Heat Pump FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
There are many different things to consider when installing a heat pump system, and of course every project is different. That’s why it’s always best to speak with experts about your project, because our years of experience will enable us to provide bespoke answers to your project’s individual challenges. That said, there are a number of questions that we do get asked very frequently, which you can read below.
If you have any specific questions about your project, or you’re interesting in the feasibility of a heat pump system for your home, please do contact us and speak to a member of our team.
Heat Pumps - Sales FAQ
Do heat pumps work with radiators?
Yes, heat pumps work perfectly well with radiators, provided everything is designed correctly. The key to designing a heat pump system is to ensure that the distribution system, be it radiators or underfloor Heating, can operate at the lower flow temperatures produced by a heat pump. Underfloor heating systems cover a large area, which means they can afford a low flow temperature and still deliver the heat required by your home. So when it comes to radiators, we just need to make sure they are sized correctly to enable the heat pump to operate at a lower, more efficient flow temperature than a traditional boiler. As part of our MCS service, we carry out detailed design calculations which include a radiator schedule for rooms that are heated by radiators.
Are there any grant payments I can get for installing a heat pump?
Yes, heat pumps can receive very generous grant payments under a Government scheme called the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). If you are a self-builder building your own home, or you are a homeowner looking to replace your old fossil fuel boiler with a heat pump system; you could receive up to around £1,500 per year for installing an air source heat pump and up to around £4,000 per year for installing a ground source heat pump. In order to be eligible for the RHI, everything must be designed and commissioned by an MCS accredited installer, such as Alto Energy.
Are heat pumps good for the environment? Don’t they use electricity?
Installing a heat pump has a very positive impact on the environment due to the significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions produced from heating your home. It is true that heat pumps do run on electricity, however due to the fact that heat is simply moved from one place (the air or the ground) to another (the home) as opposed to being created from combustion, you typically get 3 – 4 kWh of heat for every kWh of electricity consumed. Furthermore, every year more and more low and zero carbon electricity sources such as wind, tidal and solar are connected to the grid, ever reducing this carbon intensity of the electricity we use in our homes. This means that installing a heat pump can save over 70% in carbon dioxide emissions compared to a traditional fossil fuel boiler. In fact, heat pumps are so much better for the environment than traditional boilers that the Government recently announced their intention to ban fossil fuel boilers in new builds from 2025. Read more about this on our blog: Government Pledges To Ban Boilers In New Homes By 2025.
Do I need to keep my old boiler?
In the vast majority of cases heat pumps will completely replace the need for a boiler. Heat pumps are designed to provide all of the heating and all of the hot water that your property needs. Residential heat pumps are able to handle heat loads up to 14kW, which is more than enough for nearly all homes in the UK. Only in exceptional circumstances, such as a very large house or a particularly old and poorly insulated house, you may want to consider using a heat pump with a boiler as back-up. In these cases, the products that we supply have integrated boiler back-up controls, meaning that the heat pump controls when the boiler is and is not required, in order to optimise the amount of energy delivered by the heat pump.
Do heat pumps provide hot water?
Heat pumps are capable of producing water temperatures up to 60ᵒC, meaning that they are more than capable of providing all of the hot water to the home. Boilers will typically deliver hot water around 60 – 65ᵒC, however this is far too hot for comfort – after all we all mix in cold water to make the bath a comfortable temperature, which if you think about it is quite a strange thing to do! We usually set the heat pumps up to provide hot water at 50ᵒC, which is still more than hot enough (typically showers are set to 38ᵒC), but still enables the heat pump to operate at an efficient level.
How much do heat pumps cost to run?
Due to the efficiency of heat pumps, where you typically get 3 – 4 kWh of heat for every kWh of electricity consumed. As such, heat pumps will be cheaper to run than an existing boiler. This is particularly true if you are replacing electric heaters or oil and LPG boilers, however you would still expect to make a saving against mains gas too (especially if you can stop your gas supply altogether and avoid paying the daily standing charge).
Are heat pumps safer?
An often unmentioned benefit of heat pumps is the fact that there is no combustion taking place in your house. Most modern day boilers are incredibly safe, and thankfully gas explosions are few and far between, however it is still something that happens. The additional benefit is the improvement to local air quality, as there are no carbon, nitrous and sulphurous oxide emissions produced locally with a heat pump, whereas those gases are all products of traditional combustion based boilers.
Heat Pumps - Support FAQ
Does my heat pump require regular maintenance?
As with any piece of mechanical equipment, regular maintenance of your heat pump is important to ensure that your heat pump continues to operate at its optimum. Also, most heat pump manufacturers will state that regular maintenance is a condition of their warranty. Furthermore, if you are receiving Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments, it is one of your responsibilities to ensure your heat pump is in “good working order”. This effectively means that you are required to maintain your renewable heating technology, be it an air source heat pump or ground source heat pump, in line with the manufacturer requirements.
Are there any service plans available to ensure regular maintenance?
Yes. At Alto Energy we offer service plans for all IVT heat pumps, and any other heat pump supplied by us, through our Heat Pump Service Plans.
How do i set my IVT Ground Source Heat Pump to run on the back up immersion?
All IVT ground source heat pumps come with a back-up immersion heater, which can be used for both space heating and hot water. In the unlikely event that you have a problem with your heat pump, the immersion heater can be engaged to give you heating and hot water.
If you have an IVT Greenline HE ground source heat pump, please download the help sheet here. If you have an IVT Greenline HT+ ground source heat pump, please download the help sheet here. If you are unsure which heat pump you have, there is a data plate on top of the heat pump which can tell you.
DISCLAIMER: The back up immersion is essentially an electric boiler, with no energy contributions from the ground loop. As such, your running costs will be significantly higher whilst running on the back up immersion. Alto Energy Limited accepts no responsibility for customers incurring additional running costs as a result of following these instructions.
Should I turn my heat pump off during the summer?
The heat pump will automatically turn off the heating when the outside temperature gets about 18ᵒC but will continue to heat the domestic hot water, so that you don’t need to adjust the heat pump in the summer.
Should I turn my heat pump off when I go on holiday?
The heat pump has a built in holiday mode which will reduce the temperature of the house whilst you are away, and will ensure that the house is back up to temperature for the time you get home! There is more information on this in your user manual which you can download at the bottom of this page.
My heat pump is reaching the end of its working life, what are my options?
If your heat pump is at the end of its lifespan and becomes beyond repair there are a number of options available for you. First and foremost, Alto Energy offer a Heat Pump Recycling Scheme where you can get money off of a brand new heat pump when you trade in your old ground source heat pump.
