Forum Topic

Air Source Heat Pumps

With the Renewable Heat Incentive here for several months more and ground source heat pumps and air source heat pumps in the news as alternatives for gas heating, there is a good article on ASHPs today in The Guardian:https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/oct/23/air-source-heat-pumps-how-the-costs-and-savings-stack-up

Philippa Bond ● 1418d7 Comments

Not easy to say what change is for the better.Heat pumps are costly to install require space that most homes do not have and their short working life does not equate to the offset carbon in manufacture.Nor are they efficient. So you will hear about those that go wrong because that will be the norm.It's a clutching at straws solution just as so many other energy saving and efficiencies have turned out to be in the past.Good idea to have demo homes but it will be just like the ideal home show. full of Ooh! Aaah! gadgets and ideas which seldom catch on as they don't really meet up to the expectations. Also missed is the fact than when used on mass in dense urban areas thew efficiency goes down even further Be lucky if you could get the heating them above 17 degrees and lukewarm water.

Raymond Havelock ● 1401d

The trouble is time does not stand still. Changes are coming whether you want them to or not.We should be asking for and seeking out more information and be careful who you ask and who you trust.  Perhaps we should be asking the Councils to set up show homes where we can see the new technology working.  We have a lot of homes to retrofit which is more tricky than building new insulated andmechanically ventilated ones. We hear more about the ones that go wrong than the ones that work!

Philippa Bond ● 1401d

Folks, Heat Pumps do not work, they will cost you more than conventional heating, unless you are very, very lucky.AVOID installing a Heat Pump, the technology has been/is riduculously hyped.Insulation is another hyped area, be very, very careful. Many insulation installations create massively expensive issues years later.Far too many people skimp and do not employ Independent, Expert Advice, a Professional with decades of solid, proven experience.Do your research.

Rosco White ● 1417d

We have been very slow here to improve our buildings' insulation.  It is complicated with our brick and wood Victorian and Edwardian buildings' walls in particular as condensation can rot timbers but there is ongoing work on solving problems.Thermal imaging will show us roofs that could be insulated and there are many windows that are still only single glazed or are failed double glazing.  I believe there are still some energy companies providing free insulation.  These were listed on the Which? website.  Councils are now running the Green Deal that the Govt pulled.Regulations are changing:  Building regulations meant a big increase in condensing boilers.There are now EPCs:https://www.gov.uk/buy-sell-your-home/energy-performance-certificates  New renters now expect these.Time does not stand still.

Philippa Bond ● 1417d

Raymond, in Britain we have what is reckoned to be some of the worst insiulated and ventilated housing in Europe.  That results in the most obvious reason for a higher use of electricity, gas and other fuel than would be used if it was better. There was/is a very good reason for the Insulate Britain protests.ASHPs are not a simple slot in replacement for the heating that we currently have and that is the reason for the articles and the discussion.  The situation is more complicated.  ASHPs are not all as noisy as you say and many will be used to cool homes as well as heat.  Makes and models differ.  I have tried to work with some very very noisy air conditioners in buildings with not enough through ventilation.We hear more about the horror stories re insulation than the success stories.There are now electricity companies that will buy any extra electricity you make from solar panels and will lease you an EV.  Changes happen and they aren't always bad but can often be better.

Philippa Bond ● 1417d

Re. heat pumps.  To plagiarise a well known adage, 'There are lies, damned lies and technical claims'.Often quoted, 'heat pumps are 400% efficient'.  Taken at face value, that implies heat pumps can be self-powering(!)The question remains, in the UK, where is the electric energy coming from to power electric vehicles and heat pumps?

Tony Heath ● 1418d

As usual Phillppa No practicality from these articles just idealistic possibilities from the world of Latte and Carrot Cake.Do you never question what is published? Do you never seek to question and find out more?This is more like an advertorial and devoid of many facts. Something for the well healed maybe.A possibility perhaps for those who live in rural areas with no direct gas supply and use heavy oil or Bottled gas and a have a septic tank.Unless you have a large home or a large garden, heat pumps are unpractical.Just as US style Air Conditioning is for most British homes. ( Which doubles as warm air heating in winter)A lot of space is required.They are also quite noisy. You would not want your neighbours one 2 metres away from your back rooms.  They also create droning noises throughout the home transmitted through the pipes and ducting. Reducing these adds thousands to the costs which are already way beyond most peoples means.They are costly to run for smaller homes, similar for larger homes to a large gas boiler.Even with a grant the maths don't add up for a normal sized house in a semi detached street.British homes are in the main small and very short on storage space. Gas boilers are now compact, primarily to fit such space restricted new build homes but also to eliminate water tanks and additional copper piping. All made from finite resources and now very expensive.ASHPs are also very expensive as is the installation, however the life efficiency expectancy is very short. Despite the hard sell, a well maintained gas boiler will last 30 years easily. It's the parts supply and marketing that shortens this.Although the big improvements in efficiency does make a viable proposition.But again, plentiful and long lasting design makes for efficiency of resources.With the electricity requirement high and the extra electricity required for electric vehicles and everything else, where is all this extra electricity going to come from?

Raymond Havelock ● 1418d