2.4 Hot Water System
The hot water in your apartment is provided by a Dimplex “EDEL” Extract Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) complete with electric immersion backup. Therefore, your apartment will benefit from highly efficient, low carbon hot water generation.
An ASHP is a piece of equipment that absorbs heat from the outside air and converts this into energy to provide you with hot water from your taps. It extracts heat in the same way that a fridge extracts heat from its inside and, whilst it runs on electricity, the heat extracted from the air is constantly being renewed naturally.
The Edel hot water heat pump unit consists of a ducted system to draw in external air to the heat pump section of the unit, mounted on top of a water cylinder. The heat pump collects energy from the external air and converts this into heat, which is then transferred to the water within the cylinder, creating hot water. After the heat is absorbed from the external air, the air (which is now much colder) is then exhausted through the ductwork back to the atmosphere.
Depending on the configuration of your apartment, the Dimplex Edel Heat Pump cylinder will be located in either the hall cupboard or in a cupboard off the kitchen/living room.
There is a separate isolator switch, which is labelled, in the cupboard beside this unit that controls the power to the fan section of this unit. It is very important that this remains on so that the heat pump can operate. If this is isolated then the hot water cylinder will be forced to generate hot water via the electric immersion which is far less efficient and more expensive. This water cylinder operates in the same way as would be found with a conventional boiler arrangement but with the ASHP replacing the actual boiler. It is the heat/energy from the ASHP that will warm the water in the cylinder. There is also a backup immersion heater that is available should the heat pump ever fail or need maintenance. The immersion can also be utilised to boost the time taken to heat up the cylinder, should you run out of hot water during a period of heavy usage.
As with a house, the water cylinder only has a certain capacity and whilst it has been sized to ensure that a number of water sources can all run simultaneously, once the supply in the tank has been used up it will take some time for the hot water to fully replenish itself. It should only be in very exceptional circumstances where the water usage is such that the hot water capacity in the cylinder is used up (for example, if a hot tap is left running by mistake, or if the baths and all showers are run simultaneously for long periods). If the hot water in the cylinder is depleted, the electric immersion could also be activated to help reduce re-heat time for the hot water cylinder.
If you activate the immersion, this will concentrate all of the heating from the ASHP and the electrical immersion heater into quickly replenishing the hot water in the cylinder. However, you must remember to turn off the immersion once this is complete to prevent continued operation of the immersion which will result in far higher bills.
Regular annual maintenance of the appliance is required by a trained and suitably qualified professional technician. Annual maintenance is essential for ensuring sustained use and durability.
The service engineer should complete the relevant Service Record on the Benchmark Checklist after each service. The Benchmark Checklist will be required in the event of any warranty work. In the absence of regular maintenance, the warranty will not apply.
Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) – Overpressure Fault Reset
In some cases, an overpressure fault may appear on the Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP), particularly when the apartment has been unoccupied for a period of time and the system has not been in use. If this occurs, the fault can be easily cleared by pressing the control dial – this will reset the system and remove the error message.
Below is an image showing how to reset the ASHP:
