Are your heating bills a lot higher than you would prefer them to be? Do you currently rely on either an electric or gas heating system to warm your home and regulate the interior temperature? It may be that it is time to change to an alternative heating system. The choices can be overwhelming, but you may have considered switching to an air source heat pump.
Air source heat pumps are gaining in popularity and for good reason. Is it really the right option for you though? The best way to assess that is to take our home suitability survey.
While this is the most accurate way to find out the pros and cons of this heat source for your home, we’ve also listed the potential air source heat pump benefits and downsides.
Lets discuss this below.
Air Source Heat Pump Advantages and Disadvantages
When buying anything, from a pair of shoes to a completely new heating system for your home, you need to weigh up the good points and bad points. Those are the factors that will help you decide whether it is right for you and your home.
If there are too many downsides that are deal breakers for you, you might decide against it. But if there are enough crucial advantages, it could be that air source heating pumps are right for heating your home. While weighing up the pros and cons, you might also want to look at how air source heat pumps compare to gas boilers too
First, let’s look at the air source heat pump advantages, before tackling the disadvantages.
Air Source Heat Pump Advantages
There are various advantages to investing in an air source heat pump for your home. Let’s consider the most important.
- They have a significantly lower carbon footprint than more conventional heating solutions
- There is the option to use electricity taken from a solar or wind farm to power an air source heat pump
- Air source heat pumps are able to take heat from ambient air even if it has low temperatures of -20-degrees Celsius
- As part of the RHI or Renewable Heat Incentive you could get much of the money you invested in installing your air source heat pump back
- Air source heat pumps can be used to heat water to use immediately or at a later time
- Notable savings can be made on the heating bills that follow immediately after installing an ASHP
- With appropriate care and attention, ASHPs have a much longer lifespan than traditional systems, of as much as 20 years.
- They can be installed within a few days
- They only need to be serviced once a year and cleaned every couple of months
- They can be used to not only provide warmth during winter and the colder months of the year, but also cool air during summer and the warmer parts of the year. Though it depends on the model you buy.
- There is no need to store fuel, as they do not rely on fossil fuels.
- They offer efficiency during the winter and summer months thanks to the impressive seasonal coefficient of performance ASHPs provide
Air Source Heat Pump Disadvantages
In the interest of helping you make the right decision, it is important to consider the following disadvantages of air source heat pumps.
- Bigger radiators may be needed as ASHPs might reduce the heat supply in certain homes
- In line with the above, ASHP systems may operate better with warm air heating or underfloor heating in some homes
- If you already have access to mains supply gas at a low price, you may save more than electric or oil boiler options (again, depending on your home)
- The compressor and fan required for an air source heat pump require electricity
- To get the best energy savings possible, your home needs to be sufficiently insulated
- ASHPs are noisier compared to traditional boilers, with many likening them to the sound of light or heavy rain or a standard air conditioner
- They are not quite as efficient during winter when temperatures drop below 0-degrees celsius, compared to during the warmer months of the year.
Other Important Considerations to Make
Aside from the advantages and disadvantages outlined above regarding ASHPs, there are some other important considerations you need to make before deciding to have one installed in your home.
Insulation with Air Source Heat Pumps
As we have already noted, your home needs to be well-insulated with loft and wall insulation, (spray foam insulation works well) to really benefit from the potential high savings.)
Having effective insulation means the heat generated within your property is not able to escape, providing you with a home that will stay consistently warm throughout winter and the coldest months of the year.
Costs of Air Source Heating Pumps
Due to the many different builds of property types, a heat pump system can have a huge range in cost and may vary from below £8,000 up to nearly £30,000!
The two main factors include the size and type of property and the amount and type of insulation contained within the properties walls and roof.
For very large properties, sometimes you could need 2 heat pumps combined or cascaded together to make up the correct output required to heat the property.
You then need to take into consideration the size and type a new hot water cylinder and how many new radiators are going to be installed.
The best solution is always to find out what is right for your property by having a free professional survey carried out. Then you can make an informed decision based on factual information for your own home and also find out what incentives you will qualify for to help with the costs..
Feel free to call us today on 0333 577 2555 for friendly, no pressure advice on how much it is likely to cost. We’re also happy to come out to you, see your home and provide an accurate quote.
