Air Source Heat Pump

This article has been written by Peter Wright.

Last winter was a very worrying time for those of us who live in villages and are dependent on oil for our heating requirements. We are very grateful for the hard work and support we get from Lisa Hoggarth in securing timely deliveries at the best prices. However we remain dependent upon heavy demands and severe inflation of prices which leave us all very vulnerable.

An additional worry is the age and dependency of our oil boiler (having already spent a great deal of money in repairs and replacement parts). We have been looking at alternative sources of heating before the winter arrives. As a replacement boiler is likely to cost about £3000 we could offset the cost of any other type of installation by this amount.

We have decided to install an air source heat pump which can either replace the oil boiler or supplement it. We will be replacing ours. Incidentally it can also be used in conjunction with thermal solar panels for additional saving. To keep it simple an air source heat pump works in the same way as a refrigerator only in reverse. Whereas a fridge takes warm air from the room and passes it through a heat exchanger and converts it to cold the heat pump has the opposite effect. The kit comprises a box located outside the house (which can replace the unsightly oil storage tank and is much smaller and less conspicuous) and a hot water cylinder (incorporating an immersion heater) located inside the house.

For every 1kw of electricity it uses a return of 4kws is achieved . Good insulation of the house is of course very important.The pumps come in various sizes but are capable of supplying heating and hot water to cover all requirements and are capable of operating at temperatures as low as -20C. The manufacturer claims annual savings of £530 on electric heating, £370 on solid fuel & £160 on oil (probably more on current winter prices) for a normal size house.In addition the system qualifies for the Government's Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (RHI) (sometimes referred to as Clean Energy Cashback).For further details on RHI visit www.decc.gov.uk

Needless to say this system is very environmentally friendly with reduced energy costs and CO2 emissions reduced by 50% compared to traditional systems and no maintenance is required for the pump.

As our home is a converted barn with restricted development rights we have needed to apply for planning permission but we are optimistic of success as this is a Government driven campaign striving for a greener environment.The overall cost in our case is just less than £7000 including installation by a local firm.

If anybody is interested in any further details we would be pleased to help - 319200.

I could report back with details of the results after a year's operation of the system if anybody is interested.