Over 80% of UK households that have switched from gas to a heat pump ‘satisfied with system’

Results from the first major survey of heat pump users shows that over 80% of households that have switched from a gas boiler to an electric heat pump are happy with their new heating system.

Despite the slow adoption of the £5,000 government vouchers to assist with the cost of exchanging a gas boiler for an air source heat pump, the survey conducted by the Nesta innovation charity found that people who have heat pumps installed in their homes expressed comparable levels of contentment to those with gas boilers.

The level of contentment among those who put in a heat pump in either a new-build home or an older one was more than 80%, regardless of the continued worries that heat pumps function better only in contemporary buildings.

The largest inquiry into how households have reacted to heat pumps to date is believed to be the survey of more than 2,500 domestic heat pump owners and more than 1,000 domestic gas boiler owners in England, Scotland and Wales during the last winter season.

Gabriel, the leader of sustainable development at Nesta, asserted that the results should dispel “outdated” apprehensions about the low carbon heating technology and motivate the government to “intensify” its mission to supersede fossil fuel heating.

The government’s plan to have 600,000 heat pumps installed in the UK annually to reduce carbon emissions has come under fire due to worries about their efficiency.

In the last fiscal year, just over a third of the government’s £5,000 vouchers for replacing a gas boiler with a new heat pump were taken up by households. Usage of the grant was relatively slow.

Eunomia Research and Consulting conducted a survey that revealed that a majority of households, 81%, were equally or more content with their heat pump compared to prior heating systems such as gas boilers, electric heating, or oil and LPG boilers.

The level of satisfaction for households inhabiting Victorian or older buildings was found to be 83%, which appears to disprove the idea that heat pumps are only useful in newer constructions or those that have had considerable energy efficiency improvements.

Gabriel remarked that the installation of heat pumps in all types of British homes has demonstrated that the age of a property is no longer necessarily a deciding factor for getting an eco-friendly heating system.

When it comes to running expenses, a significant worry for households that are thinking of getting a heat pump, the survey revealed that two-thirds of heat pump owners and almost sixty percent of gas boiler owners were content, regardless of not having done any significant energy efficiency improvements.

The survey determined that a combination of building fabric upgrades with heat pump installations is frequently done, although not always. Approximately 36% of those who had a heat pump installed had already done loft insulation prior, with 23% choosing to add wall insulation or extra window glazing. However, only 14% decided to implement multiple measures.

Clem Cowton, Octopus Energy’s director of external affairs, noted that the survey’s results were consistent with the tremendous demand the company has observed for its heat pumps.

Octopus has reported that it has an estimated 50,000 households wanting to get one of their heat pumps installed. To fulfil this request, the company is currently training hundreds of fitters in the UK. Additionally, they have recently invested in Renewable Energy Devices, a heat pump maker based in Northern Ireland, to manufacture around 1,000 units every month.

Cowton stated that the government should be sure in their decision to take away the taxes associated with household electricity bills, as well as modernizing the regulations for heat pumps to make them more cost-effective and secure for everyone to utilize.