Heat pumps update: if your boiler’s on the blink, are you ready to take the plunge?

The concept of heat pumps (introduced 15 years ago) caused some initial excitement, but despite soaring gas and electricity bills and growing pressures to meet the UK’s Net Zero target, take up of heat pumps by consumers in the UK has so far proved disappointing.

This is not necessarily surprising, as the earliest heat pumps often failed to heat households adequately unless larger radiators were installed, an additional cost most householders were understandably unwilling to take on. They also produced disappointingly low temperatures (less than 50C). As a consequence, heating pumps have taken a bit of a beating in the press.

But is that still the case?

According to Chris Baraniuk, Technology of Business reporter on the BBC News website, “a new breed of heat pumps is emerging”. The technology has been improving steadily over time and heat pumps are now capable of supplying much higher temperatures (sometimes more than 70C). The industry has also seen the introduction of new, more environmentally friendly refrigerants, including R290 or propane. As well as having greener credentials, R290 is reportedly up to 34% more efficient.

Air source heat pumps work by circulating refrigerant and capturing warmth from the outside air. This is compressed by the heat pump to increase the temperature, and the heat is transferred into the house.

Heat pumps are judged on their ability to achieve a coefficient of performance (COP) of 3 or higher, i.e. the amount of heat energy produced in kilowatt hours for every kilowatt of electricity used. According to trials by Energy Systems Catapult (a non-profit organisation), the latest R290 heat pumps have “performed well”.

So perhaps now is the time to re-visit the heat pump. Companies such as Octopus Energy, Vaillant and Vattenfall all offer heat pumps and in theory, it should be reasonably straightforward to replace a combi boiler with a heat pump.

At the moment the UK is close to the bottom of the list in terms of European companies investing in heat pumps. Perhaps it’s time to take that first step..

Chris Baraniuk, 'Will hotter heat pumps win over homeowners?' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67511954 , 2 January 2024