DougMLancs

I should’ve held on a bit probably- I’m just too keen 🤦‍♂️ I was expecting them to come back wanting MCS info for the ASHP and for the switch to take longer. It’s only been 12 C outside this week so I was expecting the heating to kick in at some point but no…

I’ve just switched to Cosy and Outgoing Fixed from Flux. They didn’t ask for any evidence of having an ASHP and I’m planning to use the cheap rates for battery charging as well as running the ASHP. It only took a minute and it was live straight away- if the SEG doesn’t automatically change (mine stayed on Flux export for a bit) then give them a nudge (or not 😉).

No, mine’s a Panasonic Aquarea L. I was just highlighting that an R290 ASHP can reach higher temperatures effectively without back-up heating. If they’re stating a ceiling of 78C for this then we’ll have to see when they release the tech specs yet how they’re getting the extra 13C.

It’s R290- mine can do up to 65C without a backup heater. They will be releasing more details soon but anecdotally they’ve said different colours will be available.

Yes it was the same for me- one initial manual reading and then it looks after itself (with an eye being kept on it just because I can).

With HVO also being eyed up by rail and shipping, there’s not going to be enough HVO from waste product to go around. If they start producing vegetable oils purely for HVO then the carbon impact will dramatically increase and the argument falls apart. Either way, I would agree it has no place in domestic heating systems.

We have all radiators in our 110m2 average 1960’s semi and we don’t have a buffer tank. Open loop design.

If your annual usage is below around 4000kWh then it’s a harder case for having batteries if you’re looking purely at ROI. Having said that we got a 9.5kWh battery with our install in May despite only using 2500kWh but we knew we were having an ASHP fitted and getting rid of the gas cooker. If you are planning your ASHP soonish then a battery now will make sense but otherwise you could retrofit one later. A Solar diverter didn’t make sense for us since it’s more cost effective to get an average DHW COP of 3-4 with our R290 ASHP and get paid for the export instead.

My brother in law has a 1900’s end terrace in Yorkshire, solid walls- only needed to change out two of the old finless rads when they had their ASHP fitted for a 45C flow temp.

Sorry I should’ve specified I was talking about heat pumps in response to Sharpener’s post. We only have around 3000 heat pump installers and only 979 of those are MCS registered (though some admittedly will be umbrella schemes). I agree it’s a better situation with PV.

I think it will be decoupled from MCS during the grant phase. There are too few MCS installers and it’s pushing up prices and preventing uptake. Word on the grapevine (aka heating policy advisors like Richard Lowes on Twitter) is they’re going to do away with the 1m boundary rule to enable more installations to fall under PD. I heard the CEO of MCS, Ian Rippin, on Radio 4 yesterday. Turns out he doesn’t have PV or a heat pump at home?!? What kind of message that that give?

Their website T&C’s changed today https://octopus.energy/policies/export-tariffs-terms-conditions/

Greg Jackson has had a few conversations with people with non-MCS installations wanting to export on Twitter in the last few days- perhaps it was a spur of the moment thing? It looks like it was only yesterday that the news broke and there are still some tariff pages that need updating.

Brendon Uys designed my system- you can contact him through https://ultimaterenewables.com/. He says is just how it is and is very vocal about calling out bad practice and bad policy so I’m sure he’d be good for an opinion.

If it helps the discussion my installation was £9500 after the bus grant. That was for a 9kW Panasonic Aquarea L ASHP (first one installed in the UK) with an indoor unit that incorporates the DHW tank (we were given the option of the indoor unit or a separate cylinder but it was being sited in the kitchen so we went for this option for the same price). We also have full system monitoring for consumption, heat generation and COP. House background- average 1960’s 3 bed semi with CWI, DG and 300mm loft insulation. Result of Heat loss calc 7kW at -3C. System setup- designed for a flow temperature of 35C though the 9 rads. Old rads were nearly all P+ which were upgraded to K2/K3. No buffer/LLH/glycol. 22mm primaries in the ceiling were retained as was the 10mm microbore to the rads. We were keen to go for long term efficiency even if it meant some extra rad upgrades. Labour hours- Site survey and room-by-room heat loss calculation- 3 hours System design- 6 hours Removal of 9x old radiators and old combi boiler- 12 hours Fitting new rads- 12 hours Electrician installing a supply ready for HP- 5 hours Siting and installing outdoor and indoor units 20 hours Commissioning- 5 hours DNO/MCS/BUS paperwork- who knows but more time than they’d like I’m sure Answering all my emails- probably 3 hours 😂 The installer and the designer were both highly critical of the current MCS system from their perspective too- a ridiculous amount of irrelevant box ticking that has no bearing on whether that installation is actually any good. I was listening to some of the engineers on the MCS working group though and it sounds like some aspects are changing for the better (the installer wasn’t MCS certified but they work with the designer who is and is the nominated person). The installer also does PV and MVHR but isn’t MCS for the PV as it’s not worth the hassle to him.