If you have an Air Source Heat Pump, you'll need to know how to get the most from your new renewable heating as it works ‘low and slow’ to keep your home at a comfortable temperature all the time. This can feel very different to the fluctuations of temperature you get with something like gas central heating.
We've put together some useful information below.
- The air source heat pump takes in heat from the outside air
- Using electricity and a compressor, heat from the air is absorbed into a fluid, warmed and released at a higher temperature
- Heat is then sent to radiators, and any remaining heat is stored in the hot water cylinder
- Stored hot water can be used for showers, baths and taps.
Rather than an ‘on and ‘off’ type setting, your system will be preset to keep your home at a target ‘comfort’ temperature (usually about 21oC) or the lower ‘set back’ temperature (usually 3 or 4 degrees cooler).
When the weather is warmer outside, fluid in the system is released at a lower temperature and the radiators will feel cooler. When it gets colder outside, the system compensates by increasing the temperature that the fluid is released at, so the radiators get hotter and your home can still be comfortably warm.
It’s recommended to leave the heating and hot water on so that the system can keep your home comfortable but also work as efficiently as possible – letting it use less energy by only providing heating when it’s needed.
- Use the room thermostat on the wall to adjust your heating and hot water.
- You should not normally need to touch the main controller (often next to your hot water cylinder) as you should leave this on the installer’s settings.
- The room thermostat includes buttons to give temporary priority to heating the hot water or to set the system to ‘holiday mode’ if you’re going away.
- If you want to change the preset target temperatures, use the room thermostat to change the temperature by 1 or 2 degrees and then wait for this to take effect. (Remember: it won’t change quickly because the system is designed to stay on ‘low and slow’ to keep your home comfortably warm all the time.)
- Do not turn the heating and hot water off completely: if your home cools down, it will need more energy to heat it back up to a comfortable level.
ASHP user guides and videos
Here are guides for the three main types of air source heat pump you may have in your home, but these should also be useful if you have a different sort.
For a range of information about the system and how to control your heating and hot water, read our Daikin Altherma heat pump user guide [pdf, 1.62MB] 
. This includes links to some short videos.
For the basics on how to control your heating and hot water easily, read the wireless controller user guide [pdf, 507KB] or watch the video below:
For more detailed information about the system and the main controller unit, you can also read the quick start guide [pdf, 4.7MB] or watch the video below:
For a quick explanation of your ASHP system and how to control the heating and hot water using the SensoComfort controller, watch the video below or read the aroTHERM plus handover guide [pdf, 1MB] .
Please note: the video gives contact details for Vaillant, but please get in touch with SNG instead if you have any issues.
Troubleshooting
We hope you don't have any problems with your heating system but, if it’s something simple, you might be able to fix it yourself. Take a look at the tips below.
All serious problems should be fixed by the installer or a trained professional, so please contact us.
Troubleshooting tips
Check the following:
- Is the hot water scheduled off? If so, please check the schedule settings and adjust as required.
- Has all the hot water from the tank been used? Make sure DHW (Domestic Hot Water) mode is operating and wait for tank to re-heat.
- If the heat pump or electric heaters are not working, please contact us.
The system has overheated/over pressurised. Please switch off power to the heat pump and any immersion heaters, then contact us.
Dirt may be preventing a tight seal in the valve. Try twisting the valve cap in the direction indicated, until you hear a click. This will release a small amount of water to flush dirt from the valve. Be very careful, the water released will be hot.
If the valve continues to drip, please contact us as the rubber seal may be damaged and need replacing.
Air may be trapped in the system so try bleeding the radiators.
If the pipework is still noisy, please contact us.
Check the following:
- First check the settings for your heating system and change as required.
- If one room is consistently colder than the others, check that the radiator valve is fully open. If that doesn’t solve the issue then please contact us.
- The temperature sensor may be in a room which is at a different temperature to the rest of the house. You can move the temperature sensor to another room.
Heat pumps work best when they work a steady rate, rather than being turned on and off quickly. The radiators won't warm up as quickly and, because the system is more efficient, they don't need to be as hot to the touch as you may be used to if you've previously had something like gas central heating.
To allow your heat pump to work as efficiently as possible, make sure you set your schedule so that the heat pump has time to warm up the room before you want it to reach the set temperature.
If the indoor or outdoor unit is reporting an error, please make a note of the error code number and contact us.
The pump jam prevention mechanism is working to prevent the build up of scale. This is normal and no action is needed.
This could be the heaters switching on or off, which is normal and no action is required.
The 3-way valve could be changing position between DHW (Domestic Hot Water) and heating mode. Again, this is a normal and no action is required.
The 3-way valve may have foreign objects in it, or hot water may flow to the heating side due to a fault. Please contact us about this.
This is part of the normal defrost cycle. It is warm air being blown from the Ecodan to make sure that the internal parts don’t freeze.
If you have a power failure, all the settings will be saved for one week. After one week with no power, only the date and time will be saved.