If you’re thinking about getting an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) installed in your property but aren’t sure what they bring to the table compared to a traditional boiler, or you’re just looking into them and wondering “what is all the fuss about?” then let us help.
We’ve put a little guide together of some of, but by no means all the benefits of Air Source Heat Pumps to help you find out.
Energy Efficient
Put quite simply an ASHP is massively more efficient in its use of energy than a traditional boiler. So much so that it’s not even a contest, especially if you have an off-grid boiler or heating system like Oil or LPG fuel.
For context to this admittedly hard to believe claim, the most efficient traditional boiler available on the market is an electric boiler, which comes in with 98% efficiency. In real terms, for every £1 spent on running it, you would get 98p of heat in return.
However, most people have gas combi boilers, which at their most efficient are around 93-94% efficient, meaning you’re losing 7p for every £1 you spend on running them. Compared to previous models modern gas boilers are the most efficient they’ve ever been, but they still lose a significant amount of energy to waste heat and gases at a time when saving money and energy to protect both our pockets and the planet has never been more important.
Because of this there is actually going to be a gas boiler ban coming into effect in the UK from 2035. As a result, from 2035 any new build homes in the country won’t have gas boilers installed as the government takes steps to ensure that we as a country are tackling climate change. Instead they will have an environmentally friendly heating solution in place – like Air Source Heat Pumps.
An ASHP for context, depending on the model, has an average of 300% efficiency. That means when put in the same real terms we’ve put gas and electric boilers in earlier, for every £1 spent on running your ASHP you will get £3 of heat in return. Oh, and you won’t produce any carbon emissions or lose any energy to waste either.
Save Money
Because you should use significantly less energy in order to heat your home with an ASHP, you should also save money on your energy bills. Homes that have Oil and LPG boilers will notice the biggest difference to their energy bills directly, but even homeowners who are used to gas boilers will notice a difference, thanks mainly to how much more heat an ASHP will generate for the same amount of energy used.
Environmentally Friendly
The nature of how an ASHP works is to extract heat from the air around it and convert that into heat that can be used in your home for both your heating and hot water. There are no fossil fuels used to generate heat, nothing needs to burn in order to create the heat with an ASHP.
Because of this there are no carbon emissions involved with the heat that your ASHP will generate. Not only that, but ASHP’s are electrically powered, which makes them the perfect partner for a solar system since you can combine the two and generate carbon free electricity which will be used to generate carbon free heat and hot water for your home.
Safety
Something else we take for granted when we have it, but notice dearly when we don’t is that Air Source Heat Pumps are safe.
Because nothing needs to burn within an ASHP, there is no chance of them ever having a carbon monoxide leak, and in turn there is no chance of them ever causing anything carbon monoxide poisoning or any of the other related potential health issues in your home. On top of this, in the extremely rare instance that something might go wrong with your AHSP, the main unit is located outside your home – so the chances that anything might affect your home or family are exceedingly small.
Longevity
Another bonus of an Air Source Heat Pump is that they have a long lifespan, with a well maintained unit being expected to last easily for 15-20 years with regular servicing and proper care. The great thing is that for the most part, all an ASHP needs is regular cleaning and replacing of its filter and you should be good to go!
A traditional boiler on the other hand, whether gas, electric or an off-grid fuel, can only expect to last for 10-15 years at most before they start to lose more and more energy efficiency and breakdowns become more common – no matter how well maintained they are.
If you’re finding yourself more convinced about the benefits of installing an Air Source Heat Pump in your home now, and want to get the ball rolling then we can help. Just contact us here and we will be in touch.
