We (3 of us) live in a detached 4 bed. In the autumn we had a (ground exchange?) heat pump fitted to replace the old oil based system. We weren’t too happy with the installation for a variety of reasons. Our Q1 electric bill was nearly 1500 chfs. I’d be interested to know a comparitive figure from anyone with a similar configuration.
I assume you mean a geothermal exchange rather than air exchange.
We have around 200m2 and our winter bill was also almost 1000chf. (although the heat pump is now exclusively for heating …we have separate high-efficiency water heater.) .
They are not necessarily cheaper to run, just more environmentally friendly than oil. We installed solar this year so hoping it will reduce costs moving forward.
I’m not sure of the name for the system (the house is rented we didn’t specify it) but there ‘rods in the ground’. The heat pump is just for the heating. There’s also a new, and presumably more efficient, hot water tank gone in at the same time.
Following this as I was speaking to a local firm a while ago when my furnace appeared to die, and their suggestion was to avoid heatpumps as my bill would go up drastically. They managed to get the furnace running again by replacing the burner.
Currently on diesel/heizoel - heating 3x apartments (each around 110sqm), for 2000/year.
This is why a heatpump only makes sense if you’re gonna combine with solar. In Summer, our heatpump will basically cool the house for free and regenerate the geotherm in the process. In winter some of the heating cost will be offset by solar, assuming enough daytime sunshine in our foggy area.
We have an air exchange heat pump system for the same sized house with three adults living here and our annual electricity bill is around 2700chf. We don’t have solar panels (yet) and that covers everything ( hot water, heating , cooking, lights etc).
now that sounds more like it.
I guess a lot depends on the m2 or even more, m3, not the number of bedrooms. Also, price per kWh differs significantly across CH (we had huge increases in our region 2 years ago…)., so maybe it’s better to share numbers that way.
So, in our case:
- 2 adults + 2 kids (8 yo and 17 yo)
- 1 floor house 140m2 (with the same area in the basement), 445 m3 in the basement + 716 m3 on the ground floor = 1161 m3 total
- CTC EcoAir 622M heat pump (air-to-water)
- Solar panels (for hot water)
- In 2024 we have used 8353 kWh which translated into 3407 CHF…
Curious to see similar information from others
and insulation…
My numbers:
- 3 adults + 1 toddler + 2 dogs
- 3 floor house + basement (partially heated). Approx 400sq.m heated, so I estimate 1300 m3 with a 3.2m high ceiling (roughly - I do have a false ceiling of about 20-30cm above that, but obviously not heated).
- most walls insulated, but the roof is only partially insulated
- old diesel furnace with a new burner/heat exchange replaced a year or two ago. On average I use about 2000l of diesel a year; which at the current rate of 92rappen/liter works out to 1800chf. Over the years I paid: 102.73, 105.5, 140.07, 83.7, 74.56, 88.34 per liter (2024 was 102.72, and 2019 was 88.34)… so quite a lot of fluctuation here…
Baldur: that sounds like you have 5m+ high celiings! Wow
EDIT: Forgot to mention, I installed MEX a while ago, great purchase… it reads how much diesel is left, consumption, etc… (and is where I can quickly see how much fuel I used and and what it cost for the numbers above.)
Since this winter, I also put electric TRVs (tado), so I’m curious to see if they make a difference.
mmm… starting to look like we’re paying a lot… oldish house so not sure about insulation.. new double glazing.. about 220 sq m.. canton AG
Electricity prices also varies by canton.
Yeah, that’s why I think posting usage in kWh could be better for comparison. But there are so many variables, that it will anyway be difficult.
Exactly!
Yeah, around half of the house has “normal height” - there is unheated attic above, but the other half is probably over 5m at the top - there is no attic. Before our renovation there was mezzanine there. I just posted numbers from architect, so now I think it also included non-heated attic.
I’m jealous. One thing I miss from “back home” is the high ceilings… took getting used to.
Heat pumps work at lower temperatures than legacy heating methods. Thus in older less well insulated properties - especially with wall radiators - they often do not - and cannot - heat homes to comfortable temperatures.
With good insulation and underfloor heating heat pumps are excellent and economic. We heat to 23°C all winter. 5½ room detached house. 155sqM. Annual kWh around 9,000. 96kW peak solar panels. Annual bill around CHF1,700…
We have a 6.5 room house with air heat pump and underfloor heating. Approximately 200sqM on the two main floors and two heated rooms in the basement. We keep the house at a comfortable temperature for us all year round, between 20 and 22 in the living area and around 17 in the bedrooms.
We used 13000kWh last year and paid 2694chf for the year. That is our total energy consumption, not just for heating.
I think numbers of what is “comfortable!” are also needed reading that I think my wife would kill me if we had the bedrooms set to 17c!
Currently, living room, office and common spaces are set to 23-24. Bedrooms to 22. Cellar + laundry is set to 18 (but usually is much higher as the furnace + freezers + washing machine all contribute to the heat downstairs)
16c to 18c is considered a healthy temperature for a bedroom.
I’d never be able to sleep if the bedroom was 22°.
I think it’s down to upbringing… my wife comes from “up north”, so for her, anything below 20c is “why isn’t the house heated”.
I grew up in tropical countries with A/C, so anything over 20c is “why isn’t the house a/c’ed?” (heck, I spent time in countries where it was common to leave you car running while having lunch/dinner if the restaurant didn’t have an a/c’ed garage - that way it wouldn’t be an oven when you got back to it)
Obviously the compromise is she gets the choice of temperature