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For those interested some follow up information. December 22 has gone, along with the unusual cold spell. The following KWH figures show my consumption as against November. November average outside temp 13 day 6.2 night. Electricity consumed 634 KWH December average outside temp 5 day 1.03 night. Electricity consumed 1138 KWH Thats almost twice the consumption for December where for only 11 days the outside temperature was 0 or as low as -9 How do people In a real cold climate afford to run them or don't they?

To answer some questions.. The tank is located in insulated area of attic. The floor of bungalow is concrete block and beam, membrane, 100mm celotex, UFH pipes, 75mm screed throughout. Going to leave on fixed for short time especially as past 2 days its only used 15KWH per day. Energy meter made by Ketotek single phase din rail mounted shows volts, amps,watt and KWH (consumption ongoing). Purchased via Amazon. Basically it has a "Tail" size hole which you thread your choosen supply cables through. Mounted mine in my supply cupboard above consumer unit in a small Din rail box threading "ASHP, Immersion and Logic" positives through the hole. Works great, nice bright and clear display. I think the DHW figure from the Daikin control is questionable. Need to ask Daikin Technical. Past two days consumption is good immersion probably not even kicked in. The DWH will have been topped up because apart from daily show my long coated german shepherd sat under it for a 15 minute shampoo & set.

Hi All. Sorry typo. Yes the 14500 should be KWH. Interesting ReedRichards uses night back. My system stats and their controller offers that by allowing a 2 deg drop over night period (or when the control clock is off). I tried it but found the system then spent hours trying to get the bungalow back to normal stat settings so have just left everything on 7 x 24 x 365 My Daikin Controller was set for "Weather Dependant" and during past 10 days it decided LWT should be 45 Deg. 16th Dec I cancelled WD infavour of "Fixed" and set LWT to 43 Deg. You can also alter the delta between flow and return which is set to 6 Deg but I left that. It was still really cold outside 16th & 17th but my KWH per day has dropped to 54 & 37 for each day which is lower than earlier Dec. Its since got warm outside again so consumption last night was only 30 and today much lower. Hope this tweak is long term positive. Daikin Controller logs Electricity Consumption by month/year but I did not trust it. Fitted my own consumption meter November has allowed me to compare the Daiken with my meter and to my surprise they are both tracking almost the same so the Daikin log is accurate. Therefore using the Daikin history I have used the following. Electricity Jan - Dec 22 5985 KWH to date ASHP Heat output for Space Heating 16777 KWH Its also says 8106 for DHW but this seems high. From the above can you work average COP?

Hi all. Thanks for the replies. I have also read the other postings about ASHP in this cold snap. I requested a system that would perform below zero and this is struggling. To me this cold snap below zero is the only time to prove that part of design. The Daikin controller software has pages of setup one being "weather dependant" It ocurred to me that this option may have switched in since the warmer November's 24KWH daily average and its default settings may need some address. I will speak with Daikin technical. For "Radian" The only info I can supply for heat loss is my SAP calculation states the space heating for my build will consume 14500KW per annum. Thanks Jack for your reply.

Hi all. I think my title states my issues, that this months ASHP KWH consumption costs are becoming a joke. I thought I would check with the forum and users who support this technology as to whether mine is the norm or I am missing something in running efficiently. Bit of background. I built the 155sq Mtr + garage 3 bedroom bungalow using traditional material over past 8 years and mostly myself. Exposed country location, block beam floor + screed + tiled, brick outside, cavity therm walls insulated, therm walls throughout, d/glazed throughout, tiled pitched roof, intergal garage (36 sq mtrs) good helping of insulation to floor, wall roof etc. An MCS registered company designed and supplied me with all the material to install Daikin Altherma 7KW ASHP, UFH with stat to every room + Daikin 300ltre hot water tank. Which I did with controls in garage area. This company never visited the final install, but have to say their drawings, telephone and install support was excellent. Daikin attended, were positive about the install and set it all up in 2018. Since then except for a main PCB/fan failure it is left to run 7 x 24 with just Daikin annual maintenance. Since instalation and living in the property past 3 years my annual KWH consumption for whole has been in excess of 14500 P.Annum but unable to accurately know how much the system was consuming. Hot water set to 48 deg, most rooms and hallway are set to 20 deg except for spouse main bedroom at 22 deg (she is disalbed with serious heart condition so need that heat). I don't fiddle with it or alter the stats and it runs 24 x 7 year round. November 22 I fitted a consumption meter to the electric feed tails that supply the ASHP, Immersion and its logic. I can now accuratly check its KW consumption. Accepting November it began to get colder the system average consumption showed 24 KWH per day. Dec we have seen it cold past 10 days being -4 to -7 so the system has been flat out 24 x 7 some of it defrost time. It has managed to meet the stat settins but the electric consumption during these days has been frightening. Yesterday 14th Dec being -7 outside it consumed 75 KWH Yes its a cold snap, but his technology is encouraged around UK but mine doesn't perform. Meanwhile I have since shut down two areas and dropped 4 of room stats a degree to see if it drops electric consumption difference. I know there are members out there that love all this stuff so feedback welcomed. I can access the Daikin control panel in installer mode but no expert. G H Direct

Hi All I have personally built most of our bungalow over past 6 years but still have much inside cosmetic work to complete. My spouse has developed a heart issue so we had to move into the property from the drafty site caravan. My issue is I pay Buildstore approx £1000 P.A for site cover most of which I no longer require. I do not intend to have any contractors, my plant (old digger and dumper) are not worth much, I have a couple of storage containers and the caravan is now sitting deemed scrap. I admit at my pace it will be some 12 months before I can ask Building Control to sign off along with my 10 year warranty. Can anyone advise whether I could buy a standard house and contents policy without building sign off as this would cover my risk and typically save me some useful money. GHDirect

I am in the last year of completing our retirement bungalow doing 85% myself. I have a query that's worth asking others on floor air leakage. Floor is block beam then 100mm insulation, with underfloor heating clipped to that then 60mm screed. Edges of floor had 25mm insulation as cold bridge plus a thin sponge type membrane for screed to expand. All walls external and internal are therms with dot dab plasterboard then skimmed. At the base where the plastered wall meets the floor you can see the 25mm insulation. Before I tile any floor and then fit skirting, is it worth putting an AirStop type tape all around the base of wall to floor. If so what product could I use that's good value as there is a big difference in cost between a roll of ISO Ltd AirStop and good old Gaffer Tape. Feedback welcome GHDirect

Hi All . After 5 years I am in the final months of completing my self build bungalow and need to concentrate on key things that are relative to building Control sign off. Its a labour of love on a tight budget with limited contracted in assistance. I get on with our council Building Control but before I ask them, has anyone first hand knowledge or even a list of areas they will inspect. My guess starts at (Air Tightness, Soil Pipework, Mobility access, G3 hot tank, Gas hob, Ventilation, Wood burner, and building Electrics). There maybe a host more. Feedback welcome. GHDirect

Hi Joe90 Point taken as your UFH system is different design to mine. Yours then is much easier to bleed using a mains water flush. I'll get back to my troubled system

Note to Swisscheese & Joe90 Whilst I wrestle with my problem ASHP I must advise that if your system is designed like mine it requires a Glycol mix to stop freezing. My system requires 30% mix (80 ltrs of particular type of Glycol) and this is very very expensive. Also difficult to just pump it into a water filled system. Therefore if you purge out the air using mains water and dump the outlet water and your system is already loaded mix of Glycol and water you'll be throwing real money away. I have no idea how plumbers do it but I use a portable clean water electric pump (Karcher type about 1.5 bar.) that sits in a big yellow bucket with some mix already in it. I connect pump to my system inlet valve, pump in new mix and from the chosen bleed outlet connect a hose back into bucket and look for the air bubbles to cease. Hope this is informative

Hi ProDave. Thanks for the interest. Sorry its a bit long but currently its an expensive and frustrating system that doesn't perform 1/ The Leaving Water Temp is set at 38 deg C. The Daikin design requires at lease 20 ltrs of water to circulate before any UFH. In my design this is achieved by an 18 ltr buffer plus a 6 ltr low loss header all positioned before the 2 x UFH pumps. If I include the 28mm pipework, buffer tank and low loss header tank, I can confirm that there is about 40 ltrs capacity. 2/ The Hot Water is a Daikin 300ltr unvented cylinder made to go with this type of ASHP. (Before you ask my tank install has been checked and signed off by a G3 heating engineer). Currently the system is set to 42 deg C. but this is adjustable upwards. Interesting comment about 3 way valves. This system has a 3 way brass valve casting + an ESBE actuator all supplied by Daiken. Unlike UK model valves there are no markings on outside of casting and the Daikin Manual is confusing to where to position the actual rotational bit in the valve casing so it correctly closes off the DHW flow when called. I can say my valve is designed to have either both UFH & DHW or run with DHW off. As information is poor I have had it out twice to ensure I got it right and confirm it runs the Daiken control panel 3 way valve test. I am very concerned to hear from my supplier that this Daiken can stall at temps lower than 10 deg C. This suggests it must be left on all time to allow it to cycle even if its not getting a demand for heat. Currently as the bungalow is not occupied the time clocks run 8 till 8. Does your system run 24 hrs? Last night using immersion option I managed to raise it from its sleep so it was cycling. I shut off the DHW valve (using the Daikin control panel), shut down all room stats except for 3 rooms. At that time each room screed was about 9 deg C. I left it all night and all today to see if it could supply heat to each rooms screed. Results were poor. Control Panel saying "Leaving Water Temp desired temp 38 deg" but the actual output 28mm pipe from ASHP measured 20 Deg C. This corresponded to the manifold temp and the 3 x floor screed which again measured about 20 deg C. Tonights measurement is only slightly better at 24 degs. Unless its been cycling on and off over night that's 24 hrs x continious 7 amps current draw for a mere 3 floors when bungalows got 9 floors in total to heat. The web site you supplied does show the Altherma as it is a current model. Past week I have checked I have put all pumps and flows in right direction, played with the control panel software settings that seem appropriate. Unless I gain another good idea, I conclude this system not worth leaving on and will wait for the Daikin commissioning engineer next Wednesday to see what he finds.

Hi all. Are their members that have a Daikin Altherma 7KW Monoblock ASHP installed in a new build and does it work? Passed days cold spell has generated the following major concern, enough for me to seek other members opinion towards this heating solution. Intro Past 4 years I have personally been building our 3 bed detached retirement bungalow and currently working on the inside. Its not passive build but when 100% complete will have above average insulation. Country location only water and electricity so after much discussion with many suppliers a Daikin ASHP, Hot Water Tank and Underfloor heating solution was designed by an MCS accredited supplier who were happy to supply all items, for me to install it to their supplied drawings and Daiken manuals with final commissioning through them from a Daikin engineer. As an experienced engineer myself with time on my side I am confident I have installed it all to spec accept setting it's performance up "exactly" is painful as the Daikin installation books are poor although Youtube has some installer controller setup detail. Although it has yet to be fully commissioned it did/does function but with the following performance issue. Issue ASHP was turned on late September with outside was around 14deg C, it worked great, I was impressed with its UFH performance heating the floor space to over 24 C quickly. I worked out how to introduce the Hot Water System, set time clocks to run 8 hr days, room stats around 14 Deg C whilst I worked inside the property. Then October we had a cold spell and basically it just stalled, ASHP sitting doing its thing gobbling 9 amps but giving very little heat output. Ran like that day after day. Past few days it been very cold here so same issue. After checking all my installation plus powering on/off etc found nothing obvious, so rang the design company who in conversation suggested that because the outside temp was below 10deg C the Daikin ASHP can go to sleep until its circulating water is above 10deg C. Is this true of a Daikin ASHP there is nothing in any manual that refers to this? Apparently to kick start it back up, you have to use the immersion system leave the ASHP system circulating water and wait till it all gets warm enough for it to kick in. I await its commissioning in coming weeks but meanwhile need some existing users performance feedback.

Mine is a new self build bungalow. I want an off the shelf glazed fire door (FD30) from garage into the building and favour aluminium for looks and strength. I have searched the internet and so far they do not exist. It seems they are all made from wood, composite or steel. Anyone any ideas.

I have been 3.5 years building my retirement bungalow out of traditional material. Inside is Thermalite blockwork throughout. Its not a passive house but I have tried to build in good standards and its well insulated. As an engineer I want flat walls and square corners but if I do it I'll be another 3.5 years. The industry is saying Dot & Dab (which I can put up) but buy in the plasterer skill. I am drawn to a wet plaster being a 10 mm render then 3mm skim as there is no air gap. However cost and time are key considerations. Any views or pro's cons welcome.

Hi to all. I,m 71 and still building after 3.5 years having built most of our retirement bungalow myself in our West Dorset country plot. I have a traditional design using traditional construction method, all well tried and tested. It proves as a practical engineering type person it is possible, but you need fitness, time, tenacity and a very patient spouse. I use builders merchant, internet, building inspector for that extra knowledge. Always was a tight budget, priced out all material and a small amount of labour at the start, but confirm I am still on budget. Have a few build tools that I have finished with such as "Marshall Brickwork Profiles" plus an under floor heating pipe stapler all at a good price. Now working the inside and need to know other self builders views on plasterwork so will post a separate topic on my issues. Regards