Heat pumps just became affordable

FOR me, air source heat pumps have so far fallen into the “great idea but...” category with the “but” being cost, disruption and reliability.

Which is a great shame because they offer a carbon-free way of keeping your home warm and cosy at a reasonable cost.

Our neighbour, who’s a builder, has installed one in the barn he is renovating and is unequivocally enthusiastic about the steady, comfortable temperature the pump provides and the low cost of running it.

Air source heat pumps work by pulling in air from outside and using it to heat a refrigerant liquid which turns into gas as it warms.

Compression increases its temperature and the heat is transferred into your home. The science behind it isn’t new — it was invented by Lord Kelvin in 1852.

It seems my uncertainty is widely shared across Britain, where installations have lagged behind every other country in Europe with a measly 1.9 heat pumps per 1,000 people compared with 69.4 in Finland and 20 in France.

This isn’t accidental — Finland and Norway have proactively encouraged installation of heat pumps with financial subsidies, low electricity rates and taxes on fossil fuels.

Here, despite the Government offering a grant of £5,000 towards a heat pump installation last year, fewer people have claimed it than expected.

The reasons aren’t clear but a revolution to decarbonise heating is essential to meeting our net zero targets.

According to government figures, 37 per cent of UK carbon emissions come from heating with about 14 per cent attributable to people’s homes. Air and ground source heat pumps, along with hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas for some homes, will form the mainstay of the solution.

On the cost front, the Prime Minister has just announced that the Government grant will go up to £7,500. Set against a typical cost of £8,000 for a heat pump, this seems a very good deal and one I will certainly be investigating. If you’re also interested, visit www.gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme

But it’s not just cost. There’s the all-too-familiar nightmare scenario where the day before the family descends for the Christmas festivities the boiler packs up, leaving you with no hot water or heating. Such fears put many people off investing in this new technology.

The climate emergency working group has been talking to a company called Econic, which develops and installs a new type of hybrid heat pump. Essentially, this means that the pump is used as an add-on rather than an alternative to your gas boiler.

Most of the time the pump will heat your home but the gas boiler is there and can kick in as and when needed, so there is always a back-up.

Econic claims that annual savings of £400 on fuel bills can be made and installation is much simpler and less disruptive.

However, I should add that although hybrid systems are cheaper, the Government is not currently offering a grant towards such systems.

Group chairman Tony Hoskins and I decided to take up the offer of a free survey. Frustratingly, the limestone tiles on the floor of my new utility room (my pride and joy) mean that installation of a hybrid boiler is not straightforward. (For Tony it would be simpler.)

So will I be looking to install a heat pump at home? Yes. The new grant removes much of the financial disincentive and as long as installation is not too disruptive, then a low-carbon, low-cost way of heating my home makes sense.

Will the UK move off the bottom of the league of European nations for heat pump installations? I do hope so.