16 year old heat pump gets a re-visit

Background Information for the project

Laurie and his wife moved into what had been his Father’s bungalow with an intention of renovating the property for their own retirement. A local builder recommended R A Brown as a good heating and plumbing contractor. During discussions about the property refurbishment the topic of being environmentally friendly came up. We were just starting on our journey as heat pump installers. We had made contact with Swedish manufactures NIBE and were planning to install a heat pump on our own property to prove their suitability in a retrofit situation.

As the plumbing and heating plan came together for the bungalow Laurie asked Richard about this heating technology that he knew nothing about. Richard explained that he was just about to install one on our house. As Laurie recounted the story this is what ‘sealed the deal’. If the heating engineer had sufficient trust in the technology to install a heat pump on his own house then it was good enough for Laurie.
This is how it came about that towards the end of the year in 2008 the NIBE air source was installed. 15 years later I asked what life with a heat pump system has been like. 

The Results

The answer was very simple – “warm and comfortable – you forget about the heating – it’s warm day and night”.

Laurie and Kathy explained that when they visit their daughter they take jumpers and brace themselves for the variable temperature of a system regulated by a timer. The heating is on in the morning and the evening but in between the couple reported being chilly. “I feel overall that it’s cheap; if not cheaper than gas and we’re warm” This they explained is what they love about their system and why it suits them so well in their retirement.

They explained how people comment on how warm the bungalow is when they visit.

Even with increased electricity prices they find the system affordable “I’m quite happy with my bills” Laurie said, they have switched to Octopus Energy cosy tariff designed for heat pumps. The solar panels that they also installed at the time of the refurbishment also help to reduce running costs.

“And it’s never broken down” they are at pains to point out.

“Richard or your staff have always been on hand to help with plumbing issues which has also been very helpful.”

“Now I want to look into battery storage and I’d look at a wind turbine if there was a suitable one that could be mounted on the roof”

I asked if they are motivated by the lower amount of carbon that has been produced by the heat pump compared with the gas boiler they would have had. They both agreed that this was an important factor in the decision, “it’s not about the payback, it’s about doing the right thing for the environment, as long as the technology works” Which 15 years on they have no doubts about.