People Saying Heat Pumps are Rubbish - Are They?

Spies

grumpypensioner said:

Hope all you pundits watched the channel 5 programme called "Heat Pumps: Are They Really Worth It?" on 21 May 2025 19.00. Mind and cash boggling. Definitely convinces me that one large all encompassing system is not the way to go.

Several factors influenced my decision to get one.

Firstly my quote was exceptionally good, £1300 for the full install and 7 out of 8 radiator changes

Secondly I have solar so I can use more of my own generation to heat my house

Thirdly I have an EV so I have a special overnight tariff which gives me 7p between 11:30pm and 5:30am and any time I smart charge the car, this certainly helps with costs

If I didn't have either of the above, a heatpump wouldn't have made sense for me as the overall running cost would have been higher and I certainly wouldn't have got one had the quote been much higher than £1300

As it stands I am spending around the same as I did on my Gas central heating, but my house is way more comfortable in the depths of winter

What needs to happen is the cost of electricity needs to come down so there's less of a gap (Spark Gap) between gas and electric unit rates

FreeBear

'cos C5 is playing silly burgers with my browser and want a login, found the programme here -> https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9g3l14

Still hasn't changed my view on heat pumps. As long as they are appropriately specified, installed well, and configured correctly, there is no reason they can't keep a property warm for a comparable running cost.

thevilla

All these programmes are similar (like the c5 ev prog).  They produce people for and against but come down on neither side.  To do so would annoy a section of their viewers and that would reduce the number of eyeballs on adverts.  

Not the place to get any objective information.

grumpypensioner

thevilla said:

All these programmes are similar (like the c5 ev prog).  They produce people for and against but come down on neither side.  To do so would annoy a section of their viewers and that would reduce the number of eyeballs on adverts.  

Not the place to get any objective information.

It is only by viewing/reading or from what ever source, that one can then interpret and reason a logical conclusion for your own unique personal circumstances. I agree there is much dubious "information" around, the trick is to reason and exclude hype, incentives, and commercial  motives. Good luck in deciding what is suitable for you, it will be different from your neighbour's.

Spoonie_Turtle

grumpypensioner said:

thevilla said:

All these programmes are similar (like the c5 ev prog).  They produce people for and against but come down on neither side.  To do so would annoy a section of their viewers and that would reduce the number of eyeballs on adverts.  

Not the place to get any objective information.

It is only by viewing/reading or from what ever source, that one can then interpret and reason a logical conclusion for your own unique personal circumstances. I agree there is much dubious "information" around, the trick is to reason and exclude hype, incentives, and commercial  motives. Good luck in deciding what is suitable for you, it will be different from your neighbour's.

But the source matters - TV programmes designed for views and engagement are not objective and rarely include accurate, unbiased information.

grumpypensioner

Spoonie_Turtle said:

grumpypensioner said:

thevilla said:

All these programmes are similar (like the c5 ev prog).  They produce people for and against but come down on neither side.  To do so would annoy a section of their viewers and that would reduce the number of eyeballs on adverts.  

Not the place to get any objective information.

It is only by viewing/reading or from what ever source, that one can then interpret and reason a logical conclusion for your own unique personal circumstances. I agree there is much dubious "information" around, the trick is to reason and exclude hype, incentives, and commercial  motives. Good luck in deciding what is suitable for you, it will be different from your neighbour's.

But the source matters - TV programmes designed for views and engagement are not objective and rarely include accurate, unbiased information.

Absolutely, and especially social media. Good to hear from another cynic.

grumpypensioner

Uncovered an old document on the efficiency of my Baxi Bermuda back boiler, interesting as it says it is 77% so guessing about 70% in reality it means I pay about 9p per KWh for the gas which translates to about £2 day on my daily bill of 22KWh for hot water. So not that much more that an efficient combination boiler and without the outlay and maintenance. Web site now defunct, the beauty of paper copies!

NedS

grumpypensioner said:

Uncovered an old document on the efficiency of my Baxi Bermuda back boiler, interesting as it says it is 77% so guessing about 70% in reality it means I pay about 9p per KWh for the gas which translates to about £2 day on my daily bill of 22KWh for hot water. So not that much more that an efficient combination boiler and without the outlay and maintenance. Web site now defunct, the beauty of paper copies!

My parents have an old gas back boiler in their property. It's been there 57 years and I don't think it's ever been services (may have been 'repaired' a couple of times). No idea how efficient it is, but not very is my guess.In contrast, my heat pump has been in 1 year now. It has a SCOP of around 4 (efficiency of around 400%). My average electricity price of winter (when I use most energy) was 19p and it's been closer to 14p during other times. Assuming an average of ~18p with a SCOP of 4 gives me an average price of 4.5p per kWh which seems about right. It cost around £425 to run for the year and previously we were paying £900-£1200 per year for oil (depending on price of oil), so under half the cost (although we did add more insulation at the time of install which will also have contributed to the reduced running costs). The best part is that £425 running cost is completely offset by our solar generation so we effectively heat the house for free.

FreeBear

NedS said:

grumpypensioner said:

Uncovered an old document on the efficiency of my Baxi Bermuda back boiler, interesting as it says it is 77% so guessing about 70% in reality it means I pay about 9p per KWh for the gas which translates to about £2 day on my daily bill of 22KWh for hot water. So not that much more that an efficient combination boiler and without the outlay and maintenance. Web site now defunct, the beauty of paper copies!

My parents have an old gas back boiler in their property. It's been there 57 years and I don't think it's ever been services (may have been 'repaired' a couple of times). No idea how efficient it is, but not very is my guess.

I too had an old Baxi back boiler that was replaced with a Viessmann combi. The difference in gas consumption has been difficult to quantify as I am a low user, and the winters have been quite mild for the last couple of years.

However, plugging the 9" hole that British Gas insisted knocking through the wall has killed one nasty cold draught. So there is an improvement in quality of life as well as an energy saving.

akwexavante

People Saying Heat Pumps are Rubbish - Are They?

I moved over to an ASHP i think it's 4yrs ago now...... Crikey that long!

LOVE IT and i'm saving an absolute fortune too.

Insulation insulation insulation................ set a comfortable temperature for you 24/7 and forget about it once you've found your happy setting, keep closing internal doors, especially the one at the bottom of the stairs. All windows closed other than the bathroom and kitchen as required. Don't leave external doors opened for any longer than required. Clean seals around UPVC doors and windows just before the colder weather begins to eliminate drafts.