You might have heard that the government’s new Green Homes Grants Scheme, launched in autumn 2020, encourages home owners to install Air Source Heat Pumps to replace old gas and oil fired heating systems. But why should you consider the benefits of an Air Source Heat Pump system instead of just getting a new gas boiler?
The answer is, there are lots of benefits from this ‘new’ technology. However, it’s not really so new. Sure, it’s a new idea to use it in household heating systems, but heat pumps have been used in commercial buildings for years, and you even already have a heat pump in a different form quietly working away to run your household fridge and freezer. But what are the benefits for a household heating system?
Well first of all there’s the reason the government are pushing us all to think about heat pumps – and that’s to cut down our carbon footprint. Instead of burning fossil fuels like gas or oil and releasing harmful carbon into the environment, a heat pump uses an efficient electric motor to move heat from the outdoors air into your home. All you need is a small amount of electricity, hopefully from renewable energy, to run the electric pump. You could easily be cutting your carbon emissions and your carbon footprint by three quarters.
And there’s not just the feelgood factor of cutting your carbon footprint, you’ll save money too. Because three quarters of the energy used will literally be extracted from the air outside your home, you’ll massively cut your fuel bills as well – especially if you can power the pump from solar panels.
There are practical benefits too, because you are getting rid of your old gas boiler you’ll free up some valuable space in the house – and a household’s old boiler is often in the kitchen where storage space is already at a premium.
Heat pumps really are the system of the future, if you have got an old boiler it’s pointless to replace it with another boiler which over time will become ever more expensive to run. If you install a heat pump today there are massive government incentives which are only on offer for a short time. The Green Homes Grant Scheme could see up to two thirds of your installation cost being paid for by the government.
