With 40% of UK emissions coming from households, the government are making progress towards the net-zero emission target by 2050. This has begun with a ban on traditional UK gas boilers on new build homes from 2025.
This may create some urgency and questions amongst UK homeowners, but there are currently no plans to ban gas boilers in older homes. This means that homeowners are very safe purchasing a new gas boiler that will last 10+ years with no issues.
Even with the confidence that purchasing a gas boiler can be purchased and used for its lifetime, many homeowners are exploring other low-carbon alternatives like heat pumps.
But what are heat pumps, how do they work, are they good value for money and should you invest in one? We’ve created this guide to answer these questions and help you decide on your next heating system.
How Do Heat Pumps Work?
Air source heat pumps extract heat from the air, whereas ground heat pumps extract heat from the ground. From this, the heat pump will ‘pump’ heat from the unit into your home. For cooler climates, hybrid heat pumps can use a boiler to provide additional heat.
Heat pumps require a small amount of electricity to operate but they are much more efficient than other heating systems.
On paper, installing a heat pump into an existing home is a great idea. They lower your carbon footprint and lower your energy bills. The issues start to arise when you start to look at the price of installing heat pumps.
How Much Does A Heat Pump Cost?
The reason the UK Government have announced a ban on gas boilers in new build homes from 2025 is that the costs only amount to around £4,800 to install the heat pump system.
However, The Committee on Climate Change has said that it would cost a staggering £26,300 on average to replace an old central heating system with a heat pump. The value is not as good for current UK homeowners.
The government is providing grants to help with the costs of installing a heat pump system between 2022-2025. Open to domestic and small non-domestic properties in England or Wales, the grant offers £5,000 off the cost of installation of an air source heat pump.
If you’re still in two minds about investing in a heat pump, we’re going to compare them to gas boilers.
Heat Pumps vs Gas Boilers
Gas boilers have seen a lot of innovation over the years, and more recently have seen a ban on non-condensing boilers. This means that all new condensing gas boilers are at least 90% efficient.
The government are getting behind the introduction of heat pumps as the main contributor to reaching their 2050 carbon-neutral goals. However, many experts have questioned the introduction of heat pumps by raising several issues – particularly their expense and installation feasibility.
Many industry experts are backing hydrogen-ready boilers as the heating system of the future. Hydrogen-ready boilers are capable of running a blend of fuel. There are plans to introduce a fuel blend into the national supply of 20% hydrogen and 80% natural gas. Nearly all gas appliances in use today can run on this mixture.
Here are the main comparisons:
- Upfront costs – a combi-boiler will cost a UK homeowner anywhere from £500 to £2,500 excluding installation. Including installation will run the costs between £1,500 to £3,000. An air-source heat pump costs substantially more in the range of £8,000 to £15,000. There are much more hidden costs involved with a heat pump. For top-end efficiency, a heat pump requires better home insulation, draught-proofing and better window glazing.
- Installation time – for a traditional boiler, it can be as straightforward or complicated depending on what you are installing. For example, a straight swap of a combi-boiler in the same location can be installed within 24 hours. If you decide to change the location of your boiler, this may take a few days of work to install new pipework. As heat pumps are a new technology, there are fewer engineers trained available. This means the process takes a little longer and air source heat pumps can take between 2 and 3 days to install.
- Efficiency – heat pumps are much more efficient than gas boilers because they produce much more heat than the electricity they use. Heat pumps also have a slower heating speed that distributes throughout your home throughout the day, rather than a boiler system which will work much harder to quickly heat your home.
For the reasons outlined above, they are a great option for new build homes as there’s no older system to change and insulation can be properly distributed. For older homes, significant investment is required and it will take many years to earn your investment back from the energy savings. If the price of heat pumps reduces, it does start to become a very appealing heating system for UK homeowners.
Will Gas Boilers Be Banned In 2025?
The gas boiler ban in 2025 only applies to new build properties. Whilst no decisions have been made, there have been proposals submitted to ban gas boiler installations from 2035.
With this in mind, you can safely purchase a new gas boiler without any worries that you will need to purchase a heat pump anytime soon. The average lifespan of a well-maintained boiler is 10 to 15 years. Even when the 2035 date arrives, it will more than likely be a gradual introduction over a few years.
What About Hydrogen-Ready Boilers?
If you do decide that you don’t want to invest in a heat pump, hydrogen-ready boilers are something to seriously consider sooner rather than later. Hydrogen-ready boilers will replace today’s standard gas boilers. The government plans to mix hydrogen fuel into the national supply. This means that 20% hydrogen will be introduced to the national gas supply no earlier than 2028. An exact date has not yet been announced.
Hydrogen-ready boilers are readily available now and it is strongly advised that you invest in one when you need a new boiler.
If you would like a quote for a new boiler fitted by a trusted local Gas Safe engineer, click here.
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