New Gas Central Heating vs Air Source Heat Pump System

bloke91

Hi

I have purchased a victorian terrace house as an investment property.

It has no central heating and I am considering installing Gas Central heating vs an air source heat system.

I have had a quote of about 5k to install pipework, 9 radiators and a gas boiler.

I am conscious new builds won't be fitted with Gas Central heating from 2025 and therefore wondering if I should fit Gas into the terrace house.

From what I have read, suggests air source pump technology is not quite there yet, very expensive and requires the house be very insulated and energy efficient etc.

This makes me edge towards a Gas Central heating system and re-evaluate in 10 years time when the boiler may need to be replaced etc. If switched to air pump system in 10 years time I believe the piper work and radiators I already have fitted could be reused still so not a wasted cost etc.

The other part of me thinks fitting a Gas system dosnt feel right when they will eventually be phased out. I suspect govwrment will push households to replace them with grants one day.

Welcome any thoughts, feedback, suggestions or experience.

Thanks all in advance.

QrizB

Mains gas is still cheaper than (or at least, not yet more expensive than) a heat pump to run.

If you were buying it to live in for the next 25 years you might consider having wet underfloor heating instaled as part of your refurb. It will work fine with gas and will prove really helpful if you need a heat pump in future.

For an investment property where you're not the one paying the fuel costs you might not want the additional up-front capital cost.

Gerry1

Unfortunately at the moment going green means spending twice or three times as much on the capital outlay and perhaps twice as much on running costs.  If you have tenants it may not be you paying the bills, but an ASHP will make your property less attractive and may reduce your rental income.

A halfway house may be a better bet, just fit oversized radiators driven by a gas boiler and then any future upgrade to an ASHP won't require such an expensive and messy upheaval.

It remains to be seen whether the timescale will be met (the 2020 target for smart meters failed spectacularly) and it's by no means certain that the ASHP alone will be the ultimate Holy Grail.  Other possibilities such as wholly or partially replacing natural gas with hydrogen may well play an important part.

Cardew

If you look through the Energy section of the forum - including LPG/heating oil sub-section - you will find hundreds of posts on the merits/demerits of Air Source Heat Pumps(ASHP)

There is no question that at the moment gas is considerably cheaper to run than an ASHP, although there is conjecture that the gap in running costs will close up in the years to come.

Currently installing an ASHP costs an average of about £15k although you could get a considerable proportion of that refunded over 7 years PROVIDED your house meets certain criteria. That criteria is principally the standard of insulation and for a Victorian house without CH will probably involve considerable cost to achieve.

To my mind it is a no contest, install gas CH but perhaps oversize the radiators to 'future proof' the house against the time heat pumps might become mandatory. Although there is already talk in the media about expending the banning date for gas boilers from 2035 to 2040

bloke91

Thanks for your feedback so far, much appreciated.

I would be planning to retain the property a good 20 to 25 years and then sell it in my retirement or pass it down to family members etc.

coffeehound

An added advantage of fitting high-output radiators is that a gas boiler can then be run under a low-temperature regime, improving its efficiency and thus further reducing running costs

Reed_Richards

It's a complete myth that an Air Source Heat Pump requires a house to be well-insulated and energy efficient.  An ASHP is just like any other form of boiler but to run one efficiently you need to keep that water temperature in your radiators (if you have them) lower than you would usually do with a gas or oil boiler.  I think the myth has arisen because early ASHPs did not have enough output to cope with a large poorly-insulated house.  Also, you can get a government subsidy called the RHI which you will only qualify for if your house meets some minimum standards of insulation.

In your position I would go with @Gerry1 's suggestion and size your radiators to work with a water temperature of 50 C or less.  This will also squeeze the last drop of efficiency out of your gas boiler by making sure it is always running in condensing mode.

Edit:  By the way, @Cardew 's estimate of £15k for an ASHP would, in my opinion, cover the radiators, hot water cylinder and plumbing.  And, if your house is suitable, you could claim RHI to offset the high installation cost.  But at current prices for gas and electricity your running costs would be significantly higher than with gas.  

bloke91

Sounds like would be better sticking to gas boiler for time being.

Ensuring high output radiators are fitted for future possibility of switch to air source heat system.

Reed_Richards

The good thing about heat pumps is that you get more heat out than the energy you put in, hopefully about 3x on average for an ASHP.  That has to be good for the planet, particularly if some of that source energy comes from generators that don't involve burning fossil fuels.  But as things stand by comparison with an ASHP, a gas boiler is cheaper to run and the up-front cost of installing one is a lot less.   

merchcon55

Gerry1 said:

It remains to be seen whether the timescale will be met (the 2020 target for smart meters failed spectacularly) and it's by no means certain that the ASHP alone will be the ultimate Holy Grail.  

I read a couple days ago where Boris will soon announce that the 2025 target date for banning new gas boilers will be revised to 2040. 

BUFF

merchcon55 said:

I read a couple days ago where Boris will soon announce that the 2025 target date for banning new gas boilers will be revised to 2040. 

The planned date for banning sales of all new gas boilers is currently 2035, the 2025 date is for installations in new build & afaik is not up for change.