Hi guys, I'm new to posting, but have been lurking for a while! I am after some advise please from whoever can give it, as follows. We are getting a 16kw Daikin high temperature air source heat pump installed at the end of March to replace the lpg boiler in our house and we are looking for the most efficient way of running it once installed. The main issue is that we are carrying out the install for green reasons rather than financial savings and we don't actually spend a great deal on heating and hot water at the moment (c £1050 per year). This also means that after spending a fortune on the new kit, I don't intend on spending "Honeywell" money to finish it off!
Some background to our house:
- it's a 5 bed detached house, built in 2009 (although to 2004 standards when the building warrant was applied for, so maybe some differences with insulation, etc)
- we will be undertaking an attic conversion adding 2 further bedrooms (total of 7), plus 2 shower rooms (total of 4 shower rooms, 1 bathroom and 1 cloakroom)
- in addition we have 3 public rooms, a kitchen, utility and very large hallway
- total sq footage is increasing from 2300 to 2900ish
- we have trvs in all rooms, excluding one of the 3 radiators in our hallway
- we will be getting a couple of Dimplex smart rads. One will go in the hallway (not technically needed) and the other in the kitchen (needed to upgrade the output after I removed the second radiator last week when I remodeled the room)
- hot water will be from a 260l unvented mains pressure cylinder (replacing a similar Megaflo cylinder) with thermostatic mixer
How we currently use our central heating system:
- water is heated 24/7
- heating runs from 6:30am to 7:30am and from 4pm to 10pm weekdays; 7:30am to 10am and 3pm to 10pm at the weekend
- Heating is turned off completely for 5/6 months of the year and we run the electric immersion heater for hot water. This works out effectively free as we have solar panes which offset the increased cost.
Requirements:
- I work from home a few days per week and my wife is a student nurse, so we are often home during the day in either the study, bedroom or kitchen
- I am very prudent with money (or tight if you ask my wife!), so refuse to heat the whole house during the day while all of our kids are at school, hence my thoughts for why individually controllable stats would be good
- any new trvs must be quiet. We have 4 kids and I have a scary wife that's already not impressed with what she is calling my new toy. If there is any excessive noise from electronic trvs then she will crucify me! She is a very light sleeper and she could be asleep day or night depending on her shift
- did I mention it must represent good value for money and actually have a payback period, unlike the ASHP??!!
- we have 4 chrome towel rails in the house with straight chrome trv valves and the thought of seeing the electronic / wireless valves on any of these would see my guts for garters from she who must be obeyed!
- Excluding a pass through rad in the lower hallway, we have Myson 2 way trvs on all rads
I've seen the Honewell kit and it would be simply way out of what I am willing to pay. I've seen the Conrad kit and it looks good, but I'm confused about what I will need (my wife said these are ugly though). I've seen etrvs and think the lack of a display on either the trv or remote is silly, but am aware of the iphone adapter which is available and we can use on my wife's phone. There's also the eQ-2 MAX! kit which looks like the maximum I want to spend, but I think would be noisy based on previous reviewers. All in all, I'm going round in circles now.
So, this is where you guys come in please. What would you recommend, and if why?
Some background to our house:
- it's a 5 bed detached house, built in 2009 (although to 2004 standards when the building warrant was applied for, so maybe some differences with insulation, etc)
- we will be undertaking an attic conversion adding 2 further bedrooms (total of 7), plus 2 shower rooms (total of 4 shower rooms, 1 bathroom and 1 cloakroom)
- in addition we have 3 public rooms, a kitchen, utility and very large hallway
- total sq footage is increasing from 2300 to 2900ish
- we have trvs in all rooms, excluding one of the 3 radiators in our hallway
- we will be getting a couple of Dimplex smart rads. One will go in the hallway (not technically needed) and the other in the kitchen (needed to upgrade the output after I removed the second radiator last week when I remodeled the room)
- hot water will be from a 260l unvented mains pressure cylinder (replacing a similar Megaflo cylinder) with thermostatic mixer
How we currently use our central heating system:
- water is heated 24/7
- heating runs from 6:30am to 7:30am and from 4pm to 10pm weekdays; 7:30am to 10am and 3pm to 10pm at the weekend
- Heating is turned off completely for 5/6 months of the year and we run the electric immersion heater for hot water. This works out effectively free as we have solar panes which offset the increased cost.
Requirements:
- I work from home a few days per week and my wife is a student nurse, so we are often home during the day in either the study, bedroom or kitchen
- I am very prudent with money (or tight if you ask my wife!), so refuse to heat the whole house during the day while all of our kids are at school, hence my thoughts for why individually controllable stats would be good
- any new trvs must be quiet. We have 4 kids and I have a scary wife that's already not impressed with what she is calling my new toy. If there is any excessive noise from electronic trvs then she will crucify me! She is a very light sleeper and she could be asleep day or night depending on her shift
- did I mention it must represent good value for money and actually have a payback period, unlike the ASHP??!!
- we have 4 chrome towel rails in the house with straight chrome trv valves and the thought of seeing the electronic / wireless valves on any of these would see my guts for garters from she who must be obeyed!
- Excluding a pass through rad in the lower hallway, we have Myson 2 way trvs on all rads
I've seen the Honewell kit and it would be simply way out of what I am willing to pay. I've seen the Conrad kit and it looks good, but I'm confused about what I will need (my wife said these are ugly though). I've seen etrvs and think the lack of a display on either the trv or remote is silly, but am aware of the iphone adapter which is available and we can use on my wife's phone. There's also the eQ-2 MAX! kit which looks like the maximum I want to spend, but I think would be noisy based on previous reviewers. All in all, I'm going round in circles now.
So, this is where you guys come in please. What would you recommend, and if why?
Comment