The hard-to-sell heat pump is well on its way, Money Mail can reveal.
In recent weeks, some energy companies have started bombarding customers with messages begging them to install an air-to-water heat pump and save on their energy bills.
Such pumps, usually mounted on the back wall of a house, use air drawn in from the outside, plus a coolant and a compressor, to generate hot water and heat for the house.
While the pumps can be noisy and rather unsightly, this doesn’t stop those who sell them. Far from it. Their sales pitches are reminiscent of those of timeshare sharks in Tenerife – exaggerated and full of hot air.
‘The future of heating.’ “Low maintenance.” ‘Reliable heating and hot water all year round.’ ‘Save £385 a year on your energy bill.’
Shabby: Heat pumps are usually mounted on the back wall of a house and use air drawn in from the outside, plus a coolant and a compressor, to generate hot water and heat
Attractive selling points, all created in mailings or messages recently sent to customers of one energy company. But not all claims stand up to scrutiny.
Yesterday, Money Mail asked Mike Foster, CEO of energy trading association Energy and Utilities Alliance, to cast his eye on them.
This was his damning verdict: ‘Gas boilers are just as reliable as a heat pump in providing hot water and heat.
A gas combi boiler also produces instant hot water without the need for a hot water tank, so it’s arguably a better option for consumers.
‘We always recommend that heating systems are regularly serviced to maximize their efficiency.
The maintenance of a heat pump takes twice as long as that of a gas boiler and is therefore twice as expensive. Heat pumps also have an outdoor unit, making them susceptible to damage and theft.
As for the £385 savings claim, it’s nothing short of outrageous. Anyone who uses this must keep their mouths shut and guarantee this contractually to the consumer. If they don’t, that tells you everything you need to know about its validity.’
Of course, the pithy messages from energy companies are meant to encourage us to ditch our planet-destroying oil and gas boilers and get on the heat pump bandwagon.
And they stem from the government’s determination to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
It has therefore been decided that after 2035 (2025 for new homes) no new fossil fuel-consuming gas boilers may be installed.
By doing away with gas boilers and relying on heat pumps that rely on electricity, we are not only saving ourselves money, but also saving the planet – or so their theory goes.
Some experts, working for energy companies, have even started talking about heat pumps, using phrases like “essentially magic” to describe their transformative impact on household energy bills. Alas, this is utter balderdash.
The mega-hype swirling around heat pumps is reminiscent of that of the past 15 years around smart meters.
Crackdown: After 2035 – or 2025 in the case of new homes – no new fossil fuel-consuming gas boilers may be installed.
The smart meter program has cost an arm and a leg to introduce (£13.5bn and up), is plagued with problems (some smart meters are going dumb) and is years behind schedule. A proverbial dog dinner.
Now some believe that the rise of the heat pump by a motley crew of established parties — government, energy suppliers and vendors — is heading in the same direction. A dog dinner to conclude all dog dinners.
In short, the government’s goal of having households install heat pumps before new gas boiler installations are banned from 2035 will not work.
Not even if it continues to bribe homeowners with four-figure subsidies to get a heat pump. And not even if companies repeatedly beat the hard-to-sell drum.
Currently, grants of £5,000 are available under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for households in England and Wales who install an air source heat pump – £6,000 if a more expensive ground or water well pump is chosen.
These scholarships are available until at least 2028 (Scotland has its own scholarship scheme).
Skeptics believe that the government’s goal of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 is a pipe dream (some 55,000 were bought by households last year). It’s just not going to happen. And for many reasons.
Mr Foster is emphatic about the financial merits of heat pumps – they are minimal.
He says: ‘Heat pumps are effective in homes that are well insulated and properly installed. They are also good for those who want to reduce their ecological footprint.’
But – and it’s a BIG but – he says these pluses come at a huge cost to the consumer, in the form of an upfront payment of £13,000 for an air well pump, closer to £30,000 for a ground well pump (cost before the grants are applied for ).
Grants of £5,000 are available for households installing an air source heat pump – £6,000 for an expensive ground or water source pump
And, he adds, the pumps won’t save households money in terms of lower bills. This is mainly because electricity currently costs almost four times as much as gas, negating the energy efficiency of a heat pump compared to a gas boiler.
In other words, the extra energy a heat pump generates to heat a home is not enough to offset the higher unit cost of electricity. Currently, electricity costs 30 pence per kilowatt hour, compared to 8 pence for gas.
Mr Foster claims that a government-funded study to measure the technology’s efficiency has so far shown that half of participating homeowners ended up paying more for their energy by switching to heat pumps.
He also says homeowners often face additional costs when connecting a heat pump to the local power supply. In some cases, such as when a footpath or road needs to be excavated, the household must pay a four-figure sum of up to £6,000.
In the worst-case scenario, someone with an off-grid oil heating system that fails after January 2026 could take a triple financial hit.
First, they could be forced to replace it with a heat pump (new off-grid oil boilers are likely to be banned from early 2026). Then they could face an extra bill to connect the pump to the grid, plus a waiting time of up to 14 weeks while the connection is made.
“The people who force heat pumps on us believe they are the answer to all our prayers,” says Foster. “But they ignore the reality of the times we live in. Most households just don’t have the £13,000 to spare to buy a heat pump – and even if they did I think most would prioritize other things like keeping the cash in the pocket. Bank.’
Stuart Hatch shares Mr Foster’s view. He was a business consultant in the field of sustainable energy for 15 years and was closely involved in the design, manufacture and installation of heat pumps. More recently, he joined Ecolution, a renewable energy contractor, as chief commercial officer.
While Mr Hatch says heat pumps are ‘perfectly fine’, he argues they are not the only thing. ‘There is not one heating technique that is the best
class,” he says. ‘And heat pumps are not suitable for all buildings either.’
For example, he says that many houses at the back do not have enough space for a pump, which should not be placed more than a meter from the yard wall and further from the neighbour’s window.
Some don’t have room for a water bottle, while others are too drafty for pumps to work properly.
He adds: ‘More pertinently, whatever may be claimed, a heat pump will not save you money, especially if it is poorly installed and the house is inadequately insulated. Until there is a leveling of gas and electricity prices, the math works terribly against the arguments for heat pumps.’
Paul Yeatman, boss of Dorset-based renewable energy specialist Power Naturally, says the general push for heat pumps is ‘mistaken’.
“Heat pumps are not a panacea,” he adds. ‘I would say they are only suitable for 20 percent of homes.’
Mr Yeatman believes ‘district heating’ – one large heat pump providing heat and hot water to hundreds of homes – may be a better long-term alternative – but only if the National Grid can handle it. “The electricity grid would go down on its knees if the government had its way and converted the land into heat pumps,” he says.
The final word goes to Michael Blackmore, a retired general practitioner from Midhurst, West Sussex. He says: “Unfortunately, vested interests and ill-informed politicians will continue to push heat pumps down our throats.
“They will do so while pushing for electric cars at the same time – ignoring National Grid’s warning that unless electricity use is curtailed this winter, the country’s lights may go out.”
Insanity. Utter madness.
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