When installing a heat pump, there are lots of different options to consider. Do I go for air source or ground source? What manufacturer do I choose? Do I need to upgrade my radiators?
However there’s one choice that’s often left to the last minute – what controls to install alongside the system. Your heating controls can have a massive impact on how your heat pump operates. This can affect how efficient your heat pump is, how much your heating costs and how comfortable your home is. While many may be tempted to grab the first thermostat they see and put it on their living room wall, this can be very detrimental to your heat pump’s performance.
Why are standard thermostats bad for heat pumps?
Most standard off-the-shelf thermostats, or internet-connected smart thermostats, are a disaster for heat pump performance.
Traditional thermostats are designed for fossil fuel boilers. While boilers do run slightly more efficiently when producing lower temperature water, they generally have a single fixed temperature which provides enough warmth to heat the whole house even in the most extreme conditions. Because of this most boiler thermostats simply turn the boiler on or off, rather than adjusting the temperature of the water running through your radiators – known as ‘modulating’.
Heat pumps run a lot more efficiently when producing lower temperature water. They rarely have to run at maximum power to produce the hottest water possible – only in the absolute coldest conditions. Because of this, for most of the year, your heat pump can run much more efficiently at lower temperatures. By just turning your heat pump on and off with a traditional thermostat, you are constantly running at a higher temperature than needed.
Another disadvantage of traditional thermostats is something called ‘cycling’ – the act of turning a heat pump off and on frequently. This is exactly what a thermostat does with your boiler to keep your home at a consistent temperature, but with a heat pump, it adds an unnecessary strain to the device which reduces efficiency and can actually damage the pump itself. Heat pumps run best ‘low and slow’, providing lower temperatures over longer times to heat your home up gradually.
What about the manufacturer’s controls?
Most heat pumps will come with some kind of controls as standard. These are usually a small box on the wall that allows installers to adjust necessary settings, and allows users to control the temperature of their home.
Many installers will recommend sticking with the manufacturer’s controls, often with good reason. These controls allow installers to fine-tune the operation of the heat pump, maximising performance and comfort. Adding on a third-party thermostat as described above undermines these settings, preventing the heat pump operating as effectively as it could be.
However manufacturer’s controls are not always best suited for users. Many are designed for air conditioning or commercial installations rather than a modern home. While heat pump controls are getting better year-by-year, many are still missing key features like app control, tariff optimisation and hot water boosts. Few manufacturers offer a full control solution, including multi zone control and secondary thermostats in the rooms where you need comfort the most. Unfamiliar controls can result in a frustrating user experience, which in turn prevents users from getting the most out of their heat pumps.
In addition to this, getting all of the settings perfect on a heat pump is nearly impossible. There are a many different factors to consider during an installation. Not only this, but these conditions change all of the time! The weather is always shifting, the thermal properties of the building change with time, and user behaviour is a constant factor in considering heat pump performance. Luckily, new products are coming out to address these issues.
How do smart heat pump controls help?
Smart heat pump controls, such as the Passiv Smart Thermostat, provide users with the best of both worlds.
Providing a modern, simple interface across the Programmer, Thermostats, and Passiv app, the Passiv Smart Thermostat helps users feel in control of their heating without the issues of traditional thermostats. Built with familiarity in mind, the Passiv Smart Thermostat bridges the gap between boilers and heat pumps, providing users with the level of controls they’re after without compromising on heat pump performance.
There are a number of cost saving benefits smart controls can provide above and beyond the manufacturer’s standard controls. Smart tariff optimisation ensures that the heat pump uses the cheapest possible electricity throughout the day. Solar optimisation makes the most of solar panels to maximise the usage of free electricity. Dynamic modulation ensures that the heat pump is running as efficiently as possible all year round, calculating the best way to meet householders’ comfort requirements. This is all built on machine learning algorithms which learn the thermal properties of the home in order to provide heating in the most cost effective way possible.
So which controls should I install?
While there are a lot of choices for heating controls, many of them will do more harm than good for heat pumps. Traditional thermostats are disastrous for heat pump performance. Their on and off control systems are completely incompatible with heat pumps’ low and slow philosophy, and should be avoided wherever possible.
Sticking with manufacturers’ controls avoids the pitfalls of traditional thermostats. This is a great way of ensuring efficient operation with heat pump savvy homeowners who are content to ‘set-and-forget’ their heating to run in the background.
However most manufacturer controls do not have the modern features householders have come to expect. If you want all of the smart bells and whistles, such as app control and tariff optimisation, turn to dedicated smart heat pump controls. Products like the Passiv Smart Thermostat provide all of the benefits of other smart thermostats without compromising on efficiency. Not only that, they provide a host of other benefits exclusive to low-carbon heating.
Interested in the next generation of smart heating controls? Get in touch with our sales manager joe.hannan@passivuk.com to find out more.
