Are these expensive?

[simon ferris]

I've heard about these and they sound like a good thing to be using for renewable or energy saving.  I'm not sure where I would go about getting one from and I worry that they are going to be very expensive to purchase?  Is the outcome worth it?  Will I save enough on my energy bills if I get one

[Simon Barrett]

Hi Simon

Heat Pumps available at the moment have an initial capital outlay of between £7,000 and £15,000 for a domestic home property.

This will depend on whether it is a Air Source ( cheaper to install) or Ground Source more expensive due to ground works.

The biggest savings are when a heat pump is fitted to an off gas grid property that uses Oil/ LPG gas or Electric for its heating and hot water needs.

This type of property will see a 50% saving on there annual fuel bill compared to Oil,LPG or Electric

There is currently an RHI payment from the Government that is payable in quarterly payments for 7 years straight into a customers bank account to offset the initial cost of installation.

To give you an idea we are fitting a Air Source Heat Pump to a property in Cornwall this week that is currently using  an oil boiler for there heating and hot water it is a 4 bedroom property and there last 3 years fuel bills have averaged around £1500

Installation of the pump will save the property around £700 a year in energy costs, they will no longer have an oil bill to pay but the increase will come on there electric bill as this is the power source for a heat pump.

Efficiency of the pump means that for every 1 unit of electric in produces 3 to 4 units of heat out.

The property will receive Renewable Heat Incentive Payments of £1040 a year for 7 years these payments will rise with inflation so our client is going to receive around £7800 in total.

The 7 year saving on energy costs is going to be 7 x £700 approx so another £4,900

Making payments and savings over a 7 year period to be around £12,700

The cost of this weeks installation is £8,900 that includes VAT which is charged at just 5% for renewable technology so you can see of great benefit to the customer that has the initial capital outlay.

Heat Pumps have very little maintenance and would last a customer 25+ years so even after renewable heat incentive payments finish after 7 years the savings on fuel are still being maintained.

So are they expensive, compared to a general heating system the answer is yes but that expense is soon paid back, the above scenario has a payback period of just under 5 years

All the Best Simon

South West Energy Services Ltd   

[greenliving22]

Hi,
It's been a while since the last to this post, which is why I can help you and other readers navigate around the most updated heat pump prices in the UK.
With regards to GSHP, they cost around £15,000 to install in a standard 3-bedroom house. It seems like a lot to invest, but it will definitely be worth. The pipes can last up to 100 years and the heat pump itself is estimated to work for 25 years, depending on your supplier.
On the other hand, air source heat pumps are much cheaper (£3,000 to £11,000) but they have their drawbacks. For instance, these are not as efficient in winter as GSHP, and some people complain about the noise they make to ventilate (you need a bigger radiator to obtain the same level of energy of a GSHP, therefore the vent is quite noisy).
I hope this helps  ;D