Can anyone tell me about heat pumps?

[Anothernamechangeplease]

Our boiler is broken. I've had a quote to install a new one, but just wondering if that's the right way forward. My understanding is that, eventually, we should all be replacing our gas boilers with heat pump technology, and I'm keen to consider this, but it seems prohibitively expensive. Even with government grants applied, it appears that we'd have to invest £11k+ on the basis of the quote that I got.

Tempted to just go with the boiler instead, as it's way more affordable, but I feel like I should be exploring more responsible options. Can anyone tell me a bit more about the heat pump technology and how it works? Is it disruptive to have it installed? Is it good at heating the house? Is it cost effective and therefore worthy of the big investment? How often is it likely to need replacing?

TIA

I've heard there are few people who can repair them.

Maybe get a cheaper boiler now and plan to have a heat exchange one next time.

Don't heat pumps need your whole house to be 'sealed' to conserve the heat. I don't think they're all they're cracked-up to be unless in a specific new build.

My understanding is that you need a well insulated house for them to be effective

In a small well
Insulated house in the south then an air source heat pump will be finenunless you like things warmer than average

A ground source heat pump works well but has large installation costs and probably expensive to repair

I suggest googling ‘heat pumps cold weather’. I wouldn’t contemplate one as realistically once the temperature drops below -5 they are useless and use huge amounts of electricity

I’ve also saved you the bother!

www.google.com/search?q=heat+pumps+cold+weather&rlz=1C9BKJA_enGB758GB761&oq=heat+pumps+cold+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i512l2j0i22i30j0i15i22i30l2.4733j0j7&hl=en-GB&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

There is a lot of propaganda out there, revealed with random googling. They work fine below zero or with less well insulated buildings, they will just be less efficient and cost more, just like - shocker! - a gas system would.

Try the Energy Saving Trust for no agenda advice.

Yes I have one.

We have three, living room and and two out of four bedrooms, but we tend to use the fire for heat ( plus it heats our water as a by product). We only get one or two frosts a year and obviously don’t live in the UK. They are great for us, plus we do use them for air con during the summer.

I am not sure that heat pumps would cope with British winters, coupled with finding people to fix, the enormous cost of installation in the UK would not induce me to install them. I’d also check how well they cope with lower temperatures, the models on sale here have different lowest temperature advice and sometimes people forget to check, then become dissatisfied when they don’t work how people think they should. I’m also cynical enough to wonder if certain MPs have links to companies pushing this technology for the UK.

Annoyingly, as of probably next year, hydrogen ready boilers will be available (can run on natural gas and hydrogen & government has mandated that they must cost the same.) They already exist, but not commercially.

If you do replace with a standard boiler, it will be able to take 20% hydrogen anyway. The transition to 100% green hydrogen gas by 2050 is relying on the natural cycle of replacing boilers, so you will be able to run yours until 2050 (unlikely to last that long in reality!).

Heat pumps are great for the right property, but domestic gas (as hydrogen) will have a part to play in the future for sure

Heat pumps are most energy-efficient when they are able to heat up the house very slowly and then keep it heated, using lower flow temperatures through the radiators or underfloor heating (think: 35-45C) rather than giving strong bursts of heat when you want it and letting the house go cold the rest of the time, the way it usually happens in poorly insulated British houses.

For relatively low temperature space heating water, you need bigger pipes and bigger radiators.

I have seen a heat pump used successfully in a house that was being gutted (new plumbing, new radiators, new insulation everywhere), but if I were changing out a boiler but not changing anything else, then I would put in another boiler. I would just make sure I got an efficient one.

I think all boilers sold now will convert to hydrogen with a small nozzle replacement

What's not clear is how much uk gas pipes can take hydrogen

Hydrogen is extremely unlikely to be used beyond a small addition to the gas mix. It requires a huge surplus of renewable electricity to create, which we don't have, and even if we did we'd proceed to just electrify heating more quickly. It's also inefficient, and therefore expensive, to make hydrogen, and it doesn't store particularly well - hence why you don't see m/any hydrogen cars.

Regardless of all the tech, the greenest cheapest unit of energy is the one you don't use. Insulation, efficient appliances, careful usage - these are the first steps.

Thanks everyone - lots of really good information and advice here. I might try calling the Energy Saving Trust for further advice. And yes @Summerhillsquare, I note the point re reducing usage, and I'm trying!