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I'm not surprised. I purchased a brand new house and they didn't even offer the option for a heat pump. The government needs to make it mandatory to have one in new builds.
But there has to be a properly trained installer base that simply does not exist in the quantities needed. There are a lot of cowboys offering heat pumps.
One potentially begats the other. If the demand is there then the installer base will follow. That demand is still comparatively low though, which is unlikely to change until the government starts mandating installs. It's a real Catch 22 - demand is low because quality is wildly varied. Quality is wildly varied because demand is low.
You make a good point.
If it's not already, it should definitely be in the regs that new builds need to be heat-pump ready (suitably sized radiators, etc.)
Radiator heat pumps sound crap.
Why wouldn't you have a air to air heat pump. They are far superior? You can still have a hot water tank
Personal preference and working with what's already installed, I guess.
I think this is a long term mistake.
I can't work out why the government is pushing it this way. Air to air does so much more. Works faster, also works as a dehumidifier and can be used as AC, gets more localised temp control.
I do wonder if there is an air to air system for the house with also a hot water tank add on. But I guess not, would need two systems then.
For context, in my home, I'm adding an air-to-air in one room (that isn't currently heated) on a separate exchanger.
But for the rest of the house, when I already have radiators and underfloor heating, I don't want to run 100mm ducting, or fit split units throughout the building.
When I do eventually go to a heat pump for the main system (eventually) I'll need to install a new tank funnily enough, as currently I just have on-demand gas-heated water.
I'm don't want to sound like an expert, because I'm not, but I Imagine underfloor heating probably makes all the difference.
Plus a mini split on a room or two can make a big difference. I was just saying I lived in places with radiators (gas) and with mini splits. The mini splits were much better.
I'm still of the stance that heat pumps work well, if the house heating system is designed/adjusted to accomodate.
Modern insulation, large radiators/underfloor heating? Ideal candidate, you'll hit decent efficiency most of the time.
1930s house with little insulation, and un-calculated radiators thrown in and run at 70'C?
You might as well be using bare electric heating at a lower install cost.
So the push for ASHP/GSHPs needs to be a two pronged attack: Get places ready to receive them, then install them.
This is the approach I'm taking , upgrade the basics like insultation first before making the jump.
If all my neighbours had heatpumps installed the noise would drive me mad. I don't think my sanity would last due to lack of sleep.
Houses where i am are so close together.
Something wrong with whatever heatpumps you've seen.
All of them? Sure, some were clearly rattly old things with knackered bearings, but they are not silent and stick out like a sore thumb when they click on at night. However, in the daytime, they get drowned out by the general din of life.
But im sure I'll be told my experiences are wrong.
I lived in a campsite with an old 9kw heat pump and I couldn't tell if it was on from the other side of the garden (which was as long as the house). Anything that is mechanical and moves got a chance of making a noise but it doesn't mean all of them do. We also had one inside the house for the hot water and when that was new I had to open the door to the utilities room to even know it was on.
All you can hear is a fan spinning.
maybe i got lucky to somehow hear them over my tinnitus. and no, if you live around them long enough, its not just a fan spinning (which will get noisy over time when they get manky and imbalanced, which in turn causes secondary vibrations). personally, i prefer air to air heatpumps i had when i lived in nz. not the noisy bastards i put up with in sweden.
that said, despite my hearing loss and tinnitus, i can pick up on annoying sounds nobody notices until i point them out.
I've only experiences the air to air heatpumps in aus and nz. I though sweden used the same?
Maybe, but i never came across them.
Interesting point. Hadn't even considered the cumulative noise issue. I imagine heat pumps will get quieter, but initially at leat you're right, they could be a real issue in terraced properties, for example.
This is definitely part of the heat pump push that I am not looking forward to.
ASHPs do make noise, badly installed they make more, and more vibration.
I forsee lots of painful battles between council departments trying to push for ASHPs, and noise complaints.
My solution is to move to a detatched house eventually, as I can't see it going well at all!
The problems are huge upfront costs and lack of heat engineering knowledge of the installers resulting in rubbish installations.
These systems are subsidised via grants to the consumer such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme paying up to £7,500 towards the cost. A typical air source heat pump, the most popular, can cost from around £7k to £13k. So you have to ask yourself why are they so expensive given they've been around for decades in Europe? It's a nice money earner for the installers and manufacturers.
As a result we're now seeing all sorts of companies suddenly popping up offering air source heat pumps. An example is a local company that fits roofing facia upgrades who now offer heat pumps. Yes they might have bought in the "expertise" but that is where the second problem is; lack of skilled heat engineers.
There are a lot of plumbers that pose as heat engineers. No doubt there are good plumbers but there are, I think, a bigger number that don't know a two port valve from a bag of candy floss.
Many of the installers have been on a one week course by a manufacturer that sells off the shelf packages based on a one size fits all. But that's where it goes pear shaped. For example, installing an ASHP in a poorly insulated Victorian house, telling the customer they're going to save thousands on their gas bill only for their electricity bill to double, triple, quadruple.
These heat pumps can work so long as they are installed by a suitably skilled qualified heating engineer, in a suitable property.
I looked into heat pumps about 15 years ago. I wasn't convinced then and I'm not convinced now because of the stupid costs and lack of skilled installers. In fact having looked into it recently again I'm less convinced now.
Buyer beware.
It's certainly a fair point. In the UK we have accreditation such as https://mcscertified.com/ which provide at least some piece of mind and the government provides a platform to search for certified installer: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-a-heat-pump-installer
Fly by night cowboys always seem to pop up whenever there's a govt grant involved. Then several years down the line you get countless stories of botched installs ruining houses (cavity wall and loft insulation for example)
This You Tube explains why. There's a few follow up videos worth watching but they are a bit drawn out.
Technology Connections has been trying to educate installers about these, especially around appropriate sizing and when to use backup heat (from a US perspective).
this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2024
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