The real cold chill of heat pump – with it watt?

Daily Skeptics

By Sallust

For the most dedicated eco-warriors, the heat pump won't last forever. Now those who install them will make an annoying shock over a period of 15-20 years, when their expensive waste-craving government-accumulated outdoor heat exchangers are about to end and need to be replaced. There will be no grants or subsidies at that time.

according to telegraph Some early birds have suffered from buyers’ remorse:

Peter and Anne Watts became one of about four British families, with air-sourced heat pumps in 2008.

Mr. Watts and Mrs. 88 and 82, respectively, had installed a heat pump a decade before someone like Boris Johnson seized, because the future of home heating is very unusual.

“We had a reporter from a local newspaper asking us about our solar panels and heat pumps,” Mr Watts recalled. “Within a few days we got a call from the BBC – I thought it was a prank call from the neighbors.”

However, the pump is about to end its life for 17 years – the replacement is priced at £17,000, about £10,000 more than the original price paid.
The Watts are in a highly unique dilemma that reveals the shortcomings of the government’s heat pump drive.

Families currently benefit from a £7,500 grant thanks to the generous boiler upgrade program run by the energy sector. But for early adopters, their system is now over.

It begs the question: How to rely on low prices or government grants to make heat pumps suitable for their replacement for the first time?

Unfortunately, Mr. Watts and Mrs. Watts were unable to remodel the gas boiler because a) they were not on the gas grid, b) b) because the house where the heat pump was installed had been renovated expensively. Now it seems they don't have new heat pump cash. This is an interesting development because usually wealthy retires after they have the resources and time to fit the heat pump first. Unfortunately, if they live long enough, their decline in revenue turns the aging heat pump into a time bomb:

The couple runs a business that sells animal feed and now relies on private pensions, and they can’t afford the new heat pump. They have stood out on holidays since electricity prices first rose.

The couple lived in a four-bedroom detached home in Buckinghamshire and did not foresee it when they became one of the first British families to install air source heat pumps.

When they install pumps, the whole idea is to make their bills future by investing in more efficient and cheaper equipment. Furthermore, there were no grants at that time, although they did enjoy the favorable plan to return it from the solar panels to the power generated by the grid. Mr. Watts and his wife earn about £900 a year.

However, the cost of electricity has soared, and the use of heat pumps is so large that it is difficult for domestic solar panel systems to achieve more than just reduce operating costs:

Nearly two decades later, Mr. Watts is suspicious, converting him to save a lot of money, because in recent years, so-called all-electric homes like him have been plagued by high electricity prices. “We haven't saved a lot of money relative to oil and gas, but I still recommend that any home with a heat pump also use solar panels,” he said.

Since they had no choice but to replace the heat pump or wait for their existing collapse, Mr. Watts and Mrs. hoped that their early loyalty would receive a discounted replacement:

After getting close telegraphA spokesman for the company said: “We value Mr. Watts' loyalty and thank him for his contribution to promoting heat pumps. Daikin is willing to offer discounted heat pumps if Mr. Watts wants to upgrade his system.”

A government spokesman said: “The heat pump is three times more efficient than gas boilers, allowing families to save about £100 a year by using smart tariffs.”

£100 a year. If the Watts can get a discounted heat pump for £10,000 (very optimistic outlook), they should be able to recover the replacement cost within 100 years of both over 180 years. At that time they had to replace the new heat pump at least five times.

It is very unlikely for anyone who buys heat pumps to find their installers to offer them discounted alternatives in the 2040s, which is by telegraph Do this.

With the upcoming VAT of heat pumps, the government has some solutions on its sleeves. One of them is paying the household payments to repay the debt. A government spokesperson continued:

The VAT on the heat pump is zero. Until March 2027. Overall installation costs are declining, and as the market develops, all consumers will continue to do so. We are also exploring private financial options such as loans to support up-front heat pump costs for homeowners.

It can be safely assumed that the cost of serving these loans will exceed the nominal savings of £100 per year for heat pumps. It is presumed that when the heat pump needs to be replaced, the loan still holds the risk of paying off, so further loans are needed to obtain a new loan.

One day, there may be millions of pensioners living in homes with failed or failed heat pumps that they may not be able to afford to run or replace or get a loan to do.

Worth a read.

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