Discuss I always thought heat pumps were expensive waste of time in the Green Energy Forums | Green Energy Hub area at ElectriciansForums.net

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well presented video. nail on head. 50 characters agin. gordon bennet.
 
I thought his arguments biased and shallow of technical content. From a wet pants that wants to fit gas boilers.
 
Let’s face it, gas boilers are on The way out , it’s just a matter of time.
 
2030 ? Is that the date for no more gas boiler installs ?

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I have electric heating, a mix of storage radiators and oil-filled wall-hung ones. No gas supply is available. The storage rads are hardly ever on, usually only between November and March, and only every second day. Insulation levels are very good in the house.
Looking at that video, and assuming a cost to me at the lower level, actually about £8k in my case, after grant assistance, I could buy about 6 or 7 years worth of electricity at my current rate for that outlay. By then, I might be dead...
Of course, even if I did install a heat pump and spent that capital cost upfront, I am still going to have ongoing electricity bills because I will need electricity to run the fan etc and for cooking. I would also have to factor in the cost of replacing the heat pump unit/fan/whatever else might fail.
I have been bombarded recently with leaflets urging me to replace my old storage rads with new, high-efficiency ones. I have resisted this as my ancient ones, although hardly Lot20 standard, are working fine, provide more than enough heat for my needs, and the cost of new ones would be enough to pay for electricity to heat my old ones for a few years.
That's just my personal situation and viewpoint, but I suspect many others are in a similar situation, whereby a heat pump simply isn't an option nor a solution. For me, it's not a question of substituting a heat pump for a gas boiler, just changing how electricity is provided to heat my home.
Other problems arise because I live in a flatted development, so consent of the other owners would be required prior to installing a pump on the outside wall. I have no doubt whatsoever that the other owners would consent, provided the pump was installed on the rear of the block rather than the front elevation, or even on the flat roof, but the rear garden is landscaped and on a slope so I can imagine the cost of scaffolding would be considerable, not only for the original installation but also for any ongoing maintenance/repair.
I can't see this technology working for me. Good insulation is paramount, and basic additional insulation would be much cheaper in many instances. Now, where's my super-glue...?
 
Surprising that not more comment on this as it affects us all and especially the next generations. The cost of gas going up as per wholesale prices. Fuel poverty is not far off. I expect many elderly will die this winter due to fuel poverty in this country. So the gov. are rolling out disastrously expensive "solutions" that will turn out to be non-solutions and we go quietly into that dark night literally.
 
Surprising that not more comment on this as it affects us all and especially the next generations. The cost of gas going up as per wholesale prices. Fuel poverty is not far off. I expect many elderly will die this winter due to fuel poverty in this country. So the gov. are rolling out disastrously expensive "solutions" that will turn out to be non-solutions and we go quietly into that dark night literally.
Nice Dylan Thomas reference there!
 
Surprising that not more comment on this as it affects us all and especially the next generations. The cost of gas going up as per wholesale prices. Fuel poverty is not far off. I expect many elderly will die this winter due to fuel poverty in this country. So the gov. are rolling out disastrously expensive "solutions" that will turn out to be non-solutions and we go quietly into that dark night literally.
Nice Dylan Thomas reference there!
 
Nice Dylan Thomas reference there!
Dylan Thomas had problems with double vision totally related to alcohol consumption. now pirate is suffering similar symptoms: double posting. put that neat rum down. ??
 
Nice Dylan Thomas reference there!
Dylan Thomas had problems with double vision totally related to alcohol consumption. now pirate is suffering similar symptoms: double posting. put that neat rum down. ??
 
Nice Dylan Thomas reference there!

Dylan had double vision, totally related to alcohol consumption. now pirate is suffering similar symptoms: double posting. put that neat rum down. ??
 
It's enough to turn a man to drink (any old excuse) this nonsense. Those government grants, they aren't from the government they're from us the people held to ransom through our energy bills and taxes. Shhhh, don't tell anyone, not a lot of people know that. Instead they get a warm glow (which might be an interesting and more realistic energy strategy) thinking how kind the government are giving us grants. Think I am being cynical, your'e right.
 
ASHPs aren't the best solution for every house but that doesn't mean they don't have their place. Here in the north of Scotland there aren't many places outside of Inverness that have mains gas.

The video is correct in that they are not suitable for many older houses but in new builds they can work well, especially when paired with UFH. In small houses the air-to-air units can even work quite well.
 
wasn't me . the forum went ---- up. even still insisting on 50 characters in a post
 
... but in new builds they can work well, especially when paired with UFH.
? ? ? ? ?
"Can" being the operative word.
Yes, if the house builder builds something well insulated, puts UFH in (especially in the otherwise cold block of concrete they tend to have as a ground floor), then a heat pump will probably work well. But as long as they carry on with the attitude of "doing it this way will save us 2d, so we'll do it this way" then we'll carry on getting new houses where HPs aren't going to work well.
They aren't going to fit UFH because it costs more than fitting a rad. They aren't going to fit an oversized rad because fitting the minimum size the figures suggest might work is cheaper. They aren't going to fit passivhaus standard insulation because that costs more than fitting the minimum the BRs (building regs) allow them to get away with - if they even fit it (c.f. a program on TV a few years ago where a big name housebuilder didn't even fit the roof insulation, it was still in rolls in the attic, and they had to take roofs off to fit it).
The quickest and simplest win for new builds would be to simply tighten up the BRs to need better thermal performance - then new builds would become better performing.
 
In fact in the new build we just completed, we came in a few days in after completion and there was a massive amount of water leaked. It turns out it was from condensation from above the insulation. It then transpired the "architect" got it wrong in the method of installing it. Cue, major work. I mean if you can't even get that right in a new build.......what hope?
 

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