But the claim made by "experts" was that you can't get water temperatures >50C from heat pumps or retrofit them to existing buildings, laws of physics etc. This is incorrect. Technology is advancing rapidly in this area, and what was true 5 or 10 years ago is not necessarily true any more.
No one was saying you can’t retrofit them to existing buildings at all, in fact they can perform very well on a £ vs kWh cost compared to gas or oil when retrofitted to buildings built before the revision of building insulation regulations 2010, on one provision that is stated time and time again in manufacturers guidelines and is a recognised industry standard, is insulate….insulate……insulate before consideration and ensure you are able to fit underfloor heating, the thermal efficiency of using heat pumps with existing type 22 steel radiators is very poor, aluminium radiators are slightly more efficient but to get the full benefit of such a system you should consider under floor heating laid on top of a well insulated floor.
Are you able to quote roughly the heating and space water costs before and after the installation of the GSHP and an idea of the cost of the installation of the GSHP and underfloor heating?Our 1905 built house renovated in 2007 with a GSHP with UFH works perfectly well too, even in the depths of winter. Heating bills are not over the top IMO.
Hi Richard,Good Evening All,
I am not an engineering person but I am a person who has had a very strong interest in matters 'green' for some time and who lives in a house that has had solar PV since 2008, UFH replacing radiators since 2009, a GSHP and solar hot water since 2016, battery storage since 2019 and an EV since 2018 I feel I have a reasonable experience in this area.
We live in an 1859 built stone farmhouse and the GSHP works fine, generally speaking the maximum water temperature out to the the combination UFH/ radiators is 42°C with an outside temperature down to -10°C. Hot water can be heated to 58°C.
The property has an EPC rating 'A' which is a shed load better than most of the nearby properties (mostly 'D' according to recent sales particulars).
The other side of the coin is that this hasn't been achieved at zero cost - BUT it is possible.
Regards
Richard
Certainly sounds like you have done a really good job with your house. To get to an A energy rating in an old house is a really good achievement.
Are you able to quote roughly the heating and space water costs before and after the installation of the GSHP and an idea of the cost of the installation of the GSHP and underfloor heating?
And did you add additional insulation during your renovation?
UFH is great and in my view much better than having radiators or heat delivered through an air based heating system.
I am very much aware of Swiss prices (and the high quality of the work) having lived there for 3 1/2 years.no, we bought it post renovation. I do know the renovation was very expensive though (swiss prices!)
I've been thinking about such things lately. Depending on the orientation of the building and the latitude I'm sure builders could calculate the angles needed to let the winter sun come in, but not the sun in the height of summer. That would give you passive heating and cooling at the times you need it.well insulated and proteced from the sun through the large balcony outside for the floor above.