How a Heat Pump Can Save You Money?
As of October 2024, approximately 260,000 heat pumps have been installed according to MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme). This indicates an increasing trend of heat pump installations in the UK due to their energy efficiency. Heat pumps contribute significantly to saving on energy costs, maintenance and running costs.
You might need to bear higher upfront costs associated with the purchase and installation of heat pumps. However, you might get government grants to help set off higher energy costs. Schemes like ECO4 and Boiler Upgrade Scheme provide fully and partially funded grants to eligible households.
This article explores how heat pumps can save you money. We will also explore other benefits of installing heat pumps for your heating requirements. Stick to this guide for valuable insights on everything you need to know about heat pumps.
How Does Heat Pumps Work?
Heat pumps go under a refrigeration cycle which involves a compressor, refrigerator, and coils connected in a series to extract heat from renewable sources and transfer it indoors for heating and hot water. In summer, they extract the cool air from outside air, compress it to lower its temperature, and send it inside to cool your home.
There are three main types of heat pumps:
- Air source heat pump (Air-to-air and Air-to-water)
- Ground source heat pumps (goe thermal)
- Water source heat pumps (less common)
Once we understand how heat pumps work and how they provide heat and coolness to your home, it becomes easier to understand how they can save you money.
How Heat Pumps Save You Money?
Heat pumps are energy-efficient alternatives to furnaces and air conditioners. They save homeowners money by consuming less energy and requiring less maintenance. Furthermore, below is a detailed explanation of ways heat pumps can save you money.
1. Heat Pumps Are Energy Efficient:
As compared to their traditional counterparts, heat pumps are up to 90% to 98% energy efficient. That means they utilise 98% of the energy available and do not waste energy.
2. Lowers the Energy Bills:
The air source heat pumps generate 3-4 COP of energy with one unit of electricity used. However, the ground source heat pumps are more energy efficient as they provide 4-5 units of energy for one unit of electricity used. This lowers energy costs significantly and saves money for homeowners on energy bills.
3. Saves the Price of Air Conditioners:
Heat pumps have dual functionality and along with providing heat indoors in winter, they can also work reversely in summer by providing cold air in summer. This saves the price of the air conditioner. Plus, the air conditioners take more energy to cool the house, and costs also get saved with heat pumps.
4. Requires Less Maintenance:
heat pumps can maintain their performance with minimum maintenance such as seasonal servicing. This saves a significant amount of money from professional services for heating system maintenance and repairs.
5. Longer Lifespan:
Heat pumps have a longer lifespan which means they are more durable and last longer. They can easily provide heat and coolness to your home for 15-20 years. However, if you keep them maintained, they can last up to 25 years.
6. Government Grants Set Off the Upfront Costs:
There are several government grants such as ECO4 and BUS which provide full and partial funding respectively. These grants aim to help low-income households upgrade their heating system to renewable energy sources like heat pumps. This can set off entire or maximum upfront costs of installing heat pumps at your property.
Factors That Can Affect the Savings of Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are highly energy efficient and require very little amount of energy to provide heat and coolness to your home. There are several factors that can affect the saving capabilities of heat pumps. Below is the list of factors to consider while installing heat pumps. By optimising these factors, you can save more money on energy bills.
Home Insulation:
No matter how energy efficient your heating system is, if your home is not keeping the heat inside, your heating system will not be able to maintain a suitable temperature. The heat pump will continue to generate heat and that will continue wasting due to bad insulation.
This will increase the energy bills significantly instead of decreasing the costs. So, you need to maintain higher levels of insulation to avoid heat loss. If you get your heat pump installed through government scheme ECO4, the installer will also provide the insulation measure to make your home more energy efficient. But, you need to apply for that through the Grant Boilers website.
Type of Heat Pump Installed:
Not all heat pumps are equally energy efficient, ground-source heat pumps generate more heat and less energy consumption as compared to air-source heat pumps. Because ground source heat pumps have higher upfront costs and fewer grants are available for their installation, they are less likely to be preferred.
However, Goe thermal (ground source) heat pumps provide consistent heating. Plus, they do not drop performance in baltic weather as air source heat pumps do.
Existing Heating Infrasture and Installation Quality:
the size of your existing heating infrastructure impacts the overall performance of your heating system and also impacts energy saving. Adds to this is the installation quality of your heat pumps.
So, you need to get your home assessed by qualified safe gas engineers before making the decision of which heat pump you should install. Plus, the safe gas-approved engineers will also maintain the highest quality of installation.
Final Thoughts
To conclude the guide, heat pumps are energy-efficient heating sources. They can save significant amounts of energy as compared to traditional heating systems. But the energy they save depends on various factors such as the type of heat pump you installed, the insulation level of your home, and the performance and size of your current heating system. If you optimise all of these factors effectively, you can save maximum on energy costs.
This article has explored the ways heat pumps save homeowners money such as energy bills, maintenance, longer lifespan, and air conditioning functionality in summer. If you are thinking of installing heat pumps, government schemes are worth exploring. To check your eligibility, check the Grant Boilers website before it ends.
