Comments on: National Audit Office calls for action on home heat: more heat pumps and decisions on hydrogen https://www.newpower.info/2024/03/national-audit-office-calls-for-action-on-home-heat-more-heat-pumps-and-decisions-on-hydrogen/ Expert information for all those invested in the UK's energy future Fri, 20 Feb 2026 08:08:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6 By: David Dundas https://www.newpower.info/2024/03/national-audit-office-calls-for-action-on-home-heat-more-heat-pumps-and-decisions-on-hydrogen/#comment-96139 David Dundas Fri, 22 Mar 2024 08:58:36 +0000 http://www.newpower.info/?p=13162#comment-96139 Heating buildings by burning any gas is massively energy inefficient compared with heating with a heat pump; however ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are far more efficient than air source (ASHPs) who’s efficiency falls as the outside air temperature falls, causing them to have to work harder (more power to extract the heat) so most ASHPs are fitted with an electric back-up to delivery enough heat in winter, increasing the inefficiency. ASHPs are also noisy and can be a nuisance to neighbours while you don’t hear a GSHP outside the building.

Many heat pump installers of GSHPs will install the serpentine of pipes a couple of meters underground because they don’t have a nearby drilling company to quickly drill a 120m deep bore hole, which takes less than a day. Installing a serpentine of pipes is messy and means digging up a large area of your garden even if you have one. GSHPs are far more efficient than ASHPs over a year because the ground below about 2 metres is at a fairly constant temperature, winter or summer.

By promoting ASHPs rather than GSHPs is a short term cost saving for the Government to the detriment of the owner, leaving them with a far less energy efficient and noisy system. Yes GSHPs are a bit more expensive to install, but the long term benefits and no disturbance to neighbours far outweigh the extra cost.

]]>