James Rixon

Home comfort

It’s generally pretty comfortable throughout the day - not just intermittently very hot and then cold like with a boiler. Our heat pump is sized for a more energy efficient home we are building so in the coldest snap it reached 18 degrees but we were aware of that with the knowledge that it would improve with the renovation. We usually keep it at a constant 20 degrees.

The installation process

We approached a national installer first, but as we wanted to size our heat pump for the final house renovation which we hadn’t built yet they wouldn’t take the job. We then spoke to some excellent local installers and found one that aligned with our values of minimal interventions. We had to do cavity wall insulation to be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant - it was very straightforward with no disruption. We plan to put 140mm on external walls and replace the original double glazed windows as part of the upgrade, however this won't happen for a few years due to prioritising our finances. We didn’t need to replace radiators, but in the end we did choose to replace a couple because we wanted to relocate them as part of the renovation. We also wanted a new hot water tank as ours was more limescale than copper. Installation took place over three days with one person. Then we had another two days of extra work, such as the new radiators. We had one day without hot water. We did have it done in February during a cold snap and got through it okay. 

Costs and efficiency

This is a question heat pump owners love! We’ve had the heat pump for two years th and we have seen around a 20% reduction in total energy bills. We had a very inefficient gas boiler previously and now we are off gas completely with no standing charge. We’re on Octopus Cosy tariff.

Placement, sound, and planning

The heat pump is in the back garden directly outside the utility room, keeping it close to the internal cylinder. I wasn’t worried about how the heat pump would look. And after installation we built a fern garden in front of it. Our neighbours can’t really see it. But I know that since we’ve had ours installed a few neighbours have also had a heat pump put in. You can hear it in our bedroom when the window is open but it doesn’t bother us. When you’re outside it’s no louder than any background noise. And neighbours haven’t said they can hear it.

Living with a heat pump

It took us a month or two to adjust to the heating pattern and the new consistent temperature. We are definitely more aware of draughts now and work to minimise these.