Air source heat pumps
Air source heat pumps take warmth from the air outside (even when it’s freezing!) and use it to provide heating and hot water in a more energy efficient way.
They’re different to other forms of heating as they’re designed to heat to low temperatures over a long period of time, rather than quickly providing heat when turned on.
The heat pump should heat your hot water tank to around 35-40°C and it’ll heat up to 60 degrees once a week to keep the tank clean.
Making the most of your new air source heat pump
- It’s best to keep the external unit clear of obstructions so the air flow isn’t restricted and running costs are kept lower.
- Maintaining a consistently low background heat is more efficient than turning the heating on and off frequently.
- Open curtains during day light hours to capture the sun’s heat in your home.
- Regularly clean the filters and make sure the outdoor unit’s free of debris like leaves and weeds.
- Adjust the thermostat gradually rather than expecting instant heat, as heat pumps can take longer to heat up a room than a gas boiler.
When you don’t want heat, the heat pump shouldn’t be turned off completely. When turned back on it’ll try to raise the temperature as quickly as possible, which is expensive.
| At night | Lower the temperature to around 10-15°C, and then set it to slowly increase in the morning so that the room is a comfortable temperature when you wake up. |
| Away for a day | Just leave the system running as usual. |
| Away for a week | The system’s control panel should have a ‘frost protection’ or ‘holiday’ setting which will lower the room temperature while you’re away. This will also prevent the pipes freezing in cold weather. |
| During the summer | Your heat pump might have a ‘summer’ mode, or you can simply turn down the room thermostat. This means the heating won’t come on, but you’ll still get hot water. You can raise your thermostat temperature again slowly as autumn approaches. |
If the heat pump turns off
If you have a power cut the heat pump will turn off. If the power’s off for a long time, the heat pump will need to warm itself up before it can heat your home again. Check your instructions as this may happen automatically or you may need to select a setting.
Troubleshooting
- No heating or hot water? Check that the Water Heater and Heat pump switches are turned on.
- If the display is showing a low pressure code, use the filling loop on the system to top up the water pressure – most models have instructions on a card attached to the filling loop.
- Use the boost function to heat additional water if the hot water has run out.
- Check out our Air Source Heat Pump video guide.