So, what’s the problem with heat pumps?
If you go on social media (or listen to people who represent <checks notes> the gas industry) it seems that heat pumps are appliances which will make you both colder and poorer.
Apparently they don’t work in really cold weather and they cost an absolute fortune.
The argument goes a little like this:
If you already have a gas boiler and you rip it out to put a heat pump in you’ll end up needing a huge cistern (whereas your gas combi-boiler meant you could get rid of one), you’ll end up paying thousands and thousands of pounds for the heat pump, it needs a huge outside unit that will annoy your neighbours with its noise, and when the temperature drops down below zero it’ll struggle to heat your house.
On the face of it these seem to be valid, noncontroversial arguments
- heat pumps are big things
- Installing a heat pump costs more replacing an existing boiler
- heat pumps need a cistern for the water
- heat pumps make noise
- heat pumps work on a lower flow temperature than gas boilers.
Each of those individual statements is accurate. But it doesn’t mean that the conclusion drawn from those statements is accurate.
Let me explain.
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