Dave Tester

Home comfort

We keep our home at 19 degrees. When using just the air-to-air [heat pump] it warms up the ground floor and up the stairs slightly.

The installation process

I looked around for local air conditioning firms. The company I contacted visited my home within an hour and 24 hours later I had a quote. The unit was installed 10 days later. I didn’t need to do any extra insulation, as I already have a very well-insulated home. They turned up, did some basic work drilling homes and brackets and then lifted it into place - it was less than a day’s work. 

Costs and efficiency

I was on an extremely low tariff, so when I first had it installed I had it on for two weeks during an extended cold spell.

Placement, sound, and planning

The unit sits high up, just below the ceiling at the back of the kitchen diner. The outside unit is linked on the other side of the wall through a one inch hole. If it is minus five degrees and you have it on then you might hear it but you’re inside with the windows closed when it is that cold! You can't really hear it at all in the house when the window is shut. The most sound it makes is when you first turn it on and it needs to get to temperature, but then it’s reduced.

Living with a heat pump

In the summer I use it as an air conditioning unit - and when the sun is out I can use it with my solar panels which makes sense. I have an app on my phone to control and monitor it.