Home / Advice Centre / High Electricity Use
HOMEOWNER GUIDE · RUNNING COSTS
Heat Pump Using Too Much Electricity: Could the Design Be Wrong?
A diagnostic checklist covering heat demand, flow temperature, hot water, backup heating, controls and design.
- Last updated: September 2026
- Heat Loss Hub · Homeowner Advice
If your heat pump is using far more electricity than you expected, it is reasonable to question whether something is wrong with the system.
Perhaps your smart meter is showing very high daily use. Maybe your electricity bills are much higher than the figures you were shown before installation. You may have discovered that the immersion heater or backup heater is operating. Or the house may be warm, but keeping it warm seems far more expensive than expected.
That does not automatically mean the heat pump is badly designed.
High electricity consumption can come from two very different situations: the property genuinely needs a lot of heat, or the heating system is using too much electricity to provide the heat the property needs.
The first job is therefore to establish how much electricity is actually being used by the heat-pump system, how much heat the property reasonably requires, where that electricity is going, and whether the system is operating at the temperatures and settings the design intended.
KEY TAKEAWAY
If the cause is unclear, an Independent Heat Pump Performance Review can look at the complete system rather than assuming one particular fault.
GET STARTED
Not sure where your excess electricity use is coming from?
Quick Diagnostic Checklist — Where Should I Start?
Before changing any settings, work through these questions. You do not need to know all the answers immediately. The aim is to identify which part of the system deserves investigating first.
1. Is the Problem High Electricity Use or Simply a High Bill?
Check the actual number of kWh being used, not just the £ cost.
kWh looks reasonable but the bill is high: start with electricity tariff, time-of-use rates, and when the heat pump operates.
kWh itself looks unusually high: continue to Step 2.
2. Do You Know How Much Electricity the Heat Pump Itself Is Using?
Do not assume the whole smart-meter reading belongs to the heat pump. Check for a dedicated heat-pump meter, manufacturer app, controller energy data, or a separate sub-meter.
If you cannot separate heat-pump consumption from the rest of the house, establish that before drawing firm conclusions.
3. Is the House Warm?
House is warm but electricity use is high: focus first on flow temperature, weather compensation, hot-water settings, immersion heating, cycling, controls, and tariff.
House is cold and electricity use is high: this is a stronger reason for a whole-system investigation. The system is consuming substantial electricity without delivering the expected comfort. Check heat-pump capacity, emitters, water flow, backup heating, controls, and original design.
House is cold but electricity use is surprisingly low: the system may not be running long enough, requesting enough heat, achieving the required flow temperature, or delivering the heat into the property. Look more closely at controls, commissioning and equipment operation.
4. Is the Heating Flow Temperature Higher Than Expected?
Compare original design flow temperature with actual operating flow temperature.
Similar to design: move to Step 5.
Significantly higher than design: ask why. Possible reasons include radiators too small, heat loss higher than expected, insufficient water flow, weather compensation set incorrectly, or installed system differing from design.
5. Does the Flow Temperature Fall During Milder Weather?
Yes: weather compensation may be operating broadly as intended.
No, it runs at a similar high temperature all the time: check whether weather compensation is enabled, heating curve settings, and fixed flow-temperature settings.
Do not simply lower the temperature if doing so makes the house cold. The reason it needs the higher temperature still needs identifying.
6. Is Direct Electric Heating Operating?
Check separately for the hot-water immersion heater and the backup space-heating element.
If either is operating frequently, find out when it activates, why, and how long it runs. Unexpected direct-electric heating can make a substantial difference to consumption.
7. Is a Lot of the Electricity Being Used for Hot Water?
Check cylinder target temperature, number of reheats, boosts, immersion use, hot-water schedule, and household hot-water demand.
If electricity use remains high during summer when space heating is off, domestic hot water and direct-electric heating become particularly important suspects.
8. Is the Heat Pump Frequently Starting and Stopping?
No, it runs steadily: move on.
Yes, frequent cycling: investigate oversizing, minimum modulation, zoning, active system volume, controls, and unnecessarily high flow temperature.
See Has My Heat Pump Been Oversized? if sizing is a particular concern.
9. Does the System Rely on Backup Heat During Cold Weather?
No: capacity may be adequate, although other efficiency problems can still exist.
Yes, and the house also struggles to stay warm: insufficient heat-pump capacity becomes more relevant. See Has My Heat Pump Been Undersized?
10. Has Electricity Use Always Been High?
Yes, since installation: look more closely at original design, heat loss, sizing, flow temperature, commissioning, control strategy, and original performance estimate.
No, it used to be much lower: ask what changed. Possibilities include immersion heater now operating, changed settings, changed weather curve, equipment fault, service work, changed occupancy, higher room temperatures, or increased hot-water use.
11. Is Consumption High All Year or Mainly in Winter?
Mainly during cold weather: look at building heat demand, flow temperature, backup heating, and sizing.
High even during mild heating weather: look at unnecessarily high flow temperature, weather-compensation settings, cycling, zoning, and controls.
High during summer: look at domestic hot water, immersion, auxiliary loads, unexpected space-heating operation, and monitoring errors.
12. Does Actual Use Differ Significantly From the Original Estimate?
Find the original MCS performance estimate, proposed annual electricity consumption, design flow temperature, and expected seasonal performance.
Then ask: can the difference between predicted and actual use be explained by weather, room temperatures, occupancy or hot-water demand?
If not, the system design or operation deserves closer investigation.
Quick Route to the Likely Problem
KEY TAKEAWAY
High bill but moderate electricity use? Check tariff.
High electricity use + house comfortable? Check efficiency, flow temperature, hot water and controls.
High electricity use + house cold? Whole-system Performance Review.
High flow temperature? Find out why the system needs it.
Immersion or backup heater frequently operating? Establish why direct-electric heat is being used.
Frequent cycling? Check oversizing, zoning and active system volume.
Cold house + backup heating in winter? Check possible undersizing.
High summer consumption? Check DHW, immersion and auxiliary loads.
Original heat demand looks questionable? Independent Heat Loss Report.
No obvious single cause? Independent Heat Pump Performance Review.
Why Is My Heat Pump Using So Much Electricity?
Possible reasons include high building heat demand, high heating flow temperature, poor weather-compensation settings, excessive domestic-hot-water use, immersion-heater operation, supplementary electric heating, frequent cycling, an oversized heat pump, an undersized heat pump relying on backup heat, zoning or control problems, commissioning issues, equipment faults, or simply an expensive electricity tariff.
The important distinction is: high electricity bill does not necessarily mean high electricity consumption. And: high electricity consumption does not necessarily mean poor heat-pump efficiency.
You need context before deciding whether there is a problem.
First Question — Is the Problem High Electricity Use or a High Electricity Bill?
These are related, but they are not the same thing.
High Electricity Consumption
You are genuinely using a large number of kilowatt-hours. That points towards building heat demand, heat-pump efficiency, hot water, direct electric heating, controls, sizing, or other electrical loads.
High Electricity Cost
The number of kilowatt-hours may be reasonable, but the tariff is expensive. For example, the same heat pump using 20kWh can cost very different amounts depending on unit rate, time-of-use tariff, and when the heat pump operates.
So start by separating: how many kWh are being used? From: how much those kWh cost. For diagnosing technical performance, energy consumption is usually the more useful starting point.
How Much Electricity Is the Heat Pump Actually Using?
Do not automatically assume the whole-house smart-meter figure belongs to the heat pump. Your electricity use may also include EV charging, electric cooking, electric showers, tumble dryer, washing machine, dishwasher, home office equipment, other electric heaters, and general household appliances.
If available, look for a dedicated heat-pump electricity meter, manufacturer app data, controller energy data, or a separate sub-meter.
Then establish what that figure actually includes. It may represent compressor only, heat pump and circulation pumps, heat pump plus backup heater, or the complete heating system.
Understanding the monitoring boundary is important before comparing figures with another property or calculating performance.
Is That Electricity Use Actually High for Your House?
There is no useful universal answer to questions such as “is 30kWh per day too much for a heat pump?” or “my heat pump used 50kWh yesterday, is something wrong?”
That depends on outdoor temperature, property heat loss, indoor temperature, heated floor area, insulation, ventilation, domestic-hot-water use, and system efficiency.
A large, high-heat-loss property during a cold spell may legitimately consume more electricity than a small well-insulated home.
So comparing your daily figure with someone else’s Facebook post or forum comment is rarely enough to diagnose anything.
The Most Important Distinction — High Heat Demand or Poor Efficiency?
This is the key question. Imagine two homes.
Property A
The building needs a large amount of heat. The heat pump provides that heat efficiently. Electricity consumption is still relatively high because the house genuinely requires a lot of heating.
Property B
The building needs much less heat. But the heat pump runs at unnecessarily high flow temperature, uses frequent backup heating, has poor control settings, or operates inefficiently. It could consume the same amount of electricity as Property A.
The electricity figures may look identical. The underlying problem is completely different. That is why electricity consumption alone cannot tell you whether your heat pump is performing well.
How Efficient Is the Heat Pump Actually Operating?
You may see terms such as COP, SCOP, SPF. They are related, but they describe performance in different ways.
COP
Coefficient of Performance. This broadly compares heat produced with electricity consumed at a particular operating point or period.
SCOP
Seasonal Coefficient of Performance. This is a standardised seasonal performance figure used for product comparison.
SPF
Seasonal Performance Factor. This looks at performance across a longer period, but the exact result depends on what electrical loads and heat outputs are included in the calculation boundary.
The important point is: electricity input alone is not enough to calculate heat-pump efficiency. You also need a credible measurement or estimate of the useful heat delivered.
Check the Monitoring Before Trusting the COP
Manufacturer apps and controllers can be extremely useful. But do not assume every displayed figure is measured directly.
Depending on the system, electricity may be measured or estimated, heat output may be measured or calculated, immersion energy may or may not be included, and circulation-pump use may or may not be included.
If an app displays COP 4.1, that can be useful information. But before treating it as a precise measured value, understand how the system calculated it.
For a robust performance assessment, both useful heat output and electrical input need to be understood on a clearly defined basis.
Compare Similar Weather With Similar Weather
A heat pump naturally uses more electricity as the weather gets colder because the property loses more heat. So comparing a cold January week with a mild October week tells you very little about whether the system has become more or less efficient.
If possible, compare similar outdoor temperatures, similar indoor temperatures, similar hot-water usage, and similar heating schedules.
Representative weekly data is usually more useful than one isolated day.
Record the Indoor Temperature as Well
Heating demand depends partly on the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors. A property maintained at 22°C will generally require more heating than the same property maintained at 18°C.
This matters when comparing your consumption with another household, actual consumption with the original design estimate, and today’s usage with previous years.
Always record the comfort level being delivered as well as the electricity used.
Are You Heating More of the House Than Before?
This is an important comparison after replacing a boiler.
Perhaps the old system mainly heated the living room, kitchen, and main bedroom. The heat-pump installation may now maintain all bedrooms, hallways, spare rooms, utility areas, and the entire house at a more consistent temperature.
That can increase total heat delivered even if the heat pump itself is operating efficiently.
If the new system provides substantially more comfort than the old one, a direct comparison with the old fuel bill needs to account for that.
Start With the Building’s Heat Demand
Before deciding the heat pump is using too much electricity, ask: how much heat should this property reasonably require?
A large or poorly insulated building may need substantial amounts of heat during winter. Factors include external wall area, insulation, glazing, ventilation, airtightness, floor and roof construction, location, and target room temperatures.
A credible heat-loss calculation provides useful context. If the original heat demand itself looks questionable, that may need investigating separately.
Compare Actual Consumption With the Original Performance Estimate
If you received an MCS performance estimate or other pre-installation calculation, find it. Look for predicted annual space-heating electricity, domestic-hot-water electricity, seasonal efficiency, and total annual electricity associated with the heating system.
Then compare those assumptions with reality. But be careful. Actual consumption may legitimately differ because of colder or warmer weather, higher indoor temperatures, different occupancy, different hot-water use, altered heating schedules, or building changes.
The useful question is not “is the actual number identical?” It is “can the difference be reasonably explained?”
Compare Predicted kWh Before Predicted £
If the original paperwork predicted £900 per year but you now spend £1,300 per year, that does not automatically mean the system is using 44% more energy. Your electricity tariff may have changed.
A better technical comparison is predicted heating electricity consumption versus actual heating electricity consumption, where reliable figures are available. Then consider the tariff separately.
Is the Flow Temperature Higher Than Expected?
Heating flow temperature is one of the most important influences on heat-pump efficiency. In general, the higher the water temperature the heat pump has to produce, the harder it has to work.
That does not mean “50°C is automatically wrong.” The important question is: what temperature was the heating system designed to need, and what temperature is it actually requiring?
For example: design flow temperature 42°C, but the property only remains comfortable when operating at 52°C. That discrepancy deserves investigation.
Why Does the System Need That Flow Temperature?
This is often more useful than simply trying to reduce it.
Possible reasons include radiators too small, underfloor heating output inadequate, building heat loss higher than expected, insufficient water flow, weather compensation set too high, fixed flow temperature selected unnecessarily, or the property genuinely needing that operating temperature.
Reducing flow temperature may improve efficiency. But if the house then becomes cold, the underlying reason needs solving rather than simply turning the temperature down.
Is Weather Compensation Working Properly?
Weather compensation adjusts heating-water temperature according to outdoor temperature. Broadly: milder weather → lower flow temperature; colder weather → higher flow temperature.
This can help the heat pump operate more efficiently because it avoids producing unnecessarily hot water when the building demand is low.
Check whether weather compensation is enabled, the flow temperature falls during mild weather, the heating curve appears to match the property, or the system is instead running one fixed high temperature all winter.
There is no universal heating curve that suits every home. The correct setting depends on the building and emitter design.
Where Is the Electricity Going — Space Heating or Hot Water?
This is one of the most useful diagnostic splits.
Your heat pump may provide space heating and domestic hot water under very different operating conditions. Hot-water production normally requires a higher temperature than low-temperature space heating. That can make it less efficient.
If consumption seems unexpectedly high, try to establish how much is associated with each function. This becomes particularly useful outside the heating season.
Could Domestic Hot Water Be the Main Cause?
Possibly.
Check cylinder target temperature, number of reheats per day, hot-water schedule, boost functions, household hot-water demand, sterilisation cycles, and whether the cylinder appears to reheat after small draws.
A large household using substantial hot water will naturally consume more electricity than a household with low hot-water demand. But unexpected or excessive cylinder reheating can also contribute to unusually high usage.
Is the Immersion Heater Running?
This deserves particular attention.
An immersion heater is a direct electric resistance heater. Unlike the heat pump compressor, it does not multiply the useful heat obtained from each unit of electricity.
That does not make immersion heating inherently wrong. It may legitimately be used for high-temperature hot-water cycles, boost functions, emergency operation, or specific control strategies.
But unexpected or prolonged immersion operation can materially increase electricity use.
Check whether it is enabled, when it operates, why it operates, and how frequently it operates.
Is Backup Space Heating Running?
This is different from the hot-water immersion.
Some heat-pump systems include direct electric backup heating for space heating. If this is running frequently, ask why.
Possible explanations include genuine heat-pump capacity shortfall, control settings, system design strategy, emergency operation, or commissioning issues.
If the house also struggles to maintain temperature during cold weather and backup heating is regularly required, heat-pump sizing deserves investigation.
Could the Heat Pump Be Oversized?
Possibly.
An oversized heat pump may have difficulty reducing its output sufficiently during lower-load conditions. This can contribute to frequent cycling, shorter compressor runs, and unstable mild-weather operation.
But oversizing cannot be diagnosed from high electricity use alone. If you also see repeated cycling, large installed capacity relative to credible building load, or problems mainly during milder weather, see:
Could the Heat Pump Be Undersized?
Yes, but usually through a different mechanism.
If the heat pump cannot provide enough heat during colder weather, direct electric backup may cover the shortfall. That can significantly increase electrical consumption.
Possible signs include whole house struggling in cold weather, heat pump running continuously, backup heating frequently active, and indoor temperatures still falling.
See: Has My Heat Pump Been Undersized? for a more detailed capacity check.
Could Frequent Cycling Be Increasing Electricity Use?
Potentially.
Heat pumps generally perform best when they can operate steadily and modulate their output to match demand. Repeated starting and stopping may reduce effective efficiency.
Possible causes include oversized heat pump, high minimum output, excessive zoning, low active system water volume, control strategy, and unnecessarily high flow temperature.
But there is no universal rule such as “more than three starts an hour proves your system is inefficient.” The significance depends on the equipment and operating conditions.
Could Zoning Be Making the System Less Efficient?
Potentially.
If many zones, TRVs or actuators close, the heat pump may be left serving only a small part of the property. That can reduce active heating demand, active water volume, and stable compressor runtime. The result may be more cycling.
This does not mean every zoned heat-pump system is poorly designed. It means the zoning strategy needs to work with the heat pump’s modulation range and hydraulic design.
Could Deep Overnight Setbacks Be Increasing Consumption?
Heat pumps generally favour steady low-temperature heating rather than repeated large temperature recoveries.
If the house is allowed to cool significantly overnight, the heat pump may need to work harder for several hours to recover in the morning.
That does not mean all setbacks are wrong. But a pattern such as 21°C → 16°C overnight → rapid recovery to 21°C creates a different heating requirement from maintaining a more stable temperature.
If consumption is concentrated during repeated recovery periods, control strategy may be worth reviewing.
Could Defrost Be Increasing Electricity Use?
Air source heat pumps need to periodically defrost their outdoor heat exchanger during cold, damp conditions. Defrost temporarily affects normal heating performance. Some increase in energy use during suitable winter conditions is therefore normal.
Frequent defrost by itself does not prove the system is badly designed. The useful measure is overall performance across representative winter periods rather than one isolated defrost event.
Could Pumps and Other Electrical Loads Matter?
Yes.
The complete heating system may also use electricity for circulation pumps, controls, trace heating, crankcase or equipment heaters, hydraulic pumps, and other auxiliaries.
These loads are usually smaller than the compressor or direct-electric heaters. But they can still matter, especially if a pump runs continuously or unexpectedly.
Again, this is why monitoring boundaries matter.
Could External Pipework Be Wasting Heat?
If heating water travels through pipework outside the building, that pipework should be appropriately insulated. Poorly insulated external pipework can lose useful heat before it reaches the property. That means the heat pump must produce additional heat to compensate.
A small amount of exposed pipe is unlikely to explain an enormous electricity bill. But long or poorly insulated external runs are worth checking during a whole-system investigation.
Has Electricity Use Suddenly Increased, or Has It Always Been High?
This distinction can narrow the investigation significantly.
It Has Always Been Higher Than Expected
Look more closely at original design assumptions, flow temperature, weather compensation, hot-water settings, backup heating, sizing, and commissioning.
It Used to Be Reasonable but Has Suddenly Increased
Ask what changed. Possible areas include immersion heater now operating, changed controller settings, altered heating curve, equipment fault, circulation problem, service work, changed hot-water settings, or changed occupancy or room temperatures.
A sudden increase should not automatically be blamed on the original design.
When During the Year Is Electricity Use High?
The seasonal pattern provides useful clues.
Mainly During Very Cold Weather
Investigate genuine heat demand, flow temperature, heat-pump capacity, and direct electric backup.
High Even During Mild Heating Weather
Investigate fixed high flow temperature, weather-compensation settings, cycling, zoning, and controls.
Still High During Summer
Space heating becomes much less likely to explain the problem. Look more closely at domestic hot water, immersion use, auxiliary loads, unexpected heating operation, and monitoring errors.
This can be one of the easiest ways to narrow the investigation.
Comfort and Electricity Need to Be Considered Together
The electricity figure becomes much more useful when combined with how well the house is heating.
| Comfort | Electricity use | Initial direction |
|---|---|---|
| House warm | Reasonable | No obvious consumption problem |
| House warm | High | Efficiency, flow temperature, DHW, controls, tariff |
| House cold | High | Strong reason for whole-system investigation |
| House cold | Low | System may not be requesting, producing or delivering enough heat |
The most concerning combination can be high electricity consumption + poor comfort. The system is consuming substantial energy but still failing to deliver the expected result.
That usually justifies a broader investigation rather than concentrating on one setting.
Record an Evidence Snapshot Before Changing Settings
If possible, record how the system is behaving before adjusting it. Useful information includes:
Heat-pump electricity use, whole-house electricity use, outdoor temperature, indoor target temperature, actual indoor temperature, heating flow temperature, return temperature, DHW target temperature, number/timing of cylinder reheats, immersion heater status (on/off/unknown), backup space heating status (on/off/unknown), compressor runtime, compressor starts, heating zones open, electricity tariff, and controller screenshots where available.
Try to record representative periods rather than only the worst day.
Compare Weeks Rather Than Isolated Days
One day can be distorted by exceptionally cold weather, large hot-water demand, an immersion boost, guests, an EV charge, or unusual heating activity.
A representative week can provide a much clearer picture. Where possible, compare one mild week with one colder week. That shows how consumption responds as heating demand changes.
Do Not Change Everything at Once
If the bill looks high, it is tempting to lower the weather curve, alter thermostats, change heating schedules, disable hot-water functions, close zones, and change pump settings.
If several things change at once, it becomes difficult to know what actually improved or worsened the system.
Record a baseline first. Then make one appropriate change at a time where safe and suitable.
Installer-level settings, direct-electric heating configuration, electrical work and hydraulic changes should be handled by an appropriately competent person.
What Does the Pattern Point Towards?
| What you are seeing | First area to investigate | Useful Heat Loss Hub route |
|---|---|---|
| High consumption and high flow temperature | Controls, emitters, design | Independent Performance Review |
| Frequent cycling | Oversizing, zoning, active volume | Has My Heat Pump Been Oversized? |
| Backup heater frequently running and house cold | Capacity | Has My Heat Pump Been Undersized? |
| Original heat demand looks questionable | Heat-loss calculation | Independent Heat Loss Report |
| High electricity use during summer | DHW, immersion, auxiliaries | Independent Performance Review |
| High bill but moderate kWh | Tariff and electricity cost | How Much Does a Heat Pump Cost to Run? |
| Cause remains unclear | Whole-system performance | Independent Heat Pump Performance Review |
Which Heat Loss Hub Service Fits My Situation?
I Do Not Know Why Consumption Is High
Choose an Independent Heat Pump Performance Review. This looks at the installed system as a whole rather than assuming the cause is sizing, controls or one particular component.
I Specifically Think the Heat Pump Is the Wrong Size
Choose an Independent Heat Pump Sizing Review. This compares the property’s credible building load with the performance of the exact installed heat pump.
I Think the Original Heat-Loss Calculation Was Wrong
Choose an Independent Heat Loss Report. This provides a fresh room-by-room calculation and can compare it with the original figures where available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Possible causes include high building heat demand, high flow temperature, domestic hot water, immersion heating, supplementary electric heating, poor weather compensation, cycling, sizing, controls, or equipment problems. The electricity figure needs to be interpreted alongside weather, indoor temperature and system operation.
Not enough information is available to say. A large property during cold weather may reasonably use more than a small efficient property during mild weather. Daily consumption should be considered alongside heat demand and operating conditions.
Again, not necessarily. It could be completely plausible for one property and unusually high for another. You need to know outdoor temperature, building heat demand, indoor temperature, DHW use, direct-electric heating, and system efficiency.
If comfort is good but electricity use is high, investigate flow temperature, weather compensation, DHW, immersion, cycling, tariff, and actual heat demand.
Yes. Producing hotter heating water generally makes the heat pump work harder. But the more important question is why the system requires that temperature.
Appropriate weather compensation can improve efficiency by reducing flow temperature when the outdoor temperature is milder. The correct heating curve depends on the property and heating system.
It can contribute to poorer operation if it cannot modulate low enough and repeatedly cycles. But high electricity use alone does not prove oversizing.
Potentially. If a heat pump cannot meet the building load and direct electric backup regularly covers the shortfall, electricity consumption can increase significantly.
Yes. An immersion heater uses direct electric resistance heating. Unexpected or prolonged immersion operation can materially increase consumption. Some immersion use may still be intentional and appropriate.
This depends on the heat pump and controller. Look for controller status, energy-monitoring data, installer settings, and dedicated electrical consumption. If you are unsure, ask the installer or a competent engineer to confirm how supplementary heating is configured.
It can form a significant part of heat-pump electricity consumption, especially in households with high hot-water demand. DHW is also normally produced at a higher temperature than space heating, so efficiency can be lower.
If space heating is off, investigate domestic hot water, immersion heater, circulation pumps, auxiliary heaters, standby loads, and unexpected heating operation. A small amount of electricity use may be normal. Large unexplained summer consumption deserves investigation.
Potentially. Allowing the building to cool significantly and then reheating it creates a large recovery load. Heat pumps often suit steadier operation better than short, aggressive heating periods.
Only if you have reliable information for both useful heat delivered and electricity consumed over the same period and measurement boundary. Electricity consumption alone cannot give you COP.
Possible reasons include colder weather, higher indoor temperatures, greater hot-water use, different occupancy, different tariff, poorer actual system efficiency, direct-electric backup, or differences between design assumptions and the real property. A difference deserves explanation but does not automatically prove a design error.
Look for discrepancies between expected and actual flow temperature, predicted and actual electricity use, expected and actual heat demand, designed and installed equipment, and expected and actual backup-heater use. If several parts of the system are not operating as the design intended, a broader performance review is usually more useful than focusing on one setting.
Using Much More Electricity Than Expected?
Do not assume the heat pump is automatically inefficient or badly designed.
Start by establishing how much electricity the heating system is actually using, how much heat your property reasonably requires, whether the electricity is going into space heating, hot water or direct electric backup, what flow temperatures and controls the system is using, and whether actual operation matches the original design.
If the cause is still unclear, Heat Loss Hub can independently review the design information, current settings and available performance evidence to identify where the excess consumption is most likely coming from.
GET AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW
Understand where your excess electricity use is coming from before spending more money.