Can Anyone recommend Good quality ASHP Brands and maybe tell me which to avoid

[todthedog]

Hurrah for Rhys !!

Come on chaps give the mods a break.  They do a job that I would n't want to,and even if you don't agree with all their decisions, I have never seen anything anti democratic or malicious in what they have done.  They keep the carp away from the rest of us!!

One thing that I have never seen mentioned is RH.

Here Finistere is is a tad damp in winter whist generally mild, the RH is very very high so I wonder if this puts the inverter into defrost mode more often and cuts the COP.
We have  run a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ASHP for about 4 years, spring, autumn, mild winter switching to wood burner when the temperature really drops.  It was chosen on its reputation for reliability rather than pure performance.  Much less choice available then than today.  I have to say on a purely non technical note the wood burner seems to give a nicer heat, perhaps that is purely psychological.

[stannn]

When I consider an ASHP, my big worry is whether the fan is going to keep me awake in 3 years when the guarantee has run out. I assume that the bearings will wear out and will I be able to replace them? Any comments?
Stan

[grevls]

Datasheets for all the Aquarea Heat Pumps are now on the website and linked to necessary products. Please go straight to page 2 on the PDFs for the specific data.

http://www.navitron.org.uk/download_category.php?id=9

[todthedog]

After 4 years no significant increase in noise.  In fact no appreciable noise at all, you can hear the fan turn when at full belt but no noisier than a fan heater.

[Solal]

OOh I didn't realise Navitron were  selling the Aquarea. Was reading about these  a while back  and considered  them quite impressive. Still a bit pricey though  but the  mcs grant  would help with that I guess.
The DETI voucher  in Northern Ireland is worth  £1700  quid  for an air source heat pump.

[mpooley]

Navitron now sell what I consider to be arguably the best heat pumps on the UK market in the panasonic Aquarea range, well done to Navitron for getting that sorted out, you may as well just end this thread now tbh... well, if energy saving and rarely having to use the immersion for back up at low outside air temps are the criteria anyway.

tbf I think the mitsubishi ecodan range also do something a bit similar, but I don't think they've got a HT version.

It's a shame Navitron haven't got the full datasheets online for each model though...

I've been on my hols for the last 2 weeks and have just come back to this thread.
re: Gavins quote above could someone tell me why they are considered to be so good.

I'd love to get my new ASHP from Navitron to thank them for such a useful forum.

Mike

[bxman]

Sorry Mike;

     but I think  you will find the thread has been castrated, while you have been away.
            Every one with anything relevant  to say  is now  expected to exchange information through PM's.

As Elinor said
Bxman, sorry you don’t like it but I made no changes to the original post apart from

removing the link and saying so. I could have removed the post or made other changes

to it but didn’t. There’s just no pleasing some people  


 Mike in my opinion it's a shame that none of the moderators took the trouble to look at the content of the threads where our recent recruit, in reply to your request,  had mentioned and pointed to the supplier of of the equipment he had bought and had found to be both reasonably priced, efficient and was proving satisfactory. If they had done so I am sure the would have found that he had extensive Knowledge and was most certainly not a spammer.

He could not have been aware that he was obliged to withhold information as to the source of the product.

Under the present conditions
We now know that to avoid being accused of purveying spam .

He should have advised anyone with an interest to look for a company from -deliberate spam reference removed-

But not even having this information I have
 over the last 10 days spent well in excess of 18 hours doing dozens of Google searches and in reading hundreds of posts and articles on all forms of heat pumps
I freely admit a large amount of this time was wasted because of my own inexperience in choosing the right search terms.

Never the less in the hopes that it will be of benefit to others on this forum I am going to add my 2d worth based on that recently acquired knowledge.
 
It is if you cannot introduce a substantial heat store into the system and you need the heat to keep you warm in the cold weather give any Air source system a miss.

Our OP may not have the sufficient horizontal space  for a GSHP to work effectively. He would have the room for a vertical installation which we know  is going to be more expensive.
 However I sure it would be cheaper in the long run  than running an air source system in its place.  
Most sales brochures emphasize the  COP figures for their product. but very few show them at the air
temperatures that are  applicable at the times when you really need the heat.

Four years ago I was nearly seduced into a Worcester Bosch Greensource ASHP.
I thought a 4.5 COP running on my economy 10 supply would solve all my heating worries until I discovered  that the COP would drop to 2 and  possibly only 1.5 at the times I had the cheap electricity available  and particularly at the times that I  really need to get the heat into the house.

I base these observations to a very large extent on a post to which our new friend  made a major contribution.
For those with the interest and the time study that full post in depth. I recommend.
 
-deliberate spam reference removed-

If you read it I think you will find that our maligned friend has thought through and evolved a solution that overcomes the problems associated with  ASHP in cold weather.

ASHP are ideal for swimming pools when you have a high ambient air temp to work with but in the depth of winter a GSHP system  will have a better and more  stable heat source and can thereby operate efficiently 24/7


But as has been said before the real answer is      Insulate  Insulate and Insulate again.




 

[mpooley]

Thanks will have a look at that link

Mike

[martin]

"If they had done so I am sure the would have found that he had extensive Knowledge and was most certainly not a spammer" - you really don't get it, do you? The fella gave a link to a rival company's products - that is spam, pure and simple, and is as such completely against the rules - now can you give me one good reason not to penalise you for your blatant spamming and remove the indirect links you have added?

[dhaslam]

Four years ago I was nearly seduced into a Worcester Bosch Greensource ASHP.
I thought a 4.5 COP running on my economy 10 supply would solve all my heating worries until I discovered  that the COP would drop to 2 and  possibly only 1.5 at the times I had the cheap electricity available  and particularly at the times that I  really need to get the heat into the house.

I don't think that the situation is all that bad.  If you get a COP of 2 with low priced electricity you get heat for about  4or 5P per kWh  which might be expensive compared to gas but not compared to oil or even purchased  wood.  In any case the heating season is  around six months  or twelve months for DHW if you don't have  solar panels  and for a lot of the time the COP is better than 2.  Typical winter temperatures are around 7C and for the heat pump you mention the COP is about 3 with output at 45C.     They do work best when coupled with a woodstove, that way when the temperature is moderate the stove can be used  less with the heatpump doing a greater share of the heating.   

[bxman]

The fella gave a link to a rival company's products - that is spam, pure and simple, and is as such completely against the rules - now can you give me one good reason not to penalise you for your blatant spamming and remove the indirect links you have added?

"Competitors to advertise and gain competitive advantage using this forum which is provided and paid for by Navitron; whether it be through direct means e.g. posting web links or through indirect means e.g. posting of bogus messages praising products or installers of our competitors"


Martin did you take the trouble to actually look and study the content of that link, (your second edit)


                 We will chose to differ as to whether it was against the rules.

 
 You are in the position to make the decision and IMO you should have a duty to do so to do so fairly and impartially in the interests of the forum as a whole.

I am quite sure Mike originally  posted in good faith or are you suggesting he set the question up up so as to provide a vehicle for economyman to  advertise a competitor ?

At the time of both posts Navitron did not have the Panasonic HP on offer so how could it be considered completion?

Now that you have removed the link you are safe from others being able to make their own judgement.

              Am I surprised.               NO            There was nothing bogus there at all

In light of the present situation ;

It would appear that whole Topic/Thread  itself should never have been allowed to see the light of day.[/b]
                          
                            And what use would the forum be then?  

                                            You tell me.

 Do we now understand the only links now permitted on this forum are those to items within the Navitron stock?          

As far as I know Navitron has always provided a top quality service; certainly in my own  personal case they gave me  both  a  First  Class Product and impeccable Service with no cause to complain what so ever.

I am sure they are strong enough to stand up to healthy debates.

Being associated with a forum that is dedicated to promoting their own  interests is not going to do the company any favors in the long run.    


Sadly I know the threads on proportional generation controllers became an appalling mess.
 
But please do no let that influence your judgement on all other matters.  

As IMO  it will not help the company or any of us the members of this useful and happy forum.  

p.s.
Sorry Martin you were one line when I started,  but there are no links here to be removed