Busting Myths About Heat Pumps: A Path to a Greener Home
The Guardian has been running an excellent series of myth-buster articles on heat pumps recently. This is great journalism, and we want to see more of it. The UK has a woeful record of heat pump installation, even though it is the number one way to reduce carbon footprint and, for most owners, the cost of heating in their homes. The government is struggling to give away more than a fraction of their £7,500 per-pump grant to homeowners. Why? Mainly because vested interests have ensured that the media repeats misleading comments calculated to scare people off and keep gas boilers as the heating technology of choice.
Independent studies have researched these statements over the past few years and found that many concerns are full of hot air. Here's a key takeaway from one of the Guardian’s recent articles, which you should be able to access without a subscription:
“A study of almost 750 UK homes by the independent research and technology organization the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) found that 85% of homes – from south-east Scotland and Newcastle to south-east England – did not require any extra insulation to have a heat pump successfully installed. About 15% of properties required some energy efficiency upgrades – but in the majority of cases, this was loft insulation, which costs less than £1,000 and can be done with minimal disruption. Only a few properties required cavity wall insulation, which carries a cost of about £2,700, or the replacing of old doors.”
This is something we’ve advised many of our clients over the years. Our energy modeling supports these findings. If your home is very large, semi-detached or detached with inefficient additional areas bolted on, or it lacks double-glazing, there is work to be done before installing a heat pump. But those that could be heat-pump-ready include terraced houses with double-glazing, semi-detached homes with rear and/or loft extensions built in the last 10-15 years, and many flats. Other properties, too diverse to mention here, may need a small set of improvements. Often this list is flexible and can be tailored to the specific requirements of the property.
Flats, of course, have other issues, namely the space or outdoor location for a heat pump, but for very efficient flats, there are now solutions that require no outdoor units and aren’t bigger than a standard hot water cylinder.
We survey homes and do the calculations so that homeowners can understand if they’re ‘in the zone’. We are not installers, so we don’t promote any brands and are not interested in selling you products. We aim to save you money by recommending exactly the right combination of upgrades – or confirming whether you actually need any – and then helping you to choose the right way forward for your budget and property requirements.
Book with us online to find out more and take the first step towards a greener, more efficient home.