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Diary of an ASHP install - complete series

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373 Topic threads
Ben_OVO
Community Manager
Ben_OVOCommunity Manager
 Home and heating
Book your air conditioning installation with OVO
Book your air conditioning installation with OVONews

Book your air conditioning installation with OVO You can now book an air conditioning installation through OVO. We’re using highly rated installers, fully backed by OVO, and we’ll handle everything from paperwork, to design and install. You don’t have to be an OVO customer to get air conditioning installed with us.  Book your installation in 3 steps: Request a no-obligation home survey by filling out this form. A local engineer will then contact you to arrange your survey, with no obligation to buy. We’ll design a system tailored to your home, needs and budget, and will send you a detailed quote with no hidden fees. Once you’re ready, our certified engineers will handle everything from design to installation, backed by a five year workmanship guarantee.  How air conditioning installation works Modern air conditioning uses reverse-cycle heat pump technology to deliver total, year-round climate control from a single system. By using a clever valve to flip the direction of the refrigerant

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Ben_OVO
Community Manager
BPLightlog
Super User
BPLightlogSuper User
 Home and heating
Diary of an ASHP install - Part 2Blog

The Install WeekOn the lead up to our installation date for our Heat Pump (HP), we had everything in place:Space outside clear for the heat pump itself Internal loft space for the pipework and any system parts A clear space inside around the existing boiler for removal Storage space for the pipes, insulation and other equipment (being delivered on the first morning)I got a text message from the lead installer on Sunday evening letting me know that he would be arriving at 8am on the Monday morning. He was actually early and supervised the off loading of the delivered equipment. This can take a little time as there is often quite a lot of items alongside the heat pump itself which need agreeing as scheduled items and delivered.Other trades were due shortly and so we walked the install route around the property from the HP position, through the loft access, existing pipework, boiler, radiators (6 out of 12 to be replaced), gas supply point and electricity supply.One of the things I partic

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Abby_OVO
Community Manager
BPLightlog
Super User
BPLightlogSuper User
 Home and heating
Diary of an ASHP install - Part 4 (Conclusions after a year in use)Blog

A Years Worth Headlines:Cost - energy bills reduced by £160 Cost reduction despite unit costs for electricity rising and despite keeping a gas supply with the associated standing charge. Home comfort - our temperature levels in the home during heating season were increased (compared to the previous year) to run the heat pump more efficiently (20 deg C during the day and 18 deg C overnight) Hot Water - as previously reported, this has been changed during the year and the system now ensures our preferred set point is reached giving hot water at the points we use it most. Looking across the monthly usage, it becomes fairly obvious that any savings are focused on the higher usage months. I mention this in particular because as the heat pump is still used for hot water in summer, during these months in fact costs increased slightly compared to the equivalent months in the previous year.  We have a busy household with 4 adults and so heating and hot water are important throughout the year.U

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BPLightlog
Super User
BPLightlog
Super User
BPLightlogSuper User
 Home and heating
Diary of an ASHP install - Part 3Blog

An Air Sourced Heat Pump in useNow having had practical usage of our ASHP (Air Sourced Heat Pump) I thought it might be a good idea to update the story with a look at how it has performed over the months, including the start of the current winter.After the install our heating needs have been well catered for. It is important to understand that a heat pump does not operate like a gas boiler. The ‘instant’ heat does not happen in the same way and therefore it is suggested that any temperature set-back is relatively small. We have a single temperature zone set at 20 deg C throughout the property and set-back to 19 degrees overnight. What this means is that the heat pump never needs to suddenly reheat the whole house by several degrees and in fact, the comfort level in the property is higher than previously experienced.What does have to be taken into account is that the heat pump can either heat the home or heat a hot water tank and therefore it is important to time the switch over to prov

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Ben_OVO
Community Manager
BPLightlog
Super User
BPLightlogSuper User
 Home and heating
Dashboard for Home UsageBlog

With the raft of online apps and services now in everyday use, I had begun to get frustrated that for some simple things (like thermostats, energy usage and security cameras) it was necessary to open a whole array of different programs. I stumbled across the concept of gathering these together under one service and now have a very easy, comprehensive option via something called Home Assistant (HA). (available on mobile app and pc)Although it has been many years since I did any real programming, I decided to try out this system and have found it a lot easier to put together and operate than I expected.First of all, I need to say that it is often not totally without cost. The system can be run on an existing computer but as the service really needs to be running all the time, most people tend to use some sort of minicomputer. I used something called a Raspberry Pi. This is a small electronics board – which can be bought as a full system or piece by piece – which links to your broadband r

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Peter E
Super User
Super User
BeePeeSuper User
 Home and heating
The Mysteries of LegionellaBlog

I am not a biologist; in fact it is nearly 50 years since I passed my Biology “O” Level. HOWEVER I would like to be re-assured that if I make changes to my heating system I will not compromise my family’s safety and well being. The following I have gleaned from various sources on the Internet. If you disagree great, but PLEASE supply the basis for your differing view. I’m afraid “a mate down the pub said” will not wash. What is Legionella? From the NHS website:Legionnaires' disease is a lung infection you can get from inhaling droplets of water from things like air conditioning or hot tubs. It's uncommon but it can be very serious.You can get Legionnaires' disease if you breathe in tiny droplets of water containing bacteria that cause the infection.It's usually caught in places like hotels, hospitals or offices where the bacteria have got into the water supply. It's less common to catch it at home. Where does it come from? From the CDC Website:Legionella bacteria occur naturally in fre

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Chris_OVO
Community Manager
BPLightlog
Super User
BPLightlogSuper User
 Home and heating
Diary of an ASHP install - Part 1Blog

As often happens, a second generation of new technology provides better results for the user and so, although installers and training still require some updating, we decided to make use of the offers currently in place and see what was involved for a Heat Pump installation.For qualifying properties and systems, there is a Government grant of £7,500 (BUS) and we went with a scheme which also allowed a ‘free’ survey (£200 payment which either is refunded or goes towards the final cost of install) and an opt out right up to the days before installation.Our survey was arranged in a few days and a surveyor arranged an appointment to measure and review the property. The survey suggested a heat loss just under 9kW and so the plans revolved around a 9kW heat pump installation. We currently use a condensing gas boiler for our heating and hot water and part of the survey looks at the pipework and radiators to check their suitability. Our outcome was that the pipework was ok but 6 out of 12 radia

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BPLightlog
Super User
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VicByronRank 1
 Home and heating
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joe millerRank 1
 Home and heating
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DFC202Rank 3
 Home and heating
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janieRank 4
 Home and heating
Tariff not switched from THTC to Economy 10 as agreed?

Hi ​@Ben_OVO ​@Chris_OVO Just turned on my heating on Sunday and the afternoon slot 2.30-5.30 was fine albeit on minimum, evening slot 9.30 -1.30 came on but didn't charge ( no credit was used)morning slot 5.30-8.30 was also fine.I phoned Customer Support on Monday to be told I am not on Economy 10 and have never been, I am still on THTC and no change of contract had been made after the meter swap.I asked if my meter would need reconfigured but unfortunately they couldn't answer and instructed me to call the PAYG team.Have just been on to PAYG team who transferred me to squad 70 ( a very nice guy called Jamie)who have done a pretty thorough investigation and it would seem multiple flags have been getting raised on my account since the swap but nothing actually done about it.The squad 70 backroom team have raised the issue again so hopefully it will be resolved soon. 

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Abby_OVO
Community Manager
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madgolfermk80Rank 1
 Home and heating
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StaneRank 1
 Home and heating
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AlisonbrimelowRank 1
 Home and heating
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KintyrescottRank 1
 Home and heating
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BoannbirdRank 1
 Home and heating
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jen28Rank 1
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danielleomosefeRank 2
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ShortswfRank 1
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SallyabRank 1
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DorothyGRank 2
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ieuan atkinsRank 1
 Home and heating
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CarryRank 2
 Home and heating
Storage heaters and 5 port smart meters- Can I have economy 7?

Hi. I live in Scotland and had old fashioned storage heaters. I had the flat rewired so the old storage heaters came out and I bought Dimplex Quantum heaters to go in. Meanwhile, OVO installed me a smart meter in January and the engineer who installed it said I’d need to contact OVO to get the new meter upgraded to a 5 port version to accommodate the new storage heaters. Sounded straightforward, but on contacting OVO they now tell me I can’t have a dual rate meter and will have to run the system on the single rate. End of. They are very sorry etc. It’ll be unaffordable! Reading posts on this Forum, I can see there are the SMETS2 meters available - so what’s the problem I’m having? Any advice or suggestions very welcome. Thanks

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Ben_OVO
Community Manager
Rank 1
Boxalland FarmRank 1
 Home and heating
P.V. meter has become faulty and has no reading at the 10,000 digit.

IEC 1107 port? Where is it and how do you get a reading from it Please. Our Landis Gyr E110 meter has become faulty and shows no Digit at the 10,000 space. Consequently we are receiving no payment for one of the sunniest 1/4s ever. I have looked it up and the brochure indicates that if you access the above port you can read the memory and we should be able to get a reading. Can anyone advise Please.  I have tried to ask L&G they won’t come back to me. I have tried several P.V. electricians who similarly don’t seem to know how to do this. The only advise I have found was an Indian you tube which sadly I don’t understand but seemed to show exactly what I need. Please help, asking on behalf of my nonagenarian father

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Blastoise186
Super User
Rank 2
AstraroyRank 2
 Home and heating
I have FIT with new battery and inverter, do I have the right meters?

Wondered if anyone can answer my query Im an existing FIT payment receiver (solar panels installed with single string inverter 11 years ago) so receive a decent FIT payment. Recently had installed a EcoFlow 3.6kw inverter with 10kw battery storage, the generation meter was changed to a bidirectional meter as instructed and followed the correct schematic. However the meter is showing a negative number and I can’t seem to work out what the solar panels are generating apart from what shows in the EcoFlow app We charge the batteries up at night using an off peak rate and then any solar during the day tops the batteries up. am I correct in thinking there should be another meter of sort between the solar panels and inverter just to monitor the generation from The solar panels? installers seem to think by summer it will change to a positive but that’s no good to me right now when I’ve generated about 30kw of solar   

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BPLightlog
Super User
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