by RobinL on 3/6/25, 12:28 PM with 23 comments
by pjc50 on 3/6/25, 3:30 PM
- system works fine and maintains a nice even temperature, despite undersize 8mm radiator piping. More comfortable than the legacy gas system which was often too hot
- mine is actually a hybrid (with gas boiler for HW and very low temperatures). This was a compromise that several installers pushed for due to the undersize piping
- did not have to replace radiators (phew) or piping (absolutely not willing to do that)
- installers generally seem very new to this; completion delayed by a day as they had to bring someone else back who knew how to program it. Also too much exposed (well, thinly insulated) pipework outside the building
- overall cost is still high even if the government is subsidizing it, I suspect something is not right here
- decision of the subsidy scheme to not subsidize bidirectional AC distorts the market somewhat. I know it's not traditional in UK homes but the south of England may start wanting AC and air/air may be easier to plumb in some cases
- noise: nonzero but not an issue, just about audible at night indoors. If you're next to a road then it will be much quieter than the background noise.
- running cost: not significantly cheaper than old gas system, because electricity is still very expensive
by domh on 3/6/25, 7:14 PM
Also apparently my gas boiler has an air brick that's too close to the output for the boiler on the outside of the house, so they'd have to install a bigger flue that goes halfway up the house.
From what I've heard the installation cost (even with £10k subsidy) will still be minimum £5k compared to a new gas boiler of £2.5-3k.
After everything that's happened with the gas prices in the past 3 years, I'm very eager to remove that dependency from my house. Now we just need to decouple the gas prices from the renewable energy prices so we can start to see those lower prices to the home. One can dream.
by pwarner on 3/6/25, 3:22 PM