Terrace property, hosted by Kirsten

We live in a mid-terrace house with solid walls which was built in 1906. We moved into the property in 2023, and started the process in summer of 2023, after noticing our boiler was on its last legs. We topped up the insulation in the loft as a DIY job in order to qualify to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (this is no longer a requirement).  We wanted to entirely take our property off gas, so we swapped our gas hob for an induction hob and got rid of the gas fire unit in the fireplace. We also had to cut an area in the kitchen cabinets to fit the water cylinder. As it's a terraced house, the area behind the house was quite small, so we needed to apply for planning permission, which took several months (in our understanding the rules have changed, so if we were trying to get the heat pump now, we wouldn't have to apply for planning permission). The heat pump was installed in June 2024. When the heat pump was installed, several of the radiators also needed to be swapped for larger ones. With the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the install cost us £1050 in total, less than replacing our boiler.  We would like to eventually insulate some of the walls, under the living room floor, and upgrade our windows to triple glazing, but as we are not on benefits we don't qualify for any grants, so we are slowly saving up cash to pay for these upgrades ourselves.

The heat pump has kept our house warm and cozy in the winter, warmer than with our old gas boiler. Because there is a water cylinder, the water doesn't take as long to heat up. It's costing us slightly less per month than the old system. There have only been a couple of glitches: the Daikin phone app has gone offline a couple of times, and we've had to clean the filter a couple of times (we think this might be due to sediment in one of our existing radiators, which is very old - we are looking now to replace this). However, overall, we're happy with it.