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UK installations of heat pumps 10 times lower than in France, report finds
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
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The benefit of heat pumps is substantially less in the UK V's France. They are expensive in the winter as you have to rely on emersion heaters when there is not enough heat in the air. If I was going to spend some cash investing in green tech, this would not be it. My opinion is that we should be looking at solar panelling first. Anything after should be used on closing the oil burning power stations we have running.
This is the first video I have found explaining why I am saying this.
There's a few issues with what you're saying
Heatpumps are not a one size fits all solution, and they are very expensive, that much is true.
If you watch the video he points out why it works in those countries. They have learned to live in a cold country by building housing to suit. We have not done this because we burned cheap coal instead. All those older housing is not up to scratch. One thing you cannot get away from is the noise. We live with a much smaller land foot print than they do in Scandinavia. You are right about the oil though. I should have said fossil fuelled. I will edit it.
I am also speaking from experience. My sister took advantage of the scheme. They are very underwhelmed. I am never said there is no benefit. I think there are better gains in other areas.
And to add to this, air source HPs are a large, ugly fan unit on the outside wall of your property.
Additionally, ground source HPs are very expensive, cause lots of disruption due to installation and require room to install the pump unit which is as big as a large American style fridge.
These issues also don't include the possible requirements to change the way heating and hot water are heated, stored and piped in the home.
Which is a shame because even if I could afford all that and could make the changes, I have the room and I'd love to do it.
And I'd do it even if the install costs only broke even over the lifespan of the pump. Just being able to move away from gas while cutting my electric bill to almost nothing is good enough for me.
Possibly putting energy back into the grid, adding a large battery storage unit and/or EV charging outlet, these are ultimate aims which should be at least included in the implemention of government grants and subsidies.
Yeah you know, those plans the government has to put heat pumps into all new housing stock, while also changing everyone else.
Ugh (wake up ianovic69!), wha, huh (wake up, we gotta go!), what, what's happening?
<Background sirens and screaming, getting louder>
End.
My French relatives have some sort of ground source heat pump, having designed everything in their home to work on that basis, and it is everything you describe in terms of size - the pump unit is huge and impressively loud. It worked very well, when it worked. Unfortunately, the underground bit is also broken and the installers who broke it have refused to solve the problem. There is a fair amount of cowboy engineering going on in this domain, it turns out, a lack of reliable support for existing units/installs, and of course the usual attempts to extort money from people of a certain age. It makes me sick that they did everything right and were let down anyway. I'm not saying avoid this technology necessarily, but if you get a lemon and/or are unlucky and hire shysters there is practically no ceiling to the costs involved.
Air source, yes; ground source you don't have to rely on immersion heaters at all.