ᐅ How complex are heat pumps in everyday use?

hampshire schrieb:

A heat pump is user-friendly, and you can expect it to be installed and set up in a way that allows for efficient heating.

My feeling is that it gets installed so that the homeowner doesn’t feel cold, while the installer doesn’t care much about efficiency.
That’s why I worry about many heat pump control systems being incorrectly adjusted.
I’ve seen it firsthand with insulation and painting contractors.
“It's too warm upstairs,” and so the valves at the manifold were quickly closed,
and later fully reopened, supposedly for balancing.

RotorMotor schrieb:

Just because you don’t drive your car according to the manufacturer’s specifications doesn’t mean you don’t use it.

That’s true.
But if I bought a car specifically based on the stated specifications, and as a driver I can never actually achieve them, I feel a bit like a VW customer after the diesel scandal—even if I can still drive the car. The problem isn’t the technology itself, but often the poor or suboptimal installation, which as a homeowner I usually cannot foresee or influence.
To reassure you: I have NOTHING against heat pumps, I just don’t have one myself, so I don’t belong to any camp. The idea of extracting or using energy from ambient air or the ground cannot seriously be criticized by anyone. However, other decisions can still be valid, otherwise it would be a clear black-and-white issue.

RotorMotor schrieb:

still a thousand times better for the environment than heating with fossil fuels!

Even better is, in general, to heat as little as possible, drive less, and thus avoid consumption or the need to reduce it in the first place.
Sometimes I find this line of discussion a bit superficial because I don’t think many people really want to restrict themselves. It’s always just as much as comfortably fits into one’s own lifestyle, and everyone has their own “values” in that regard.

I would still recommend a gas heating system to anyone who simply wants reliable warmth without hassle. Especially now, after the discontinuation of new construction subsidies from BAFA and KfW 55EE, gas prices may still rise significantly before a heat pump becomes cost-effective. Electricity prices are also increasing in many cases, despite the reduction of the renewable energy surcharge. Only the subsidies made heat pumps attractive despite their high initial costs. Last year, I received over €10,000 (about $11,000) from BAFA plus €18,000 (about $20,000) from KfW 55. These are no longer available.

There are exceptions like the Panasonic units for self-installation, but most average homeowners probably won’t feel confident enough to take that on. And of course, the standard settings from the heating installer and temperature control with room thermostats typically cause only about 20 to 30% higher energy consumption. Compared to overpriced maintenance contracts and excessive purchase costs, that usually doesn’t add up to much money. It’s more frustrating in the 10% of cases where energy consumption increases by 40 to 100% and/or poor settings cause wear and tear that soon require expensive repairs. With gas, you typically avoid all that trouble...

And by the way, I think my heat pump is great, but I see it more as a piece of technical gadgetry from which I want to squeeze out an additional 3% efficiency. To each their own...

Oetzberger schrieb:

I would still recommend a gas heating system to anyone who just wants it warm and hassle-free. Especially after the discontinuation of new build subsidies from BAFA and KfW 55EE, gas prices could rise significantly before a heat pump becomes economical. Electricity prices are also rising in many cases, despite reductions in the renewable energy surcharge. Only the subsidies made heat pumps attractive despite their high initial costs. Last year, I received over €10,000 in BAFA funding, plus €18,000 for KfW55. All of that is now gone.

I would advise anyone looking for a stress-free, straightforward solution to go to a reliable planner or installer. This applies in general. There are reports in the forum of houses built on undersized foundations or poorly constructed roof frames. Would I blame the foundation or the roof frame for that? Our heat pump planning, installation, and operation went completely smoothly without any technical tinkering. OK, good planners and installers are rare... unfortunately, that’s true.

I asked because it’s often claimed: is a heat pump really more expensive? We paid 10,000 € for a rather high-end model (a modulating Viessmann ground-source heat pump 333), but we save on the gas boiler, the gas connection, the chimney, and solar thermal systems (which are now mandatory, right?). Altogether, that amounts to around 10,000 €, doesn’t it?

And what is the actual additional consumption from a standard setup? Our underfloor heating was designed for 35/28°C (95°F/82°F), and this year it was really cold for a long time. Still, for 170 square meters (1,830 square feet), we only used about 1,500 kWh of heating electricity. Then there’s pump electricity and obviously hot water. Let’s say a total of 2,200 kWh. Even if there’s still 20% potential for savings (which I don’t believe), it’s still less than gas.

Regarding subsidies, we can only wait and see what comes next. But it certainly won’t be against heat pumps.

Oetzberger schrieb:

I would still recommend gas heating to anyone who just wants to stay warm and avoid trouble. Especially after the removal of the new build subsidies from BAFA and KfW 55EE, gas prices could increase quite a bit before heat pumps become cost-effective.

I strongly disagree! Why? Because you – I assume – will have to build to at least KfW 40 standard starting next year. At that level of energy efficiency, a heat pump is basically mandatory. And it will become even cheaper than it is now.

Oetzberger schrieb:

With gas, you typically avoid all the hassle...

...except for the mandatory annual maintenance and chimney sweep required for gas systems.

Oetzberger schrieb:

Only the subsidies made the heat pump attractive despite the high upfront costs.

Define high upfront costs. The heat pump alone starts at €3,000 (about $3,200) and can vary widely depending on model and manufacturer. On the other hand, there is no chimney or gas connection needed. It might not pay off in the end, but compared to gas, a heat pump is not “expensive” – except for brine/water heat pumps.