Exhaust Heat Pump: Why are my bill's so high?

Hi, firstly, any charge for checking a meter would only be made if it was not faulty. 
You could do your own checks fairly easily if you wanted to. 

• I think my meter is clocking too fast - How can I test if my high usage is due to a faulty meter?

• Questions about your energy use? Check out our handy FAQ F.A.Q.

Secondly, do you have any previous bills to compare with (from before you moved in)? It’s all very well someone commenting on low bills but what does that mean without anything to back it up. 
Any heat pump will use more energy in winter (especially with recent zero degree days) but it does need to be set up correctly to get best results. It is quite different to a ‘normal’ boiler and generally others will tell you that it’s best to keep it set to provide reasonable heat through the day and night. If the temperature is set back too much overnight, there is a surge of energy to bring everything back up to temperature. ( I will let others comment on that).

• Heat pumps - What’s your experience of the benefits and downsides to an ASHP? SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE

Also, do you have a tariff with an off peak element? Many who use a heat pump benefit from using periods when electricity prices are lower than a standard tariff.
Finally, are you looking at true billing or might there be estimated readings somewhere? Something to review. 

You need to change (or preferably remove) your heat pump schedule. Instead of leaping between 15 and 21 degrees try setting it to, say, 18 or 19 all day and night. It will settle down and be much cheaper to run. 
See how that goes and report back.

​@joshantmann is this an Exhaust Air Heat Pump (EAHP) as opposed to an air-source heat pump (ASHP)?

Do you have radiators or underfloor heating? Are you needing to use the boost feature to bring the flat up to the desired temperature?

BPLightlog wrote:

Hi, firstly, any charge for checking a meter would only be made if it was not faulty. 
You could do your own checks fairly easily if you wanted to. 

• I think my meter is clocking too fast - How can I test if my high usage is due to a faulty meter?

• Questions about your energy use? Check out our handy FAQ F.A.Q.

Secondly, do you have any previous bills to compare with (from before you moved in)? It’s all very well someone commenting on low bills but what does that mean without anything to back it up. 
Any heat pump will use more energy in winter (especially with recent zero degree days) but it does need to be set up correctly to get best results. It is quite different to a ‘normal’ boiler and generally others will tell you that it’s best to keep it set to provide reasonable heat through the day and night. If the temperature is set back too much overnight, there is a surge of energy to bring everything back up to temperature. ( I will let others comment on that).

• Heat pumps - What’s your experience of the benefits and downsides to an ASHP? SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE

Also, do you have a tariff with an off peak element? Many who use a heat pump benefit from using periods when electricity prices are lower than a standard tariff.
Finally, are you looking at true billing or might there be estimated readings somewhere? Something to review. 

 Thank you for the amazing reply.

Yes, there will be a charge if nothing is wrong.

I’ve asked the previous tenant for some bills from his last 2-3 months in the flat. I’m new to heat pumps, but an engineer came out a couple of weeks ago and he said everything looked ok. That’s not to say that it is setup correctly for me. So I’m all ears on how to improve things.

There are daily readings sent to OVO so things should be very accurate. Which makes me wonder about the £12 charge from the Saturday just gone.

That’s really great to know. Thank you. I didn’t realise that jumping between the temperatures affected things so much. I’ll set things to 18 and see how things go from today.

I believe it’s an air-source heat pump. I’m very new to them so still trying to work it out.

It is radiators in the flat. One in each of the bedrooms. Two in the living room and one in the hall way. The ones in the bedroom have a dial on from 0-6...they are currently on 5.

I’m not using, I don’t think, of any boost feature to bring it up to temperature. It’s a Honeywell Home thermostat that I’m using. Where would the boost feature be?

Am I right in thinking that £12 for a day is excessively high? Even with the tv on for about 7 hours. I didn’t mess with the heating schedule at all.

I’ve just totalled up my readings for the first half of January and they come to £99.18. Reading the links, from above, that feels like a lot.

Re the dials on the radiators, it’s best to have them all fully open on 6. That way the maximum amount of water can flow around the system. If the rooms get too hot then the answer is to lower the flow temperature, but let’s get to that in due course ! For now see how it settles down, and report back.

How’s the hot water set up ? eg mine is scheduled to heat the tank twice: at 3am and 11am, to 49 degrees. 

Of course we have had cold weather recently so the HP will be a bit more expensive to run as its got more work to do. Once we get back to milder days your costs will go back down.

The only reference to ModulAIR I could find with a quick internet search was for EAHP. “It uses the waste heat from the extract ventilation through a heat pump cycle to provide the heating and hot water for the dwelling. When fitted with the optional Green Comfort the supply air to the habitable space is pre-heated to increase the occupants comfort level and thus reducing the load on the radiators or underfloor heating in the dwelling.”  Do you have air circulation or is it a ‘standard’ radiator only system with no fancy ventilation?

The advice to run the heat pump at a more consistent temperature is a good one so it’s not having to work hard to heat the property from a low temperature. This would probably apply to EAHP, if it is one, as well. If you can provide some photos of the unit then that would be useful.

In terms of daily cost, don’t get too fixated on the cost of using the TV as this will be marginal compared to any item that heats something (water immersion heater / electric shower / oven etc.) 

As far as I can see, there is nothing fancy about the radiators. As I said above, a couple of them have a Honeywell dial on. But as ​@juliamc suggested, I will turn these up to allow a full flow of water and then adjust when need be.

Interesting about the tv consumption compared to things that need heating. The immersion isn’t turned on in the flat and I only use the oven about 3 times a week (for an hour at most each time)

I don’t believe my hot water is actually setup in anyway. Due to the Heat Pump, there is hot water available any time...but again, I maybe wrong with this. I’m not entirely sure how to check if hot water is scheduled at all.

Can you post a photo of your  controller and someone can see what you should be able to do.

Here's a picture of the boiler status and of the thermostat. Not sure if there is what is needed. Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks

Is it like the system shown on this website? https://jouleuk.co.uk/modulair-all-e-product-page/
 

I’d like to know what the warning symbol ⚠️ is referring to on the Honeywell. That may be the reason you’ve noticed an increase in cost. Any thoughts ​@nealmurphy ?

Nothing definite... You've raised a lot of good points ​@juliamc 

I'd be interested in a wider photo of the boiler unit, water cylinder, outside unit etc. to get an idea of how it's been designed.

Keep an eye on if the 'Element' status on the display changes to On and when and how often it does this. If it's on then it's using it to heat the water which will be expensive in comparison to other means. It's interesting it's called a boiler, so I'm doubting whether it's a full heat pump system.

I’ve found this https://knowledgebase.jouleuk.co.uk/uk/modul-air-all-e-honeywell-homeowner-guide 

The video explains that the hot water is dealt with automatically as you’ve said so ignore my previous comment about a schedule for that !! 
However it also says not to set a schedule for the heating, just so set the room temperature on the Honeywell and leave it at that all the time. 
Funnily enough their controller also has a ⚠️. Does the other screen have a similar set of icons as in the video.

It looks like you have a very good system there. 

Here's a couple of pictures that might be able to help you out. Please excuse the mess. 

From yesterday I've set it to 18c for 24 hours, so we'll see how that goes. The warning symbol means the filter needs replacing on the unit. I'm unsure if that would increase the price. 

Ok that's good to know about the hot water. 

I’m wondering if the cold weather has triggered the system to use the immersion element to heat the hot water, which is just the way it works? It would probably operate like that so it doesn’t sacrifice the room heating. 

I've just come in from a dog walk and the heating symbol is on. I didn't change anything before I went out. 

I think that’s indicating the heating is on (unless the other screen which showed the “boiler” Element is also ON which would be the hot water immersion heater). 
I’ve found yet another web page for you !! https://knowledgebase.jouleuk.co.uk/uk/modul-air-user-manual You may already have this manual but it mentions the filter and the fact that it reduces efficiency if it needs changing. I’d get a new filter in now as you may find it lowers the running costs, especially in cold weather.

I think it was the heating trying to get the room up to temperature. But I thought the flat was warm enough already. 

Reading that manual, I'm wondering if the time and date is incorrect on it. I've also asked for the filter to be replaced. 

I checked the time and date and that was all fine.

​@nealmurphy just to let you know that I have a Joule Modulair All-E Exhaust Air heat Pump (EAHP)

​@joshantmann How is your heating getting on at the constant temperature setting ?

I'm averaging about £5.50 a day with it set on 18c for 24 hours a day. Does that still seem expensive to you?