Maddie Evans

Home comfort

Between 18-19 degrees constantly, it’s a little cooler at night. 

The installation process

Elite Renewables in Croydon. They were a local firm recommended by Energy System Catapult and they were really good. I’d definitely recommend them. I didn’t need any additional insulation - I had a C rating on my EPC. Since we bought the house, as and when I was redecorating or renovating I made sure we added more insulation. I’ve been trying to get my energy bill down for years so we have been doing things piecemeal. We didn’t need to do everything all at once. Getting a heat pump is much simpler if you are not insulating and upgrading everything at the same time. It makes it more like getting a new boiler. I needed a new hot water cylinder as the internal heat exchanger needed to be larger than my previous one. I changed four radiators. I think one option in older homes is to see how it is to live with the heat pump before you change the radiators, as they would have been sized for the more inefficient system and less insulation, so may not need changing at all. It was supposed to take a week but the hot water tank wasn’t delivered on time so it took a bit longer. The installers popped into different rooms to change radiators and that was really simple. The radiators we did change are the same size, just double panel, instead of singles. 

Costs and efficiency

The January bill (covering heating, lighting and some EV charging) was £300. We are now disconnected from the gas grid and pay around £100 a month on energy bills - saving is over £1000 a year. We have solar panels and a battery too. Time of use - because I have a battery. The tariff is Intelligent Octopus Go. Overnight I fill up the battery, charge the car and make sure the heat pump is keeping the house warm on the cheaper rate.

Placement, sound, and planning

The heat pump is at the side of the house, underneath the utility room window. The pipework comes through the existing hole in the wall from when the boiler was in. Neighbours can’t see it. You can’t hear anything in the house. I have a video of people talking while it is on and rubbing their hands and you can hear them rubbing their hands!

Living with a heat pump

When I first had it I turned it down twice a day like gas, because I expected that to be cheaper, but it isn’t. Now I run it all the time like it should be run. But there aren’t any heat pump police! Run it how you like, just make sure your temperature compensation curve is on. Solid wall homes can be more sensitive to weather conditions. My heat pump can measure the temperature but not account for wind and rain - so in really stormy weather I sometimes add two degrees to the weather compensation. Maybe I need an automatic weather station feed? In the first year I kept an eye on it and I reset the thermostat and timer several times. Deciding the best time to heat the hot water took a while, it now runs at night and in the afternoon and not in the evening when the heating is working hardest.