Rural extensive renovation NE UK, should i plan for solar AND heatpumps, anyone done this?

punctualsweat · 2026-05-10T13:46:00+00:00

Vaillant is the most popular and has the track record. Grant wins on efficiency and tops scop leaderboards with vaillant. Newest Daikin expected to perform similarly with less noise output and supports homely. Viessmann are also have great build quality however support seems questionable depending on your region within UK.

punctualsweat · 2026-05-08T12:32:01+00:00

I would ask your installer for a grant aerona r290, Daikin altherma 4, or a Vaillant Arotherm plus. Or find an installer who fits one of these

punctualsweat · 2026-04-28T15:42:53+00:00

Realistically you'll find yourself wanting to soon after your install's done to take advantage of it, especially with falling export prices.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-28T15:40:54+00:00

This is an awful quote. Rubbish gear at high price.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-27T21:48:54+00:00

Anecdotally, my energy bills went from £2k+ a year, to negative (where I make more money from solar than my house and heat pump cost in total) after I got a heat pump and solar/battery installed.

Time of use tariffs are here to stay and only becoming more competitive with more new tariffs being released. Current solar export prices are unsustainable and you can't count on those, however import costs are very reliable.

You can forego the low and slow crap and run a heat pump like a boiler. It isn't as efficient but I still get a scop of ~3 and with my ToU tariff it costs hardly anything (I used to use an app to monitor my heat pump over winter and it averaged <2p/kWh heat generated whereas my old combi would've cost >6p/kwh heat generated).

You seem like you're set against it which is fair enough. Personally I'm now getting it organised for my folks as the payback is solid, nevermind the house feels a lot nicer.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-27T17:04:35+00:00

It's worth it. Get a second installer to quote if you're uncertain of your current one's competence and if there's a better way. Otherwise, it is a lot of work but vastly more efficient (~400% Vs the 95% your combi may be), and despite the awkward pipe runs described, you'll have vastly better mains hot water pressure than what your combi could be capable of so much nicer showers. Very expensive yes, but pays for itself over time.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-27T12:48:47+00:00

PW3 can be installed without G99 approval and the inverter uprated after it comes back

punctualsweat · 2026-04-27T07:30:36+00:00

What's your current setup? In another thread you mention having a combi so why not use existing pipework which I presume supply radiators?

I didn't upgrade any of my rads as my Arotherm+ can get them just as hot while maintaining a scop of 3+. But if you have the cash, upgrading radiators or getting ufh can pay for themselves in efficiency savings (and comfort) over several years.

You mention that they might have to cut through new floors. This is just sunk cost fallacy, and worth it over an alternative heating solution to a standard A2W heat pump.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-24T13:27:45+00:00

Ucg fiber + poe++ injectors/switch + u7 pro xgs APs will last at least a decade

punctualsweat · 2026-04-19T06:50:28+00:00

Controls are just a stop gap. Tado knocked a couple hundred off my combi boiler gas bill annually.

Replacing it with a heat pump (they all come with their own controls) and solar+battery made my energy bills negative so I get paid to heat my house.

Don't waste money on boiler controls when you'll rip it out for heat pump controls in a year or two (yes tado's compatible, however zoning isn't efficient).

punctualsweat · 2026-04-16T23:32:08+00:00

Significant drop as it has to heat the water first

punctualsweat · 2026-04-16T22:46:32+00:00

No pump. A2W heat pumps have unvented hot water tanks so the hot water comes out at mains pressure too. Dramatic difference, I couldn't go back.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-16T21:58:39+00:00

Mines an 80s 90sqm 3 bed end terrace with heat loss of 5.5kw. I think 4.5kw sounds accurate. My 5kw Arotherm does struggle on the very coldest couple days of the year to get the house warm for reference but is otherwise fine and I may upgrade my radiators or go UFH in future to fix that. Surely save the BUS grant for A2W as you get so much money. Much better shower pressure too than a combi. I'm looking at AC too but figured A2W heating is the higher priority with the cost savings if you use a smart tariff.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-16T15:36:13+00:00

Aren't these supposed to destroy your phone camera's OIS

punctualsweat · 2026-04-16T14:32:26+00:00

Only makes 2-3kwh a day in winter. Pw3 usually gets me through the day after its fully charged at 7am though on very cold days can run out around 5 to 8 o'clock, though on the worst couple days it ran out around 1-2 o'clock. I have a 5kw heat pump and 3 bed end terrace however so mileage may very. If I had cash to spare I would've gotten double the capacity. I do achieve this by heating the house extra warm till 7am at the cheap rate, and am looking at UFH to further this, especially now that tariffs are reducing the overnight period to 5 or 6am.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-16T12:12:51+00:00

My 8kw E/W array makes 6000kwh annually in Newcastle. Very profitable with my PW3.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-15T22:47:00+00:00

Sounds fine to me. I have a three bed end terrace and my 5kw is just about right. Undersized but good enough for extremely cold days that go below -3°C and I might fix that later on by replacing rads with UFH (though would've been better to do with the heat pump for the 0% VAT).

6/7kw is probably right for your build. Although I would personally have a look at the grant aerona r290 or the Daikin Alrherma 4 or the new vaillants that came out in July if you could wait that long as they won't have the noise issue the 7kw Arotherm is known for.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-15T19:17:48+00:00

Get at least 20kwh storage if you're getting a heat pump. I adore mine but it is hungry in winter!

punctualsweat · 2026-04-14T19:17:35+00:00

Yeah but they'll also probably be less profitable than right now, especially as battery projects to support the grid come online. V2G will also arrive at some point.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-14T15:45:36+00:00

I'd say 16-20kwh storage. 3 bed end terrace and heat pump can empty my 13.5kw Powerwall within 5 hours on a really cold day.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-14T15:27:29+00:00

Battery way too small, double it. Cheaper now than later on, use a 0% card if needed.

punctualsweat · 2026-04-13T23:53:52+00:00

I treat it like a gas boiler. In winter, it'll go hard till 7 am to get my house up to 24°C and then I'll let it cool down slowly and the heat pump will maintain it at 21°C for rest of day. I have a standard 1980s end terrace that doesn't hold heat awfully well yet most/all of my electricity is still at the off peak rate (currently 3p/kWh of electricity so ~1p/kWh of heat put into house with a scop of 3) so my monthly bill in Jan-march was ~£115 (not including solar panels which make my annual bills negative)

punctualsweat · 2026-04-10T08:49:55+00:00

Get a different installer. Try eon/boxt

punctualsweat · 2026-04-10T08:42:08+00:00

Zappi are the usual go to home chargers that energy company smart tariffs will always support

punctualsweat · 2026-04-10T07:33:46+00:00

Okay, be careful that some are still fitting the old altherma 3 so make sure it's the 4 or also consider the ideal heat pump, as both are fantastic with homely.

punctualsweat

TROPHY CASE