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Air Source Heat Pumps

molee said:
Ah, I saw a reference to ducting in your post and thought you had some. The issue is not so much dirt, as you say the filters sort that out. Rather condensation can build up especially in concertina type ducting or where there are inadequate or adverse gradients leading to heavy mould growth. Mould can cause more harm than cold.

I think they are finding that the balance between insulation and adequate ventilation is a particularly vexing one. A 21 century equivalent of when fireplaces were introduced to thatched dwellings. Where previously, smoke would drift up from the floor through the thatch and fumigate/dry the reed- smoke going up the chimney allowed mould to grow in the thatch and spores would drift down on to the unsuspecting dwe.lers.
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Apologies for all the typos.

I would be surprised if condensation was a problem, given there is a regular flow of warm air through the ducting, providing the ducting is sufficiently insulated. I had a quick look inside the output vent in my bedroom and couldn't detect any, and my ducting travels through my very cold loft/roofspace, but I must admit, I'm certainly not a heating engineer.

The majority of houses in NZ are single story, which makes installing any kind of ducted system relatively easy. I would guess in a typical UK house, two storey, one would have to lift floorboards and install pipes in the walls, as I remember my parents doing when we had GCH installed in our semi in Manchester in the late 70s.

Just to clarify, my ducting transfers warm air from the lounge, which is heated by a huge log burner, also ubiquitous here. The notion of NZ being clean and green is greatly exaggerated, but I understand we still grow more trees than we harvest.

Whatever sources I use, my house is still.poorly insulated and now there's just me here, (divorced and kids grown up) too big for me. I'm looking forward to moving to somewhere smaller, more.modern and heat efficient, where I can get some passive heating from the sun (it's still quite strong down here in the winter) and where I don't have to lug 5-7 cubic metres of firewood up the steep path and stack it every year.
 
I've never got round to posting any pics on here but happy to pm some to show what my installation looks like and the space it heats
 
Ellenor said:
It’s funny isn’t it how people take insulation seriously when they’re thinking of having a heat pump installed.
Has it occurred to anyone that you can still take these measures with gas central heating?
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Yes, but insulating properly means that you can avoid destroying the planet by burning gas and also not make Putin, the House of Saud or Nigel Lawson richer.
 
gingermrkettle said:
Yes, but insulating properly means that you can avoid destroying the planet by burning gas and also not make Putin, the House of Saud or Nigel Lawson richer.
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Yes you’re right at the point of use but you’re not taking into account how that electricity and hardware to turn it into heat is made or whether this country has the infrastructure to power absolutely everything with electricity.
 
Ellenor said:
Yes you’re right at the point of use but you’re not taking into account how that electricity and hardware to turn it into heat is made or whether this country has the infrastructure to power absolutely everything with electricity.
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A) I am, because I have referred elsewhere to the WesternPower Carbontracer app or https://carbonintensity.org.uk/ for energy sourcing, and in any case given the relative efficiency of gas power generation/gas boilers and the heat multipliers of heat pumps in normal use you will use less gas to run a heat pump even if the generation is entirely gas fired than if you run even the most efficient condensing boiler for the same output and
B) I don't need to, there are people at the National Grid etc. whose job it is to do this who regularly say that we will have (more often in the context of electric cars).
 
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I am told by tradesman that some of these heat pumps are now having to be replaced after about 4 years . anyone else found that ?
 
hifinutt said:
I am told by tradesman that some of these heat pumps are now having to be replaced after about 4 years . anyone else found that ?
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That sounds unlikely. The thing is basically a fridge with the cold bit outside and the warm bit inside. Have you ever had a fridge fail after only 4 years' use?
 
stevec67 said:
That sounds unlikely. The thing is basically a fridge with the cold bit outside and the warm bit inside. Have you ever had a fridge fail after only 4 years' use?
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Brother uses similar for his pool and it's been good for 25 years so far, obvs not in continual use but when it's on it can be flat out for a few of days.

Max quoted multiplier was 4, probably used at the right time of year.
 
stevec67 said:
That sounds unlikely. The thing is basically a fridge with the cold bit outside and the warm bit inside. Have you ever had a fridge fail after only 4 years' use?
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indeed , however this chap i use works with lots of plumbers and gas engineers so must be some truth in it
 
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