awhp and solar panels

rollwithit

Hi,

I have a new build at circa 3200 sq foot with awhp and 5.5 kw solar system with 6 kw battery & inverter. I have UFH upstairs and downstairs. I am trying to figure out what electricity tariff I should be on. it is very confusing to figure out whether I should be on smart tariff, nite rate tariff etc etc. We are a family of six with four young children. I have been told that smart tariffs should be avoided ? I have heard many stories of people getting huge electricity bills in their new homes because of heat pumps.

Will my solar system cover much of my day to day electricity needs ? Would it be advisable to charge battery overnite and use it during day ? Presumably the HP uses electricity constantly so will my solar system power it ?

I would be very grateful if anyone here could advise me what I should be considering. Many thanks.

Mod, apologies if in wrong forum.

Jonathan

What sort of meter do you currently have? What is your current usage in kWh?

rollwithit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121645962#Comment_121645962

I have a smart meter. Usage about 2200. Thanks

Jonathan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121645984#Comment_121645984

Are you on a smart tariff (MCC12/MCC16) or still on 24hour tariff (MCC01)?

2200kWh per month? Per year (very low if that is the case)?

rollwithit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121646063#Comment_121646063

Sorry it’s 6300kws per year in present house , smart meter installed but not moved in yet to new build

Jonathan

You're correct in that the HP will run at any stage (including expensive day rates), but there are things you can do like heating your water at night and turning up the setpoint at night so that you can store more energy in the ufh slab.

Definitely worth charging your battery at night but remember that it it's only 5kWh. There will be dark days in winter when you will generate 1kWh if you're lucky, and the HP could be drawing 30kWh over the course of the day, more if very cold.

Do you have an EV?

Alkers

In general I would say day night meter and during winter fully charge your battery at night rate, less so in the summer but that's a decent ballpark in the first instance until you get a better handle on your usage patterns

rollwithit

Thanks for all advice. I have an ev charger installed but no ev just yet ( I intend to get one soon).

is it best not to opt in to smart tariff if hp is drawing electricity all day ?

Dave_D_Rave

I would suggest Energia EV tariff or something similar to take advantage of night rates

Standard rate is 36cents

2-6AM rate is 9 cents.

Air2Water Setup

Run your air 2 water on timer run the heating from 2 until 5:15 and run hot water from 5:15 to 6AM.

If you have days generating solar use this to also run heat pump at this time and heat water. This may not be an option for you if you don't have access.

I have Mitsubishi pump which has a WiFi interface so I can access remotely

Solar Setup

Program your battery to charge from 2-6 and not to start discharging until 9AM until you have all the kids out the door. By stopping the battery discharge straight away you allow a more stable discharge through the day.

I find the heat pump just sucks the charge very quickly from the battery otherwise

listermint

You'll definitely have lower bills than most with a small effort and smart management I.e knowing what's going on in your systems and checking on it every now and again.