The discussions in the threads about heat pump consumption and supply temperature settings are full of technical terms, values, and configurations. It is sometimes mentioned that installers pay little attention to optimal adjustments, and that one should be more careful during the system design phase. From what I understand, incorrectly sized and/or poorly adjusted heat pumps lose their economic advantages. Therefore, I have three questions:
1. How much knowledge and skill does a homeowner actually need to acquire in order to achieve the cost-effectiveness they expect from their decision?
2. How likely is improper use by inexperienced users who simply want to have a comfortable temperature in their home?
3. What habits does a person need to give up when living for the first time in a house with a heat pump in order to achieve the expected cost-efficiency?
1. How much knowledge and skill does a homeowner actually need to acquire in order to achieve the cost-effectiveness they expect from their decision?
2. How likely is improper use by inexperienced users who simply want to have a comfortable temperature in their home?
3. What habits does a person need to give up when living for the first time in a house with a heat pump in order to achieve the expected cost-efficiency?
KingJulien23 Nov 2021 10:02Fresh air does enter through the controlled residential ventilation system, but it comes in slowly and continuously, so it’s not very noticeable.
If I sniff directly at the vent grille, it always smells like "outside."
If I sniff directly at the vent grille, it always smells like "outside."
Just a quick reminder: The thermal inertia of underfloor heating and the specifics of a controlled residential ventilation system have nothing to do with heat pumps. I’m just saying this because there’s someone here who doesn’t know much about heating and might get the idea that with a heat pump, you always have to keep the windows slightly open and that towels don’t dry 😱
After the first year in the new single-family house...
If I were to build again, I would definitely choose a heat pump again. What would I do differently? I would spend the few hundred euros on an external professional heating load calculation.
Why?
I built with individual contractors/architect. The architect wasn’t particularly interested in this topic (which isn’t really his task; that’s what MEP planners are for).
Due to the workload (even back then), it wasn’t like you received offers from 15 heating installers all willing to work according to a client-specific requirement catalog. I chose one who was at least willing to consider some things but showed little initiative himself. With help from a forum, I even did a heating load calculation myself to show him that a 35°C (95°F) flow temperature design wasn’t necessary. But that was my calculation and it was almost too late already.
You must not forget two things about the whole heat pump situation:
First, no matter what device and additional components are installed, even the most efficient heat pump on the market with the most efficient system design—without buffer tank, without installation of a hydraulic separation unit (HSU), etc.—is useless if you actually need a 35°C (95°F) flow temperature just to get 21°C (70°F) in the bathroom.
On the other hand, if the underfloor heating is really well designed, you can make a lot of mistakes in the equipment room and it will still work quite well. I probably spent a few hundred euros on components that weren’t really necessary (differential pressure controller, HSU, etc.), but the difference between super optimized and not optimized is really just a few euros per month.
Second, the lower the heating load, the less of a problem this is in general. So if you’re building a house that needs very little heating energy and you end up with a system that is a bit messed up because the installer used a suboptimal standard manufacturer design, then you just need 10% more energy. That means maybe €55 instead of €50 heating costs per month. Nobody gets poor because of that.
If I were to build again, I would definitely choose a heat pump again. What would I do differently? I would spend the few hundred euros on an external professional heating load calculation.
Why?
I built with individual contractors/architect. The architect wasn’t particularly interested in this topic (which isn’t really his task; that’s what MEP planners are for).
Due to the workload (even back then), it wasn’t like you received offers from 15 heating installers all willing to work according to a client-specific requirement catalog. I chose one who was at least willing to consider some things but showed little initiative himself. With help from a forum, I even did a heating load calculation myself to show him that a 35°C (95°F) flow temperature design wasn’t necessary. But that was my calculation and it was almost too late already.
You must not forget two things about the whole heat pump situation:
First, no matter what device and additional components are installed, even the most efficient heat pump on the market with the most efficient system design—without buffer tank, without installation of a hydraulic separation unit (HSU), etc.—is useless if you actually need a 35°C (95°F) flow temperature just to get 21°C (70°F) in the bathroom.
On the other hand, if the underfloor heating is really well designed, you can make a lot of mistakes in the equipment room and it will still work quite well. I probably spent a few hundred euros on components that weren’t really necessary (differential pressure controller, HSU, etc.), but the difference between super optimized and not optimized is really just a few euros per month.
Second, the lower the heating load, the less of a problem this is in general. So if you’re building a house that needs very little heating energy and you end up with a system that is a bit messed up because the installer used a suboptimal standard manufacturer design, then you just need 10% more energy. That means maybe €55 instead of €50 heating costs per month. Nobody gets poor because of that.
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