Study shows effectiveness of heat pumps at overcoming fuel poverty
Calorex heat pumps have been installed, or are now being installed, in over 2400 homes throughout the UK. The saving in CO2 is significant, as sales director Tony Barnes explains: ‘At a conservative 3 t per year per house, that is over to 7000 t per year.’
Tony Barnes also draws attention to a study showing how effective heat pumps are at reducing fuel poverty. He says, ‘Their role in reducing fuel poverty, especially in rural areas, is borne out by research work done in Scotland on the effectiveness of heat pumps.’ An independent study commissioned by the Scottish Government studied 83 homes fitted with ground-source and air-source heat pumps and compared their cost and benefit with oil-fired heating and electric storage.
The study showed that 45% of air-source heat-pump (ASHP) installations were successful in lifting households out of fuel poverty — compared with just 13% for oil and 10% for electric storage. The installed cost of ASHPs is 52% more expensive than oil-fired systems and 3.7 times more expensive than electric storage.
Installations of ground-source heat pumps took 51% of homes out of fuel poverty — but they are 64% more expensive than even ASHPs.
