Understanding heat pumps and energy cost savings

Happy new year!

And it's a cold one, with Arctic weather systems flowing down across the country, leaving icy patches on the pavements and roads where the recent rain and snow have yet to fully dry, and a thick rime on the car windows to scrape off before going to work.

Inevitably such extreme weather events raise the political discussion around the climate crisis and what we, as a nation and part of the global community, should be doing about helping to rectifying the position.

Much has been made about emissions and reducing them, as well as looking at ways of tapping into renewable energy (wind turbine farms, solar panels, tidal energy and so on), but there are things that can be done on a local level and within the home.

Each home must now provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when it is put on to the market for sale. This document specifies how energy efficient the property is with a grading from ‘A' (excellent) to ‘G' (very poor) and it is an assessment of how much energy is used in keeping the house warm and how well-insulated it is, coupled with the effectiveness of external doors and windows in preventing heat loss.

The government is also pushing for greater use of renewable sources of energy as well as reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, which is why there is a great push to prevent sales of new diesel and petrol cars in the future with a preference for hybrid or electrically-powered vehicles.

And there is a strong policy for stopping the installation and like-for-like replacement of gas boilers, with any new homes being built prevented from this method of heating the home. This explains the dominance of heat pumps in recent discussions about suitable alternatives.

A heat pump is sited on the outside wall of the property. Rather than using gas or oil to create the heat source when it is burnt, the heat pump captures heat from its immediate environment - be it the ground, from the air or even water - which is then passed through a device within the heat pump called a heat exchanger. 

Within the heat pump, various processes are performed, including absorption by refrigerant gas, which works to increase the temperature, passing it through the system to heat the water that flows through the property's radiators and underfloor heating, as well as storage in the hot water cylinder.

This process works in all types of weather and levels of temperature, even freezing and icy situations as we have currently, because there is still heat energy in the air, ground and water that the heat pump is designed to use as its source. Indeed, heat pump efficiency at low temperatures has been shown to be up to twice that of traditional heating methods. This, of course, directly feeds into savings on heating costs each year.

The Government is running a replacement scheme to swap current fossil fuel boilers for the installation of heat pumps. You can check if a heat pump could be suitable for your home before looking into whether you are eligible to apply for the Government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

From a decarbonisation standpoint, there is a reduction of over 50% in carbon production with a heat pump being the better over other heating methods.

As with all technology and mechanical devices, there will be times when the machine is not running optimally or it breaks down completely - from thermostat issues to refrigerant not operating as expected, from the heat pump making unexpected noises to lack of heat being generated. 

As with a gas or oil boiler, it is essential that you get your heat pump regularly serviced and to get the certification completed.

One of the key gripes about heat pumps is that they are noisy - although tests have suggested that this is within tolerable levels and is on a par with the noise a refrigerator makes.

When you are looking at putting in an offer on a home, which is dependent on the findings in a survey, the chartered surveyor will check the whole property including the status of electrics, plumbing, construction, structure, and, of course, the heat pump where it has been fitted.

As with anything connected to electricity or gas, the surveyor will not open up or move anything connected with the heat pump, since they are not qualified to do so. But they will use their expertise and experience to identify any possible problems with the heat pump system, making a note on the survey report that it should be investigated further where there are concerns. 

This will allow you to get a heat pump engineer to look the system over and verify its status and any issues confirmed that might give you suitable information to renegotiate any asking price with the vendor. 

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is broadly supportive of the Government's Net Zero Strategy, but recognises that installation of a heat pump will only pay dividends if it is accompanied by other energy efficiency improvements in the home.

You should therefore look to the EPC and the chartered surveyor's report on the property to understand what your future investment might be like, whether there is heat pump system currently installed or not.

And, if you are at all concerned about any aspect of the property, you should raise them in your discussion with your appointed surveyor prior to their visit, so that they can provide any additional focus that might be necessary.

Have you got a property in mind that you want to buy but aren't sure about potential problems with insulation or heating in winter? Do you want a detailed report on the structure of the home inside and out that covers everything from the structural stability to how the home is heated?

You'll want to get a professional assessment of any existing problems and what the remedial effort and cost will be with a RICS Level 3 Survey. 

At Surveyor Local, we only work with chartered surveyors who are members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, ensuring the survey you get is always professionally delivered.

They will work hard to identify all kinds of problems, including the impact of prior flooding on the structure of the property.

Where a survey does reveal any issues with a property, the buyer is then armed with knowledge that can allow them either to renegotiate the price, have the seller carry out the repairs or pull out of the purchase altogether.

That's where it is really worth contacting Surveyor Local!

Call  to get your no-obligation survey quote started, or to discuss your concerns with the acquisition of your planned property.

Or you can get a quick quote, using Surveyor Local's easy-to-use quote generator. Simply input your name, postcode, email address, phone number and an approximate value of the property (usually the agreed price), and we'll give you an instant quote for the work (with an email copy). 

We'll do the rest once you confirm your acceptance of the quote.