On heat pump issues: "They are very expensive to build" - But they aren't, refrigerators are commodity items as are mini-split air conditioning units. Air conditioning units are expensive in the UK because they are rarely installed, so companies can get away with charging silly amounts. Exactly the same issue exists for heat pumps, manufacturers are charging whatever they can get away with. There's nothing expensive about producing them. I'm very glad to see that Octopus are taking the lead here and I hope it promotes some proper competition in the heat pump manufacturing market.

@paulf3353

7 ай бұрын

Exactly installation costs are silly. I got top tier daikin aircon for heating, installed it myself, did cost me under 2k.

@esecallum

7 ай бұрын

big difference bewteen 3 rooms and a cupboard fridge...like 500 times

@yngndrw.

7 ай бұрын

@@esecallum There is in terms of capacity, but not in terms of technology. My point on refrigerators is that the technology behind them is decades old and that they are commodity appliances. The manufacturing and maintenance of them is well established, so heat pumps are not exactly a groundbreaking new technology. Air conditioning is a better analogue as these days they are almost all inverter driven, are bidirectional and in terms of capacity they are often around the same capacity as a domestic heat pump. As @paulf3353 mentioned above a full multi-room air conditioning unit from a highly regarded brand costs thousands less than a comparable monoblock heat pump and that same air conditioning unit includes the indoor fan coil units while your radiators are an extra for a domestic heat pump. Modern air conditioning units have the same capabilities and technology, so why are they half the cost?

@StuartJ

7 ай бұрын

I installed aircon throughout my house 13 years ago. Ordered all the parts online. It was at a fraction of the cost, and found a friendly engineer to gas it up for me. It's still running.

@paulf3353

7 ай бұрын

@@StuartJ nowadays air-cons already come pre-gased, so all you need is to vacuum the line and you're done.

Not only forward-thinking, but proactively seeking to and achieving a change for the better for the future, today.

I've just made the switch to Octopus energy from British gas, really wish I had done it earlier.

Why are Air-2-Air systems not pushed more? If you have to have new radiators, it can be cheaper, and cools you in the summer.

@acommenter

Ай бұрын

Because the government don't want you to be comfortable in the summer

@Top12Boardsport

Ай бұрын

Yes they are much more affordable if you have open plan living. Like a brand new bungalow.

What’s not being discussed is the major planning regulations that are hampering these installation of heat pumps, this is especially true in Wales.. For example I’ve had octopus quote for me but when surveyed I was told the heatpump had to be a minimum of 8 metres away from a neighbours bedroom window but in a terrace house that’s almost impossible and indeed the surveyor said it was one of the main problems. My neighbour in a 20 year old semi detached house was told when his house was surveyed that his heatpump would have to be 8 metres from his neighbours conservatory window. Yet a boilers balance flue which is far more noisy can be much closer to a neighbours window.

@tlangdon12

7 ай бұрын

The outoor untit could be installed further up your garden, and the pipes buried underground inside ducts to prevent heat loss.

@garywright8846

7 ай бұрын

Stick with your boiler mate, these HPs will soon be exposed like EVs, it’s all total bollox, they are trying to enslave you just like all this global warming BS.

Greg, really is talking sense here - I’m loving the Cosy Family. Have you considered now integrating Sockets and Switches maybe another member of the family.

Sounds great but many homes no longer have a hot water cylinder because they have Combi boilers and the space previously used for the cylinder has been taken by other home use. However, could we get around this obstacle with instant electric water heaters run off battery storage.

@stevenbarrett7648

7 ай бұрын

That’s exactly what we did when we went for a Combi boiler, the government of the time said it was the right way to go (like the one in the 80’s that said buy diesel cars). We do have a instant hot water tap for drinks and I know they do an instant hot water geyser for hand washing and electric showers so I wonder if there’s one for filling a bath …. Someone must be thinking this one through to avoid having to retro fit a cylinder…maybe we go like the Americans with shower-only homes to keep it all electric ?. Going to need to up the battery storage to at least 15Kw though to cover everything

@h4zr211

4 ай бұрын

That’s good but you’re COP would be 1:1, heat pumps offer 1:4 if installed well 1:6. Put a horizontal unvented in the loft would get past the space issue

Been blown away by Octopus servcie since I moved there from EON to get Inteligent Octopus for our new Tesla.... this is vey tempting even though we installed a new boiler only two years ago.

What refrigerant is it using

Hope you’re coming to Scotland soon, I’m on the waiting list!

@kinross24

7 ай бұрын

Same! Can’t wait after having a nonsense quote from another large “Green” group of £19900. Didn’t measure room volumes ir ask about insulation and wanted to change every radiator and weirdly wanted to keep every underfloor pipework! Looks like the took the overall square footage and just settled for a 10kw unit and 210l tank. I measured i needed a 6kw unit and swap 4 rads and that’s it. Remove boiler from its space in the garage and replace in same place with 210l tank and place the heat exchanger pump outside of it. I’d say Octopus costs will be about half that cost or maybe even better!

@graemeross1998

7 ай бұрын

😂

Big fan of Octopus here with a ‘Fully Charged’ electric lifestyle! Scottish Power stopped me in the night street the other day and asked me if I’d like a quote. I responded with, I understand that you can’t beat Octopus. They couldn’t, and asked me about the octopus service which doesn’t stand still, ever = excellent! I had a wry smile on my face as I walked away.

Thanks for the response but the engineer even told me he would probably have to come back next week !! And you didn’t response to the lack of response to my emails for days !! All the media says how good customer services is at Octopus but honestly i don't think taking days to finally reply to emails is good enough !! Regards Mark

Is there any heat pump solution in the works small enough to handle 1 bedroom flats like mine that currently have a combi boiler with no room for a water tank, or something that could be retro fitted to small flats that have storage heaters?

@davidtyler7994

7 ай бұрын

Yes, there is - air-to-air heat pumps, aka air conditioning, are more suitable than air-to-water systems, for small properties.

@tlangdon12

7 ай бұрын

As per davidtyler7994's reply, an Air-to-Air system such as the Daikin Multi+ can heat three rooms, and a cylinder of hot water. I would look carefully to see whether you could fit a hot water tank into somewhere. I have a flat and have a empty space under a kitchen worktop due to the layout. You can get square hot water tanks as well as cylindrical ones, and I'm thinking I can get a tank into this space. The problem with heat pumps and heating hot water is they don't have the power that a combi-boiler does if you want to heat the water instantaneously. Such boilers are usually 24-30 kW in size, the 5kW Daikin Mutli+ can't compete with this, and nor can any heat pump that is built for residential use. So heat pumps have to heat water in a storage tank over a longer period of time. The Multi+ can heat 120 litres of water to 60C in about 1.5hrs in the depths of winter, and this water is enough for a 150 litre bath (or a 15 minute shower) as you have to mix it down to 40C otherwise you will scald yourself. IF you can find the space, this is a much better way of heating water than an instantaneous electic heater as the heat pump will be about 300% efficient, whereas the electric heater will only be 100% efficient.

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

Watch this space 👀🐙

@yngndrw.

7 ай бұрын

@@tlangdon12 I'd consider something like the Quooker Combi units for hot water in a small flat, it also removes the kettle from your kitchen worktop and allows you to go for a cheap air to air setup.

@aliasgharkhoyee9501

7 ай бұрын

​@@tlangdon12 the downsides are a bit too much for me - hot water tanks need extra space, regular maintenance / servicing, and reheating to avoid health issues (microbe buildup) that reduces efficiency dramatically for smaller households. With electric water heaters you don't have any of that, and the efficiency difference is mitigated by the fact that you only heat as much as you need. Tanks are only useful for larger families.

Great stuff Octopus signed the agreements for Daikin but this new Heat Pump looks better on paper with individual room thermostats and the stats available in home assistant?

@johnhunter4181

5 ай бұрын

You don't want room thermostats, just heat the whole house.

@JustinUK

5 ай бұрын

@@johnhunter4181 is that not just wasting electric heating rooms you don’t use often?

What about something for us luddites with warm air systems?

Is this uptilted fan risky? Be interesting to see if it has a mechanism to defrost the fan, as the placement makes it vulnerable to getting blocked with snow during power outages (when it can't run to keep itself clear). An uptilted fan is potentially a good idea - blows the cold air upwards so you don't feel it as you walk by, and makes it possible to place the unit closer to a facing wall than with the usual design, but... personally I wouldn't take the risk until reassured about the snow issue. Be crazy if the heating has to wait for it to thaw out after the power comes back on! The risk depends on where you live of course; where I live in mid Wales we several power cuts per winter and it normally snows at some point too.

If these Cosy heat pumps can really run at 78c without a significant loss of efficiency then it would overcome my main concern about moving away from a gas boiler. At lower temperatures it will be a struggle to heat my existing property (80's detached house) without major changes to pipework, radiators and insulation. Also, we need some colour options! A bright blue box isn't going to cut it with my wife:)

@nickthegriffin

7 ай бұрын

Forget using radiators with one of these it's pointless I do it every day you need underfloor & air to air heat exchangers upstairs

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

Hey Graham. 👋 When we carry out a survey, we'll also take into consideration any major changes needed - but look out for our Cosy 6 blog (coming soon) with more info on the heat pump and it's available options.

@pij261

7 ай бұрын

I run my 70's detached 4 bed house on a 5kw ecodan I bought on facebook for 600 quid. best thing i ever did. I do have some underfloor heating about 1/4 of the house. Set it to weather compensation and leave it on, forever.

@thesquirrelhorde

7 ай бұрын

I’ve got a 4kw daikin in a 1970s semi with standard insulation and radiators. The house is at 21C and the flow temperature, 40C. You don’t need a high temperature to heat an older home.

@tlangdon12

7 ай бұрын

@@pij261 That's great to hear. Most larger UK homes need about 8kW for heating, so you are somewhat lucky to be able to get away with 5kW, but for £600 it had to be worth trying. Well done!

Is is it cost effective to run? my freind had one and it costs her a fortune to run compared to the gas one she had removed 😢

@tlangdon12

7 ай бұрын

It was badly installed, configured or used then.

Top company. Keep it Octopus Energy

How does one acquire one of these? Finding it hard to find a simple answer!

@OctopusEnergy

5 ай бұрын

Hi there, we don't have exact timelines, but you'll be notified when appointments do open up if you fill in our form here 👉 octopus.energy/get-a-heat-pump-with-octopus-energy/ 🐙

@DIBBLES21

5 ай бұрын

@@OctopusEnergy thank you! I get a 404 error with that link...

Impressive. 👏 I applaud your efforts & only wish this was available a year ago when we fully replaced our heating system & EVERYONE recommended to stay away from Heat pumps. Side note, I WAS a loyal Octopus Energy customer for years... But your trust pilot review hasn't asked me why I recently left & can't get ANY help from you, so don't brag about excellent customer service. As my experience has been shocking so far. 😒

We have a gas combi boiler, six radiators and a towel rail. I guess this means we have to put a cylinder where that is in the corner of the dining room in our ex council three bed semi. Is there anything that could take up as little space as possible on one side of a chimney breast? Everything I've seen has so much pipe work and expansion tanks which takes up more space than the cylinder itself! And how much would that cost? Would I be able to get this done at the same time through @OctopusEnergy to minimise disruption? Ok so ive answered the size question by clicking on your links, thank you. Next question: if i get my loft boarded can the cylinder go up there? Used to be a tank in there so pipes are in situ.

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

Hi Jude, as part of our heat pump install service, we do a home survey where we check details about your properties heat loss, any additional requirements needed for the install (which is included as part of your quote) & ultimately if a heat pump is a good fit for your home right now. You can get the ball rolling here if you're interested 👉 octopus.energy/get-a-heat-pump/ 🐙

@judebrown4103

7 ай бұрын

@@OctopusEnergy many thanks for this. I know I have to get the loft insulated and boarded with some good light and steps. Is it possible to put a cylinder in a loft if it's insulated in this way or is it completely out of the question with the size of it I mean? I've got to do some complicated rethinking if it's not, even before we have you chaps round. Seems sensible to do as much prep as and when we can afford it before we have you look around. Or maybe we look at one of those heat storage things...🤔

Would be nice if Greg could spend one minute of his time sorting my smart meter, which hasn’t worked for 2 years!

@Rationalskeptic49

7 ай бұрын

I e-mailed him directly, as mine also hadn't worked for 2 years, and I'd got an EV, so really needed to get Octopus Intelligent. The email was responded to quickly and to be fair to them, they fixed the problem as soon as they could.

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

Hey Tony. 👋 If you could send your details on octo.ps/nudge, I can look into what's happening in your case. 🐙

@maliceinpunderland5869

7 ай бұрын

Thanks Octopus - you can expect my complaint, regarding lack of service.

@aliasgharkhoyee9501

7 ай бұрын

​@@OctopusEnergy I have a similar issue (can't see my current usage in the app, have to wait days for historic usage to populate) so I'll contact on that form too.

Love love love!

Excellent stuff Greg - keep up the good work Octopus. Been an electricity customer for over 5 years. I had an ASHP fitted 2.5 years ago, replacing a oil boiler - much better. Where is the Octopus Robin (my name of your future vehicle to grid bi-directional charger for EVs, because Robin from DC Comics did a circus high wire balancing act)? I have the 100kWh of batteries in my garage across 2 EVs, but no way to "balance" to run my home when the grid is expensive/dirty.

We need to have V2G asap for the paradigm change in energy use/supply talked about.

Hope you guys expand into Ireland soon. We are being ripped of big time here.

Am very seriusly considering heading to heatpump for my house (2018 new build) to compliment my solar (not got battery yet), but only a few issues I have so far with it. 1. Not sure where i can locate the actual outdoor unit 2. Does it have to be that big purple thing? Could be a talking point 3. Reckon I would struggle for somewhere to put the hot water cylinder as is a 2 bed semi I live in and there aint a lot of space for one of those. I did register interest, so will be interesting to see where this goes

@devjon123

7 ай бұрын

I'm getting Solar + Battery in a couple of weeks. After that a ASHP is on the list, but I have the same concerns about the space for the tank. I've got a newish 140 litre SS tank in a built in cupboard. I wanted to know if the space would be adequate, but all they will tell me is the dimensions required for the largest cyclinder. The guy from Octopus who came to do my solar survey also does the heat pump surveys, and he didn't seem sure which didn't inspire confidence. I didn't go with Octopus for Solar / battery as the design and sizing was all to make things easy for the Octopus installers He was constantly on the phone back to Octopus to ask questions, wanted to run the cabling up the front of the house, put everyhinfg including the batteries in the loft, etc. It put me off Octopus as an installer so I took my Solar / battery business elsewhere.

“They don’t work” … Norway, Finland, Sweden, shut up whilst I write my DailyMail column.

I would like one but there is no chance in my area. No one to fit them.

Yes a drop in replacement but yet again no mention of COP. With those temperatures it will be appalling resulting in higher heating and hot water costs than gas.

What about air to air heat pumps if you can heat water at low cost off peak saves expensive tank can be more efficient and cheaper

@aliasgharkhoyee9501

7 ай бұрын

This is exactly what most small properties will need. Much lower initial cost too.

Solar's not only 200xs cheaper it is becoming incredibly efficient with bifacial technology. And cracking tough technologies, like perovskite, to unlock floating pv and other newer applications. Loved it when I once saw 609w from a 445w biPERC over water during cloud edge effect.

@OrchidPool

5 ай бұрын

I have no idea what half the technical terms or acronyms mean in the above but “cheaper” and “more efficient” solar get my vote!

There are enough heat pump producers already.

Can a ASHP be installed in a loft rather than outside? Or in a shed? It’s a naive question, but I do notice that there is a a lot of solar gain in these spaces and the air temperature goes shooting up, meaning that a heat pump has a smaller temperature difference to extract heat from.

@AutoTeknix1

7 ай бұрын

Well it could but would rapidly cool the space down and the performance would drop right off. They need lots of outdoor airflow to extract the heat from.

@BenIsInSweden

7 ай бұрын

It will basically act like an AC unit in those spaces (without having a lower temperature cap), so the space will very quickly end up below the outside temperature, so the gains from putting it in one of those locations is very short lived, and you will run into more frequent defrost cycles etc, so not recommended.

@tlangdon12

7 ай бұрын

There are some DHW-only ASHP's (e.g. Vaillant's aroSTOR) that use ducts to bring air inside the home and exhaust it again once the heat has been extractedfrom it. I think these sorts of systems would benefit from the duct being run through an uninsulated loft so that it can beenfit from the solar gain from the roof. It would definitely make the ASHP more efficient.

@JohnnyMotel99

7 ай бұрын

noise and vibration would be my main concern, since ASHP is on/off 24/7.

8weeks for a survey Done Then 4-6months for an installation Easiest installation possible. No pipework or radiator upgrades. 4-6 months

Great!!! .. Apart from the colour! .. and I already have a heat pump!

I’ve just changed over to Octopus from Shell who Octopus now own,Shell continually pestered me about having a Smart Meter even after telling them I didn’t want one several times but they still persisted in pestering me. I asked the Octopus representative if I had to have one and he said NO so I signed up there and then but warned him if there was any pressure to have a Smart Meter I would leave them immediately.

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

Hi David, we love smart meters but it’s ultimately your decision. You may see mentions of smart meters and prompts online to book an installation, but you just need to select the option that says you’re not interested.

That'll look lovely on my patio, buzzing away.

Very good and by the sounds of things its only going to get more affordable. We have solar with a small 5Kw battery but really a minimum should be 10Kw, the things you learn by experience. I like the sound of a heat pump to get rid of our gas supply but the price is still too high especially when you are on a fixed income (retired). When government come up with a better support package for pensioners then maybe we can complete our Octopus package, EV, Solar and HP !

@iareid8255

7 ай бұрын

Steven, You must know that in winter, when you will use your heat pump the most there is very little solar power? When the government comes up with a better support package which would benefit you, give regard to who actually pays that, the government has no money. Others, who do not get that support are paying for your 'saving'. I think that is dreadful.

@stevenbarrett7648

7 ай бұрын

@@iareid8255 I think you are missing the point which is to reduce carbon emissions and reliance on foreign oil & gas being pumped out of the ground thousands of miles away, transported to this country, refined using precious metals then burned in cars, trucks and power stations. We need to be carbon zero at any price, the savings will come, NHS spends billions of our pounds on respiratory diseases caused by burning gas, coal, diesel and petrol. Gas explosions in houses alone make it worth while going heat pump - electric. Government currently pays millions in subsidies to the Oil and Gas industries, savings can be made then used to make our planet a cleaner, greener and safer place for you, me and future generations.

@craiggamble4431

7 ай бұрын

We've got 10kw battery system. Its fantastic through the summer. Most days we are charged the standard charge for the day and that is it. The last few weeks though I've been charging my batteries during the night, to use when we get home at 17:00. With the price of electricity at the moment though we're using around £4.00 a day. Compared to last year where we were using less than £2.00

@iareid8255

7 ай бұрын

Craig, yes electrcity is on a steady upward path with little signs that it will change.

@aliasgharkhoyee9501

7 ай бұрын

​@@iareid8255 electricity from renewable sources is steadily declining, whilst gas/oil/coal powered plants charge higher due to their input costs rising. The British electricity market is currently stuck in a legacy pricing system whereby the most expensive sources set the unit rates and people pay. Once this goes away, renewables will be revealed as the lowest cost electricity source.

Would like to know if this is actually an advancement or just another heat pump in a fancy box. Heard stories of them being noisy and hard to fix aswell as not being that great in the winter unless you home is super insulated. Add to that the electricity prices. I just can’t think that a gas boiler that lasts 15 years and around £2k to replace is going to go away anytime soon.

@esecallum

7 ай бұрын

itS A SCAM JUST LIKE EV scam

@rainbowevil

7 ай бұрын

@@esecallum I’d love to hear your definition of what a scam is.

@esecallum

7 ай бұрын

@@rainbowevil getting something for nothing. why would these greedy people push this. they are in it to make unlimited money. they dont care about YOU. look how every one raised prices to the energy cap. zero competition. its a cartel. they are pushing to make money from the margin of selling and fitting and you will still pay more. NO FREE LUNCH. physics

@SimonEllwood

4 ай бұрын

​@@esecallumEVs are not scams. They are actual cars you can drive around in. Stop posting drivel on the internet.

Congratulations on the Cosy 6! Are there any plans for a low temperature version or is this designed to be a drop in for high-temp boilers? Not a fan (excuse the pun) of the aesthetics. Crucially, will this save people money?

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

Hey Christopher. 👋 As the release of the Cosy 6 gets nearer and nearer, we'll be posting a blog with much more info on all of these aspects real soon.

@johnmcnulty6171

7 ай бұрын

I don't think you have to run it at that flow temperature if you don't need to. I've seen other vids where tuning is done to get the flow temperature down as low as possible while still providing the heating and hot water you need. It will vary throughout the year as well depending on outside temperature.

How do you get it for free?

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

Hey Amir, more about it here: octopus.energy/get-a-heat-pump/

Greg & Octopus are the best thing that has happened in the UK in my lifetime, I just hope they never go the way of Elon Musk or British Gas...

Shirley you can't just stick it on the outside wall, what about the weather??

@johnmcnulty6171

7 ай бұрын

Don't call him Shirley, he's not wearing a dress 😉

Dunno about these numbers. They spec £14k on their website - £7500 = £6500. For a detached house.

@John-FourteenSix

7 ай бұрын

He did say ‘Some’ though, so it’s possible. My Mitsubishi ASHP, radiators, piping changes was £11K (cost to me) after the grant. Glad I did it, but it’s moved on - again. Well done to Octopus Energy.

@returner323617

7 ай бұрын

Week 3 into our Octopus-supplied/installed Daikin ASHP and very happy with the results: energy consumption is a fraction of the previous gas-fired boiler, it’s all been off-peak electricity that’s either direct or indirect via home battery, and the total cost was ~£3,000 (and that’s a 4-bed detached). It’s a no-brainer.

@devjon123

7 ай бұрын

I had a quote of £2,250 ( after the Government Grant )for a 3 bed 1950's mid terrace. That's with everything including new tank and radiators as neccessary. I didn't proceed further as I'm having SolarPV / Home battery installed in a couple of weeks. Once that's sorted then a heat pump is the next step.

Still noise and unanswered questions on when it breaks and needs replacing the cost

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

Hi there, we go into more detail about busting the noisy myth on heat pumps as well as maintenance costs in our FAQs here 👉 octopus.energy/heat-pump-FAQ/ 🐙

@yngndrw.

7 ай бұрын

Our heat pump is far quieter than the oil boiler.

And yet Octopus has told me my house is unsuitable for a heat pump so how is turning off the gas going to help me?

@_Dougaldog

7 ай бұрын

It may mot be commercially suitable for them to do an install, i.e government grant dependant on EPC requirement ? I'm sure somebody could fit one at the right price.

@shecksthesheckler423

7 ай бұрын

​@@_DougaldogI was quoted £30k why on earth would I spend that when I have a perfectly functioning gas boiler for free? It's ludicrous.

@_Dougaldog

7 ай бұрын

@@shecksthesheckler423 Agreed, point being that the big players are looking for the low hanging fruit at the moment. Perhaps another quote might be more favourable, my defunct gas system totally recovered and replaced, radiators, pipework & hot water cylinder (was vented), Daikin heat pump system will cost just

@tlangdon12

7 ай бұрын

@@shecksthesheckler423 Time to get another quote!

@shecksthesheckler423

7 ай бұрын

​@@tlangdon12I think a lot of the costs were related to building a storage area for the water tank (I don't have one currently), plus replacing all the radiators and ripping out 3 metres of the garden to make room for the monstrosity, but even with all that we have no wall space to put it on anyway, I only have 2 walls front (leads onto public path so that a no) and back wall which is predominantly windows, so like I said it's not that simple, in this country there are 11 million houses unsuitable for heat pumps and no one's talking about them

Having just bought an Octopus heat pump at £x,k+, I find it difficult to watch such a video

@tlangdon12

7 ай бұрын

It was always the case that the cost of heat pumps was going to fall further. They are still on their way to becoming the predominant technology. I would say don't worry about it. You have played your part in helping us all move towards a cleaner and sustainable future.

Trotec do a wall mountable sellf install heat pump unit for about 1k basically a mini split so can ac in the summer.

Fitting smart meters that actually work would be a great start for you.... mine was fitted Monday morning and now Saturday afternoon and its still not working !! Finally got a reply from my email sent days ago and 5 days on Octopus are going to escalate my problem !! So how long before Octopus actually fix my (not so ) Smart meter and I can actually be paid for the energy I am sending them !!!! 🤔

@OctopusEnergy

Ай бұрын

Hey Mark, there's a bunch of work we have to do behind the scenes to get newly installed meters connected to our systems and it can take 14 days to get fully connected. You can read all about the process here: octopus.energy/blog/smart-meter-installation/ Please message me your postcode/email & I'll take a closer look 👉 octo.ps/nudge 🐙

HVAC heat pumps have been standard in USA houses for about 40 years. Glad to see the UK is catching up.

@jonevansauthor

7 ай бұрын

Really? Only 16% of US homes have a heat pump so presumably there's some catching up to do.

@ThreeRunHomer

7 ай бұрын

@@jonevansauthor nearly 100% of new build homes in the US south are equipped with heat pumps.

@jonevansauthor

7 ай бұрын

@@ThreeRunHomer right but your claim of 40 years hasn't made much of an impact yet, and 'people' over there are literally going nuts over the idea of getting rid of gas hobs which it turns out, have been poisoning us forever and I doubt many people are retrofitting them, even though it's probably substantially easier in US housing stock than European (where it's not *that* hard but space constraints and walls not made of paper and listed buildings present more problems). Apparently there's lots of funding for them now in the US but let's not make silly overstatements suggesting that the US is ahead on this by some epic margin - because surely we all want them to be and saying they already are, gives politicians cover to line their pockets because people think it already happened. Not that I'm suggesting politicians in general are corrupt, and even more so in the US.... It's inevitable at this point most people will end up switching, but we are decades away from getting to a high percentage in any country at current install rates from any data I could actually find - which admittedly is a bit haphazard and laid out by people who've never seen a Hans Rosling lecture or an infographic ;)

I tried to get an Octopus heat pump installed but the computer said NO because the house was 192m² - end of conversation. The surveyor wasn't interested to know anything else. Never mind that we already have a DHW Cylinder, Triple Glazing, MVHR, Solar and Batteries. 192m² ...no! f**x off, your house is too big.

@OctopusEnergy

5 ай бұрын

Hey there, before installing, we’ll do a thorough survey to ensure that a heat pump is right for your home. I’d love to look into yours to get you an update. Could you please use this form to send us your full address & email 👉 octo.ps/fb-help 👈

Obviously design is subjective but it is reassuring to see Heat Pump Design being taking seriously. The industrial boxes on offer to date are not enticing. Just need to design one that is compatible with Victorian housing stock now

Just to say that every single url in your replies that I have clicked on goes to a 404 page. Bit frustrating?

@OctopusEnergy

4 ай бұрын

Hey Diane, that's really strange. Do you have an example of where this is happening so I can take a look?

But you have to have perfect scenario for octopus to even consider installing a heat pump in your home.

I moved to octopus because of their environmental credentials and I was tired of the bad service from BG. I have solar panels, home batteries and EVs. Unfortunately I have been unable to properly access the correct Octopus tariffs because despite having smart meter installed at the beginning of Sept it still doesn’t work. So far the response from Octopus has been very disappointing.

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

Hey Alan, smart meters are really complex, and when things go wrong there's a lot of trialling and testing which is why it isn't always a simple/quick fix. Could you get in touch here octo.ps/ig-help so I can take a closer look?

Octopus Energy admin is an utter disgrace. Despite having our gas supply terminated by Octopus when we got them to install a heat pump, never let it be believed that their admin can cope with anything beyond a change of address. Since the disconnection, we continue to receive estimated gas bills despite non-use and today they charged us for not using gas. They spotted their stupid mistake later in the year and refunded but the real problem is that they will not take action when customers point out their multiple errors.

Used the rest Octopus is the best 😉

Octopus has ignored all my requests for urgent help with the heat pump. The pump refuses to talk to the new router and manual is not compatible with the unit. Calls to octopus have not been answered until waiting for 45 mins - after which they answer and said they would ring back - which they didn't. A final call yesterday assured me of a call after 9am - which didn't happen. 😞 Frankly, they have abandoned me.

@OctopusEnergy

2 күн бұрын

Hi Lawrence, this isn't what we like to hear at all. I'm keen to look further into this for you & help in any way I can. Could you please drop your details here: octo.ps/nudge & I'll reach out shortly.

@lawrenceharris1819

2 күн бұрын

@@OctopusEnergy I will do this but please be aware, I have already done this one day ago and there simply isn't a reply. However, I finally got a call .... TBH, this should be an easy mod that I could make but the manual *has* to be correct, and it isn't.

@lawrenceharris1819

Күн бұрын

I finally cracked this bewildering problem. Octopus' Daikin installation uses an outdated encryption protocol which doesn't respond to modern protocols. I had to degrade my router to allow it to communicate. For a 79-year old IT bloke with outdated knowledge and experience I am surprised ......

Very disappointed “Unfortunately, based on the details you've given us, it doesn't look like we can install a heat pump for you at the moment. We look at a number of factors including your home's size, location, and heat loss to make this determination.”

Terrible looking HP tbf and no explanation as to how this particular technology can provide heat at 78° with minimal efficiency loss. I presume this isn't a standard refrigerant based HP so is it an acoustic energy based one?

Not for maisonettes yet though!!!

Looked at air source heat pumps - but after realising just quite how many ugly pipes, tanks, controls, huge radiators, regular servicing and a quoted possible only 15 year life span......I think I'd rather just stump up the extra monthly bills - for nice and simple electric panel heaters.

@tlangdon12

7 ай бұрын

The pipes are only ugly if they aren't hidden away. You don't have to have a thermostat in every room; the extra efficiency they provide is quite small. The radiators aren't huge; often existing radiators can be used and if they can't, the bigger radiators are only perhaps 20% larger. There is no reason why the lifespan of a heat pump should be as low as 15 years. There are very few moving parts; pumps, compressors and valves can all be replaced as and when they wear out, much like on a gas boiler. Only when the heat exchanger of a gas boiler is worn to the point of leaking is that the economic end of a gas boiler. So really only the servicing cost is a valid arguement to chosing direct electric heating, but it will cost you at least three times as much as having a heat pump. For me, that's too high a price. If you want to pay it, go ahead.

@ThreeRunHomer

7 ай бұрын

Air-to-air heat pumps don’t use radiators and also provide air-conditioning in the summer. Efficient and effective home comfort.

@yngndrw.

7 ай бұрын

Why don't you consider a mix with a heat pump covering the largest rooms. Electric panel heaters will have around three times the running cost.

Very convincing BUT (1) Most homes don’t have the room for the kit. (2) There is still at least 10% of the nation without a signal for a smart meter to function. DCC reached its target of almost 90% so there is now incentive to do any more. YOU have the power to force DCC to finish the job and then perhaps that same 10% (who have no mobile signal either) will show some enthusiasm for your heat pump.

And who is going to maintain your heat pump? My heat pump recently broke and I had to wait 3 weeks for an engineer. Oh...they also wanted £250 for 1 hr work (no parts were required). Beware, there are precious few engineers to service / repair heat pumps. You've been warned.

@BenIsInSweden

6 ай бұрын

Properly set up heat pumps don't need much maintenance (mine get serviced every other year), but it's not difficult to do the regular maintenance yourself to keep it running well. Gas boilers need servicing for safety and can only be done by a gas-safe engineer.

Expectations were high after moving to Octopus but sadly it’s all very disappointing, one star review!……… communication is a big problem.

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

That’s not what we like to hear Steve, I see Sarah is looking into this for you.

@stevedennington3760

7 ай бұрын

@@OctopusEnergy she is trying bless her but I’m still waiting.

Um, er....and...err..um

What a load of bunk, only reason he sees heat pumps as exciting is for the number of gull able people who will buy them from his company, in my opinion. Do your research and do it very well before deciding to hitch yourself to a heat system that, again in my opinion, will probably cost you more than your old one to run and maintain. This week 30/12/23 National grid live cost per kWh to generate 3.627p. Yes 3p. Past day just under 7p, past year 9.6p, all time history average 6.7p. All data taken from their own web site. I am currently paying 28p a kWh focking disgusting.

Could you fix my god damn SM readings issues, you know, the very thing that a SM is supposed to do at a basic level, i mean i love this company but god damn, geting any issues sorted is like drawing blood from a stone.

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

Hey there, if you could send your details over on octo.ps/nudge, I can look into what's happening and help with an update.

@bob23301

7 ай бұрын

@@OctopusEnergy Thank you.

North of the Scottish central belt they will not work. Ambient temp must be more than 5 degs C - good luck with that in the Perthshire Highlands. Also your home has to be seriously well insulated - forget it with a stone house. They work for some people, but don't assume they work well outside cities. Oh yes, they don't work with microbore pipes - minimum 22mm and preferably 30mm.

@justinstephenson9360

7 ай бұрын

The only thing right in your post is that ASHP do not work with microbore. Scandinavian countries use a lot of ASHPs and they are a lot colder than the Scottish Highlands. Stone built houses can easily be well insulated, external wall insulation is very effective but if you want to keep the stone built look on the outside (and I would want to) look at internal wall insulation - sure you will lose a bit of floor space and good installation is critical but it works well, I know I have installed it in several properties on exposed northern coasts

A new heat pump is good news if it's better in any way. However, I foresee problems persuading people to get over the hurdle of installing a hideously ugly box on their property, if the upgrade is an even more hideously ugly box but with cuuuuuuuuuuuuurves. How about disguising the thing as literally anything else? Or giving it colouring that might match a house? Or covering it over with brick and wood with vents, so the space above it isn't entirely unusable. Seriously, I would care more about the money and energy saved, but plenty of people will take one look at that and run a mile. It looks like an Apple product.

@BenIsInSweden

7 ай бұрын

Vast majority of UK homes already have a big black, green, brown or blue plastic box outside their homes, and usually more than 1. Octopus' heat pump will blend right in 😉

@jonevansauthor

7 ай бұрын

@@BenIsInSweden Yeah there is that. In our area, the recycling bin is black, and the green bin is for normal rubbish which confuses the heck out of me because I lived abroad (in Wales) for years where it's the other way around. At least they don't stand out and you can theoretically conceal them if you want. I do wonder how many people just install these in their garage so it's out of sight. It also occurred to me that Octopus could solve this by offering car wraps in brick, stonework, rose bush or whatever, charge an uplift and just make it clear that the extra money is ring fenced for investment into more solar/wind or whatever (rather than profit). Or heck, even make it part of any charitable giving they do - get a non-hideous wrap, fund some solar panels or a water pump somewhere that needs it.

@BenIsInSweden

7 ай бұрын

@@jonevansauthorNo respectable installer will install the outside unit in the garage. It will microclimate the garage and bring down performance. One of UrbanPlumber's customers wrapped their vaillant heat pump with a replica image of the brickwork on the house.

@jonevansauthor

7 ай бұрын

@@BenIsInSweden good to hear people are already doing the wrap thing. Anything that makes it more likely people will agree to have one is good. I'd seen that people do put them in garages and use a duct to access the air, but hadn't seen a mention that there are indoor & outdoor versions. One hopes if this is a better design in some way, which honestly didn't seem clear to me in this video if that was something they were claiming or not, they'll do an indoor one if there's enough demand. Seeing and hearing the thing (even though they're quiet when you stand next to one) seems to be one of the bigger complaints people have.

@BenIsInSweden

7 ай бұрын

@@jonevansauthor Vents will help, but overall aren't going to make a massive difference. When I refer to outdoor unit, I'm referencing the portion that goes outside - in many cases in the UK this is just a monoblock unit with just water pipes going to inside, but there are split-type units, where there is an outdoor unit connected via refrigerant lines to an indoor unit. Noise is really only complained about by people who haven't been near modern residential ones. There are hundreds of different heat pumps in my town, some are clearly quite old, but it's never at a level that is more annoying or louder than the nearby main road. I even have 3 outdoor units on my house, and neither I nor my neighbours have any complaints.

Why is he saying cheaper cheaper cheaper when the price are higher higher and higher with octopus? I still have their email to me saying because of Putins aggression we put the prices up. Is he causing the wind to be more expensive? Not nice to tell 2 stories at once

@thibaultmol

Ай бұрын

Octopus is still much better than other energy companies though

Be careful giving up natural ways to heat are homes. In the future as everyone would be dependent on the internet and companies giving them the ability to switch it off or use as a means for control. Same things happened with shops' self-service digital payments, no hard money.the same with cars self driven. I know its going only one way, and the power shift is probably to late to change. Then Ai takes over all consumers ability to fend for them selfs gone scary concept.

@aliasgharkhoyee9501

7 ай бұрын

With electricity you're actually able to become independent and off-grid by using solar panels + batteries. So if anything it will be easier to avoid the doomsday scenario you're taking about.

@no2war

7 ай бұрын

The internet isn't run on solar panels and batteries plus its not sunny everywhere.Dooms day is more the end of the world scenario. I'm talking about the end of independence and freedom of choice.yes we can rub 2 sticks together and make a fire to stay warm 😂but I was taking about the Eventual obvious scenario where we are Contained and reliant upon the ones with the off switches👍anyway it's just a Prediction Not a premonation hopefully😅

@no2war

7 ай бұрын

The government is even trying to ban wood fires in homes where I'm from, so there's a definite desire by governments to prevent us from being self-sufficient.thay don't like us having More cost effective less reliant forms of living.It's pretty obvious it's all about Finance and control.😅

They don’t work efficiently. All heating engineers know this. Why is it Greg that products and energy are cheaper to produce than they were years ago, today we are being charged a mint? C’mon Greg, let us know?

@BenIsInSweden

7 ай бұрын

Are these the same heating engineers that have for decades in the UK been putting in oversized boilers using wildly outdated rules of thumb, and not giving any thought to the running costs to the consumer?

@willbee6785

7 ай бұрын

@@BenIsInSweden No.

@BenIsInSweden

7 ай бұрын

@@willbee6785 Then not sure what heating engineers you are talking about, anyone worth their salt will know how to get the best efficiency out of a heat pump and run rings around a gas boiler.

Shame about the colour

Heat pumps expensive to build, install, AND REPAIR when they go wrong, but nobody is telling you this!

@ThreeRunHomer

7 ай бұрын

Incorrect. Heat pumps have been standard in all new home construction in the US for 40 years because they are the cheapest for initial cost and for lowest operating costs.

@adriansharp9409

7 ай бұрын

@@ThreeRunHomer Point is that repair is expensive. As a refrigeration engineer, a new compressor is going to set you back upwards of £1500 !

@yngndrw.

7 ай бұрын

@@adriansharp9409 It's about £500 for a replacement compressor for the Vaillant Arotherm Plus 5kw.

Just missed a few things out. Despite the lies lithium ion batteries have not improved much since my dads company launched the first product in the world with more than 2 cells. They only have a guarantee of 500 cycles before significant degradation. It costs a lot more than they say to replace a cars batteries. Look for first hand reports!. Heat pumps are more efficient but not nearly as much as the professors advertised. The cost of electric is many times the cost of gas and if we keep using more. Will it increase? Perhaps nuclear or thermo piles could change that but there is little evidence so far. Hydrogen powers the universe and may well be a better answer for homes but certainly for cars if it keeps developing at the pace that it reportedly has in recent years. Battery powered cars only work if you accept that as a total everyone will be paying more for cars. Of course the industry only cares about new car buyers and work on lifetimes of 80,000 miles. Hence the sealed transmissions, these days. Conversely a hydrogen powered electric motor car would likely be very long lasting. Which raises the question of whether the industry would try to avoid it.

@tlangdon12

7 ай бұрын

Heat pumps are generally about 300% efficient compared to 90% for gas boilers, and 100% for electric boilers, which is more efficiency than is needed to offset the greater capital cost.

@kevinchadwick8993

7 ай бұрын

@@tlangdon12 You missed out the electricity cost. Hence some reporting much larger bills after heat pump installation. An electric heater is not 100% efficient either as nothing can be 100% efficient, even a super conductor is not.

@tlangdon12

7 ай бұрын

@@kevinchadwick8993 You are right that I did omit to mention the relative cost of electricity vs. gas, which has to be factored into any calculation of payback.

@OctopusEnergy

7 ай бұрын

We share a bit more about the cost to run here: octopus.energy/blog/heat-pump-running-cost-oct23/

@michaelblackmore883

7 ай бұрын

@@tlangdon12not sure about these figures. How many heat pumps can achieve a COP of 3 in winter? Current ratio of electricity to gas prices (from So Energy) is just under 5 so running cost for a heat pump will still be close to x1.5-2 compared to a condensing gas boiler. Of course these figures assume only grid connections without any solar or battery but when you add in the capital cost and ROI for the latter (including battery replace t at about 10 years) it still looks unattractive.

More totally crap heat pumps....

I care about the cost of running the heating and electricity, my interest not environmental tbh, the earth can regenerate and can look after itself, what causes the damages are big pharma, cruel abusive farming industries, food industries and corrupt governments, most of these controlled by zionists.

Octopus claim in an advertsisement that their heat pump is quote:- "multiple times more efficient than a gas boiler" That statement is unsupportable. It is a mistake to use the electrical units consumed by a heat pump as a basis for efficiency unless it is to compare with another electrical heater. The true efficiency of a heat pump is the fuel used to make the electricity against the heat output. Using ball park figures, the heat industry claim a ground source heat pump gives about five times heat units for one electrical unit. As no device is 100% efficient (basic physics) it follows that it needs at least five times the fuel input to provide that , so a 20% efficiency from fuel to consumer. if you take an air source, which again the heat industry claim gives three time heat units for one electrical unit that works out to a real efficiency of about 60%, significantly less than that of a gas boiler. From past experience I had always taken the efficiency of the generation, transmission and distribution network to be about 30% but that can't be right unless the heat industry exaggerate their heaters' performance?

@simonm9923

7 ай бұрын

No, that’s not correct because a heat pump doesn’t use the input energy (electricity) to heat the water (or possibly air) directly in order to heat the house. Rather the electricity powers a compressor and pump which transfers the heat in the outside air to the medium used to heat the home. They are most efficient when the temperature difference is low so if the Octopus pump is producing hot water at 75C I’d doubt it would be so efficient. Correctly specified systems can indeed produce 4-5 times more heat energy output than the electrical input energy. They can be 4-500% efficient.

@iareid8255

7 ай бұрын

Simon, no your understanding is flawed. Don't take my word, check with a physics text book, nothing is 100% efficient. Electricity is an energy carrier, not energy and as such there are large losses between the energy input and consumer. Heat pumps don't trannsfer heat as you claim, all the heat is generated by the compression of the refrigerant, that's all.

@simonm9923

7 ай бұрын

@@iareid8255 so you are saying that a well specified heat pump system cannot produce say 4kWh of heat energy from 1kWh of electrical input? There will of course be losses in the compressor and fan motors but that’s not how the heat is generated. Normally when we think of efficiency, we think of a percentage, i.e. of the energy we put into an appliance, only some of it provides a useful output and some is wasted. Thus we talk about a boiler being 90% efficient - because only 90% of the fuel energy input ends up as useful output heat, with the rest being lost via the flue or via radiant and convective losses from the boiler. By contrast, heat pumps seemingly undertake the impossible: you get more heating out than the energy you put in. This is possible because we are using energy to move heat - rather than converting the energy directly to heat. As a result the apparent efficiency in terms of heat output is greater than 100%. The ratio of electrical energy input to heat output is called the coefficient of performance or COP; the higher the COP, the more efficient the heat pump. The COP can be maximised by careful design of the heat pump (efficient compressor, fans) and the use of a thermodynamically appropriate refrigerant. The key external factor affecting both the COP and capacity of a heat pump is the temperature difference between the evaporator and the condenser. The narrower this temperature difference, the easier it is to transfer the heat and so the more heat we can transfer for every unit of energy input. This means that in a space heating application, for instance, the heat pump will be very efficient at mild temperatures but less efficient when it’s really cold.

@simonm9923

7 ай бұрын

@@iareid8255 This is from the IEA (international energy authority): A heat pump uses technology similar to that found in a refrigerator or an air conditioner. It extracts heat from a source, such as the surrounding air, geothermal energy stored in the ground, or nearby sources of water or waste heat from a factory. It then amplifies and transfers the heat to where it is needed. Because most of the heat is transferred rather than generated, heat pumps are far more efficient than conventional heating technologies such as boilers or electric heaters and can be cheaper to run. The output of energy in the form of heat is normally several times greater than that required to power the heat pump, normally in the form of electricity. For example, the coefficient of performance (COP) for a typical household heat pump is around four, i.e. the energy output is four times greater than the electrical energy used to run it. This makes current models 3‐5 times more energy efficient than gas boilers.

@IverKnackerov

7 ай бұрын

⁠​⁠@@iareid8255”…all the heat is generated by the compression of the refrigerant..”…This is fundamentally wrong. Heat from the ambient air or ground warms the refrigerant - yes its then compressed, but the heat from the ambient surroundings is where the gains come from