The government here in the UK has this great idea of moving all of us from natural gas boilers to heat our homes to more fuel efficient heat pumps by 2035. So in about 13 years.
Natural gas or other types of gas boilers, provide heat and hot water for millions of homes here in the UK. Natural gas is efficient, and it also is hot/warm, it creates real heat.
It also creates an issue with the environment, in the fact it is a finite source of energy.
We are also seeing an increase in cost with natural gas, which is causing some energy providers to go bust.
As we have moved more to using wind turbines to create electricity, and also solar power, we move away from depleting this finite source of energy. The use of electric and hybrid cars also helps with this. And we also create a healthier environment with less pollution.
The the government is offering £5,000 grants to aid those who wish to install heat pumps in their properties.
The average cost to install a heat pump can be £6,000, to as high as £18,000, which all depends on the property. Which leads us to two (2) big questions.
The first is the cost, and the second question is the efficiency of heat pumps.
The cost will be determined by not just the actual heat pump itself, but where it will be placed and duct work that is required. Most homes in the UK do not have duct work, they have radiators. Newer homes may have some duct work for heat, but this is rare.
A positive aspect of a heat pump is that it can also provide a cooling aspect in warm weather, they have air conditioning.
As to the efficiency of heat pumps, they have become more economical and efficient over the years, but they are basically an electric source of heat.
Heat pumps recirculate warm air, in some climates, and arrears, and if the outside temperature drops below a certain level, electric heat comes on to warm the house up. This use of electric heat can be expensive. Think of it as an electric fire in all rooms of your home.
There are going to be parts of the country where a heat pump is not just not economical, but also not affective during Winter months.
The use of heat pumps is a good and solid start to climate change and finite resources of energy, but not the be and end all.