One of my big cribs regarding the latest rush to convert homes to Air to water, ( A/W ), heat pump usage was the seeming exclusion of Air to Air, ( A/A ), in the overall strategy.
The heat pump industry itself was perhaps somewhat to blame in that it continued to label A/A as Aircon, a more canny approach from this industry may have been to label them as " air source reverse cycle heat pump " which may have got them included in the initial heat pump plan.

I came across this recently from BESA :-

APPLICABLE VAT RATE ON HEAT PUMP INSTALLATIONS
The purpose of this technical bulletin is to advise members of changes to the VAT rate
announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement of 23rd March 2022.
1. BACKGROUND
In July 2014 HMRC introduced a scheme for applying a reduced rate of VAT of 5% on energy
saving materials and heating equipment. It followed on from the enhanced capital allowances list of
previous years whereby heating equipment which featured on that list could have a 5% VAT rate
applied when the products were installed in domestic situations. The move was designed to
encourage the uptake of energy efficient heating systems such as heat pumps in retrofit
applications.
In October 2019 the rules were subtly changed to incorporate a “60% test” that must be applied for
the reduced rate to be used if certain social policy conditions are not met.
The Spring Statement of 23rd March 2022 has reversed that 2019 ruling as from 1st April 2022
meaning that the social conditions and 60% requirements no longer apply at all. This has been
implemented to incentivize homeowners to install energy saving heating materials as part of a
wider package of Government measures targeted at improving energy efficiency and driving the
decarbonisation of heat agenda.
The zero rating applies to installations of these products and therefore cannot be applied by sellers
of equipment only.
At this moment in time the zero rating can only be used by contractors in Great Britain as the EU
need to agree to this move for Northern Ireland. HMRC assured us that they are working on this
being a UK wide initiative as soon as possible.

2. VAT NOTICE 708/6 – CONFUSION OVER DEFINTIONS1
In February 2021 an amendment to clause 2.17 Air source heat pumps was made to correct a
mistake where air source heat pumps of the split air conditioning type had been specifically ruled
out from the scheme. There remained a large element of confusion across the sector, however,
and the issue persisted. After extensive talks between the BESA and HMRC the guidance has
been updated to clarify the applicability rules and allow air source reverse cycle heat pump air
conditioners in the same way it applies for monoblock heat pumps.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-vat-treatment-of-the-installation-of-energy-saving-materials-in-in-great-britain/the-value-added-tax-installation-of-energy-saving-materials-order-2022

Seems like great news! The "60% rule" has been ditched, and VAT cut to zero on all kinds of stuff like insulation and solar panels and ASHP/GSHPs.

Edit: surprised they haven't made more of a show about this - people have been complaining for years about the VAT disparity between new-build vs retrofitting and this has gone a long way toward fixing that. As before, if you are adding insulation you can claim 0% VAT on all sorts of incidental stuff like plasterboarding and redecorating. Only regret is it doesn't apply to DIY.

[deleted]

Posted By: djh

............ I'm interested to know how places fund schemes like this when we always seem to tangle ourselves up in knots.

+1 Especially when you look at countries with broadly similar GDPs. You have to ask yourself where do the major financial differences lay.

So I assume it's therefore likely that A/A pumps will also be covered in the Clean Heat Grant (RHI scheme replacement - and also called the 'Boiler Upgrade Scheme') from April onwards?

I thought this was going to be perfect timing for me then I read that this scheme will not be available in Scotland. Humff. Good for some though...

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-may-be-eligible-for-the-boiler-upgrade-scheme-from-april-2022

Posted By: WillInAberdeenFit like the day,

https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/find-funding-grants-and-loans/interest-free-loans/detail/" rel="nofollow" >https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/find-funding-grants-and-loans/interest-free-loans/detail/

Seems that Scot gov will lend up to £10k for heatpumps and then convert 75% of that to a grant. Not sure about A-A.

There is actually a lot of funding available in UK through random council grants, gov schemes, energy company obligations etc but it's difficult to find info in one place of what's available.

Nae bad manny. Thanks for the heads up. I spotted that before but saw the word 'Loan' and promptly ignored!
Unfortunately that homeenergyscotland website suggests No to A/A...
" - Heat pumps (either air source to water, ground source to water, water source to water or hybrid air source to water): £10,000 (£2,500 loan plus up to £7,500 cashback)"

Maybe it will be updated in line with the HMRC guidelines at some point.

Resurrecting this to let anyone interested know that Scotland's grant scheme does not include air-to-air. I have just contacted them to ask. Apparently the grants are for heating, whereas A/A is 'more like air conditioning'. This really needs updating.

I also asked about grants for EWI. Yes, these are available but of course you have to use an installer registered with Green Deal, though you are not limited to which materials you can use. The problem here is that there are very few such installers north of Scotland's central belt, and many of these are only doing work on large scale, such as retrofitting council properties.

It's a welcome scheme but not (yet?) supported with a network of installers.

malakoffee

How do you find the noise levels of the outdoor unit? This is one thing that makes me nervous. I have planning permission for the outdoor unit with the conditions: "50dB(A) within external space of any noise sensitive premises" and "42dB(A) 1m from centre point of any neighbouring window serving a habitable room".

The Daikin units I've just looked are rated at 47dB(A) though I don't know how far away that is measured. The window stipulation would probably be fine, but what's to stop my neighbour claiming any space in his garden, only a couple of meters away, is 'noise sensitive'? I am also noise sensitive, btw!

I regularly pass an outdoor unit (of unknown age) and it makes a real racket in cold weather.

Posted By: GarethCI thought the sound pressure rating was at 1m distance from unit

+1
Usually AFAIK, 1M from the front of the unit and 1.5M above ground.
Modern digital units modulate according to indoor demand, at their optimum (lowest) sound levels they can be barely audible at a couple of metres.

The MCS noise calculation procedure for planning purposes is in MCS 020 section 3

https://mcscertified.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/MCS-020.pdf

If you plug in the dB(A) of your unit and the distance to the neighbours windows or garden, it should tell you the dB level there.


For example if the heatpump is 47dB(A) and mounted at ground level against a wall 2m from the receptor, then deduct 11dB
47-11 = 36dB -> complies

Further deductions are allowed if there's a wall or fence in the way.

My outdoor unit was installed at the back of the bungalow - pointing down (longish) garden.

This meant a 8m pipe-run outside, between the units.

Minimising the pipe-run best for efficiency . . . .and A.n.other Installer was intending to stick an outside unit on the side of the house ( a mere 2.5 metres between our houses )

I'm glad I chose the back-of-bungalow :-

- When the outside temperature was below Zero it was generating a noticeable fan hum.
As the beneficiary of the heat, I found this quite acceptable . . . The brain is great at selectively filtering.
However, I am much content that I have avoided ALL possibility of a neighbour becoming sensitive to this ( if I had it installed on the side ).

- Another consideration : the noticeably colder plume of air blown by the fan - which travels a good few metres.
I would certainly NOT appreciate my neighbour blowing cold air on the walls/windows of my house ( or Hot air in summer ).

Having said that : as time passes there are bound ever increasing numbers of Heat Pumps in our neighbourhoods. Such points of sensitivity will have be tolerated ( to a greater degree ).

A friend has just fitted a Daiken unit that is very discreet internally and (when I've had a look at it) inaudible above background noise on our city street.

The internal unit is particularly smart

https://www.daikin.co.uk/en_gb/product-group/air-to-air-heat-pumps/stylish.html

Posted By: owlmanI've been delighted with my Toshiba ducted unit, in fact can't fault it.

We have an old oil heating system in an old solid stone walled bungalow. We are considering replacing it with an A2A system. As it's a bungalow I don't think there would be a problem installing such a system. Would you mind sharing details of your layout and the size etc of your system.

Posted By: owlmanHi Peter,
Were You thinking ducted, with warm air delivery through wall or ceiling registers or; indoor wall hung/low level/ceiling mount in various rooms?

We were considering both. I've found out information about the systems with wall mounted units but I've not been able to find out much about ducted systems feeding ceiling vents. Also most of the A2A systems I've found out about have been in newer properties and I was wondering what type of house you had.

Posted By: owlmanAny more questions just ask, and I'll try and answer.

Many thanks for your help, it's really useful. When you say it has two supply and two return, what are the return ducts for? I've just looked at a Toshiba RAV-SM1606BTP-E and it has the option of four 200mm discharge spigots. Do you happen to know if you can split each of the ducts into two with a Y piece so creating eight ducts. That would be more useful for us as we have several small rooms.