Jon and Sarah's switch to solar and air source heating
We caught up with customers Sarah and John who live in central Winchester, a few months on from their solar, battery and air source heat pump installation to see how things were settling in. In this install we worked around the heat pump installation provided by a national energy company; we put the solar on the roof and connected it to the inverter to start with. That way they could start to enjoy the savings. Then once the heat pump was installed and the old gas boiler removed we installed the battery units in the place where the boiler previously was, connected it up to the inverter, completing their installation.
Why They Did It
The starting point was simple, they wanted to be more eco-friendly. The heat pump came first, and solar followed naturally as a way to offset the higher electricity costs that comes with moving away from gas. As Sarah put it, the two things work as a package. Battery prices had come down enough to make the numbers stack up, and the government grant for heat pumps helped tip the timing. They'd thought about solar on and off for years, but this time everything aligned.
What the Bills Look Like
The picture is encouraging, in the first full month with panels but before the battery was in their electricity bill dropped from over £100 a month to around £60. It also changed their habits, timing the dishwasher, using appliances when the sun was generating.
In winter the numbers look very different, with the heat pump working hard and solar less. They're running at around £200 a month on electricity. But when you add up what they used to pay for electricity and gas combined in the same months last year, it's roughly the same figure. The worry had been that the heat pump would make winters significantly more expensive but so far, that hasn't been the case.
Getting the Most From the Setup
One change Sarah and John have made is how they run the heating. With a heat pump it's more efficient to maintain a steady low temperature throughout the day rather than letting the house cool and then heating it back up. It feels counterintuitive, but it's better for the system and apparently more efficient regardless of heat source. They also charge overnight on cheaper rate electricity and use it through the day which makes a further difference
How the Installation Went
Very smoothly. The work was done in flexible stages around the heat pump installation, communication was clear throughout, and the team were tidy on site. The contrast with the heat pump installer, who was working at the same time was, in Sarah's words, quite noticeable!
The local, personal aftercare has also mattered. Dealing with their energy provide with some smart meter issues has been tricky with, everything going through a remote service centre threw the difference into sharp relief. Having someone to actually call or message is a different experience entirely.