Aira's Air Source Heat Pump

Where would you have yours?

It’s been 4 months since I had my Aira Air Source Heat Pump installed, and I hear a lot of people are unsure where to put their outdoor unit. Mine is placed on the front of the house to the side that is only ever crossed when accessing the bins. We hardly notice it and never hear it... unlike my old system boiler which would startle me and wake me up during the early hours every morning to heat up the hot water.

It wasn’t the outdoor unit that I had trouble with placing, it was the hot water cylinder, as I knew I’d have to sacrifice my large laundry cupboard. (Just imagine Monica’s hidden cupboard from Friends and you’ll understand why ??) However, it was a great decision, I managed to relocate all the hidden treasure in much more appropriate places, donated excessive amounts of unused bedding to Sharewear Clothing Scheme and no longer feared opening the cupboard door.

What have I enjoyed?

Being able to work from home without wearing my Oodie ?? the gas central heating just never managed to warm up my office space well enough, and the glass desk was nearly always cold to touch, except during a heatwave for 2 days a year. The ASHP maintains an ambient temperature 24/7, and I don’t have to meticulously obsess over the timings anymore. It’s wonderful to let that stress go. I also don’t fear being woken up at night by my toddler, having to pull back the cosy covers and put on a dressing gown just to cross the landing. Getting up and out of bed is so much easier now. I’m also reassured the children’s bedrooms are not too hot, not too cold, they’re always just right.

One of the biggest reassurances comes from Aira's 15-year guarantee, which covers everything we could possibly need from servicing, to maintenance, labour and parts. My one off investment with zero upfront costs, continues to save me money on energy consumption and the ongoing care required for my new heating system.

What was a struggle?

Nothing was a struggle when it came to the new Aira heat pump system, they took care of everything for me, so that was all grand.

However, to ensure I save money every year with zero standing charges for gas, approx. ￡110pa on my old tariff, I have had to wait 4 months for my energy supplier to send the correct files to Xoserve. The files were processed by Xoserve within 4hrs, and it took a further week for my supplier to remove my gas meter from their system. I have since found out from friend's with ASHPs, that other energy suppliers are nowhere near as slow and they also weren't charged for their gas meter removal.

Now I can finally switch supplier and enjoy the #AiraZeroTariff before the cold weather kicks in. Aira Zero is an intelligent heat pump tariff, designed with cheaper electricity periods throughout the day.

Anything else?

Unfortunately, my new Aira thermostat wasn’t immediately available due to shipping delays and passing extensive quality checks. So whilst I waited I had to manually adjust the internal temperature via the Aira app, which was gauging the temperature on thermostat on the outdoor unit. Luckily, this was all resolved before the temperature started to drop. Even my husband agrees that it was worth the wait, we love its sleek design and the simple user-friendly system.?There's a lovely design feature where a flame lights up along the bottom from left-to-right, when you adjust and set the desired temperature. Everything about Aira has proven to be very high quality and with clear attention to detail.

I also wanted to note, that HIES planted a tree on my behalf through JUST ONE Tree , which was a nice touch to continue helping our environment by cleaning the air we breathe in addition to switching to clean energy technology.