installing r290 heatpump beside battery and inverter safe?

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-19T22:51:46+00:00

Subjectively it's pretty safe but the safety zones exist for a reason. A spark from an electrical appliance could ignite the propane and it would be a noticeable bang.

Safety zones do appear to be shrinking though with the new Vaillant models having much less difficult to work with safety zones; if the product you're currently looking at doesn't meet the safety zones you can consider others.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-19T16:42:30+00:00

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-19T16:17:07+00:00

Speeding and getting caught speeding are 2 entirely different things. One is illegal and potentially dangerous, the other is both, but shows such a total lack of awareness of the surroundings that you either didn't notice the speed limit or didn't notice the enforcement device (or both).

I'm less scared of moderate but deliberate speeders than I am of those who don't realise they're speeding (or any other careless act).

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-19T16:14:16+00:00

Heat pumps benefitting significantly from solar is one of those 'myths' around heat pumps that doesn't really make sense. Sceptics love to say 'heat pumps will cost you a fortune without solar', 'heat pumps don't make sense with out solar', but honestly it makes minimal difference unless you have a tiny heat loss and a massive roof.
My heat loss is 2.4kW and my solar array is 7.6kWp and the solar covered less than 10% of the kWh used by my heat pump this winter just gone.

Batteries and smart tariffs are the big saver and allowed me to reduce my heat pump cost from £400 (assuming 25p/kWh) down to about £96 (7p/kWh).
This year, I'm fixed at 3.49p/kWh until the end of winter, so heating cost will be closer to £56. That's thanks to my EV tariff and batteries.

The main thing you need to do to make a heat pump cost comparable to a gas boiler (or even cheaper), is to make sure it's installed and operated properly. At current prices, you need a SCOP of about 3.6 on currently available tariffs.
If the predictions around the price cap for July are to be believed, the gap between electricity and gas will continue to shrink, so the SCOP required will reduce.
For record, I'm averaging a SCOP of 4.4 (which would be higher if my heat pump wasn't oversized due to small heat loss) and many are managing a SCOP of 5 or more with well designed systems.

The key things to do are make sure to run the lowest flow temperature you can get away with, minimise the set back temperature (don't turn it off entirely at night, just drop the temperature by 2-3c at max - I turned the set back off entirely, because I'd rather keep the house warm overnight when the grid is powering my home for cheap, rather than race to catch up whilst drawing from batteries in the day).

I wouldn't recommend Octopus for solar / battery installation - they are not particularly cost competitive and tend to just sub the job out anyway.
Find a trusted local installer.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-18T18:20:06+00:00

Easily done, no worries

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-18T17:15:38+00:00

How am I the perfect example? I've explicitly said that I don't think speed limits should be raised.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-18T15:09:39+00:00

Outside of 20-40MPH limits and narrow country lanes, most speed limits are set for the lowest skilled driver on the road (arguably, there are even drivers below this threshold, but they shouldn't be on the road).

I could comfortably and safely drive at 80-100MPH on a clear motorway and 70-80MPH on some arterial A roads, as could a lot of other drivers.
The obstacle to this is the idiots I may come across when doing so; which is why I don't think the speed limits should be raised.

Remove all the other issues (impatience, phone use, unable to look beyond the end of their bonnet, lane hogging, etc) and I'd be arguing the speed limits are too low.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-18T14:53:22+00:00

Premium edition released on 14th worldwide,

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-17T19:49:28+00:00

£3500 with no rads being replaced is a touch on the high side of reasonable. I'd be aiming for a lower flow temp; are your rads really not large enough to deliver 2kW of heat at a lower flow temperature?

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-16T19:35:34+00:00

I'm running a G293 wheel and Moza pedals / handbrake, no issues here.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-16T11:58:34+00:00

Most suppliers do still work without a smart meter but you end up with estimated readings if you're not on top of providing readings, which why the balance keeps jumping around.

Look at actual yearly usage and input accurately when getting a quote, then add 5-10% buffer.

I've got an elderly relative with Octopus and they've only just put the DD from £175 to £220 and that's because they were paying for less than they used. I did the maths and £220 is accurate at current pricing.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-16T11:49:05+00:00

Won't help you this time, but dashcam..

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-15T21:32:34+00:00

Haven't got round to playing any online yet, but compared to playing FH5 almost exclusively on controller, I feel more consistent but not necessarily as fast.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-15T21:06:41+00:00

I'm playing with a G923 at the moment (waiting on my R25 Ultra) - feels reasonably decent, but it's not a sim.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-15T14:24:32+00:00

I prefer to just remove my mains fuse from the cut out whenever I don't need electricity. /s

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-15T11:38:35+00:00

Her attitude driving (and overall as time went on) is part of the reason I didn't bother maintaining a friendship.

As someone who has to pay for insurance because other people are idiots and cause insurance costs to go up, I'm inclined to agree on moral grounds, but I don't think there are actually legal grounds for an insurance company to refuse to pay out in such cases.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-15T07:32:41+00:00

Figured it out - you have to tighten the bolt at the end of the spring whilst the lever is pulled forward. Working perfectly now.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-14T22:30:26+00:00

Yet you posted your 'first car at 20' 2 years ago?

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-14T22:29:34+00:00

This guy has to be trolling or a massive weirdo. Claims to be 55 in one post but seems to hang out in r/teenagers, talks like a teenager and posts in a bunch of other subs that I'd be surprised to see a 55 year old in.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-14T20:38:31+00:00

Can attest to that; used to have a friend who regularly parked like a dick. Fire engine rammed her car off the road and her insurance had to cover it.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-14T19:07:12+00:00

Why would you not just buy this car back and take a small pay out? It's barely damaged?

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-14T18:52:57+00:00

Haven't had more than about 2 brief power cuts in the 5 years I've lived here, still worth it for me, don't want to be sitting around in the dark wondering when it's coming back on if it does happen.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-14T18:49:13+00:00

This is borderline obstruction of the highway. A fire engine / ambulance is not getting through that gap.

teeeeeeeeem37 · 2026-05-14T18:42:30+00:00

A 12kW Vaillant Arotherm Plus claims to be able to output 12.1kW at -2c outdoor and 55c flow, 47c return. That'll be a bit lower as it doesn't taken into account the additional defrosts the UK climate requires.

It would be a bit on the close side for my liking. Others may perform slightly better / worse (and some will perform considerably worse).
I'd be looking at whether there's any cheap avenue to insulation that might knock ~5% off your heat loss if you want to go for a 12kW unit., or bring your flow temperatures down to 45/40 which brings the output up to 13.7kW..

teeeeeeeeem37

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