UK Energy Needs

When COVID hit, along with the lockdowns, I started a number of projects/hobbies to keep myself busy. One of those was to completely review my energy/fuel usage.

As a result, I've just started implementing my own personal 5 year energy plan, aimed at eliminating my ongoing monthly energy/fuel costs.

Done

1. Purchased an EV.
2. Purchased a share in a wind farm, to meet my current annual usage. This will come online next year.

Outstanding

1. Purchase sufficient domestic energy storage (batteries) to run off cheap overnight electricity.
2. Move from gas central heating to a heat pump.
3. Increase my wind farm share (or add a share in a solar farm), to cover my heat pump usage.

There will, no doubt, be tweaks to the plan, as it is implemented, due to the fluid nature of the energy market, as well as a number of smaller improvements to implement but, at the end of the plan, I expect to be 100% electric, with the wind/solar farm 'income' at least covering, if not exceeding, my demand.

When I initially put my outline plan together, I was looking at around 10 years to recover my up front investment but, the way things are going, it could now well be 5 years.

 

The heat pump is probably the one item that the figures don't stack up for today.

However, as you say, things are changing very quickly. Have a look at the one that Octopus Energy is developing, which promises to be quiet and very efficient (far cheaper to run than a gas boiler). The price, on launch (scheduled for next month) is likely to bring it down to a level that, with the new government subsidy, will be little different to that of a new gas boiler, and within a couple more years it will be competitive with a gas boiler even without the subsidy.

When I started developing my plan, I initially ruled out heat pumps. Then, as the energy market changed and heat pump development acccelerated, it came back into my plans. Even so, the heat pump is/was the final part of my 5 year plan. However, that final piece may yet be brought forward by a couple of years.

Oh, and the heat pump I am looking at would be, more or less, a straight swap for my existing gas combi boiler, supplying existing (or maybe one or two upgraded) radiators and providing hot water.

 

Heat pumps operate at significantly lower temperatures than most gas boilers and this needs to be factored in when switching over.

Often larger 'radiators' are required and use of a heat pump central heating system needs to be operated on an 'anticipatory' basis. It lends itself to smart technology very well.

Over the 2021/22 winter I've been trialling using my gas boiler at much lower temperatures than previously, to try and identify where radiator upgrades may be required if/when I switch to a heat pump system.

It sounds like the system in your local block of flats has not been installed correctly and/or the residents don't understand how to fully use the system. A modern heat pump system should be operating at efficiency of 400% plus, so if people are finding oil filled portable radiators (which are typically just over 99% efficient) cheaper, then something has gone badly wrong.

 

I must admit I was under the impression that air sourced heat pumps, required an underfloor system to be installed, if not the whole building then on the ground floor and that the boiler had to be located outside the building, so couldn’t fit into the internal space that a current Worcester Bosch occupies?
In respect of the size of the radiators, we have ours mainly located under windows. We would struggle to fit in larger ones if they were substantially bigger. Finally I had been told that you virtually had to have insulation to such a high level, that most houses build before WW2 would not meet the requirement. If air doesn’t circulate, then the potential for mould and indeed dust build up allergy enhancing conditions could become more prevalent. I am interested on both an environmental/moral basis as well as cost.

 

One of my neighbours has a ground sourced heat pump system which was installed (not retrofitted) when the house was converted about 6-7 years ago. According to the builder, it didn't cost much more than a conventional gas powered hesting system. They have underfloor heating and the heating is brilliant. It runs almost constantly during the winter months and is still apparently very cheap to run. The only downside to speak of is the extensive maintenance required every year (far more than a convential gas boiler) and that the water isn't sufficiently hot for showers, baths etc. It has to be augmented with an additional electrical 'immersion heater' which heats up the water to a much higher temp.

Another neighbour looked at having a similar ground system installed (they already have underfloor heating) but were put off initially by the cost of the ground source system itself which was in excess of £20k. Theirs is a big house and they have the luxury of land surrounding the property. I can't imagine many in the future will be retrofitting ground sourced systems in most parts of the country!

I'm personally waiting for green hydrogen to arrive to be supplied through our existing gas supply network.

 

You are right that, to date, heat pump central heating systems have required a high standard of insulation and larger radiators (compared to gas central heating), but the technology is improving, and coupled with smart technology, the gap is being closed.

Heat pumps currently heat water to around 45°C to 50°C, whereas gas boilers are typically set at around 70°C (which, for a combi boiler is way over its most efficient temperature). I've been running mine, over the last few months, at 50°C to 55°C, to get an idea of the issues that switching over to a heat pump may cause.

Without having made any changes to my insulation or radiators, I have found that the main change has been the need to turn on the heating earlier (anticipating when I'll need a certain level of heat) and run it for a bit longer. This is where the use of smart technology can really help and, if I go ahead with the switch to a heat pump, I intend to take full advantage of such smart technology, to factor in weather forecasts with my own heating requirements.

But first, to make this work, I need the overall cost to come down, which is where Octopus Energy's claims about their new heat pump system are of particular interest (I'm sure other companies will be developing their own as well).

 

I live in an old Georgian era house. The rear of the house is where our current boiler is fitted. Outside is a right of way to two other houses, so it may not be possible to fit one if it impinges on the access route. There are a lot of old terrace houses, which don’t have land outside the building, where an external air heat source pump could be located.

A couple of weeks ago I spent some time in West London. The number of Tesla and other electric vehicles was staggering. They have charging points in W2, on a vast number of lamp posts, however I would estimate that there are five/six parking spaces between each lamp post! Again where there is high density accommodation (flats/terraces) the ability to charge vehicles is limited to say the least.