Heat Pumps are Pants! Second Thread

[jennyjj01]

]

In the UK by the way, temperatures deep underground are 'low', 39°C, 89°C and 139°C at 1000 m, 3000 m and 5000 m, respectively.

This got me looking up the temperatures down coal mines, because surely that temperature must have made them unpleasant to work in.
In doing so, I found that the government are experimenting at pulling geothermal energy from depleted mines

https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... water-heat

[jansman]

]

In the UK by the way, temperatures deep underground are 'low', 39°C, 89°C and 139°C at 1000 m, 3000 m and 5000 m, respectively.

This got me looking up the temperatures down coal mines, because surely that temperature must have made them unpleasant to work in.
In doing so, I found that the government are experimenting at pulling geothermal energy from depleted mines

https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... water-heat

My grandfather was a miner. When on the coal face they frequently worked in their vests and less!

[Frnc]

]

In the UK by the way, temperatures deep underground are 'low', 39°C, 89°C and 139°C at 1000 m, 3000 m and 5000 m, respectively.

This got me looking up the temperatures down coal mines, because surely that temperature must have made them unpleasant to work in.
In doing so, I found that the government are experimenting at pulling geothermal energy from depleted mines

https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... water-heat

Yes I did hear something along those lines.

[Cocotte]

As for my heating system, it's actually referred to as mountain heating, (as in drilling into bedrock, to get that constant 4⁰C) but saying geothermal usually saves effort as no one usually cares that much.

It's at a 1:5 ratio of efficiency. 1 watt of electricity generates the equivalent of 5 Watts of heat. (Whatever that means, I assume if generated by electric elements).
Either way, it does us for staying warm and all our hot water. The tank and pump is about the size of a large standing fridge and freezer.

If we had underfloor heating in our rooms, it could also be used to cool the house in summer, too.
Same system just switched around, dumping the heat rather than pulling it up.

For us, it increased the value of the house by 20-30% according to the bank.
Better than our old solid wood boiler with the time and effort needed for that.

[grenfell]

I think that insulation has to be the way forward too. We saw social housing built at the back of us some time back. The insulation was superb! Indeed it was something else. My neighbour,a builder,told me that new social housing has certain regulations about insulation. A farmer down the road though ,has sold up,and there are £300.000 + private houses going up that are brick,breeze block - and that’s it! If the insulation rules are correct,then it should be applied to all houses ,surely?

Insulation is a key thing. I've recently been working on a house in the north east and it a lot of it there was absolutely none. We insulated with the fibreglass roll and celotex as much as possible although I suspect that the single story bathroom still has nothing in the ceiling/roofspace. Sliced bread did a programme on heat pumps and it isn't really black and white but one point that was made was about the insulation. For one thing it did say that comments about having to upgrade the insulation for heat pumps tended to infer that upgrading with a gas installation isn't necassary when in reality upgrading is never a bad thing.
The programme,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0016pvn
A guy I work for has been putting up a new house for himself . It has a gas boiler but also a heat pump ( ground I think) and has said the house is toasty and he doesn't think he'll be using the gas that much. I haven't been there for a little while so no direct experience. I did however work at Compton Verney some time ago. It's a big country house that is now an art gallery and was heated with a pump taking heat from the nearby lake. It always seemed a stable comfortable temperature inside. Not hot but comfortable.

[jennyjj01]

Insulation is a key thing. I've recently been working on a house in the north east and it a lot of it there was absolutely none. We insulated with the fibreglass roll and celotex as much as possible although I suspect that the single story bathroom still has nothing in the ceiling/roofspace. Sliced bread did a programme on heat pumps and it isn't really black and white but one point that was made was about the insulation. For one thing it did say that comments about having to upgrade the insulation for heat pumps tended to infer that upgrading with a gas installation isn't necassary when in reality upgrading is never a bad thing.
The programme,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0016pvn
A guy I work for has been putting up a new house for himself . It has a gas boiler but also a heat pump ( ground I think) and has said the house is toasty and he doesn't think he'll be using the gas that much. I haven't been there for a little while so no direct experience. I did however work at Compton Verney some time ago. It's a big country house that is now an art gallery and was heated with a pump taking heat from the nearby lake. It always seemed a stable comfortable temperature inside. Not hot but comfortable.

You remind me of something I read when researching Heat Pump subsidies. In the US, Federal government is encouraging Heat Pump installation with Federal grants. BUT, they are allowing or encouraging systems where the Heat Pump system works alongside an existing Gas 'furnace'. That sounds more sensible than forcing homeowners to tear out perfectly good gas boilers. As I understand it, to get a UK subsidy, you have to be permanently rid of your gas boiler.
Simple Prepper sense says to have alternatives in place!. Why can't our government see and encourage that?

[grenfell]

Sounds like a good idea and to be fair I don't think there's anything stopping it being done here. Probably a bit more plumbing and it may need certain radiators but assuming there's the space and the money then why not. It does seem that reporting on this seems to be an either or approach.

[jennyjj01]

Sounds like a good idea and to be fair I don't think there's anything stopping it being done here. Probably a bit more plumbing and it may need certain radiators but assuming there's the space and the money then why not. It does seem that reporting on this seems to be an either or approach.

I may be wrong, but my take on it is that if you get the grant, the boiler has to go to qualify. Not bothering to research it

[grenfell]

My research is limited to a quick google and if I'm reading it correctly there's financial help in the form of something called the renewable heat incentive payback scheme for what are called hybrid systems
Should you be interested ,
https://www.theheatinghub.co.uk/article ... od%20order.

[Jeffjones297]

The way the pump priming subsidies usually work is, the initial tech is crap but subsidized, the first up takers are lucky if they gain "lasting contracts" if they can, they save, if not they lose.
Those of us who follow just lose.

And as always, any tech needs a backup these days because when things go wrong, no one form of energy is guaranteed.

I'm suspicious of heat pumps, very much so ! My guess is early adopters are subsidy junkies, Wood stoves are almost guaranteed, providing you live in the countryside.

But insulation is always cost effective and doesn't have to be expensive. Our elders made snakes for the doors, hung heavy curtains etc and wore jumpers indoors.

I'll stick with gas till they ban it, then, or probably a few years earlier, wood stoves will be put in. My gas boiler can be pulled out easily and the glue, with slight mods will be great for a wood stove. They can ban wood stoves if they like but I don't think they will and in the countryside, they'll be workarounds.