Air to air heat pump - now you can get a grant to help with cost

Just announced: the boiler upgrade scheme (BUS) has been expanded! Yehhhh!

You can now get a grant to install:

·      An air to air heat pump

·      A heat battery

Both grants are for £2,500. The typical cost of installing an air-to-air heat pump in a flat or small house is around £4,500, meaning the grant will cover a good amount of the upfront cost.

Neither of these are in my personal experience, so I’ve been doing some research. Please do the same and – first learning - be really clear what you’re reading. Even when I searched ‘air to air heat pump’, I was quickly directed to air to water heat pumps. There is far more about the latter just now, so be persistent.

How does an air to air heat pump work?

A2A heat pumps take heat from the outside air – even when it’s cold – and transfer it inside to warm your home. It has units high on the wall or at ground level in each room that blow warm or cold air into your house. The look is very much of standard air con units, just it's powered by a heat pump.

According to Greenmatch website: 'if you want to replace a gas boiler then an air to air heat pump is a cost effective alternative that will significantly lower your energy bills.'

I took a look at Heat Geek on the issue. Adam has personal experience of working in an office with air to air, but not professional experience of installing. He picks out the following:

 Air to air Pro’s

·      Gives you cold air on hot summer days as well as warmth in the winter

·      Dehumidifies the air which increases your comfort in summer and makes air easier to heat the air in winter

·      You don’t need any radiators or pipework upgrade, so less disruption

·      Cheaper – can do a whole house for about £8K. (costs above are for a small house or flat)

Air to air Con’s

·      You need to install an immersion heater to heat the water – the heat pump won’t do this for you

·      You may need to remove your pipework and radiators if you are retrofitting

·      Heat may not be as steady as the heat from UFH or a radiator

·      As with any blown air, you may find it dries your skin.  

My own thoughts on what I’ve read:

Brilliant that there is an easy environmentally friendly version of heat pumps that can be installed in flats and small houses. And so pleased that the government is supporting installation.

The outdoor part of the system looks to be much smaller than a standard air to water heat pump which could open the door to all those people who tell me there is no room in their garden or beside their house.

Hot summers are definitely with us and are only going to increase, so the option for air con is a real winner, especially for those who can't install insulation that keeps the home cool as well as warm.

My one concern is the way air behaves. Cold air sinks and warm air rises. You can place the internal units at floor or upper wall level, but there will always be a time when it has to work harder to get the air moving around the room. I guess that's the fan noise talked about above. And maybe it's just me not liking cold feet or a hot head, but definitely worth finding out about!

And there is more: Heat Batteries

The new scheme extends to heat batteries which carry the same grant of £2,500 and store heat overnight for use in the day. Is that another version of the storage heater?

Don’t know enough yet. I’ll have a scan around and write another blog asap.

More info here from the Government.

Application should be on this page soon