Our Heat Pump Journey: Embracing Sustainable Home Heating
Our path to sustainable home heating began recently, and somewhat unexpectedly when our boiler started acting up at the beginning of the year. After a temporary fix and a subsequent service in the summer, more issues were idenfied.
My husband and I have always talked about how we would like to completely eliminate fossil fuels in our house, so investing in expensive boiler repairs was never an option.
Coincidentally, I recently interviewed Daniel S?refjord , CEO of Aira Heat Pumps, on the Electric Evolution Podcast . His insights into heat pump technology and Aira's commitment to affordability, as well as their approach to making heat pumps accessible, really resonated with me.
The process started with a high-level survey from one of the Aira technicians, followed by a more in-depth heat loss calculation survey, which determined that several radiators needed to be replaced for optimal performance. The Aira operations team organised the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant in advance, and the installation team worked diligently over a week to install the external fan unit and the internal unit, along with the necessary pipework.
Now up and running, we're enjoying a warm house with constant hot water. My husband is happy that he can use the Aira app to monitor and control our new system. The transition from our old boiler to this air-source heat pump has been so much easier than we'd originally envisaged in terms of efficiency and comfort.
Most importantly, we're now free of fossil fuels as our main heat source in our house. We do have solar panels and a battery, but of course, we are also still connected to the grid, which isn't always 100% renewable. That’s currently changing rapidly, too. As I write this, I've checked https://grid.iamkate.com and found that fossil fuels account for 31.9% of our energy mix.
领英推荐
We're really excited to see how our heat pump performs during the colder months, but so far, we're impressed with the comfort it provides and the knowledge that we're contributing to a more sustainable future.
Our journey from a broken boiler to a state-of-the-art heat pump system has shown us that sometimes, challenges can lead to positive changes people might not have considered otherwise.
Thanks for reading
Liz
If you want to listen to the Electric Evolution Podcast episode with Daniel S?refjord , please do click on this link as its a very interesting discussion >> https://fullcircleci.co.uk/episode-106-liz-allan-and-daniel-sarefjord-leading-the-heat-pump-revolution
Lawyer & Consultant - Clean Energy, Cleantech, Sustainability & Ecosystem Services
1 个月Well done Liz that is great to hear! Do keep us update on how you find it. I'm also interested in how it impacts or looks visually from outside the the house (ie the external unit). Is it ugly or noisy or have you turned it into a thing of beauty? ??
The problem is that they are physically big. I looked at one for my home and it just won't fit. Need to technology evolution.
Empowering UK local authorities transformation into leaders of public EV charging | Carbon Literacy advocate.
1 个月Great work, Liz! Your switch from fossil fuels, which made up 31.9% of your energy mix, is fantastic proof of what’s possible! Also, I think Snigdha would love to read your positive story, especially since she recently installed a heat pump at her home too!
Congratulations Liz and thanks so much for sharing your journey. That does sound remarkably plain sailing for something I’ve always thought would have quite a few more steps! Can I possibly ask about insulation? Did you have that checked? And did you need more?
Leader | Sustainability | ESG | Environment | Safety | Chair | Trustee | Director | VP |Non-Executive Director | ENDS Power List 2023 - Private Sector Pioneer | Board Advisor | Fractional Executive
1 个月Welcome to the heat pump club Liz Allan