As winter approaches, many local residents are considering how best to keep their homes warm and their energy bills low.
One increasingly popular option is the installation of a heat pump. This energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly technology is transforming how households in the UK heat their homes.
A heat pump is an energy-efficient device that extracts heat from the air or ground outside your home and transfers it indoors. In the summer, it can reverse the process to cool your home. Unlike conventional boilers, which burn fuel to generate heat, heat pumps use electricity to move existing heat, making them far more efficient.
The advantages, says local energy company Good Energy, include energy savings and environmental benefits and government incentives are even available if you are switching from gas boilers.
Local residents Richard and Rachel have taken an ordinary 1960s home and turned it into an eco-home, heated by a Good Energy heat pump.
“Richard works for a national construction company,” said Lizzie Gillam from Good Energy. “Inspired by the eco-facilities they have built, he wanted to apply the same standards and technologies to his family home renovation.”
Here he answers a few questions to share his green home story…
What inspired you to build an eco-home?
We are very sustainably minded. When we landed here, caught the view and looked at the property- it just struck us that we could do something with it. We wanted the home to be sustainable and efficient, so getting rid of fossil fuels was a must. That’s why we got a heat pump. It captures heat energy from the outside air and transfers it to our underfloor heating and hot water tank using electricity.
Tell us about your heat pump installation
Our heat pump installation took place over three days. We had no kitchen or bathroom at the time, and other trades were working in the home too. Good Energy communicated brilliantly, and worked well alongside other the other trades to make sure that their work was compatible with the plumbing and electrics elsewhere in the house.
What’s it like living with a heat pump?
From the minute the heating has gone on, we have had a comfortable environment in here with no glitches, which has been great!
I’ve been impressed with Good Energy’s after care too. After monitoring my heat pump’s performance remotely, they suggested some changes they could make to improve its efficiency. This involved remotely adjusting our heating curve to provide a more constant, lower level of heat – reducing our running costs without impacting our comfort at all.
• To get a personalised heat pump estimate in just two minutes, visit heat.goodenergy.co.uk
Find out more about Good Energy heat pumps at goodenergy.co.uk
