How Air Source Heat Pumps Work

Air source heat pumps are a great way to reduce your heating costs, and they’re an efficient solution for renewable energy. They operate much the same way as a fridge does, but instead of removing hot air from the fridge, air source heat pumps pull the heat out of the air outside and into your home.

Air source heat pumps vs oil heating

The UK government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) means you’ll receive quarterly payments for every kilowatt of renewable energy used. With the heat being extracted from the air, it is naturally replaced. The air source heat pump’s only environmental impact is through the use of electricity to run it.

Air source heat pumps deliver heating over longer periods of time at lower temperatures. This means that during the colder months it might need to be on constantly to effectively heat the home, and you will find that radiators aren’t as hot to touch as using gas or oil boilers.

How much does an air source heat pump cost?

Here’s the downside. The average cost of an oil or gas boiler system including radiators and labour is around £6000, whereas an air source heat pump is around £9000. However, with the RHI quarterly payments, you will get thousands back over the following seven years and save on costly oil and gas. It’s an investment worth making when you take into consideration that gas or oil boilers come at a massive cost to the environment.

How efficient are air source heat pumps?

For every kw of energy an air source heat pump uses, it can create 4kw of heat energy, making it 400% efficient compared to oil and gas which at best are 90% efficient.

We simply can’t keep using oil and gas like we have been. We must switch to clean renewable energy sources. As an accredited installer of air source heat pumps, we’ve installed many of these in homes around the country and are happy to discuss your options for installing air source heating in your home.