Heat pumps are they a waste of money?

[Agentgonzo]

Sorry I didn't go through all this long thread but very interesting clips.
We have already decided its not for us as we have a 200 year old stone built cottage with natural slate floors so will stick with oil for now.

I don't think that anyone was trying to convince people on this thread that they should switch to a heat pump. It was just a question of "are they a waste of money". For some poeple, probably (eg, if you live in Texas, they are probably a waste of money, or if you don't have a suitable house). But that's not to say they are a waste of money for everyone.

Horses for courses.

 

[Sozzled Sab]

I don't think that anyone was trying to convince people on this thread that they should switch to a heat pump. It was just a question of "are they a waste of money". For some poeple, probably (eg, if you live in Texas, they are probably a waste of money, or if you don't have a suitable house). But that's not to say they are a waste of money for everyone.

Horses for courses.

I agree, I have wandered off track a bit. Like you say it all depends on your circumstances.

 

[jof]

I don't think that anyone was trying to convince people on this thread that they should switch to a heat pump. It was just a question of "are they a waste of money". For some poeple. But that's not to say they are a waste of money for everyone.

Horses for courses.

Exactly this.

If you already have gas heating, then keep it as thats the most cost effective solution for you.

I only rant on about how good they are because our starting point was a giant Revo electricair storage heater and our electric costs were £2.5k a year before the energy crisis.

And there can't be many homes that still rely on electric storage heaters.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

And there can't be many homes that still rely on electric storage heaters.

They're actually still the recommended option for small flats (<100m2 I think??) - there was a report somewhere that analysed the options for different households and those small flats are not particularly cost-effective for heat pumps as they don't really have the room for a hotwater tank etc, and if you're doing direct heating of showers etc you might as well just go for direct-electric space heating as well. But once you get >100m2 then the balance tips back towards heat pumps.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Give us a break, if you are about to dump thousands of pounds into a heat pump and solar you are not going to take advice on it from any newspaper or guy down the pub fortunately we have the internet and if you use a little common sense you will find sites that will give you all the information you need not hearsay.

It's a nice idea, but in reality the "vibes" people get from mainstream media are enough to stop them even doing the research, they just decide a heat pump is "not for them" and "it all seems a bit complicated and I don't have time" and don't look any further.

For instance....

Sorry I didn't go through all this long thread but very interesting clips.
We have already decided its not for us as we have a 200 year old stone built cottage with natural slate floors so will stick with oil for now.

This is a 150yo single-skin building with a heat pump achieving a SCOP of 4.44 : https://skill-builder.uk/heatgeek

200yo church where Yeats is buried has a heatpump : https://www.churchofireland.org/news/11971/environmental-insights-innovative-heating

Church in Norwich has a heat pump in its 15th-century boiler room : https://www.churchofengland.org/abo...c-london-church-inspired-take-net-zero-action

11th-century church in Lympne, Kent has a heatpump : https://ecoforest.com/en/reference-installations/united-kingdom-st-stephens-church-lympne/

Yes some of those are ground-source but the basic principle stands, age is not a limitation.

 

[Sozzled Sab]

It's a nice idea, but in reality the "vibes" people get from mainstream media are enough to stop them even doing the research, they just decide a heat pump is "not for them" and "it all seems a bit complicated and I don't have time" and don't look any further.

For instance....

This is a 150yo single-skin building with a heat pump achieving a SCOP of 4.44 : https://skill-builder.uk/heatgeek

200yo church where Yeats is buried has a heatpump : https://www.churchofireland.org/news/11971/environmental-insights-innovative-heating

Church in Norwich has a heat pump in its 15th-century boiler room : https://www.churchofengland.org/abo...c-london-church-inspired-take-net-zero-action

11th-century church in Lympne, Kent has a heatpump : https://ecoforest.com/en/reference-installations/united-kingdom-st-stephens-church-lympne/

Yes some of those are ground-source but the basic principle stands, age is not a limitation.

Sorry I stand corrected. Just worried if it doesn't work there's no going back.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

It's a nice idea, but in reality the "vibes" people get from mainstream media are enough to stop them even doing the research, they just decide a heat pump is "not for them" and "it all seems a bit complicated and I don't have time" and don't look any further.

For instance....

This is a 150yo single-skin building with a heat pump achieving a SCOP of 4.44 : https://skill-builder.uk/heatgeek

200yo church where Yeats is buried has a heatpump : https://www.churchofireland.org/news/11971/environmental-insights-innovative-heating

Church in Norwich has a heat pump in its 15th-century boiler room : https://www.churchofengland.org/abo...c-london-church-inspired-take-net-zero-action

11th-century church in Lympne, Kent has a heatpump : https://ecoforest.com/en/reference-installations/united-kingdom-st-stephens-church-lympne/

Yes some of those are ground-source but the basic principle stands, age is not a limitation.

Wouldn't work at Stonehenge.

 

[MashBag]

Sorry I stand corrected. Just worried if it doesn't work there's no going back.

Why no going back?

 

[Sozzled Sab]

Why no going back?

It would definitely be a waste of money to pay for a heat pump and then have to pay to have oil heating refitted.
I have now read through the whole of this thread and my head is spinning so I think I will pull out and go and have a beer.

 

[Agentgonzo]

Sorry I stand corrected. Just worried if it doesn't work there's no going back.

Why wouldn't it work?

 

[jof]

Why wouldn't it work?

Follow the money as they say.

Is your current system either broken or so inefficient that it's costing a lot more than it should to run?

What are the costs involved in a direct replacement of your existing system Vs new heat pump install?

What are the running costs & how long would it take to recoup the cash spent on switching?

Will you expect to still be alive to reap the benefit. (I had a discussion with an elderly neighbour about this a few years back)

 

[jambop]

I live in SW France and I can say there are people I know who cannot heat their homes properly with Heat pumps for a reasonable cost. If we get temperatures much less than 10C we regard that as cold . The problem with heat pumps for heating homes is it requires a certain type of house and naturally old houses fair far worse than modern well insulated houses. Another big issue is fitting the system houses without a solid floor here are nonexistant even fairlt newly built houses have solid floors. Gas is not an option here because there is none other than bottled so burning wood is the most popular way of heating your house. I recently bought a new wood stove and it is both brilliant for heat production and not too bad on the polution side. I can have my house toasting for €500 a year. I should say though I do have to heat water for showering... nobody I know has a bath here shower only much cheaper less wasteful.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have now read through the whole of this thread and my head is spinning so I think I will pull out and go and have a beer.

Wow - too much information

 

[Chippy_Tea]

nobody I know has a bath here shower only much cheaper less wasteful.

I would quite happily pay more to have a bath.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Just worried if it doesn't work there's no going back.

That's completely understandable. Obviously buildings that old come with their own problems, and they tend to be "one-offs" with their own unique peculiarities. I think all you can do in that situation is make sure you deal with someone who has been properly trained and really knows what they're talking about - these things are a bit complicated and the local cowboy can screw up even a bog-standard house let alone one like yours.

I know it's a self-selecting but if you look at systems on https://heatpumpmonitor.org it's maybe no coincidence that most of the high performers were installed by people trained by Heat Geeks, with a smaller number by Heating Academy, so that maybe points to something you should be looking for. Certainly watching the Heat Geek YouTube channel leaves one impressed with how well they know their stuff.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Will you expect to still be alive to reap the benefit.

Hence the reason we had a new boiler