Comments on: Pompe a chaleur – reduce your heating bills, at what cost?

By: Chris Skerry

Chris Skerry — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:48:47 +0000

I am investigating a PAC with two 100 meter bore holes. The potential installer is http://www.geothermic.fr in the Vendée (D=85). Does anyone know if they are any good? They make the PAC and also own the company that drills the holes.

In my studies on heat pumps, I have come across a website that says that EDF will still give a Tempo tariff. They wont be keen, but can be persuaded. I pay about 4 centimes per kw/h (on a blue day – the cheapest) in France, and 12.5 pence all the time in the UK. It seems that running out of coal was good for France.

By: Boris

Boris — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:11:28 +0000

Interestingly our friends did a lot of research a year ago and decided the same – but they have just come across a new pompe a chaleur system that claims to be much more efficient and much more cost effective. It is also very large (1 cubic metre?) and heavy.
I remain very sceptical, mostly regarding efficiency and electricity bills when the temperature drops below a few degrees – but they say it is more convincing than the ones that were around a year ago. I’m looking forward to hearing how it works for them.

By: Johnny Norfolk

Johnny Norfolk — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:27:56 +0000

Every time I have looked at things like this. The cost saving return period is just far to long. So I have let my head rule my heart and nevr gone down this road. I have yet to find any of these syatems when their claimed pay back periods are correct.

I must say I am finding your posts very interesting. Its so good to read so many interesting pieces. Mrs N is not at all happy that I have found your site as I am spending ( in her opinion) far to much time on the PC dreaming about France.

By: Jean Halford-Thompson

Jean Halford-Thompson — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:56:07 +0000

EGP is indeed pre-Tempo with the 22 ultra expensive days and the rest ultra cheap. No in between as with Tempo. EDF stopped it 10 years ago as it was so popular they were losing money!

We could shoot rabbits and make the coats/eat the meat – or at least we could have done up to last year. We were over run with the little blighters who ate EVERYTHING out of the veggie plot. Now they seem to have settled down again in number and although I see one most days they are no longer such a problem. Back to ebay I fear!

Forage is certainly more expensive but more efficient (so they say! I wouldn’t know). To be honest, we don’t have any aspirations of ever getting our room temperature above 17 degrees during the winter (and that’s on a warm day!). We just want to know that we don’t have to mortgage the house to achieve that 17 degrees. We are not complaining about the cold – after all we chose to live in this beautiful old house – just searching for ways to stop our teeth chattering so that we could complain if we wanted to!

By: Boris

Boris — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:30:29 +0000

If anyone has knowledge of the value of a second hand stove please post here. I can forward your details to kathy if required.
Cheers

By: kathy

kathy — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:42:43 +0000

Have a cast iron black stove-says Chaleur 6-1-1982 any idea of the value. Want to sell
Has two doors that close, to connect outside but in house, any help you can give me will be apprceciated. has serial nu,ber too
Thank you

By: Boris

Boris — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:13:08 +0000

Jean, you don’t need to buy fur coats you need to start shooting rabbits and making coats for yourself. Even cheaper than ebay, and very elegant I’m sure.
The ‘life of the system’ as 10 years is interesting since its crucial to evaluating the system – I guess that underground pipes are non-corroding and last more or less for ever (leaks at joints aside) but 10 years for something with moving parts – ie the PAC itself – sounds quite a long time.
Is EGP the precursor to Tempo, where you have about 20 very expensive days in winter, about 40 mid-price days, and the rest of the year very cheap? We use tempo but I didn’t mention it above because it confuses the calculations even more.
Likewise I didn’t mention the forage version because I believe it is less common – does it cost more than a ‘normal’ geothermal installation?

By: Jean

Jean — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:18:13 +0000

I’m interested in your post because we are in the process of gathering etudes on the PAC and the Geothermie – but the forage system. Unfortunately for us (well, in this case anyway) we are surrounded by a moat and the boiler is at the back of the house which means the access for the forage is not possible. This would otherwise have been idea. The PAC is a problem because the house is big and old (14th century manoir) and without insulation. However, as we are more than accustomed to living in 16 degrees that’s all we require from the system. If we can maintain that with a PAC, rather than fuel, then that’s what we will do. We have a PAC on the pool, installed in 2000, and it’s very good but, as you say, limited to 5 degrees outside temperature. However, I believe things have moved on and lower temperatures can still produce a reasonable heat exchange. We have calculated that in an average year we have two weeks when the temperature falls below -4 degrees and have therefore based our calculations on that. I should add though that we have the EGP electric system which is now no longer available, and this makes the system cheaper for us.
At the moment the problem is finding which size PAC we need and I suspect that will be the deciding factor.
Incidentally, we were told that any calculation should be based on the system paying for itself within 10 years – not more than.

I have looked into another option (given that our house is ALWAYS cold to other people). I am looking at buying second hand fur coats off ebay to wear on those days when the house is just too cold even for us – and of course to lend to our guests who are used to 20 degree living. I’ve always maintained that fur for warmth is not the same as fur for vanity and I think in the depths of winter we qualify for the former!