DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi all,

My wife and I are just about to move into our new home, which despite needing a little TLC has already got a working water cylinder and the house runs off oil.

In our present home we have been used to living with a gas combi-boiler (which has suited us fine)

In the spirit of trying to embrace what we have, and to avoid any unnecessary upheaval, we have been looking into renewable systems for hot water and have been researching solar assisted heat pumps.

Does anyone have any straight forward advice on how efficient/not efficient and worthwhile they are (not too many technical terms please), as there seems to be a lot of mixed views online and we feel slightly overwhelmed by it all.

Thanks all

Hi Rupert,

Yes there are currently mixed views on solar assisted heat pumps but as they are still an emerging technology this is quite normal.

in answer to your question - it completely depends on the system...
Solar assisted heat pumps vary in efficiency depending on the brand they are not all entirely the same however a majority of them are ERP A rated which is always a good start.

You mentioned that your home will run on oil? You will therefore have a water cylinder, this means that they can simply be retrofitted to your existing flow and return pipes without need for a full system renovation.

I hope that helps- good luck in finding the system that is right for you. Let me know if you have any more questions