Eight common myths about heat pumps — and why they’re all wrong
Time and time again in the media, whether television, radio or on socials, we keep hearing the same old heat pump myths. We do our best to explain the evidence and engage constructively in the debate, but it’s an ongoing battle, as many in the industry are painfully aware.
Listening to Times Radio recently, we heard a particularly frustrating Q&A session between host Fi Glover and property and DIY show presenter Clive Holland where listeners were treated to eight of the commonest heat pump myths in just eight minutes.
Whilst others such as Jan Rosenow have already done a great job pointing out common myths, we decided we also needed to wade in on this occasion — to give a truer picture of how heat pump users really feel.
Our recently completed heat pump user survey gave us actual evidence about how home-owners have found the experience.
TL;DR: heat pumps DO work in older homes, and occupants are just as satisfied with them in older homes as they are in newer homes. End of story.
We feel so strongly about this we took a team away day to visit a heat pump in a National Trust property. If it can work there, we’re confident it can heat your house.
But for those that want to hear all the evidence, let’s list out the main misconceptions that were aired and set the record straight:
1. Heat pumps don’t work in older homes
The evidence from Nesta’s heat pump user survey was clear — there’s no significant variation in satisfaction due to a property’s age.
Whether they were living in Victorian houses, mid-century properties or modern homes, people were just as satisfied with their heat pump as they were with their previous heating system.
What’s more, we found that overall levels of satisfaction are high, and at similar levels to those with gas boilers.
It’s not a surprise that older homes tend to be less well insulated and are likely to have a higher heat demand. But whether the heat source is a gas boiler or a heat pump, for a home to be warm the heating system just has to be designed to meet the heat demand of the home in question. Well designed heat pump heating systems have been successfully retrofitted onto countless older homes.
The findings from the Energy Systems Catapult show heat pumps can be effective across the range of British residential property types, and there’s nothing specific about our housing stock that makes them unsuitable for heat pumps.
2. Heat pumps have been around for 20 years. If heat pumps were so successful, then every new build would have them fitted already.
Currently, a heat pump costs more upfront than a gas boiler and with tight profit margins new build developers are incentivised to choose the cheaper option. This is despite heat pumps often being a better choice for occupants’ comfort, and for decarbonising and futureproofing our homes.
So whilst we think that every new home should be built with a low-carbon heating system, we recognise that this isn’t yet happening.
A new Future Homes Standard will come into force in 2025, ensuring that every new build property in England will use low-carbon heating. Soon it just won’t be possible to build a new home with a gas boiler. In Scotland, this is already in force.
We hope the English standard is not delayed, as the Government had already rowed back on a commitment to make sure every new home was ‘zero-carbon’ from 2016.
3. Some new-build housing doesn’t reach the U-values needed to install heat pumps
U-values rate the amount of energy lost through a material and are used to describe thermal efficiency. Contrary to claims, new housing is in fact built to relatively high levels of fabric efficiency, with this set to increase further in 2025 with the introduction of the Future Homes Standard.
There’s not actually any magic U-value that’s needed for a heat pump, just like there isn’t a magic U value needed for a gas boiler; heat pumps can be appropriately sized so they can operate in housing with different levels of fabric efficiency.
It’s likely that for any new build home you could easily install an effective and efficient heat pump.
4. You can’t install a heat pump if you don’t have cavity wall insulation
Whilst cavity wall insulation should help reduce overall heat demand, and thus lower bills, we know that this is not essential to install a heat pump.
In fact, research shows that extensive renovations are not even necessary.
Of course, a well insulated home will help conserve energy and save on bills but this is just as true for a house with a gas boiler as it is for one with a heat pump.
5. You will need to replace all the radiators when fitting a heat pump
In many cases, radiators are already appropriately sized for heat pumps. A report by BEIS shows that over half of households already have radiators installed that are appropriately sized to accommodate flow temperatures of 55 degrees, which would result in an efficient heat pump installation.
In some cases, you may need additional radiator capacity. But it’s likely you can re-use and rearrange existing radiators, with some additional capacity installed, rather than a complete replacement.
6. Heat pumps will struggle to work in cold weather
Lots of countries with cooler temperatures such as in Scandinavia use heat pumps, and they work just fine. Even when it’s below freezing, there’s enough heat energy in the air and ground for heat pumps to use.
In fact, research shows that heat pumps are more than twice as efficient as fossil fuel heating in cold temperatures. (They also outperform oil and gas at temperatures approaching -30°C.)
7. Energy bills will often go through the roof in winter because you need electrical heating as a back-up
Unlike typical gas boiler installations, strict design standards are followed in the installation of heat pumps. For instance, when retrofitting older homes, heat pump systems must be designed to the standards of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).
MCS requirements stipulate that the heat pump, and heating system, must be able to meet a home’s heat demand on the coldest days of the year. In addition, the standards actually vary throughout the UK in order to reflect our different climatic conditions.
No home with a well designed heat pump heating system should require a back -up heat source.
8. Lots of heat pumps will lead to a cacophony of noise in neighbourhoods
Noise is frequently raised as a concern regarding the installation of heat pumps, but these claims are largely unfounded.
According to a recent survey by the Institute of Acoustics, there are currently very few complaints about the noise generated by air source heat pumps.
Recent findings from a survey of people living next door to heat pumps also indicated that “sound emissions from heat pumps were not reported as noticeable by most participants in the areas of focus for the research.”
Nesta’s heat pump user survey also revealed high levels of satisfaction amongst householders themselves, with 85% expressing satisfaction with the noise levels from heat pumps.
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So next time you hear some of these myths in the pub, on Twitter or from your neighbour, point them to the evidence and help stop the spread of misinformation that’s holding back our progress on home decarbonisation.
