SO Energy Releases A Guide To Heat Pumps

With households being urged to replace their old gas and oil-fueled boilers in a bid to lower carbon emissions, residents may have spotted heat pumps getting a bit more attention in the media recently.

But what are they, how do they work, and what are the benefits? This article offers the rundown of everything home owners and residents need to know with regard to heat pumps.

• What is a heat pump?

In basic terms, a heat pump is a piece of technology that captures heat from outside, and transfers it into the home. Although electricity is required to do this, the heat energy delivered to the home is much greater than the electrical energy used to power the system - making it an efficient means of producing heat.

• What are the different types of heat pump?

There are two different types of heat pump: ground source heat pumps and air source heat pumps.

Ground source heat pumps

A ground source heat pump system harnesses natural heat from underground

A ground source heat pump system harnesses natural heat from underground. To do so, water mixed with antifreeze is pumped through a network of underground pipes, absorbing the naturally-occurring heat stored in the ground.

This is then passed through a heat exchanger, to extract the heat and transfer it to the heat pump, before being passed on to the home heating system.

Air source heat pumps

With an air source heat pump, the heat is absorbed into a liquid refrigerant from the outside air. This warms up the refrigerant, turning it from a liquid into a gas.

The pump then compresses the gas to increase its temperature, before passing the hot gas through a heat exchanger and, as with a ground source heat pump, into the home.

• How to decide what type of heat pump is right for the home?

It’s always worth getting tailored advice from a professional heat pump installer, before making a decision on what type of heat pump to get.

Heat pumps for different households

Air source heat pumps are a more common all-round domestic heat pump

However, generally speaking, the Energy Saving Trust advises that for homes that have a garden or large area of outside space (that home owners don’t mind digging up!), residents might want to consider a ground source heat pump.

Air source heat pumps, on the other hand, are a more common all-round domestic heat pump, and are suitable for many types of home.

• How energy efficient are heat pumps?

Although both types of heat pumps require electricity to run, they are still a very efficient way of heating the home, because the amount of heat they produce is considerably more than the amount of electricity they require to run.

• How much does it cost to have a heat pump installed?

Unfortunately, the large upfront cost associated with heat pumps are one of the major downsides to this technology. Currently, an air source heat pump can cost between £8,000 and £15,000 to install, while a ground source heat pump is estimated to cost upwards of £15,000.

• Can using a heat pump help in saving money on power bills?

Most figures suggest that heat pumps will save money in the long-term, if using them as a replacement for non-renewable energy systems, such as electric storage heaters, oil, or coal.

Heat pumps to become the lowest carbon form of heating

The Energy Saving Trust also notes that, with energy prices increasing, it is expected that heat pumps will become the cheapest, as well as the lowest carbon form of heating available.

That said, it’s worth consulting an installation expert and then doing the calculations, as there are a number of factors that will determine exactly how much they could save, including the energy tariff, the design of the central heating system, and the location and its average air or ground temperature throughout the year.

• Do many homes in the UK already have heat pumps installed?

In spite of their enormous potential to lower emissions, heat pump uptake in the UK is very slow

In spite of their enormous potential to lower emissions, heat pump uptake in the UK is very slow, particularly when compared with European countries.

According to figures from the European Heat Pump Association, the UK is joint-last for European heat pump sales in 2020, with just 1% of UK households had heat pumps installed up to the end of 2020, compared with 60% of Norwegian homes and 43% of Swedish households.

However, with the UK Government recently announcing its ambition to see 600,000 heat pumps installed each year by 2028, the UK could be set to begin catching up.

Most heat pump installations are ‘permitted developments’

Speaking to the Evening Standard towards the end of last year, a UK Government spokesperson said that “We are confident that the upfront costs will fall in the coming years, and we will look to help the market drive down these costs.”

Although most heat pump installations are considered ‘permitted developments’, meaning no permission is required to have one installed, it’s always worth checking beforehand to make sure there is no requirement to apply to the local authority for permission.