Is a Storage heater with single tariff allowed?

Here's actual data from our system, heating off overnight till 8 am, outside temp between 5 and 8 Deg C, target temp of 20 Deg C, system used 8 kWh. This is the total for the outside unit and 3 internal wall mounted units.

This is a big improvement over the storage heaters, we had 3, one of the small 2 element ones, a 3 element one and a 4 element one, the only one that worked any sense was the big 4 element one.

Heat pump system has a 7 year warranty. 

We have solar PV and a solar diverter to the hot water tank immersion.

Thank you very much for that data / diagram.

Is 8 kWh the max the heat pump can use in 24 hours, if not, then what could the max be ?

Asking AI it reckons your COP from the above figures is around 3 to 4 would you say that is an accurate estimate ?

Hey ​@shetland & ​@Infiltrator,

Great to see you both working together it seems like the advice infiltrator is sharing has been really helpful so far. What’s your current thoughts on heat pumps Shetland have they grown in appeal or are you still very much in consideration phase? 

Still considering phase.

I first heard about heat pumps in the 1980’s from the Mother Earth New magazines, and have followed them since, with interest.

It would be nice, when I eventually move to somplace with a few acres, to get off grid, to use something like that, since it would then reduce the amount of solar generated electricity needed to power the heating system.

So far, solar thermal is winning the race to provide the heating solution.

I want a good grasp of the economics involved, maintenance issues, and all that jaz, since ideally I don’t want to be up a ladder aged 100+ fixing it in the middle of winter. :-)

Hey ​@shetland,

It sounds like you've been following the heat pump journey for some time! One of our community members, ​@Peter E, has written two fantastic articles about his experience adopting greener technology and the associated costs. If you have a moment, they are well worth reading as they offer a fascinating insight.

What makes solar thermal more appealing over the alternatives? 

Thanks for the links, will look at those.

From what I can gather, solar thermal will work every day of the year, is cheaper, takes up less space than solar PV, and simplier.

I want to be off grid, and be able to repair my own stuff as much as I can, and not freeze to death because I can’t get a spare part, or wait for an engineer to come and fix it for me, assuming I can actually afford one !

Mention is given of it in this video:

 

> Hasn't had a Heating Bill for 40 years.

I also have several requirements that push the  boundaries:

I want to be prepared for a 6 month -50c winter.

I want to be able to grow all my own food if need be.

I want a 12v/24/36v DC wide system for the entire house electrics, so I can do them myself, and not need an electrican to do anything for me.

I haven’t yet decided, or found out which is best, 12v DC, 24v DC, 36v DC.  I was thinking of 48v DC too, but I hear there are regulations if the voltage ever goes over 50v, which it would do with a full charged battery in the system.

The lower the voltage the fatter the cables you need, which are more expensive, but it might be easier to go from 12v DC upwards to anything, than the other way around.

If I want to run something 230v AC, I can just plug in a cheap DC to AC converter, and when it goes wrong, plug in a spare from the spares shelf, where I would intend to have spare parts for everything.

I might go for a ground source heat pump, but it would take a while to dig a 300ft well for it !

Which reminds me, if I went for a shallow depth ground source heat pump, where does the majority of the heat come from, is it from below, or above fro mthe sun shining on the ground.  If above, don’t you need just grass there, rather than say a greenhouse to block the heat warming the ground up ?

I’ve a  million and one questions, still after forty years. :-)

Budget is tiny, so if I can start with something and build up, that would work well for me.

But it also needs to be something I can do myself, without need expensive professionals in, which I notice these days, are increasingly difficult to find even if you want one.

One reason I want to design and build my own EV car, since our new one spent the first 2 years of its life endlessly being repaired, or should I say, not being repaired correctly !

If I build it myself, I can repair it myself, and not have to wait 2 years without it most of the time !

I have an Ebike at the moment, and that now needs repair again, this time the brakes !

Well, I guess I’m going to learn how to fit new brakes then, assuming I can get any to fit, and I don’t have to spend ages hacksawing, using my new bench drill, and spending hours filing sitting on the sofa to make my own adapter.

Ah the joys of expensive made in China Ebikes !
 

Hey ​@shetland,

I hope you had a lovely weekend! 

It's incredible to hear about his closed-loop glycol system and how he controls the flow rate - Plus, his surroundings are stunning. This reminds me of Marques Brownlee, who hasn't paid for electricity in a couple of years. He documented his journey in a very interesting video, which I've linked here if you're curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJeSWbR6W04. 

It's somewhat similar.

 You’ve thought through all the basics that you need and what you’re requirements will be. It’ll be a good project to tinker on over time! If you’ve ever got any questions you want some eyes on feel free to pop them on the Forum and you might find some amazing answers and out of the box thinking. 

Solar tiles are a possibility, a half built new house the other day we was lookig at to buy, had a roof, but no tiles !

But last time I checked their costs, they was super super expensive.

But, could be worth if it the normal cost of tiles is quite expensive !

Metal sheets are quite common here, as once bolted down, they don’t blow away as easily as tiles do.

Cheaper I imagine too.

Though I hear expensive to repaint.

Pity there aren’t more earth sheltered homes for sale.

I wonder how much it costs to have solar tiles fitted, or will I need to learn how to use a ladder without falling off again !

This is why a bunaglow is so appealing, and some of your own scaffolding/towers with safety harnesses.

Hey ​@shetland,

I can’t find any topics on the forum specicifically about solar tiles. However we do have lots of helpful user guides like this one:
 

Our website also has some really helpful advice.

Keep us posted! 😊