ᐅ Heat pump design error, currently heating with an electric instantaneous water heater (tankless water heater).
Created on: 26 Oct 2012 00:21
O
otkitFive years ago, I built a single-family house in the Dortmund area, North Rhine-Westphalia.
It has a living area of 170 sqm (1,830 sqft) plus a basement and an unfinished attic.
At that time, the plan was to install a regular boiler, but the heating company convinced me to install a ground source heat pump system instead. The advantages convinced me, and I agreed to the additional costs.
I didn’t need to have a gas line installed from the street, which would save me some money.
So, the extra expenses were supposed to be worth it.
Back then, they calculated that a 6 kW unit would be sufficient, and based on that, I hired a drilling company to carry out the borehole. According to the calculation, it was drilled 95 meters (310 feet) deep (costs about €4,500).
The electrical work, including an extra meter installed by the utility company, was also completed.
Afterwards, the heating company had to close for personal reasons. The company that recommended this system was no longer available.
I was left in a tough situation because I couldn’t find another company willing to complete the installation after the drilling. They all said that the 6 kW system wouldn’t be enough, and for a larger system, the 95-meter borehole wouldn’t be sufficient. They recommended drilling a second borehole, which would mean another payment of about €4,500.
Since the heating system was otherwise finished and we had to move out of the old house, we decided to move in quickly and heat the house with a regular wood stove (we had a chimney shaft installed during construction).
Since then, we have been heating the domestic hot water with an electric flow heater.
Financially, we didn’t have any reserves left; there are always unplanned expenses with new construction.
Since then, we have been heating our home with the wood stove, and when it’s sometimes not enough for the children’s rooms, we use electric heaters there. Now that we have somewhat recovered from the house build, we want to complete our heating system.
What do you recommend? Can anyone suggest an affordable alternative to resolve this situation? Would I be eligible for any subsidies in this condition?
P.S.: The ground floor has underfloor heating, and the upper floor is equipped with radiators.
It has a living area of 170 sqm (1,830 sqft) plus a basement and an unfinished attic.
At that time, the plan was to install a regular boiler, but the heating company convinced me to install a ground source heat pump system instead. The advantages convinced me, and I agreed to the additional costs.
I didn’t need to have a gas line installed from the street, which would save me some money.
So, the extra expenses were supposed to be worth it.
Back then, they calculated that a 6 kW unit would be sufficient, and based on that, I hired a drilling company to carry out the borehole. According to the calculation, it was drilled 95 meters (310 feet) deep (costs about €4,500).
The electrical work, including an extra meter installed by the utility company, was also completed.
Afterwards, the heating company had to close for personal reasons. The company that recommended this system was no longer available.
I was left in a tough situation because I couldn’t find another company willing to complete the installation after the drilling. They all said that the 6 kW system wouldn’t be enough, and for a larger system, the 95-meter borehole wouldn’t be sufficient. They recommended drilling a second borehole, which would mean another payment of about €4,500.
Since the heating system was otherwise finished and we had to move out of the old house, we decided to move in quickly and heat the house with a regular wood stove (we had a chimney shaft installed during construction).
Since then, we have been heating the domestic hot water with an electric flow heater.
Financially, we didn’t have any reserves left; there are always unplanned expenses with new construction.
Since then, we have been heating our home with the wood stove, and when it’s sometimes not enough for the children’s rooms, we use electric heaters there. Now that we have somewhat recovered from the house build, we want to complete our heating system.
What do you recommend? Can anyone suggest an affordable alternative to resolve this situation? Would I be eligible for any subsidies in this condition?
P.S.: The ground floor has underfloor heating, and the upper floor is equipped with radiators.
otkit schrieb:
Everyone said that the 6 kW system wouldn’t be sufficient and that the 95-meter (310 feet) borehole wouldn’t be enough for a larger system. A lot is often said when something is being sold! ;-)otkit schrieb:
... So I was supposed to have a second borehole drilled, and since the company was coming, I would have to pay about €4,500 more. Nonsense without any calculation (proof)!otkit schrieb:
... and we decided to heat with a regular wood stove (we had a chimney shaft installed during construction). Since then, we have heated the hot water using an instantaneous water heater… Since then, we have heated our apartment with the wood stove; when it’s sometimes not enough for the children’s rooms, we use electric heaters there. A costly "pleasure" in the long run!otkit schrieb:
... Now that we have somewhat recovered from building the house, we want to complete our system. What would you recommend? First, have the heating and energy demand for both heating and hot water calculated.otkit schrieb:
... The ground floor has underfloor heating and the upper floor is equipped with radiators. Also check (have recalculated) whether the heating surfaces and hydraulics are actually "heat pump compatible." Changes will likely be necessary on the upper floor.Best regards.
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