed Oct23 and I'm now looking at replacing our aging combi boiler with ASHP.

I'm currently waiting for the 'full' quote after the heat loss survey but I know there is going to be a lot of plumbing as we have microbore 🙁

I originally had 3 'desktop' quotes from Octopus and two independents and they all quoted units with R32 which I asked them to requote with R290 as I had read about the possible ban in Europe of R32 for new units from 2027.

Octopus could not do this unless I wanted to wait for the cosy 6 but there are still no firm dates so I dropped them at that point.

Both independents were happy to quote R290 units one a Samsung and one a Midea both desktop quotes were pretty close but I went with the Samsung and I'm just waiting for the full cost.

I hope you don't mind me posting questions as things progress as I like to understand fully whats going on.

Many Thanks

Ian   

@irmartini welcome to the forums, and please keep us updated on your quotation process and how that goes. Feel free to start a new thread for your project.

Also, don't be too concerned about the microbore – it's far from being a deal breaker if you get a competent installer who knows what they're doing. Heat pumps can (and do work) with microbore. 

Also, where in the UK are you based?

@editor 

I'm in Shropshire

I had read that microbore can be used but most of ours is 8mm and to be honest when I'm spending money to get projects done I'm all for doing it properly and so rather than make microbore work I would rather have the pipework done to give me the best system I can get even though it will cost more, its my opinion is that spending the extra now will pay dividends later.

I will start a new thread with my project as it gets off the ground as I'm sure I will have loads of questions.

I'm also looking forward to getting started on your book this weekend.

@irmartini - One of the advantages of microbore is that it can be easily installed from a reel, without the need for joints.

However, the same is true if you were to use PEX underfloor heating pipe to supply radiators.
Here's an example using 16mm OD pipe (12mm bore):

The pipe in the photo has aluminium sandwiched between two layers of polyethylene.
It's easy to install because it stays where you put it.

16mm diameter pipe can accept the same insulation as 15mm copper, although it's obviously a tighter fit.

Several suppliers offer radiator valves which directly accept 16mm UFH pipe.
Or, if you already have the rad-valves, then there's the option of using PEX pipe adaptors:

PEX pipe also works well if you'd like to supply radiators in a star topology from a central manifold.

Instead of fitting electrical actuators, a heat-pump driven system allows you to keep the manual knobs on the manifold.
Thus flow-balancing can be done from the manifold rather than using the lockshield valve at the end of each radiator.

Hi Mars. It is very useful to have a forum for ecosystem users. Thank you for keeping the forum going.

I had a Mitsubishi system installed in my old Welsh farmhouse about three years ago. It only had storage heaters so we had a complete installation with new triple radiators, new plumbing, etc. (£20k) It turned out that the installers did not have a clue how to design the system, where to put radiators and did not know how to operate the system. The main thermostat and control box was surrounded by radiators. The plumbers had filled the system with neat glycol, turned the box on and left without even balancing the radiators. The control box was set up with one zone and no room thermostats.

It took me about a year to try and sought out what was happening. This was mainly by looking through Mitsubishi manuals and experiment. I did eventually call out a Mitsubishi engineer at a ridiculous cost (he was the one who told me that my system had neat glycol in it) . Mitsubishi have a care plan for looking after the system but they refuse to let you participate if you live in a remote area (non mains water,etc)!  

So your forum is very welcome. I just wish I had someone to speak to three years ago.