Hello all.
I have a condensing boiler that works well and is quite economical to run. It’s 11 years old and I thought I would replace it with a heat pump. Got a quote with Octopus and it’s very cheap. They were proposing the Daikin 9kW pump, however I read this thread
which hardly sells it.
I told Octopus I don’t want it and they have now offered a Cosy 9. However I am not sure if that is a good choice either. The comments are rare and say it’s not very technological.
I wonder if I should just stick to my existing boiler for a bit longer? Or go with other providers?
Advice welcome.
Many thanks.
We managed to sway Octopus down from offering us a big Daikin to the 8kW one.
Glad we did…
They originally calculated 9.5kW required.
We said, no way, look at how much gas we’re using to keep nice and warm.
Then they revised down.
I wonder if the 9kW Daikin thread above is having a positive effect?
We will improve the house a bit in the future, so will need a bit less heat not more…
Pleased with the install overall.
They do take some time to find tune… part of the fun for me, not everyone’s cup of tea though.
Forgot to say the Cosy heat pump options were never on the table for us.
6kW too small they said. 10kW too big (as it was then) had now been down graded to 9kW…
As a newcomer to this forum (welcome, by the way ) you may not have noticed yet that, like in Monty Python’s “Four Yorkshiremen” sketch, many contributors seem to enjoy outdoing each other with tales of woe. There are lots of critics of all heat pump brands/models (and not many enthusiastic supporters of any).
So if you see lots of indifferent/bad reports of Octopus or Daikins that may be because so many more of theirs/them have been installed, and doesn’t necessarily mean that they are a risky choice.
Furthermore, users of this forum are likely almost by definition to be the discerning/intelligent type, with inquiring minds, and be seekers after perfection. In my limited experience, perfect heat pumps have yet to be invented.
My only suggestion would be to keep an open mind on manufacturer/model selection for now, and to remember that in general you get what you pay for…
@SarahH makes a good point, however, people can only provide their experiences good or bad.
Personally I have a Daikin 9kW and my experience over the last 2 years has not been good. I wish Octopus at the time had offered a range of HP’s to allow clients to research the best for them. If I was installing now I would be looking for someone local who will monitor the HP working and make adjustments until it achieves the best settings for my property. Octopus just state that the Daikin works best at 50c @ -3 and that is it.
Mostly people don’t understand that saving many £k of capital costs can justify a lower COP, eg pay off the mortgage or invest the saved installation costs.
Running costs can be lower with a lower COP if the saved installation costs is used to increase home batteries
But the Daikins 9kw seems never to be a good option, unlike all the other heatpumps Octopus offers.
No, valliants are nearly always installed by companies who design for a low flow temperatures and hence replace practically all radators. Vaillant are also well know to be great for pure UFH systems, practically any pure UFH system can give good COP with any make of heatpumps. Vaillants are totally dependant on the installer or homeowner setting the correct weather compensation curve.
but if the COP was higher the running costs would be even better , no reason why a cheap install cant have a good COP if enough time is spent on setting it up for the best COPs / SCOPS
this is subject to getting the original design correct which is where octopus are currently letting them selves down
Disagree, a Octopus install that does not need to replace most radators will by definition be cheaper then an install that replace all radators to get lower flow temperature. (The forgone investment returns by having less capital left are part of the running costs.)
thats one way of looking at it ,
the way i look at it the majority of octopus installs are designed at +40 degrees C flow @1-3 degrees C outside
my personal system was installed & designed at 50 degree C flow temp @ -2.7 i actually run at 33 degree flow temp @ -2.7 . originally they installed a 9kw hp and later i got them to replace it for a 6 kw unit (both units daikin )
so the design was way way off . ( 4 rads changed and one extra one added )
install cost me less than £1k + BUS
then said my scop would be around 3.2 (which i believe with the orignial design would be correct )
but what ive ended up with the scop will be higher and if the design was right it might of been a bit cheaper to install ?
it would of even been cheaper for octopus because of the extra visit to change the HP
The vast majority of the Daikins have been installed by a single installer, Octopus.
I think its fair to say octopus are pursing a different strategy to many other installers (and UK early adopters). They aren’t aiming for the most efficient possible system. They are aiming to install systems which are no more expensive to run than the gas boiler they replace, can be installed with relatively little disruption, and targeting an installation price of BUS + £500 or BUS + price of a new gas boiler.
The flow temp quoted is for the 9kW HP? Did you find at those settings you were able to maintain a comfortable heat in your property? I am still adjusting my WC but have not gone down as low as you have.
) you may not have noticed yet that, like in Monty Python’s “Four Yorkshiremen” sketch, many contributors seem to enjoy outdoing each other with tales of woe. There are lots of critics of all heat pump brands/models (and not many enthusiastic supporters of any).