The number of households with heat pumps needs to increase tenfold in the rush to net zero — one couple tells Martina Lees how they fitted one on a tight budget
The problem is in the UK our houses are often made out of rock with even less insulative properties than the plywood and cardboad the americans use. Usually all you get is double glazing, seals around the doors and maybe some attic insulation.
And so long as the heat pump and radiators are appropriately sized to dump heat into the house, that shouldn’t matter.
The main issue is people with badly designed heating systems running at 70 degrees flow temperature.
When you swap over to a heat pump, the flow temperature is only supposed to be 40.
So you either need to get more water in the loop (bigger radiators) or less heat leaving the building (better insulation). And an understanding that the heat pump is supposed to heat gradually.
As for the installation cowboys…yea, it’s an absolute farce. £2k unit somehow costing £20k to install.
The problem is in the UK our houses are often made out of rock with even less insulative properties than the plywood and cardboad the americans use. Usually all you get is double glazing, seals around the doors and maybe some attic insulation.
And so long as the heat pump and radiators are appropriately sized to dump heat into the house, that shouldn’t matter.
The main issue is people with badly designed heating systems running at 70 degrees flow temperature.
When you swap over to a heat pump, the flow temperature is only supposed to be 40.
So you either need to get more water in the loop (bigger radiators) or less heat leaving the building (better insulation). And an understanding that the heat pump is supposed to heat gradually.
As for the installation cowboys…yea, it’s an absolute farce. £2k unit somehow costing £20k to install.