Considering a heat pump, when the time comes to replace your gas boiler? You are not alone. All over the country people are debating the pros and cons of making the switch. Last week I had a conversation with a colleague who is thinking about having a heat pump installed, talked about them with some friends who came over for dinner, and discussed them with an architect I met at an event. There is a lot of attention on heat pumps at the moment, and that includes media and political attention as well.
Politically, the technology got a boost from the recent Warm Homes Plan. This long-awaited government scheme extends its support for heat pumps and aims to see 450,000 installed every year, making it the most important technology in low carbon heat.
On the other hand, there’s a lot of push-back in the media. Even though Labour hasn’t set a date for phasing out the sale of gas boilers, there’s an enduring myth that “they” – that shadowy force – are coming for it. Lots of silly myths circulate in the tabloids and on social media, and many people have already made up their minds that they don’t want a heat pump.
If the UK is going to get anywhere near its climate targets and reduce emissions from household heating, then we need to overcome those myths and help people to see the value of a heat pump. The best way to do that is through experience, which is why the thinktank Nesta set up Visit a Heatpump. Check the map and find one near you, look out for upcoming events or contact a host to go and visit. You’ll hear what it’s like to live with a heat pump, and get a good sense of whether it might work for you.
Heard that heat pumps don’t work in the cold? Ask someone who’s got one. Heard that they’re noisy? Put your ear to one. Cast an eye over the internal pipework that they don’t show you in the brochures, and ask what the installation process is like. Ask if it really is cheaper to run than gas.
After launching in 2024, over two thousand people have visited a heat pump through the website, and the number of hosts is increasing all the time. I’ve signed up myself, joining a handful of households around Luton that welcome their neighbours to come and see for themselves.
If you’ve got a heat pump, considering signing up. You’re in control of who visits and when, so there’s no hassle involved. You can advertise open events or let people contact you for a visit, whichever you prefer. And if you’re thinking about a heat pump for your own home, have a look and see if there’s one near you that you could visit.
A lot of people won’t yet know anyone with a heat pump. There are over 25 million homes in the UK, and fewer than one in fifty has a heat pump. (By contrast, over half of homes in Scandinavia have one). So this is an important moment for some citizen advocacy, some neighbourly sharing of expertise, and Visit a Heat Pump makes that easy.
The Earthbound Report 