Tonehenge

The surveyor from Octopus came today to assess our house for a heat pump.  We have been interested in them since they first appeared and now the technology has moved on, we thought we would explore the possibility.  James the surveyor was very thorough, assessing each room for heat loss, taking measurements, looking at the radiators and depth of loft insulation, the hot water tank cupboard and the potential placement of the unit.  Stop here if you don't want all the detail but I thought it worth recording for anyone else considering one.

Once he had all the data he went over the pros and cons.  Our house is a Victorian end of terrace with a modern extension.  The extension is all good with cavity wall insulation and sound radiators.  The first issue came with the cupboard which currently houses our hot water tank and is where we store the bedlinen.  This is in the small back bedroom and is too small for the heat pump tank and all its plumbing, so would have to be enlarged outwards, taking more from an already limited space.  It would also mean the bedding would have to go elsewhere.

We have solid stone walls so heat loss is unavoidable.  We would need several more radiators, triple convectors, which are deeper than regular radiators and a greater thickness of insulation in both our lofts.  The extra radiator in the living room would be a cosmetic nightmare and the kitchen would require the original radiator to be replaced by three new ones for which we do not have the wall space.  New pipework would also mean quite extensive work.

All that means we said thank you to James, but no we would not be proceeding.  We feel he provided us with a detailed survey and encouraged our questions and concerns.  There was no pushy sales talk just lots of information enabling us to make the right decision.  If our house was all like our extension it would be straightforward, but at least now we know.  We will be content with our solar panels , which are doing very well in the present sunny snap!

I spent much of the day on housework ahead of our visitors' arrival this weekend whilst Tony continued to clear his sowing circles of roots and rocks in the drying ground.  The one I started on yesterday was full of large rocks, so Tony has made them into a feature - his henge!