How Can Housing Insulation and Air Source Heat Pumps Create a Greener UK

Installing a heat pump is a great way to make a positive impact on both the environment and your bank account.

With 13.4% of households in the UK in 2022 being classed as fuel poor, it’s important for the UK and the planet as a whole to find affordable alternatives to non-renewable fuel to help make sustainable heating more attractive and accessible for everyone.

Furthermore, earlier this year a coalition of green charities and campaigners demanded that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt funnels more funds into making Britain's leaky housing stock energy efficient at the following week’s budget to help cut bills and protect the environment. 

This highlights the importance of the need for well insulated homes when installing a heat pump as well as helping people save money on their heating bills. 

To further highlight this, pressure on low income households would be reduced and Net Zero could be viable if the Government invested £5.3 billion in home insulation, £3.37 billion for heat pump installations, and additional £6 billion a year for the next decade.

What is a heat pump?

Heat pumps come in various forms and help heat your homes in a sustainable way. You can choose from:

• An air source heat pump - Takes air from the outside to heat up a room or building

• A ground source heat pump - Takes heat from the ground to warm up a room or building

• A water source heat pump - Takes heat from a body of water and transfers it to heat up a room or building

Air source heat pumps can be installed on tower blocks, flats and multi-occupancy buildings, meaning they’re a suitable sustainable heating solution for most buildings that can help the UK meet their Net Zero goals. 

Adding on to this, some manufacturers like Haier are working on technologies that will make heat pumps suitable for office blocks and high occupancy buildings, giving them the opportunity to move to sustainable heating solutions. 

Are air source heat pumps as sufficient as gas boilers?

Air source heat pumps are cheaper to run in the long run and are far more efficient than gas boilers, making them much better for your home, energy bills and the planet. 

For example, air source heat pumps are 400% efficient compared to gas boilers that are 90% efficient. This means air source heat pumps produce more energy than they put in. So for every 1kWh a heat pump takes in, 4 kWh are produced. 

Air source heat pumps are also cheaper to run in the long run as they save you money on your energy bills monthly; it’s just the upfront costs that can be quite costly. However there are government schemes available that could help you afford the cost of your heat pump installation. These schemes include:

• Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)

• Warmer Homes Scotland

• Home Energy Scotland Loan

• Nest Scheme Wales 

Even though these schemes are highly beneficial, there aren’t many of them, showcasing that more could be done to help people afford the cost of installing an air source heat pump. This ultimately should be a no-brainer as making heat pumps more readily available will help the UK government meet their sustainable goals such as reaching their Net Zero aims.

To learn more about what government schemes are available to help you cover the cost of a heat pump installation, read our blog. 

The importance of insulation

When it comes to heating your home efficiently, it can only be as efficient as your insulation, as poor insulation leads to a loss or leak of heat. Implementing better insulation within your walls and roofs should help you cut down the cost of your energy bills and use your heating more efficiently.

Did you know that poorly insulated homes will pay almost £1,000 a year more than those with good insulation? 

You’d be surprised at how much good insulation can cut down the cost of your energy bills! Installing wall insulation alone can cut your energy usage by 25% and installing floor insulation or thicker carpets can reduce your energy usage by about 20%.

With these figures in mind, you may want to consider improving your insulation so that you can start spending your money on the things you care about.

Ultimately fitting an air source heat pump and installing better insulation within your home or building can have huge impacts on the planet and your bank account. However, despite the government offering some help for those wanting to install a heat pump, they only target a small group of people, meaning they should focus on making grants, schemes and heat pumps more readily available to a wider range of people to improve people's quality of life, help save the planet and reduce the impacts of fuel poverty. 

If you’re wanting to do your bit to help save the planet and reduce your energy bills, get in touch with Enula today to see how an air source heat pump could work for you.