Considering Heat Pump Installation in Your Home?

Posted by The Landsite on 31st January 2023 -

Homeowners looking to adopt an environmentally friendly low-carbon energy source will no doubt have considered the benefits of installing a heat pump system.  With energy prices remaining high, heat pump systems and hydrogen boilers are two low-carbon alternative energy source systems worth looking into.  

Air or ground heat pumps – what’s the difference?  

There are two main type of heat pumps - air source and ground source. 

Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) absorb heat from the air whilst Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) absorb heat from the ground.  Both work the same way by absorbing heat, transferring the heat into a fluid which is compressed to increase its temperature.  

Homeowners looking to install either type will have to factor in specific criteria pertaining to their property such as: is it an existing house or a new build, preparation work required to convert to a heat pump system, any additional work to upgrade radiators to help improve efficiency.  Air source pumps are much simpler to install and resembles an air conditioner unit whereas ground source pumps are more complicated due to the external groundwork required.   

Are they cheaper to run? 

On average the cost for installing a heat pump remains high.  Installation cost for an ASHP lies approximately between £7,000 to £13,000 and a GSHP is higher at approximately between £14,000 to £19,000.  The cost is higher for the GSHP due to the external groundwork as ‘slinkies’ or ‘boreholes’ are required for installation.   

Despite the higher cost, a GSHP is seen as the more efficient heating source system resulting in lower energy bills longer term.  It’s worth highlighting here that the key in cost efficiency lies the quality of the design and installation of the heat pump.  The higher the quality the lower the electricity requirement.

The benefits 

Heat pumps offer households the potential to save between £60 to £110 annually compared with a gas boiler.   Currently, the initial cost is high however there are Government incentives such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to help homeowners with the installation costs.  In addition to cost-effective domestic heating and cooling afforded by heat pumps, homeowners are also less subject to volatile fuel prices.   

2050 target

House builders and property developers are more often adopting this technology in new build developments with great results.  It is expected that 19 million heat pumps will be installed in new homes in the UK by 2050.  The International Energy Agency reports no new gas boilers should be sold after 2025 for the UK to achieve the net zero carbon target by 2050.  

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UK vs European countries 

The UK lags behind its European neighbours in terms of heat pump installation in 2021.  France leads the way followed by Italy and Germany.   

Scandinavian countries have been at the forefront winning the heat pump race.  In particular Norway with 49.77 heat pumps installed per 1,000 households vs the UK average of 1.48 per 1,000 households according to the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA).   In Sweden the sale of heat pumps has reportedly doubled in over a decade and with a population of 10 million there are now approximately 2 million heat pumps.

Government backing and the Future Homes Standard that will govern new housing developments from 2025 will drive expansion of heat pump technology throughout the UK.     

Read similar articles below:

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