Frank was doing up his early 1970s detached house, with large windows and standard insulation typical of that era. He was looking at solutions to run his house as efficiently as possible, saving unnecessary expenditure for the future.
His installation included solar panels, battery storage and an air source heat pump. Over a year later, he only wishes he had done it sooner.
Describing what he likes about his new set-up, Frank talks about how comfortable the house is to live in. He loves that every room has a constant temperature even throughout the Winter.
He also loves how ‘life is so much quieter’. His old boiler was in the kitchen, so it’s great not to hear that over breakfast or a quiet dinner. The heat pump itself is in the garden. He says it does make a noise, but they don’t hear it, even when they are in the garden in the Summer. (The patio area is around ten feet away from the heat pump itself). The neighbours have not even mentioned it. He also confessed how lovely it was to use the cool breeze the pump creates to cool down during the hottest weather.
Using electricity has caused Frank and his wife to rethink their cooking arrangements too. They now use an electric induction hob and absolutely love it. He says, ‘I would never go back to gas now, you’d have to be mad’. His kitchen also looks sleek, modern and is easy to clean.
The reduction on Frank’s bills has been better than he had hoped. He points out that it’s difficult to come out with perfect figures. The external temperature variation alone makes it tricky. Then there is the complex relationship between varying amounts of sunshine generating energy as well as the changing energy tariffs. However, he has saved around £1000 during the first year compared with the previous year, using his gas boiler system. He points out that even in colder months, his bill is reduced by at least £50, and that this
happened despite a much colder, harder winter than the previous year. Looking at his payback from energy sold to the grid, he mentions that last year they paid £1051.03 for electricity but were refunded £743 of this. His bill was reduced to £317.03. Frank is currently enjoying the feeling that they are already ahead as they go into the Autumn with £227 in credit.
He also mentions how, although it was a fiscal decision, he does like the feeling that he is actively reducing CO2 emissions.
Considerations
Frank is not hiding the fact that there are considerations and difficulties. They were updating an old system anyway, with radiators that needed replacing. He explains that the larger radiators required can be costly, but that with a little research, they found much more reasonable ones that both look stylish and do the job perfectly well. He also notes that they were lucky in that they had the perfect space to put the water tank, which could be problematic.
He also mentioned that it is essential to keep an eye on things, although the App he uses from GivEnergy has improved significantly over the last year. Changing the internet provider caused the most difficulty, and he needed to have support to reconnect his battery. Happily, customer care soon sorted out the glitch.
In conclusion
Frank and his wife had to cope with negative comments from people, shockingly including those in the trade who claimed that his heat pump would never work.
Frank is clear that without the BUS grant of £7500, they would never have gone down this route, especially with these doubts in mind. However, knowing what they know now, they would have considered it despite the extra expense.
He feels confident that a solar panel installation will always pay itself back and is thrilled that they have such a comfortable house due to the heat pump. Frank just wishes they had installed the system sooner.
The future
Frank and his wife are happy in their home but intend to continue to maximise their savings. He will soon be contacting Malvern Solar about installing an electric vehicle charger to maximise their savings and the benefits of solar power.
