Heat pump experiences

[OldShep]

As far as heat pumps go
our main concern is 2 fold
a) I don;t think the insulation in our walls is good enough
and I do not know how to check - or for that matter upgrade it without massive work
b) we do not like the whole house to be the same temperature - we lik ethe bedroom to be cool and the lounge to be warm
and heat pumps seem to want to make the whole place the same

You need to know how much heat your home leaks and then size your pump to that. If you are using gas purely for heating then you’ll have years of bills giving an idea of how much energy it takes to heat your home.
We have only ever heated our main living area and let heat leak from there to other parts of the house. I know if it’s 0 C outdoors then a 2Kw electric fire will hold the indoor temperature and be a long time increasing it. Putting on another Kw will increase the indoor temperature and then I can go back to 2Kw.
Armed with this knowledge I fitted a 4Kw AC unit 15 years ago and my estimation worked. The age of that unit it did need supplemental heating below freezing.
This year I’ve renewed it with a premium r290 model 3.5Kw and a A+++ rating. Able to work down to -30C These units have certainly improved over time and the comfort level has doubled.
Looking at depreciation the old machine worked out less than £100/yr. Service costs were nothing more than hosing down the outside unit once a year and a bottle of AC cleaner. Regular washing of indoor filters. All in no more than a couple of hours of my time a year.
Gas is not an option where I live. Operating costs the last week on 24-7 keeping the house between 19 & 22 I’ve used 39Kw

 

[Milzy]

Joule cylinders, banging, cracking, rattling & leaking. Who’s got one?

 

[mjr]

do any installers give a guarantee about the savings

or at least no increases

the article that you see either say you will save LOADS
or are horror stories about people who are no paying loads more than they were before

which is just confusing

I think there are some installers who will guarantee the performance/efficiency as long as you don't change certain settings. No-one will guarantee no cost increase, as some morons would then turn the thermostat up to 28°c and open windows, then try to claim!

 

[Gillstay]

It's a thirties house with dirty cavity.

Roof space should be insulated as it's been recently converted.

I'll probably just go for new boiler tbh.

I would check your insulation as one of ours had new insulation. And yes it did when I got up there, but it was all still in the wrapper !
I never trust the building trade.