Air Source Heat Pump

[paul1763]

My house is split into 2 zones, upstairs and downstairs. Will it cost twice as much to heat both zones at the same time as it will to heat just 1 of them?
Thanks for any replies.

[Old_Geezer]

I am unsure why the source of heat energy is important.

I'd say, pretty much, yes. One could argue that heat rises so if imperfectly insulated you get to use that heat upstairs before it exited out the roof. But whatever temperature you go for you are still paying for both.

[paul1763]

Thanks Old Geezer.whichever way I try to think about it I get more stumped.

[The Builder]

When you say "zones" Paul, do you mean underfloor heating upstairs AND down?

[barry1010]

Underfloor heating? I thought heat pumps used bigger than standard radiators

[The Builder]

Much better suited to underfloor Barry.
Lower flow temperature of 45-50 degrees C.
Rads need more like 60-70 at least.

[douglas9401]

Underfloor heating, that's one of my first buys post lottery win. :-)

[barry1010]

Thanks Builder. No idea how my house would cope with underfloor heating, there is a huge cavity under the floorboards

[Old_Geezer]

I have been told that underfloor heating has it's problems. That if a lady has a chocolate bar in her handbag, and puts the bag down on the carpet, then that might prove regrettable.

[Atheist]

OG; You've been reading too many 60's rock memoirs!

[paul1763]

Sorry for late replies, Builder no it is as barry1010 says, larger than standard radiator size. I must admit the amount of electricity I’m using scares the life out of me. Anywhere between
35-40KWh per day. I’ve already gone past the £200 for this month and still got until Christmas Eve to send in my next reading

[The Builder]

Ok Paul. In theory, heating half a house will cost half as much.
In practice though...
Heating just the downstairs:
Heat rises, so a large proportion will inevitably migrate upstairs. Also, the very fabric of the building will heat up... including upstairs.
Even with upstairs turned off, downstairs will have to work harder due to the heat lost to the colder upstairs.

A balance between heating down AND up would be more efficient.
Set downstairs to your comfort level, but set upstairs to a lower level.

As for costs: For every kw of electricity consumed by a heat pump...
4kw of useful heat is produced (approx. since they must work harder in the conditions we've had recently.)
I have a super-duper insulated new house with a Heat Pump.
Even so, I would be well chuffed to get away with a cost of £200 for a really cold month at today's high electricity charges. (Much, much higher than last year of course.)
Perhaps I'm not typical though since it's a big house... and I don't "do" cold ;o)

It's not an exact science despite what the experts say. You really have to experiment.

[NYAD]

You didn't mention if the two zones have a barrier between them. In other words, when you heat the downstairs, can that heat enter upstairs? If so, that would cost more to heat the downstairs than if you ran both zones at the same time.

Also, if there is a barrier between zones, when you let the temp drop in one zone, it could cost extra to heat that zone back up until it reaches the temp you want, that could cost extra.

I would try heating one zone then the other for one month and the next month heating both at the same time. Then compare the monthly bills.