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1 hour ago, Beelbeebub said:

Given you have an (oil?) boiler backup - you could use that for the few very cold periods when you estimate it's cheaper to run or the HP struggles. 

 

AIUI @M0rtimer had an end-of-life oil boiler which was scrapped, there is provision to add a boiler if req but none in place ATM.

 

1 hour ago, HughF said:

Midea wont be installed with a buffer. Plate or LLH depending on the year of install.

 

LLH also allows mixing leading to increase in entropy and loss of efficiency hence poorer CoP.

 

I thought @HughFyou said the PHX was ?only for warranty reasons when installed with a boiler. The unnecessary extra ?5deg temp drop will especially be a problem when trying to heat the HW given the high demand of 4 ppl going out for the evening.

 

270 sq m of UFH would I have thought be enough to provide defrost energy with a totally straightforward schematic, 100% of flow to heating or DHW. No buffer, no LLH, no PHX, no secondary pumps. Get rid of all that and you won't need any provision for a backup boiler because the HP will run so much better!

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Midea are supplied by freedom, freedom will have insisted on either PHX or LLH on all installs depending on year of install. They also run with external ‘stat and weather comp set to 55@-2 (if radiators) or 45@-2 (if UFH)….

 

This is all well documented in numerous YouTube videos by GH, by the tech docs floating around online, and by evidence of installs over on Mars’ ‘renewable heating hub’ forums. Lots of unhappy Midea owners over there.

 

 

Edited by HughF
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57 minutes ago, Beelbeebub said:

Is the heat exchanger also being used to isolate a glycol circuit for the HP?

Not as far as I recall, it’s purely on the heating side of the 3 port…

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5 minutes ago, HughF said:

Midea are supplied by freedom, freedom will have insisted on either PHX or LLH on all installs depending on year of install.

 

Since Good Energy quoted for fitting a Midea HP I have out of interest read the manual you posted. What is so different about them that makes this necessary? I know Grant are also keen on LLHs but their installation methods are a bit odd in other respects too.

 

What rationale have Freedom provided for their insistence on LLH or PHX, and which way has it gone over time? Yes a PHX will keep gunge from old radiators out of the HP but a LLH won't even do that. And unlike a buffer or volumiser neither will provide any extra stored energy for defrosting.

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1 hour ago, HughF said:

Not as far as I recall, it’s purely on the heating side of the 3 port…

Is it to protect against any crud in the heating system? Are their units particularly susceptible to dirty water? 

 

Most manufacturers seem happy with a good flush and then filters.

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1 hour ago, sharpener said:

 

Since Good Energy quoted for fitting a Midea HP I have out of interest read the manual you posted. What is so different about them that makes this necessary? I know Grant are also keen on LLHs but their installation methods are a bit odd in other respects too.

 

What rationale have Freedom provided for their insistence on LLH or PHX, and which way has it gone over time? Yes a PHX will keep gunge from old radiators out of the HP but a LLH won't even do that. And unlike a buffer or volumiser neither will provide any extra stored energy for defrosting.

Graham Hendra (he started freedom heatpumps, wrote the toolkit, and has been in the HVAC industry for his whole career) said that the number one issue with the early days of Daikin and Samsung installs (in the mid 2000's) was low flow errors.


He decided hydraulic separation was the way to go to avoid all the flow rate issues, especially when everyone had TRVs on their rads. This has stuck.... I believe that now, he (like most of the industry) has come round to the idea of open loop (no hydraulic separation).

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1 hour ago, sharpener said:

 

Since Good Energy quoted for fitting a Midea HP I have out of interest read the manual you posted. What is so different about them that makes this necessary? I know Grant are also keen on LLHs but their installation methods are a bit odd in other respects too.

 

What rationale have Freedom provided for their insistence on LLH or PHX, and which way has it gone over time? Yes a PHX will keep gunge from old radiators out of the HP but a LLH won't even do that. And unlike a buffer or volumiser neither will provide any extra stored energy for defrosting.

Grant have designed the Aerona3 to be a drop in replacement for an oil boiler running on S-plan. Completely the wrong way to fit a heat pump, but easy for installers. It's a shame as the Chofu unit they rebrand is quite decent.

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16 minutes ago, Beelbeebub said:

Is it to protect against any crud in the heating system? Are their units particularly susceptible to dirty water? 

 

Most manufacturers seem happy with a good flush and then filters.

Probably, yes. They are paranoid about low flow errors and subsequent callbacks. Providing separation is an easy way to avoid this.

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48 minutes ago, HughF said:

Providing separation is an easy way to avoid this.

 

Yet another instance where avoiding callbacks and so reducing the cost for the installer takes precedence over optimising system efficiency and so reducing running cost for the customer.

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17 minutes ago, sharpener said:

 

Yet another instance where avoiding callbacks and so reducing the cost for the installer takes precedence over optimising system efficiency and so reducing running cost for the customer.

If electricity wasn't 3.9 times the price of gas, it wouldn't matter. Stupid 'environmental levies'...

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On 26/01/2024 at 11:25, M0rtimer said:

image.png.548c204865d9b9f88c9ea1669819a5c6.png

 

Let's compare this with my installation:

 

Annual heating energy (EPC):     15900 kWh

Annual hot water energy(EPC):    2987 kWh

Heat pump capacity:                     12 kW

External design temperature:        -3.7 C

Design Flow temperature:              50 C

DHW design temperature:              55 C (max)

 

My annual usage is:                        5100 kWh

 

So your heat load is over 25% bigger than mine and your 10 month usage is around 6000 kwH compared to my 5100 kWh in a year; that really doesn't seem too terrible from the economic point of view.  And I bet you have room for improvement.  The difference is that my system keeps us warm and provides all the hot water we need whereas yours does not.  But again I think you will find you have room for improvement. 

Edited by ReedRichards
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17 hours ago, sharpener said:

Yet another instance where avoiding callbacks and so reducing the cost for the installer takes precedence over optimising system efficiency and so reducing running cost for the customer.

It was ever thus.  Why do you think most condensing boilers, the advantages of which were much hailed when they first came out, are adjusted when installed so they don't condense most of the time?

Edited by JamesPa
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Is there a newish study into the effects of short cycling on an inverter driven heat pump short cycling? It’s more a question on my own heat pump. I’ve changed from a 4 port buffer to a 3 port buffer, now I get no temperature loss on the flow, as it stands still getting long run cycles. 

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