Heat pumps are more expensive to run than boilers, report finds...

[dutchman]

Two thirds of households with heat pumps, which cost about £13,200 to install, say they cost more to operate because they use electricity



Two thirds of heat pump users say they have been more expensive to run than their previous gas boilers, according to a survey.

Ed Miliband announced £2.7 billion of extra funding last week to subsidise households buying heat pumps and the government claimed their installation had reduced bills by hundreds of pounds a year.

Air-source heat pumps run on electricity and work like a reverse refrigerator by moving warmth from the outside air inside. They produce about three to four times the energy they use, making them much more efficient than a traditional gas boiler.

However, the cost of electricity per unit for consumers is about four times higher than gas, meaning that heat pumps can be more expensive to run. Some data also suggests that about 90 per cent of heat pumps’ actual performance is below the level manufacturers claim.

A survey by Censuswide shows 66 per cent of respondents say their homes are more expensive to heat with heat pumps than their previous system.

Only 15 per cent of respondents reported that their homes are less expensive to heat, with the remaining 19 per cent reporting no difference or that they were unsure.

The survey of 1,000 heat pump owners was commissioned by the Green Britain Foundation, set up by Dale Vince, Labour’s biggest green donor.

The average cost of installing a heat pump is about £13,200, compared with £3,000 for a gas boiler. Since 2022, the government has paid households a £7,500 up-front subsidy towards the cost of an upgrade.

Vince told The Times that the scheme represented a “middle class subsidy”. He added: “This just entrenches the view of a lot of people, particularly Reform-leaning people, that this whole green economy, net zero thing is not for them. It’s for the middle classes. It’s for people with money.”

A report by the Resolution Foundation think tank found that heat pumps were more than twice as common in the richest third of households than in the poorest third.

Vince is the founder of the green energy supplier Ecotricity, through which he donated more than £4.8 million to the Labour Party in the year up to the general election.

He said that customers were being “mis-sold” heat pumps. “It’s a myth, but it’s such a frustrating one, that heat pumps save you money”, Vince said. “For people that live in really modern, well insulated homes, then the bill won’t go up very much. But that’s very rare. The reality for people on the ground is a disappointment, an expensive one.”

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/heat-pumps-more-expensive-run-gas-boilers-users-find-vmdhqnqkc

[rebbonk]

Anyone surprised?