There is a great deal of discussion in the media about heat pumps for the home, particularly with regards to climate change. This is driven by information from the UK Government, surrounding their decision to abolish gas boilers by 2035. Heat pumps extract heat from the ground or from the air.
They use a complex process to increase the heat so that it can be used in the home. Heat pumps are large, noisy and unsightly units that are installed outside the property. Therefore, having sufficient space is a consideration. It can cost up to circa £40,000 (taking the grant of £5000 into account) to buy and install a ground source heat pump. The costs of an air source heat pump can vary widely.
Infrared beats heat pumps
Surprisingly, infrared heating is seldom mentioned in this debate. Infrared heating units have numerous advantages over heat pumps. They will typically be much less expensive to buy and install, installation is less disruptive and they require no maintenance. On the other hand, heat pumps cost hundreds of pounds a year to service.
Think about lifetime costs
The lifetime costs of heat pumps versus infrared heating is significant, with heat pumps costing some 40% to 50% more than infrared.
Benefits of infrared heating
Infrared heating units can be mounted on the wall or ceiling, so you can do away with radiators entirely. Heat pumps, on the other hand, may require the installation of larger radiators in your home. What is more, heat pumps can take some time to heat up in the mornings.
From a biological perspective, infrared is the most significant (60%) form of heat in our sense of comfort. Infrared energy generated by medium and long-wave infrared heaters and panels travels inertly through the air. It dissipates as heat upon contact with people, furniture and other surfaces. This creates a comfortable, all-round radiant warmth at lower air temperature.
Infrared heating units can be installed and controlled on a room by room basis or throughout the house. They have a modern, sleek design and can be controlled from an app on your smartphone.
Challenges with heat pumps
Other issues with heat pumps include the need for planning permission in many instances, installation problems – as this is effectively a ‘building job’, as well as potential difficulties when the weather is cold. In fact, in cold weather, the heat pumps efficiency reduces and it is likely that the heat pump would need to be running throughout the day and night (increasing payback timescales) in order to produce sufficient hot water and heating for your home. Remember that they can be quite noisy as well.
Heat pumps are very difficult to justify if retrofitted into an existing heating system. In such cases the installation cost are very high and the disruption significant.
Infrared heating units, on the other hand, do not face any of these challenges. With the considerable increase in the availability of UK ‘green electricity’ from wind farms etc and the ability to ‘go green’ when you choose an energy supplier, the climate change argument keeps moving on.
