How setback controls help heat pump operation

Setback controls can help your heat pump to operate efficiently and economically. This is because air source heat pumps are not designed to be switched off and why you should not be tempted to turn your heat pump off - we explain why you should not turn off your heat pump further down this page. Setback control is a type of heating schedule that you can adopt for operating your heat pump - it will typically be configured by your installer using the Grant heat pump controller installed alongside your heat pump.

Setback controls will energise your heating system when you are home and set back the system to slightly lower temperatures during unoccupied hours and at night time. This cycle of 'energised' and 'setback' periods will prevent the temperatures in your rooms from significantly dropping and will therefore prevent there being large fluctuations in the room temperatures between occupied hours (morning and evening) and unoccupied hours (during the working day and night time). Consequently, your heat pump is working to heat your home more evenly throughout the day rather working harder to warm up cold spaces, which uses more energy. 

With correct setback controls in place, your heat pump can operate at lower flow temperatures and this can allow the unit to operate at higher efficiencies compared to when operating with higher flow temperatures. 

Setback schedule for a heat pump

The infographic below provides an example of typical temperature setback timings:

As you will see, the difference in your room temperatures between 'energised' and 'setback' periods should not be too large. If you allow your room temperatures to get too cold (either by turning off your heat pump or having your controls incorrectly set-up), you will be asking your heat pump to work significantly harder which will be less energy-efficient. 

Why you should not turn off your heat pump

A downside of an air source heat pump can be that their efficiency will be lower at very cold temperatures and during these very cold periods, you will use more electricity. Also, if you allow your room temperatures to drop very low, your heat pump will have to work for longer to bring the room temperatures back up.

Therefore, it is important that the comfort temperature is maintained throughout, especially in the colder months, by running your system continuously to avoid excessive (and costly) thermal recovery loads during these times. This is where setback controls play a part in assisting heat pump performances.

Learn more about heat pump setback controls

• To read more about what setback controls are, please visit our Knowledge Hub
• You can also contact your installing engineer who can help you set up setback control operation on your heat pump controller
• Watch the video below which explains how setback controls help heat pump operation as well as explaining other important elements when setting your comfort with your heat pump.

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