[Connor_EONNext]

Hello Community 👋

I've been working with one of our members to write up a post about all things Heat Pumps 😁 Huge thank you to @P962c for their help with this 🙌

This is with hopes that this provides everyone a better understanding of Heat Pumps and ease any doubts if you are thinking of switching over. So if you find yourself wanting to switch to a Heat Pump or, if you are in the process of having one fitted or you just want to know more about Heat pumps - this post is for you 👀


- How do Heat pumps work?
Air source heat pumps draw warmth from the outside and use that to heat up a refrigerant liquid. The resulting gas passes through a compressor to increase its temperature to heat the home and hot water.

-How efficient are Heat pumps?
Heat pumps are more efficient than other heating systems and generally produce around three times more energy than they take in.

-How Sustainable are Heat Pumps?
Heat pumps may be a more sustainable alternative to traditional gas boilers, but their reliance on electricity means they will never be truly carbon neutral – even if this can be somewhat mitigated by fitting solar panels.

-Can I have one fitted in a house that is older?
Yes, but how efficient this would be is dependent on if your house's insulation is effective.

-How long will my installation take? Is planning permission required?
installation times will vary depending on whether larger radiators are required and required plumbing changes i.e. to fit larger radiators and plumbing between pump and tank. Also taking into account the electrical installation we have a lovely example from @P962c for this one "My installation, which included nine new radiators and quite a large number of plumbing changes, the micro bore piping needed to be changed, took four days. The house is a large four-bedroom property around thirty years old"

-Will a rise in Electricity cost outweigh the saving of Gas for a Heat Pump?
This is dependent to an extent on the pricing of tariffs - although if when you have a heat pump fitted your house is all Electricity, the saving of Gas is something to take into account.

-Are they environmentally friendly?
If you are using renewable energy then Yes - even more so if you have solar panels.

-Are the differences between Heat pumps and Gas boilers worth the switch?
Essentially - Heat pumps and boilers do the same, albeit slightly different, you can also take into account the cost. You can take safety into account, heat pumps extract heat rather than burning fuel.

-Is there a lot of maintenance needed for heat pumps?
Well, again the lovely @P962c has given us an insight into their life with a heat pump, they have told me "I have my heat pump serviced once a year at a cost of £200. After 4 years, I have had no problems and only the filters have needed minimal cleaning".

-Will they work during very cold or freezing weather conditions?
Yes - they can work in temperatures as low as -25 °C. However efficiency is reduced at lower temperatures.

-Will the running of a heat pump be loud?
No, the noise level is very low, however there is an increase in noise when operating during cold weather conditions.

And there we are - I hope anyone thinking of having a heat pump fitted or just wanting to learn more about them finds this useful. Again, a big thank you to @P962c 😁

[meldrewreborn]

@Connor_EONNext I never understand why heat pumps are reckoned to be unsuitable for older buildings. A boiler or heat pump will perform to their specifications in any property. Once the heat leaves the device generating the heat, its ability to perform in any given space will depend on the thermal efficiency of the premises and the way the occupants use it.

if a heat pump delivers 3 times the energy consumed in its operation, but a gas boiler is only 90% efficient and gas is 25% of the price of electricity, then the operating costs of the two are broadly equivalent.

It’s the other factors that would inform a consumers choice. Given the current price of fuels most would stick with gas, it would take a considerable change in the relative costs of the source energy for people to contemplate the changes necessary to fit a heat pump.

the other factors is I think that most people would only contemplate changing when their current appliance goes on the blink and then they’ll want a quick job so sticking to what they had before is likely.

[Andy65]

There's also the installation cost and servicing to consider, £200 for an annual service is roughly double that of servicing a gas boiler. Going back to a large water tank for hot water is also another consideration, it brings back memories of the 70s for me, and not necessarily good ones.

[retrotecchie]

@Andy65

And about three times the cost of having an oil boiler serviced. They are really trying to push heat pumps in rural areas off the gas grid but with oil costing about half the price of gas per kWh and not attracting any standing charges, plus a lot of rural properties in relatively remote locations (such as me) only having supplies rated at 63A or 80A (heat pumps are simply not viable where you have all-electric cooking as the supply ain't man enough to do both!), heat pumps really are a hard sell.

Heat pumps also operate on the premise of much lower amounts of heat over a longer period of time than more conventional heating sources, which is why they are not suited to older properties which tend to be less well insulated than modern properties and tend to have a much higher thermal mass.

It's all to do with U's and R's.

[Mailman]

Originally Posted by retrotecchie

And about three times the cost of having an oil boiler serviced.

Ditto gas boiler servicing. Current cost for my Viessmann is £70.

Originally Posted by retrotecchie

Heat pumps also operate on the premise of much lower amounts of heat over a longer period of time than more conventional heating sources

Great if you have a modern well-insulated home with the right size plumbing and rads already built in otherwise additional ££££ spent and the upheaval. Precisely the reason why I replaced my old gas boiler with a modern modulating gas boiler. It works and I know how to get the most of my system. 😁

[Connor_EONNext]

@meldrewreborn It seems this question is asked quite a bit with heat pumps - although as you've said it depends more on thermal efficiency so it will hopefully ease the minds of people worried about this point when looking into a heat pump. @Andy65 @retrotecchie definitely some good points to consider. 😀