ᐅ Heating via ventilation system with heat pump

Hello,

We are interested in a house that is currently for sale and are already in negotiations. We have now learned that there was a misunderstanding regarding the heating system. It is heated with a heat pump; until now, we thought there was underfloor heating. It has turned out that the heating is only provided through the central ventilation system, essentially using warm air. The seller presents this as a particularly high-quality heating system that was even more expensive. We would have found underfloor heating, at least in the bathroom, very comfortable.

Can anyone share information about this type of heating? What are its advantages and disadvantages?

The house was built in 2002 and has approximately 145 m² (1560 sq ft).

Tobi

Particularly inefficient, yes, I agree with the seller on that...

For the Mediterranean region, absolutely fine... but for us here, well, it does get warm...

You shouldn’t overestimate the comfort of underfloor heating in the bathroom. With today's low supply temperatures, you won’t have “warm feet” (but also not freezing cold ones).

I am skeptical about exhaust air heat pumps. For these to work effectively, you need very, very good thermal insulation and correspondingly low heating demand in the building. Otherwise, the exhaust air heat pump essentially becomes an electric heater. This is especially true if it is also used to heat domestic hot water. Ask to see the operational costs (electricity!) for that.

An exhaust air heat pump is cheaper to install compared to an air-to-water heat pump with underfloor heating.

Exhaust air heat pumps are suitable for passive houses or cost-conscious builders.

@ Mycraft: He didn’t mean that the heating costs are higher, but that he paid an extra charge for such a high-quality heating system during the house construction.

Unfortunately, your comments go in the same direction, which I have already researched myself. I only found out about this yesterday. Fortunately, one has to say. We never doubted the real estate agent’s statement that there is underfloor heating.

I had completely fallen in love with the house. We were supposed to go to the notary on Wednesday, but we have now, of course, postponed that for the time being.

I need to ask again very carefully which model it is, etc., and want to discuss it with a heating engineer or someone similar.

They also mentioned in earlier appointments that they always had high electricity bills, but only because they used so much cooling in the summer. We foolishly believed this and said we would just not cool as much.

Tobibi schrieb:
He didn’t mean that heating costs are higher, but that he paid an extra charge for such a fancy heating system during the house construction.

He didn’t mean it, but it’s true nonetheless...assuming the house isn’t very efficient in terms of heating demand, as Alex already mentioned...but experience shows that often it’s just an air heating system without any real thought behind it...but first, ask to see the billing statements...

It’s probably something like Bien-Zenker or similar...

And of course, it is more expensive upfront, because it’s a ventilation system and a heating system combined...

If you buy the components separately, you pay about 10,000 (ten thousand) USD each, meaning you could skip the ventilation system (which I wouldn’t recommend for modern houses, but still) and pay only 10,000!

If you choose the air heating, you’re also buying the ventilation system, so it’s already 20,000 USD, and the installer also has to get paid...ka-ching, it’s 25,000 USD

The prices are made up and only meant to illustrate how the statement comes about: “The heating system was especially expensive, so it must be especially good!”