Efficiency savings on oil fired boiler

[old wrinkly]

Thanks, there are clearly a number of questions I need to get answers to before I make any commitment. No point spending out on alternatives if there isn't any real cost savings in running costs.

 

[old wrinkly]

Hi steptoe just a quick update to say just had the following reply from Wharf Plumbing

It is our own brand which uses a Toshiba compressor, it is not a reconfigured air conditioning unit.

It does not have a built in immersion for a number of reasons the main being you can use whatever source of backup heating you wish, however the unit does have the facility to turn on any other source you wish to use when the source temp is below 2C and there is a visual icon when this process is working.

 

[PC Electrics]

Hi steptoe just a quick update to say just had the following reply from Wharf Plumbing It is our own brand which uses a Toshiba compressor, it is not a reconfigured air conditioning unit.

It does not have a built in immersion for a number of reasons the main being you can use whatever source of backup heating you wish, however the unit does have the facility to turn on any other source you wish to use when the source temp is below 2C and there is a visual icon when this process is working.

That's good, you could use it to switch in your oil boiler at very low temp then. It's very competitively priced, makes you wonder why other ASHPs are so expensive.

 

[old wrinkly]

Hi, had a meeting with my plumber yesterday but confess I am still confused about whether the ASHP can generate enough heat to keep my existing radiators (as I think I have said before been told by the supplier no need to upgrade them with their ASHP) hot enough for normal use (say lounge 21C) and also provide sufficient hot water (say 60C) for day to day use, especially when the temperature drops away. My plumber was sceptical that it could and felt that the oil boiler (which runs at 80C) would need to kick in a lot to compensate for the lower output of the ASHP. His personal opinion was that he would fit an ASHP in a new build with under floor heating but not in an existing property where the savings would be much reduced compared to what has been suggested.

 

[steptoe]

your plumber has the correct idea,

you need to oversize your radiators by 50-80% to achieve the same heat output really.

underfloor heating is ideal for this type of thing, although the bottom picture in the following link is one I installed in London with normal sized rads and no underfloor heating,

Global Energy Systems Heat Pumps - Reduce bills and cut emissions with air source heat pumps - Case Studies - New Builds

and it seems to have done OK over the winter,

 

[old wrinkly]

Thanks steptoe. After talking through everything with my plumber I have decided that an ASHP isn't suited to my particular situation. A major factor in my decision is the fact that I only have one place that I could site the ASHP and that is in a small decked patio area. This is in close proximity to three windows, one my study/emergency bedroom, my lounge and most importantly my main bedroom which at best would only be 2 metres away.

In addition to the normal humming noise the units produce my plumber thought there was a good chance of getting vibration through the decking so my wife, who was already concerned at the buzzing noise, made it clear that whatever the benefits of ASHP she wouldn't accept any problem with noise.

Thanks to everyone for their input, at least I now have a fair understanding of ASHP technology.

 

[steptoe]

No probs Old Wrinkly,

we like to help if we can,

but at least you have investigated the pros and cons and realise that when the boss says no, then thats it,

didnt you tell her you have to put up with her droning all day long,? !!!!!

anyways, good luck in finding some alternative,

 

[Sidewinder]

Old,

Please feel free to come back as often as you like to ask for info, I'm sure you have now realised that we don't bite!

 

[roys]

Just to throw another thought in.

Do you have a South ish facing roof?

If you are going to fit a new cylinder why not fit one with twin coils with one of them being a solar coil. Couple of solar thermal panels on the roof and then I bet your boiler would hardly be on for 6 months of the year. In winter it does a nice job of preheating the water so saving a lot of energy, my solar system on average will preheat the water to about 20 degC in winter. It is great just now as my water is up about 55 degC just on the solar. A simple twin panel drainback system is not too expensive. If you want more details on the sytem I got fitted just let me know.