Semi-detached property, hosted by Michael

Midea air source heat pump in a pre 1920 property

Michael

I am a 68 yr old retired physicist. In about 1980 I became convinced that global warming is the biggest threat to human kind. So for me it is essential to live a low carbon lifestyle. Until heat pumps and solar panels came along Ididn't feel there was all that much one could do personally but when these technologies became available I was enthusiastic about adopting them. I recognise there is significant capirtal cost but to me it is akin to giving to charity, you are quite literally saving lives by giving up gas (and oil of course) for heating and cooking. I think there are many generous Britons who give to charity but do not realise they could probably do more by cutting their carbon dioxide emissions. So the answer to the third question, why I am opening my house to visitors, I hardly need answer. I am keen to encourage others to take this step.

Joined the network in 2024

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About this property

Skipton, BD23

4 bedrooms

Air source heat pump

Installed by Evergreen Energy

Cost of energy bills per year: 1500

Installing the system

It has been a great expereince for us.

The heat pump is able to keep the house very warm, the house is about 300 yr old with stone walls filled with rubble, so it is not possible to have cavity wall insulation. We have normal double glazing all round, and we have the recommended amount of loft insulation (270mm). The rooms we use most do not have any internal or external wall insulation.

The HP istself is very quiet , you can hardly hear it, you could definitely have a whispered conversation right in front of it.

Our bills reduced by about 20% when we first put it in which is not a lot considering the capital cost, but I believe the price of gas will go up more than electicity in the future, so it will gradually become more and more economical than gas. Also we changed from a gas Aga to an electric cooker at the same time as the install, which will also have had some effect on the savings. About a year after installing it we also installed a small area of solar panels and a battery. This has made it cheaper still but obviously entailed more capital expense. The battery works especially well with the heat pump since even in winter when the solar panels are doing little, I can charge the battery off the mains during cheap tariff rate (1/2 price) and it runs the heat pump (and everything else) whenever we want it.

I think I was very lucky to find a good installer. I was going to get 3 quotes but when the first one came and did a survey I watched carefully how thorough they were and quizzed them a lot about it, and was so confident in them I didn't get any other quotes. You definitely need to have a good installer , the cheapest may be a disaster, and there are many well publicised cases of people being unhappy. You need so see that they :-

Inspect and measure all your walls and windows
Same for any existing radiators and any insulation you have
Present you with a clear calulation as to which radiators are big enough and which need upgrading
And of course what size of heat pump you will need.
Give you clear projection of future running costs.

One thing with ours, we were offered a "smart controller", which we took up. I don't know how common these are and I don't know any other names of them (ours is made by Homely). I would definitely recommend one, I don't think they add much to the capital cost and I am sure they pay back in increased efficiency. Basically they work by taking in data such as weather forecasts and out doors temperature and also data from your house in order to work out how to operate the heat pump most efficiently at any point in time. Without a smart controller the installing engineer has to program your heat pump's operation throughout the year, based on average daily temperatures, this is of course less accurate and may be more prone to error.

The best news is that the CO2 released due to our household energy has gone down by 97% (yes it is 3% of what it was previously)

If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.

Living with a heat pump

Heatpump heats rooms and water.

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