Welcome to the future of home heating

Here you can find support and helpful advice on making the most of your heat pump.

1. It'll adjust to the weather automatically

Your heat pump monitors how hot or cold it is outside, and adjusts the temperature inside to account for that without needing to adjust anything. So you’ll never use more energy than you need to.

2. Heat pumps take longer to warm up

Your heat pump is super efficient and uses cooler water to heat your home, so it will take longer to warm up to the target temperature than your old boiler. This means it’s best to set your heating to come on before you get home or wake up. Getting the pre-heating time right will depend on how long it takes to heat your home, so you may need a few trial runs before finding the perfect schedule.

3. Hot water always takes priority

When it’s time to heat your hot water tank, your heating will switch itself off, and when the tank’s ready, it’ll turn itself back on. You don’t need to do anything and it doesn’t take long so you shouldn’t notice a difference in your home’s temperature. If you’re on a smart tariff you can save money by scheduling your water to heat at off-peak times when electricity is cheaper.

4. It’s better to turn the thermostat down than turn the pump off

Your pump is much more efficient when it’s running consistently. Don’t want the heating on when you’re out? Turn down the thermostat by around 3 degrees or set a schedule in advance, so the heat is turned down when you're not there.

5. Keeping the area around your pump clean and clear helps it work well

The box needs room to breathe, so we'd recommend you don't pile the garden furniture or pots nearby. It also helps to clean off any leaves or dirt, and brush away snow. If you fancy a spring clean, you can give it a wipe down with a damp cloth, but steer clear of detergents and chemicals.

Your heat pump should save you money compared to a gas boiler, even on a standard variable tariff like Flexible Octopus. But you’ll make the biggest savings by switching to one of our smart tariffs, and heating your water cylinder at the cheapest and greenest times of day.

Used efficiently, your heat pump should be cheaper to run than a gas boiler most of the year. Here’s how to make the most of it:

Why is it showing an ‘AH’ error?

The short answer is that it didn’t finish disinfecting. Leave it a week, and it should run another cycle and clear the error. If it hasn’t by day 8, give us a call.

The long answer: once a week, your hot water cylinder runs a disinfection cycle. That should happen some time when you’re unlikely to run the hot water, like in the early hours. But if someone, say, runs a bath during that time, it stops the process. And that shows up as an error until it runs the next cycle. Don’t worry: skipping a week won’t cause any problems.

Why is it smoking or dripping?

It’s most likely defrosting. When it’s cold, your pump will automatically run a cycle to clear any ice trying to build up at the back. It’s actually steam, not smoke, and a bit of melted ice. So it might look a bit dramatic, but it’s actually a sign everything’s working as it should be.

Why aren’t my radiators hot?

Believe it or not, the radiators will still be warming up your home even if they’re not very hot to touch. If your room is comfortable and the thermostat is the right temperature, then everything’s working fine – even if the radiators are lukewarm or cool.

If the thermostat looks right but the room still feels a bit chilly, you could:

• change the heating schedule, so it’s warm at different times
• turn up the target temperature by a degree or two
• open the valves and check the system pressure
  

Most issues can be fixed with a little heat pump TLC (maybe the radiators feel colder at the top, or your hot water isn’t as hot as you’d expect). In this section we'll explain how to tackle this by:

• Opening the radiator valves and bleeding the radiators
• Checking and adjusting the water pressure in your heat pump
  

Looking after your radiators

There are two simple things you can do to keep your radiators in good nick and make sure your heating levels stay stable.

1. Open the valves

A lot of radiators have thermostatic valves, so you can regulate the heat in each room. They’re very handy, but they can get stuck sometimes.

All you need to do is turn them all the way in each direction before setting them back to where you want.

2. Bleed any air out of the radiators

You’ll know for sure they need it if they’ve got cold spots at the top. You’ll need a radiator key and a rag or cloth.

Pop the key in the valve and turn it slowly anti-clockwise, holding the cloth underneath, until you hear air hissing out. Hold there until a bit of water spits out (that’s what the cloth is for). Then close the valve again firmly, turning clockwise. Check out this video for a demo.

If you’ve had to bleed your radiators, it’s quite likely your water pressure has dropped. So check that next.

Checking and adjusting water pressure

Your heating system relies on water being at a certain pressure to work efficiently. Over time, the pressure can ease down, like air from a car tyre. It can also be affected if you change anything, like bleeding the radiators. Here’s how to keep it in good shape:

1. Make sure the system is cold before you start

Switch off the heat pump, and let the pipes cool down.

2. Check the cold water pressure

There’s a pressure gauge attached to the pump, or you can use the control panel. When the system is cold, the pressure should be between 1 and 1.5 bar.|

3. If it’s lower than 1 bar, top up the system with water

This is the hands-on bit. When you look at the heat pump, you’ll see a section with either a lever or flat-headed screws at either end of a flexible, braided hose. This is your filling loop.

4. You’ll need to turn the levers or screws slowly to let water into the system. Two things to remember:

• Make sure the pump’s off and the water in the system is cold
• Turn the levers or screws one at a time

They only need a quarter-turn. Keep your eye on the pressure gauge as the water is flowing in.

As soon as the gauge reaches 1 bar, shut the levers or screws off again. You don’t want the system pressure going too high.

Note: when your pump is on and the water is hot, you might see a higher pressure. That’s nothing to worry about: it goes up and down a bit while it’s working. But if the cold water pressure falls lower than 1 bar, the system won’t work as well as it should.

What if I’ve done all that, but my heating still isn’t hitting the right temperature?

It might be that the ‘leaving water’ - that is, the water circulating through your radiators and/or underfloor heating - is too cold. You can change that in the control panel settings. See this video for a guide.

1. Scroll through the main menu and choose ‘main zone’.
2. Use the right hand dial to raise the temperature slightly and press the left hand dial to confirm.

Controlling your heat pump is simplest with the Daikin Onecta app. You can download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or you can find it here.

With the app you’ll be able to:

• Control your heating & hot water anytime, anywhere from your phone
• Set smart schedules to run your heat pump at the cheapest, greenest times
• Get instant access to your heat pump consumption and health data

Link to your Octopus account

To get the best out of your heat pump, we also recommend linking to your Octopus account. This allows us to remotely check your heat pump performance and offer the right support if you ever need it. You can also update your heat pump settings from the Octopus controller and link this to your energy for even smarter features in the future (watch this space 👀).

Get connected in just a few simple steps:

First, make sure you’re set up on the Daikin Onecta app (if you’ve already done this skip to the next section

1. Download the Daikin Onecta app from Google Play Store or Apple App Store: https://www.daikin.co.uk/en_gb/product-group/control-systems/daikin-online-controller.html

2. Create an account and follow the steps on the Daikin app to add your heat pump to your Daikin account

Then, link to your Octopus account

3. Go to the Octopus Heat pump Controller Website: https://octopus.energy/heat-pump/

4. Login with your Octopus Energy account and follow the steps to connect to your Daikin account

If you've got another smart thermostat (like Nest, Hive or Tado) or an electric vehicle connected to Intelligent Octopus, we can’t offer you smart controls just yet.

Here you can find straightforward guidance on how to use your heat pump controls. If you can't find what you're looking for, stay tuned as we have more videos on the way. In the meantime, get in touch for extra support.

How to use your thermostat