After three months of winter heating, it seemed like a good point to assess how the new heating and hot water system was performing compared to the old gas combi boiler. Because of the changes in solar panels and tariffs a direct comparison in terms of monthly cost might be difficult, so initially a comparison in terms of kWh hours would seem more useful. The amount of gas used in 2022 was used to provide heating and hot water, with a small amount used for cooking on a gas hob. The gas hob was replaced with an induction hob and I wasnt monitoring how much electricity was being used by that, so could not account for it. However the effect would be small.
Ignoring that difference, the number of kWh used between the two systems was profound, with the new system using between 28%-53% of the gas figure. The wide variation in the size of the reduction was a little confusing, but I think this is down to several factors between the two years, including:
I know from my monitoring system , that my heat pump is running at a COP of between 4.6 and 3.6 during the winter so far. The lowest COP occuring during a cold snap where the temperature dropped to about 5 degrees C. I fully expected that the heat pump would be more expensive to run in very cold weather, than gas heating. However I also expected that in the shoulder seasons and summer this effect would reverse. Removing gas from my property, meant that I no longer had to pay a standing charge for it and getting an Electric Vehicle enabled me to access much cheaper off peak tariffs and these factors have helped with reducing my electricity bill. In addition my extra solar panels would also reduce bills and provide an income in the summer. So far comparing my total energy bill with 2022 (adjusting for inflation), I had saved £109.31 for the period Oct-Dec. A modest difference and not enough on its own to justify the costs of the improvements made. However I expect this to improve as the the newer EV tariff starts to kick in and solar export starts to increase.
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With the new Electric Vehicle bought and the old cars sold, we are now officially a carbon free household. :-)
Taking the car on its first long distance drive this weekend required a bit of planning with respect to locating charging facilities close by, but turned out to be easily achieved and not a big issue. Unfortunately one thing no one told us was that the charging cable is locked in the car until the doors are opened! Who knew! :-) Getting a charging point installed in the house was the next step and would allow me to change to tariff to Octopus Intelligent Go. |
AuthorEx Radiographer, Information Analyst, Teacher and Self-builder. Now retired Archives
December 2023
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