Where do air source heat pumps work best?
Heat pumps make the most financial sense in properties which are off the gas grid and which therefore use expensive fuels like electricity, oil, LPG or coal for space heating. If you’re connected to mains gas, then you’ll probably be better off with gas central heating.
A well insulated home with high standards of air-tightness is also preferable. This is because heat pumps are most effective in homes which warm up quickly and are good at keeping heat in.
Heating systems powered by heat pumps operate at a lower temperature than ‘normal’ systems, so they need a distribution system that delivers heat over a larger surface area. Radiators connected to heat-pump systems tend to be big, but not very hot. Underfloor heating systems work particularly well with a heat pump.
But in all cases, improving the eneregy efficiency of your home first will help you reduce your heating needs and in turn enable you to run a smaller and cheaper heat pump.
Finally, bear in mind that whilst the unit itself doesn’t take up a lot of space, they need to be positioned somewhere with adequate air flow. A space of approximately 2m2 is required, and this can be in a well ventilated loft as well as outside.
Integration with other renewable energy sources
Although an air source heat pump can usually meet the heating and hot water needs of an average household, you may also consider a back-up supplementary system, for example a solar thermal hot water system and a wood pellet, chip or log stove could be integrated well. Solar water heating may provide all your domestic hot water needs during summer removing the need to run the heat pump at all, and so saving yourself the cost of the electricity.
Cost
The cost of an air source heat pump unit can range from £6,000 to £8,000 and will depend on the size of the property it needs to heat. On top of this is the cost of the installation and of additional works required to upgrade the distribution system. (Generally speaking installing a heat pump is not especially disruptive work, though you may want to carry out this work at the same time as other home renovations.)
The running costs of an installed system will also vary depending on how much heat it needs to produce, what type of distribution system you have and the CoP of the system (see above). The cost of the electricity used to run the heat pump for a typical two-bedroom home is around £900-£1,200 per year, and up to £1,800-£2,400 for a four-bed home. This is generally cheaper than the cost of heating with electricity, oil, LPG or coal but more expensive than gas.
Maintenance costs for air source heat pumps are low. They are reliable, work automatically and have a long life.
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