On 29/09/2019 23:54, Steve Walker wrote:


But in a normal house, it would require a ground sourced heat pump - air
sourced becomes much less effective at low outside temperatures and will
not be able to heat most existing houses during parts of the winter months.

They also require larger radiators or underfloor heating (due to lower
water tmperatures) - another big expense and disruption ... particularly
for a panic buy when the existing boiler fails.

They are slow to warm up, so will have to be on longer, before the house
warms up in the morning.

They are only suitable for very well insulated homes and not for the
majority of existing properties.

How many households would be able to suddenly afford the typical £13,000
to £20,000 cost of installing a ground source heat pump?

SteveW

Current air source ones are optimised for AC rather than heating. I
don't question that they will be more costly both to install and to run.
For much UK housing ground source is simply not going to be available
(short of drilling deep bore-holes, which might just be an option but
not one I am keen on). I'm *not* advocating the idea, just pointing out
that there are precedents. Remember, the heat will eventually make its
way back to the atmosphere and in urban environments that may help a bit.