New Build, 7 months in with a Danfoss heatpump

matrat · 15-02-2017 7:08pm

Charlie Charolais wrote: »

Hi Matrat, how did you measure your electricity usage?

Hi Charlie,
My unit tracks the hours operating, i contacted Danfoss who advised what an hour operation is in KW/h, i track this number each week for the heat and domestic water separately and use my esb bill to determine my exact kw/h rate when i get it. Naturally it is within a tenth or two of 19c, but is more for my sanity to validate the machine isn't using alot more than it says.

BarneyMc wrote: »

matrat wrote: »

As they say, insulation is one of the very few items that will pay for itself.

Can you elaborate?

Hi Barney,
Is not much to elaborate on really, if you are sensible with it then it is proven that insulation will pay for itself if used correctly. For example, pumping a cavity wall, the cost of the pumping will be offset in "X" number of years by the savings you have made in heating costs. Same rule goes for most insulation applications, the cost will be recouped. Of course you can use insulation incorrectly which will greatly increase the time it takes, or maybe never pay for itself. Alot of builders now are getting the idea that insulation is a key selling point so are using it in not very efficient ways which will naturally cause some confusion and have people say that they have a highly insulated house but dont see the savings they expect. For example, i see alot of people using insulated boards internally in a house on a full fill 4 inch cavity construction. Yes this MAY be more efficient than not having the insulated board MOST of the time, but i would consider it bad practice in this age. Especially with a low heat source like A2W and Geo, it is much more efficient to keep all the insulation in one place, which can be seen with the increase in popularity of external insulation and 6 or 8 inch cavities. This also has the added advantage of using the internal leaf as a thermal store. If i had a choice of my structure, it would be a block on its flat internally and a pumped 6 or 8 inch cavity. Gets the best of both worlds.

rolion · 15-02-2017 7:30pm

Also,dont forget AND ignore that with a good insulated house comes the fresh air/condensation /ventilation "hole in the budget" called MHRV !

Water John · 15-02-2017 9:09pm

Yes rolion, know a few houses that decided to 'save' on build by not installing, madness.
One fella said, shur I open the windows when I can!!!

daphne · 16-02-2017 11:17am

Thanks Matrat. Yes, it seems there are natural limitations on what you can do with conventional masonry build. Everyone you talk to who has built house say 2013 and before seems to be sceptical re heat pumps. We pushed our house designer to 200mm cavity - anything beyond we were told we were getting into trouble re laying the inner leaf blocks - reaching across from outside scaffold not an option. Pumped cavity was default solution due to ease of installation and achieving best U-value for your buck. With 200mm cavity, the need for inner dry lining to make up U value not required it seems.
On airtightness, we pushed in the spec for a 1ACH - I hope this pays back but it means they're being pushed to being a bit more careful with taping up and blocking holes. Why not go the extra mile with the ACH if you're putting in the MHRV anyway. In terms of overall build cost and the cost of UFH, fancy heat pumps and triple glaze windows, it isn't a big cost. It looks like a neat and simple solution for ventilation. Hopefully it proves so!
I think the solution on the whole self build energy thing is to do your own research, use the regs only as minimums and talk to a supplier of heat pumps who will also look at the whole house in terms of insulation, design etc. I think Passive house standard should be taken as the target/benchmark but ultimately seems to me hardly attainable with block built house. I'm not entirely convinced of the payback in an Irish climate. I admire anyone who goes down this route tho. It is the less trod path and alternative construction methods are a bit scary for most people...

matrat · 16-02-2017 2:01pm

Yeah i agree with all this, i read an article back early in the process from some design manual in europe and it said that designers need to take a whole house approach and think of heating, domestic water, insulation, ventilation, glazing etc. as all pieces of the same overall element. That is more likely to be better in the long run to split a budget relatively even over all items than it is to focus on one or two. Point in case is with some 8-10 year old houses now that had HP fitted from new. I looked at one back before purchased current place, asked several times to see esb bills to validate this claim of great setup by estate agent. House never felt overly warm inside and naturally no bills where ever produced. You can be sure a large chunk of budget was spent on that HP, but vented double glazing windows didnt exactly improve upon its good basis!

daphne · 16-02-2017 6:38pm

Yes, the idea of heat pump is low water temperature circulation which is not a very responsive system when you're talking about moving the temperature of a house. It requires high insulation levels to be effective in terms of comfort to occupants. Any little bit of heat that is generated by the system is retained and also heat energy is stored by the walls and material of the building. As you were saying - dry lining is not really optimum solution. As for air tightness and MHRV, while we don't have very low temperatures, we are definitely one of the windier climates in Europe. Draughts from bathroom fans and trickle vents must account for a lot of heat loss, comparatively, in this country.
The annoying thing is the BER classification which people take to be the "be all and end all". People just lobbing a solar panel on the roof to attain a higher BER is nuts, especially when it gives a false notion of the houses real energy performance to prospective buyers.

matrat · 16-02-2017 6:54pm

Yeah it is simply down to education, but in fairness suppose it is getting on in age now and is alot better than no standard. A conversation i had a few days ago with the in-laws around upgrading their house really brought that home, a 25 year old home that raised several children, a house that contains both a boiler and non boiler stove, the ventilation system is essentially draughts. No window vents, no hole in wall vents etc. 1 generation of difference between that house and mine and is more than a few differences.
Traditionally this country waits until UK regulations have been in place a few years and copies most of it so with the level system over there and the push to make a level mandatory for all new builds will hopefully filter to us in the near future. And i love the idea that you can make a reasoned case to build a house in a location that typically would be an issue by compromising to build it to such a high level as to have little to no impact. Is such a good compromise. You want to build a house in a scenic location owned by several generations of your family, ok, build it level 6. Great setup

BarneyMc · 17-02-2017 12:57pm

daphne wrote: »

Yes, the idea of heat pump is low water temperature circulation which is not a very responsive system when you're talking about moving the temperature of a house. It requires high insulation levels to be effective in terms of comfort to occupants. Any little bit of heat that is generated by the system is retained and also heat energy is stored by the walls and material of the building. As you were saying - dry lining is not really optimum solution.

This is exactly my setup solid, non dry-lined, wide cavity walls. I could unplug the HP and the family wouldn't notice the drop in tem for a few days. Super comfortable living!

KCross · 17-02-2017 12:59pm

BarneyMc wrote: »

This is exactly my setup solid, non dry-lined, wide cavity walls. I could unplug the HP and the family wouldn't notice the drop in tem for a few days. Super comfortable living!

@BarneyMc, do you have a meter attached to your HeatPump and know exactly what it is costing you per year? Care to share? Also, what size house is it?

matrat · 17-02-2017 1:51pm

Would also be very interested in your stats Barney, just to do a comparison with what is a superior structure to mine and see the actual difference

Charlie Charolais · 17-02-2017 1:54pm

KCross wrote: »

@BarneyMc, do you have a meter attached to your HeatPump and know exactly what it is costing you per year? Care to share? Also, what size house is it?

we have an A2W going since 24th jan, we fitted a dual tariff meter on the decided HP power supply, i will keep you informed & hopefully myself sane!

daphne · 17-02-2017 3:22pm

I'm a bit concerned about the relative large envelope we have - narrow plan. Will need all the insulation we have I think. The whole thing is a bit of a leap - you just hope that you've got enough insulation and the bills won't be nuts. I'd say you'd be advised to fire on your stoves in very cold weather to do some of the heavy lifting. We will have to wait a good while to judge on what it's costing us as hope to move in summer...

matrat · 17-02-2017 3:50pm

daphne wrote: »

I'm a bit concerned about the relative large envelope we have - narrow plan. Will need all the insulation we have I think. The whole thing is a bit of a leap - you just hope that you've got enough insulation and the bills won't be nuts. I'd say you'd be advised to fire on your stoves in very cold weather to do some of the heavy lifting. We will have to wait a good while to judge on what it's costing us as hope to move in summer...

Hi Daphne,

Without knowing spec, sizes etc. i couldnt comment on that but i felt that with our restricted structure make up we may need a supplemental heat source to keep us comfortable in winter. Truth it that with the system constantly monitoring and adjusting input based on temps inside and out, it never gets to a stage when u culd light a stove. We are now 99% sure we will fit an electric stove to fill the gap, purely for aesthetic reasons. No doubt if u had the system on a time clock to not run during day for example, then yes the stove would provide quicker heat to the communal areas in the evening time while the system comes up to temp over the whole house. But as partially discussed before, it is not been proven that using the machine this way is more cost effective, and the cost associated with buying the stove, connecting air supply etc would pay for alot of esb to power the machine that has to be offset for it to be a value proposition. Again without knowing spec etc. i can only advise on my experience, but for me, paying for chimney flues, the construction of the chimney, chimney pot, guard for the top, flashings, ductwork in floor for air supply etc. was a waste of money. I could have built a dummy brace and slotted in the electric stove and would have been a fraction of the cost. Maybe a tenth of the cost, and that would be a generous electric stove. Put it another way, if in stalled a stove, given the true cost before i light it a single day, it would cost me around 6 years of esb on the HP. Maybe more.

Water John · 17-02-2017 3:52pm

It is the sealed envelope, as much as the insulation.

daphne · 17-02-2017 5:01pm

Another comforting comment Matrat! I was hoping the stoves would be visual features as opposed to absolutely needing them to heat the place. Hopefully we'll be the same as you.
@Water John, we have air tightness detailing - taping at doors and windows, scratch coat inside, membrane in 1st floor ceiling and we're pushing for 1 ACH which may end up 0.5 higher but at least a good bit better than 3. MHRV installed...

matrat · 17-02-2017 5:43pm

Happy to have some input daphne, hopefully it all works out for you.

Something i keep trying to remind myself is that ok i could have built for cheaper, but realistically 800 euro for all heat and hot water per year is pretty dam good to me. Is impossible to compare to anything i have ever lived with before. Wake up at 5am to go to bathroom, no running over cold tiles or jumping from mat to carpet to keep feet warm. Sure it may be overkill to have the heat on 24/7 when it not always required, but i would be happy to be paying 800 euro to have it only when i needed it. The rest is a bonus!! Came from a 7 year old townhouse about half the size with electric shower, gas, a stove and immersion and the difference is shocking. Did up some bills there recently to compare and it is crazy. The heat here is so comfortable and relaxing and the MHRV keeps the house so fresh and airy ha. Smells dont linger, windows dont steam, its all good.

In a stranger turn of events, when i started tracking the heat pump usage, i very stupidly didnt start and record the esb for the whole house. So have gotten several esb bills that always seemed low but been low, i didnt question ha. Now after reading the unit for the first time in 6 cycles i think, they have noticed the difference. So got a nice whack of a bill. Nothing ludicrous and spent some time yesterday just validating that makes sense and all does. They simply just estimated too low. But amazingly, somehow since the bill is large, 460 euro, then i divide the bill by the units charges, im only paying 15.6c per unit as opposed to 18.9c ha. I guess its a rounding issue and the larger count of units has watered down the standing charge and levy but overall happy ha. So have updated my excel file and from tomorrow on i will be recording both HP hours and esb units to house so i can get a baseline of how many units the house uses. For example, over Nov & Dec, the HP was on average using 21 units a day, the esb bill for the same period shows an average daily consumption for WHOLE HOUSE of 18 units.

Water John · 17-02-2017 7:27pm

Ah, I'd say -3 units is enough to cook your dinner.

BarneyMc · 17-02-2017 11:55pm

KCross wrote: »

@BarneyMc, do you have a meter attached to your HeatPump and know exactly what it is costing you per year? Care to share? Also, what size house is it?

Unfortunately not. No meter but would like to get one. Also, just paid an electric bill but we only moved in Dec 23rd and only submitted a meter reading the other day. My next bill will give me some indication.

My house is 2800 sq feet, 250mm pumped cavity, 160mm PIR insulation in the ground floor, 400mm mineral wool in the attic.

I'm sort of cooking the books regarding the HP. I'm on a dual tariff so only let the HP run at night. The house stays warm the whole day so no need to run it during the day at all. No idea what I'm saving but I'm sure it must be something.

Anyway I think you can get too carried away with costs, etc. When you get to a certain point, going the extra mile may not be worth it. I'm so happy with the house and how even a temp there is throughout. Also the fresh air with the HRV system is super. It's such a pity to see houses built to 'ach sure it will do' standards.

faulty · 22-02-2017 1:12am

Hi,
This thread is super, some great and helpful information on it. I have just started a self build, the builder/project manager is doing the full job. We are installing a Danfoss A2W heatpump for UFH heating on both floors within a 2400 sq ft house.

Would anyone have a good estimate of the cost of the Danfoss heatpump. We are getting the Danfoss DHQ-AP 11Kw installed. Danfoss was recommended to me as possibly more expensive but best A2W heat pump on the market.
What would be the break down of the Heat Pump and associated Maxi unit?
UFH costs?
Installation costs?

This is a PC some on our building quote, but need to know the expected cost for our budget.

Any help would be great appreciated, thanks.
Faulty.

PM if necessary

Water John · 22-02-2017 12:57pm

PM sent.

tobdom · 22-02-2017 12:59pm

Water John wrote: »

PM sent.

Would you mind at all PM'ing me the same info as we're currently exploring this ourselves for a new self-build.

Thanks in advance!

murphaph · 22-02-2017 1:14pm

faulty wrote: »

Hi,
This thread is super, some great and helpful information on it. I have just started a self build, the builder/project manager is doing the full job. We are installing a Danfoss A2W heatpump for UFH heating on both floors within a 2400 sq ft house.

Would anyone have a good estimate of the cost of the Danfoss heatpump. We are getting the Danfoss DHQ-AP 11Kw installed. Danfoss was recommended to me as possibly more expensive but best A2W heat pump on the market.
What would be the break down of the Heat Pump and associated Maxi unit?
UFH costs?
Installation costs?

This is a PC some on our building quote, but need to know the expected cost for our budget.

Any help would be great appreciated, thanks.
Faulty.

PM if necessary

We have the equivalent of that model from Thermia (same innards, just different branding) and I think they are solid machines but no longer state of the art (assuming this machine has not been updated-I didn't look to closely at it). They do not modulate to exactly match the instantaneous heat demand of the building. Maybe consider a modulating heat pump or at least read up on them before making your decision.

I honestly think that given the fairly poor energy demand calculations that a generally done with Irish builds, a modulating heat pump is a much safer bet as an over-sized heat pump that doesn't modulate will cycle often and this causes premature failure of the compressor as well as being inefficient due to more start ups (even with soft start it takes more energy to get a compressor to start running than to keep it running).

I can't help you with the costs as we built in Germany.

matrat · 02-03-2017 5:45pm

faulty wrote: »

Hi,
This thread is super, some great and helpful information on it. I have just started a self build, the builder/project manager is doing the full job. We are installing a Danfoss A2W heatpump for UFH heating on both floors within a 2400 sq ft house.

Would anyone have a good estimate of the cost of the Danfoss heatpump. We are getting the Danfoss DHQ-AP 11Kw installed. Danfoss was recommended to me as possibly more expensive but best A2W heat pump on the market.
What would be the break down of the Heat Pump and associated Maxi unit?
UFH costs?
Installation costs?

This is a PC some on our building quote, but need to know the expected cost for our budget.

Any help would be great appreciated, thanks.
Faulty.

PM if necessary

Hi Faulty,

I think the best thing to do would be to contact some suppliers/installers for prices etc. I believe Heat Pumps Ireland are the main Danfoss Rep in the country and most independent installers machines come through them.

I can provide you with my costs;
UFH for 2950 sq foot: most prices came in around the same range, in the region of 5.5K for supply and install. With you smaller footprint, unless very complex layout, i would assume u culd knock about 15% off that.
HP: My 8kw HP was i think around 9K. This is a Geo unit with integrated hot water tank so not sure how relevant that price is to you.
Installation costs: This figured moved around but is in the region of 2.5k it ended up. That includes all materials, connections to borehole etc.

One thing i would suggest is to contact a few installers/suppliers for getting a good understanding or a baseline idea of the system from multiple parties. I found i had quotes for 8 - 16kw systems. My calculations showed around 8kw so i was happy and am very happy now that i didnt fork out for a machine that is too large, which apparently often cost more to run and lead to premature failures due to start/stopping.

Ray Donovan · 02-03-2017 9:13pm

I've just turned on my IVT Airx 90 for the first time one hour ago!!!! Very exciting. Currently pulling around 9 kwh which equates to about €1,000 per month on electricity!!

gooner99 · 03-03-2017 11:09pm

Ray Donovan wrote: »

I've just turned on my IVT Airx 90 for the first time one hour ago!!!! Very exciting. Currently pulling around 9 kwh which equates to about €1,000 per month on electricity!!

How is it going tonight. Still pulling the same kwh?

Coukd be the house drying out.

gooner99 · 03-03-2017 11:09pm

Ray Donovan wrote: »

I've just turned on my IVT Airx 90 for the first time one hour ago!!!! Very exciting. Currently pulling around 9 kwh which equates to about €1,000 per month on electricity!!

How is it going tonight. Still pulling the same kwh?

Coukd be the house drying out.

Ray Donovan · 04-03-2017 1:52pm

gooner99 wrote: »

How is it going tonight. Still pulling the same kwh?

Coukd be the house drying out.

Ya house is drying out for the next couple of weeks.

Currently pulling 4kwh over the last 15 hours by my calculations.

Ray Donovan · 08-03-2017 8:50pm

From Friday 8pm until tonight (5 days) the pump according to the digital display has used just over 200kwh which by my calculations is 2.25kw per hour. The house is drying out really well thankfully.

CaraK · 11-03-2017 10:38pm

matrat wrote: »

Hi zulutango,

1:My site is covered in old trees so the idea of having to dig that up to lay pipework was never that appealing. Given that vertical borehole are proven to be more efficient and the cost to dig around trees etc, we went with borehole. Was 3850e. The supply, fitting and commission of heatpump and underfloor was 16.5k.
The quotes i got for an oil boiler, oil tank, boiler stove, stove box, all associated rads, pumps, valves etc. all supplied and fitted with first fill of oil was around 15k.

2: Yes, underfloor to whole house. It is essential for this type of system. I labored to the installer for two days to do the whole house. A simple process. I would imagine for the small amount of euros people save by using alu rads upstairs only for example, would be offset by the higher running costs or more unstable temps.

3: No problem. As i was the first new house the insulation installer completed with the cavity insulation, part of the deal was that the house would be air pressure tested (at his expense) before final payment to confirm its results. The magic number agreed upon was 3m3/hm2 which i thought was ambitious ha. The test was done with no internal plaster or floor, no tape on windows, a big sponge up the chimney, and a few crudely placed pieces of plastic under external doors. The result came in at 5.1 which i was quietly impressed with given the level of "sealing" at the above areas. We shook hands on me buying the materials to tape all windows and doors out of final payment and i did the work myself. As to what it is at now after tape, plaster, floors etc. i would guess maybe 3 but really have no idea. I am happy enough it is to the level that i am getting good use and need for the mhrv so i am happy enough. And given the fact we see literally no bugs in the house i am assuming it is fairly well sealed.

Did you do blower door test after sealing everything up

Can you pm your heat pump installers details please

matrat · 13-03-2017 12:08pm

Hi CaraK,

Yeah we did a blower test but was not at a typical time. In a regular build i would be doing a blower test once you feel you are satisfied that your airtight layer is complete and then use the test to validate and/or identify any issue areas remaining. We did our test as a validation of a new insulation that the installer had not used before so it was on my request to validate his claims. And the tester was arranged by him. I had met him before at a home exhibition so i agreed to using him. He had good kit but he knew as much about what we where looking for as i do about the man on the moon. I would not have paid him but wasnt my cost so wasnt an issue. I was there for the whole process and having some experience with testing before i basically took control of the machine and the test. The insulation installer had made some very ambitious claims about how airtight his insulation would make it so i let him back himself into a corner and held him to it.
I will send you a PM now

BarneyMc · 22-03-2017 6:33am

I run an A2W HP and use the dual tariff setup. My dual tariff electricity contract has just expired and am considering new suppliers. The best deal I can get is 14.19 cent per unit day rate and 7.03 cent per unit night rate (there is a slightly better deal available but I can use my rewards points with this one).

Should I consider dropping the dual tariff altogether and go for standard tariff? Only in the house since Christmas so can't really say how it's working out cost wise. Anyway would be good to see what tariff other A2W HP owners use.

BarneyMc · 22-03-2017 10:12am

OK just off the phone... it costs €195 to switch meters... I'll be sticking to the dual tariff!

KCross · 22-03-2017 12:39pm

BarneyMc wrote: »

I run an A2W HP and use the dual tariff setup. My dual tariff electricity contract has just expired and am considering new suppliers. The best deal I can get is 14.19 cent per unit day rate and 7.03 cent per unit night rate (there is a slightly better deal available but I can use my rewards points with this one).

Should I consider dropping the dual tariff altogether and go for standard tariff? Only in the house since Christmas so can't really say how it's working out cost wise. Anyway would be good to see what tariff other A2W HP owners use.

I dont get it. Why would you switch back?

Everyone using a HP should have a dual tariff meter. If you use ~3kWh by night it pays for itself. Having a HP and some appliances running at night will well exceed 3kWh.

faulty · 31-03-2017 1:44pm

In relation to the Danfoss HP. The Danfoss DHP-AQ 11kw with Maxi control unit has been recommended to me. In relation to the control unit, is the hot water cylinder within the control unit or is it separate? Eg will be placed in the Hotpress as the Maxi control unit is going to be located in the utility room.

Has anyone used the Danfoss DHP-AQ Maxi unit?

Cheers!

Shaunoc · 31-03-2017 10:02pm

180 litre cylinder is within unit in our utility. Meaning we have an upstairs 'hotpress' area for extra storage

faulty · 01-04-2017 1:41am

Shaunoc wrote: »

180 litre cylinder is within unit in our utility. Meaning we have an upstairs 'hotpress' area for extra storage

Great, that is what I was thinking, no need for a cylinder upstairs.
And you are happy with it, you always have enough hot water.

Shaunoc · 01-04-2017 8:50am

Just 2 in our household so its capacity is not being tested. So far I'm happy, always hot water for shower and sinks.

If you check for average litres used you may find figures of 62 litres for average shower. Chances of 3 showers at same time or very close together..may dictate your decision. For me its not a concern.

As tank is in our utility it takes extra seconds for hot water to reach upstairs taps. That annoys my wife.

murphaph · 01-04-2017 2:10pm

We're a family of 3 and have also never run out of hot water with the 180l tank.

You should always try to size the tank just slightly larger than needed because you have to drive it up to almost 70°C once a week to kill legionella and the smaller the tank the less this costs obviously.

Easier said than done as families grow and contract as kids move out but something to bear in mind when someone suggests just bunging in the biggest tank you can fit (I know families of 3 with 500l tanks they never come near maxing out).

faulty · 02-04-2017 12:50pm

Hey,

Thanks for the information above, its a great help.

Faulty

JohnnyB23 · 03-04-2017 7:10pm

Ray Donovan wrote:

I did some outrageous tossing and turning on how to heat it but eventually settled on A2W pump and HRV system. Engineer did up all sorts of costs analysis for me and it seemed the way to go. I also have 2 external air supply stoves going in but hopefully they'll be more for aesthetics!! The pump will be installed in the next month.

Hi Ray, Any chance you could PM me supplier/installer details and cost of A2W pump and HRV system. What way did the last few months go for you regarding running costs?

corcadorcha · 16-04-2017 4:56pm

Hi,
I am about to get prices for air to water system for 240ish sqm house. House should be A2 Ber after. With underfloor all over. Someone suggested Danfoss but could anyone be able to PM suggestions/ comparisons/ pricing etc. Or other recommendations. I don't have clue where to start.
Thanks

matrat · 27-04-2017 3:48pm

Hi all,
Quick update;
As off Saturday 22nd April;
Recording values for 329 days;
Average Daily cost for all heat and domestic hot water, no electric shower etc. is €2.30.
Average Weekly cost for all heat and domestic hot water is €16.08.
Total cost €755.77.
That is a 3000 sqft house with regular rate esb. I dont adjust heat at all, is a constant 24/7 heat. Living areas are 23c, with Bedrooms at 21c.
I have also started to record actual esb usage at the meter weekly and i have a gut feeling that the HP is actually drawing less power than i am accounting for. I am assuming this based on total units used less units heat pump has stated it uses, this leaves me the usage for house. This final figure is about 15% lower than the last house i lived. With the gain in house size, MHRV, larger appliances etc, i would not expect to see such a decrease. As time goes on i will no doubt review this and start to record the house power usage outside of HP to validate/test my theory. But as it is looking like the HP is using less than the manufacturer stated, then is not a huge concern!

As always, feel free to ask any questions!!

Ray Donovan · 27-04-2017 9:49pm

Do you leave your HP running all the time?

Water John · 27-04-2017 10:36pm

Your temps are quite high. Normal would be 21 in the living with other areas at 18, bedrooms possibly less. That might save 15% in your space heating.
The temp is your choice. Just to compare what another family might achieve in the same type house. A 100/150 euro might be shaved off it.
Lets say 650 euro.
Then invest in night rate. Bringing it back further.
You could then also lower that more if you had storage and bias your use to night rate.

All these are choices for people building.

As it is, you are doing well with that bill for the house size and heat setting.

matrat · 30-04-2017 3:30pm

Water John wrote: »

Your temps are quite high. Normal would be 21 in the living with other areas at 18, bedrooms possibly less. That might save 15% in your space heating.
The temp is your choice. Just to compare what another family might achieve in the same type house. A 100/150 euro might be shaved off it.
Lets say 650 euro.
Then invest in night rate. Bringing it back further.
You could then also lower that more if you had storage and bias your use to night rate.

All these are choices for people building.

As it is, you are doing well with that bill for the house size and heat setting.

Yeah all very good points. Like you say is all personal preference. Some of those points take more input from the user and some will result in less consistent heat and hot water. Our set up at present works for our lifestyle and is comforting to know that we can fine tune it and see some savings in the future. I feel also that it can be hard at times to show the difference in cost of running a hp against other forms in new builds due to the low heat demand. My house is one of the more extreme examples but i think it shows clearly the savings that can be had with hps.

Ray Donovan · 04-05-2017 7:13pm

I turned on my HP on Feb 22nd and I just got my first ESB bill last week for 65 days. €210.

Considering this encompassed the drying out phase of the house I'm quite pleased.

Work was obviously being carried out in the house during this period but we only moved in a few weeks ago.

The next bill (April to June) will be a good indicator of where we lie.

KCross · 04-05-2017 7:23pm

Ray Donovan wrote: »

I turned on my HP on Feb 22nd and I just got my first ESB bill last week for 65 days. €210.

Considering this encompassed the drying out phase of the house I'm quite pleased.

Work was obviously being carried out in the house during this period but we only moved in a few weeks ago.

The next bill (April to June) will be a good indicator of where we lie.

Is it an estimated bill?

Ray Donovan · 04-05-2017 7:27pm

KCross wrote: »

Is it an estimated bill?

No, it was read.

Startingout · 19-05-2017 10:18am

I am starting out in the house building journey. Have planning permission but don't know where to start in terms of insulation, heat systems, cavity sizes etc. Do you know any company that would look at a set of plans and make recommendations to make the house as energy efficient as possible without going over the top with money?

Water John · 19-05-2017 12:19pm

Need an engineer for that. Any company will be selling product.
You discuss with the engineer, what BER Rating you'd be hoping to achieve. It's based on that conversation and the min regs that he will outline insulation, sealing, Renewable heat sources, ventilation etc.

New Build, 7 months in with a Danfoss heatpump

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