When we decided to install an air source heat pump, we bought a standalone electric heater to keep the room cool.
Let’s say we had our doubts: not on the fact that a heat pump would have the greatest environmental and economic sense in the long term, but on the efficiency with which it heated a 60-year-old house.
We thought our radiators would slow down and we’d shiver by the end of winter. This is because heat pumps heat water to a lower temperature than gas boilers, so they work best with underfloor heating and lots of insulation.
We still have radiators in our old house and – we thought – there is not enough insulation yet.
The global climate may have benefited as we reduced our carbon emissions by more than half, but we thought our small internal microclimate was experiencing a historical period of cooling.
We also thought there would be a constant low hum outside.
It was last month. This month we used a brilliant electric heater with the heat pump running: Frankly, we never would have needed it. We can quickly dry clothes on radiators, as before. If Judith Ralston had a quote for our house, she would declare a balm and she would settle for 20 her while she is confined to a porch that she leaks with a cool breeze.
And it’s really quiet. He had to be close to hear her. He’s quiet most of the time – even we were nervous at first because it wasn’t working properly, until we realized he would only act if the thermostat said so.
We made sure several times that our house was warm enough, especially after we had hollow wall insulation, but I found it hard to believe. It can be difficult for the average person to trust the concept of a heat pump because it uses the heat of the Scottish air (see my problem).
But this is not voodoo. Basically, they are cooling systems that collect ambient heat to heat your home and expel the cold exhaust air. The heat is low temperature, but its compression is high enough to heat the water.
Heat pumps use electricity but are very efficient and believe it or not they are efficient at minus 20 degrees Celsius. It was early and the weather was cold and relatively mild, but on average we get over 5 kilowatt hours of heat for every kilowatt hour we put in. At this rate, the average annual rate should be over four. pending.
So they work and the heat is a find, but it’s not just the radiators that provide the warm glow. It is also heartening to know that by joining the millions of Europeans installing heat pumps, you are helping to thwart Vladimir Putin’s strategy of exploiting Europe’s dependence on gas.
The EU wants to cut Russia’s gas consumption by two thirds this year and finish it by 2030, in part by upgrading heat pumps. They already heat around 11% of European residential buildings, installed at 1.8m in 2020 and usage is increasing dramatically. The EU wants to use 30 million by 2030, with a huge increase in the production of wind and solar energy. The UK is in very bad shape in terms of heat pumps, but in 2020, 37,000 were installed here as well.
This not only helps to curb the flow of euros and pounds into the Russian war machine, it also improves our energy security, replaces consumers with low-cost renewable energy and, most importantly, helps to drastically reduce carbon emissions.
We have to tackle climate change so urgently that we can no longer eliminate emissions; We need to bring them back. Switching to renewable heat is a relatively simple way to do this.
The 2.5 million Scottish homes account for 15% of our carbon emissions, mainly from the use of gas. The Scottish government aims to heat one million homes and 50,000 more buildings by 2030 with low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps. It’s very ambitious, but I’m starting to think it can be done now.
Generous grants and loan finance are available to install heat pumps, but I won’t make crazy claims about how much you will save on costs over gas. If you have oil fired heating or liquefied petroleum gas, you may be safer to save on costs, but what about gas?
There may be financial savings, but they may not be huge. It all depends on how efficient your heat pump is, if you take the right precautions, your energy rates and your level of insulation. Home Energy Scotland’s excellent consultants help people design the best option for their home.
It’s too early for us, so we can’t tell you the final costs; What I can say is that it looks like we could save some money. Obviously we don’t seem to pay more. The more insulation we add, the more the savings should increase.
What a delight for those who have houses suitable for heat pumps, it can be observed, but what about those who do not have them? For example, do people living in former residences make up 28 per cent of Scotland’s urban housing stock? Heat pumps are not the solution here, so will “green hydrogen” boilers replace natural gas boilers in residential buildings in the future? Maybe, but don’t hold your breath – the technology is still in its infancy.
In fact, some homes will use natural gas for years, but this shouldn’t stop us from installing heat pumps elsewhere; In fact, it makes us even more important.
While heat pumps may not provide an escape from high energy prices, electricity prices are more likely to fall than gas prices in the long run. Renewable energy is currently the cheapest electricity to produce and our domestic supply is growing: by 2020 it will produce renewable electricity equivalent to 97.4% of Scotland’s electricity demand. The UK’s complex energy pricing model means this has yet to be seen in electricity prices, but the company is unlikely to tolerate it for long.
There are many refusals willing to cancel renewable heating. Pushing for a new incentive, responsive Brexiteers like Nigel Farage and Steve Baker are starting to oppose the transition to renewable heating on a cost basis; It goes without saying that they are not responsible for the dire consequences of the expansion of fossil fuels.
So the ministers of Scotland and England need to be one step ahead. They should make sure that subsidies are available so that a heat pump and insulation installation cost no more than replacing a gas boiler. There shouldn’t be a price for low-income homes.
As soon as you anticipate this technology, you realize that switching to renewable heating is nothing to be afraid of. The scary thing is what will happen if we don’t.
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Source: Herald Scotland
Jason Jack is an experienced technology journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in computer science and engineering, he has a deep understanding of the latest technology trends and developments. He writes about a wide range of technology topics, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, software development, and cybersecurity.