Hello all,
Is there someone that knows a good company that can take care to replace my old oil heating system with this new heating pump electric systems (that work with electricity, not with pumps in the ground, just an external and internal unit)?
At the moment I am interested to know how much approximately it will cost me (it is a house of around 120 m2 and we will use the same radiators in the rooms).
Any ideas and info are welcomed and appreciated
Thanks
Markos

80'000 chf

20-50k all in (materials, labour etc.) Depending on the exact model, your current setup etc.

It’s nearly impossible to give you a clear answer without an inspection.

If you simply want to rip out an oil-fired boiler and replace it with a heat pump (which is most likely to sited outdoors), then CHF20,000 to 30,000 should cover it.

But as heat pumps work at lower temperatures than oil boilers, your existing radiators may not be adequate. Also your existing insulation may need upgrading. In which case it will be substantially more.

Get at least 3 quotations. Ours was supplied by meiertobler.ch and installed by a local firm…

Not all heat pumps work at lower temperature. They are most efficient at lower temps, but some are designed to work at higher temps as well. In our case, it will go up to 75 degrees, using old (late 70's) radiators.

A big part of the cost is removing the old oil tank, breaking a wall to enable access to the oil tank room, re-enforcing the ground outside for the heat pump, getting pipes from outside to inside, changing our old asbestos fuse panel to a modern breaker panel, etc... It all adds up rather quickly, but depending on the installation requirements, be prepared for 20-50k costs. It will be higher if you want a ground source heat pump, probably 40-80k.

We went with Hälg, found their services to be very professional and the prices were comparable with other local smaller companies. They have branches all over Switzerland.


Delivery time can be very long, like > 6 months.

I've never seen a heatpump that can itself heat water to 75 degrees, at least in winter temperatures. The best I've seen is somewhere in the 45 to 50 degree range (like the one we're getting).

Is this a specialized piece of equipment you're looking at?

There are new high temperature heat pumps coming on the market, Swedish company Vattenfall has one for example that will go over 60°C. The idea is to have this almost as a like-for-like swap with the gas boilers and run through radiators.



But the gradient involved, ie the heat difference, means there's no free lunch, it takes more work to get this higher temperature. But users won't have the installation costs of larger radiators, underfloor heating etc, it's an option that can suit some.

Just some googling:


https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/04/...er-up-to-75-c/


https://cenheatpump.en.made-in-china...Hotel-75c.html


https://www.nulitegroup.com/new-desi...ture-heat-pump


https://purethermal.co.uk/range-over...re-heat-pumps/ (80c, with a minimum external temperature of -20c)

Oops, I double-checked and I was wrong, it only goes up to 70 degrees. Here is the link to the product from Hoval. LINK ... And the prospect


If we find that it's too expensive to operate, we can consider more efficient radiators or underfloor heating in the future. Hopefully it won't leave us freezing in winter.

We are right now as part of a big reno replacing our heating system with a heatpump which will be installed on the interior, with intake / outtake of air through a grill in the exterior wall. (no ugly box on the outside!)

total floorspace 190m2, incl. a small separate apartment of 45m2, radiator heated. The main area will be floor heated. This is system will be dual flow, one higher temp for the old fashioned radiators and low temp for the floor heated area. The heat pump will also invert in the summer, ie. send cold water through the system for cooling.

Note that it doesn't make sense for us to install this system without installation of solar panels. Also, the choice of the heat pump system is only a last step in the heating process. The best heating for most old houses is isolation. We have replaced our roof, windows will follow and then exterior wall isolation.

(We are moving from G to B energy consumption).

Total costs for just the heating system 20-30k, but the installation will total around 60k. ex all the other stuff.

Check you local and regional govt for subsidies, we are receiving about 30k in total for the whole project. Also everything's tax deductible.

We are in the process of doing something similar:

Adding on to the house with a connected studio apartment for guests, exterior insulation, replacing the Heizöl system with a Luftwärmepump system, solar panels (perhaps 30 square meters, hopefully more), and some other smaller stuff.

Other than "damn things are expensive in Switzerland" is my concern that the Luftwärmepump won't do the job, even with insulation. Except for the add-on, we will have radiators throughout the house, and when the outside temperature stays below freezing for more than a few days the heater can barely manage keeping the interior at 18 degrees unless I start running it with 75 degree water (usually it's at 55 degrees).

My one hope was to hook our wood stove into the system to boost the water temperature when the weather is cold. However it appears that can cause issues with the tax breaks and subsidy: the wood stove if hooked into the water system requires an expansion chamber and exterior pressure release valves, which means the entire system won't qualify for the tax/subsidy benefit.

I'm still researching this and hope to find out reasonably soon.

Some important points:

Check for rebates and tax incentives at all levels.

Choose a company who is willing to help you with the paperwork you need to submit for the building permit. Check the local regulations first as there might be restrictions/rules regarding units placed outside.

Might be a good idea to speak to your neighbors on either side if you will have something installed outside.