L R AS Published on Sunday 17 December 2023 - n° 470 - Categories:heat pump
Is it worth switching from gas heating to a heat pump?
British researchers have analysed replacing gas heating with a heat pump. They found that energy demand could increase by more than
20% when a UK household switches from a gas boiler to a heat pump. They are generally advised to maintain a constant reduction temperature of 2-5°C below the desired temperature. Scientists estimate that with the transition to heat pumps, UK households could suffer high heat losses, due to lack of insulation, which could increase energy demand by 20%.
"The problem is that grid electricity costs 32 euro cents ($0.35) per kWh, while gas costs around 9 euro cents per kWh. So there's no guarantee that the cost of installing a heat pump will pay for itself," explain the researchers.
"The most common practice in the UK is to base the estimate on existing bills or on the heating requirements indicated on the home's energy performance certificate," they point out. "In both cases, this heat demand relates to the heating pattern of the old heating system, leading to an underestimate of the electricity demand for the heat pump."
PV Magazine, 13 December 2023
Editor's note The heat pump industry has launched a major advertising campaign promoting this equipment. They even managed to get gas heating phased out in the name of climate protection, before the decision was taken to backtrack. Now we see that these new appliances are particularly power-hungry. Europe's better-informed population is turning away from this equipment.
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Sales of heat pumps down 14% in Europe in the 3rd quarter
After a good first quarter in 2023, sales of heat pumps fell in the second and third quarters. Over the last quarter, sales fell by 66% in Finland, 55% in Denmark and 45% in Italy. Germany was the only country to buck this trend, with growth of 60% in the third quarter, but "even here, the gap is narrowing as the year progresses", according to the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA). The decline was almost unanimous in the third quarter.
This decline is an alarming trend that could jeopardise the EU's decarbonisation objectives, said the association, which is calling on governments to commit to heat pump technologies.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/12/15/heat-pump-sales-declining-in-europe/
PV Tech of 15 December 2023
Editor's note Households turned to heat pumps to cope with soaring energy prices in 2022. The fall in energy prices has led to a drop in intentions to install heat pumps. Households have also done their sums... looking at the cost of installation and running costs.
