How to use your Vaillant Air Source Heat Pump

Heat pumps operate rather like a fridge. Only rather than cooling, they operate in reverse and heat your home instead.

Like fridges, heat pumps are designed to operate continually on low power to gently heat your home.

Unlike a boiler, heat pumps operate at much cooler temperatures which means that the temperature of your radiators will be approximately 45 degrees Celsius rather than the typical 80 degrees Celsius that you may be used to from a boiler.

Due to these lower running temperatures, it is necessary to run your heat pump all of the time rather than setting an ON/OFF timer for when you return home from work for example. Running your heat pump continually, will ensure that it operates at its most economical and that your home remains at a comfortable temperature.

Rather than turning your heat pump off, we recommend that you program a "set back" temperature instead. This is done using the VR700 user controller. For example, when the property is unoccupied or at night time, simply set the temperature back a little by 3 or 4 degrees Celsius from your normal comfortable set point. So, if you normally require the room to be 21 degrees Celsius, set it to 17/18 degrees Celsius at night.

Turning your heat pump electricity supply off completely could damage the unit and will also cost you more to reheat your home from its lowest temperature.

Air source heat pump systems heat the water contained in the cylinder for your hot water supply. This requires the hot water to be timed as you would do with a conventional boiler and cylinder.

We recommend heating your hot water between midday and 2pm when the outside temperature is at its warmest. At this time, your air source heat pump can extract the most heat from the air. Setting your hot water when your electricity tariff is at its lowest throughout the day or night can also be a good time.

Did you know?

Air source heat pumps capture the heat from the air to heat your home more efficiently than a boiler or other forms of non-renewable heating. Throughout a typical year, air source heat pumps provide you more energy captured from the air than you actually pay for.

Air source heat pump systems are very similar to boiler central heating and may sometimes require air from the radiators to be vented. When doing so, this can cause the system pressure to drop meaning that your air source heat pump may stop working.

If this happens; "Low water pressure" be displayed on your programmer screen. Contact you're the Housing Service on 01597 827464 for advice to resolve this.

Some air source heat pump installations also contain glycol to prevent the pipes installed to the outside unit from freezing. Radiators fitted to glycol systems should only be vented by qualified personnel trained in its handling.

Please Do

• Operate your air source heat pump continually.
• Program a "set back" temperature at night or when the property is unoccupied rather than turning the heating off completely. Use the VR700 user controller to do this.

Please Don't

• Turn your heat pump off completely at the electricity supply. (If you have a token electricity meter, try not to let this run out completely)
• Alter the settings at the installer heat pump interface.
• Bleed your radiators unless seeking the advice of the Housing Service.