According to the first major survey of heat pump users, more than 80% of households that have replaced their gas boilers with an electric heat pump in Great Britain, are satisfied with their new heating system.
The survey, commissioned by the innovation charity Nesta, found that those who use heat pumps to warm their homes reported broadly similar levels of satisfaction to those with gas boilers.
Satisfaction levels were also similar between respondents who installed a heat pump in a new-build home or in older properties, despite persistent concerns that heat pumps are only effective in modern buildings.
The survey of more than 2,500 domestic heat pump owners and more than 1,000 domestic gas boiler owners in England, Scotland and Wales over the last winter is thought to be the largest investigation into how households have responded to heat pumps to date.
Madeleine Gabriel, the director of a sustainable future at Nesta, said the results should put to rest "outdated" concerns about the low-carbon heating technology, and prompt the government to "redouble its efforts" to phase out fossil fuel heating.
Concerns over the effectiveness of heat pumps have threatened to derail the government's plan for 600,000 heat pumps to be installed across the UK every year to help cut carbon emissions.
Households have been slow to take up government vouchers worth £5,000 to help cover the cost of replacing a gas boiler with a new heat pump. Just more than a third of the scheme's grants were taken up in the last financial year.
Nevertheless, the survey, which was undertaken by Eunomia Research and Consulting, found that 81% of households were satisfied or more satisfied with heat pumps compared with previous heating systems, including gas boilers, electric heating or oil and LPG boilers.
Gabriel said: "The rollout of heat pumps across all property types in Britain is proving that the age of your house doesn’t have to be a big factor when deciding whether to get a greener heating system".
In regards to running costs, the survey found that two-thirds of heat pump owners and 59% of gas boiler owners were satisfied, even without extensive energy efficiency upgrades.
The survey found that upgrading building fabric alongside heat pump installations was common "but by no means universal":
Clem Cowton, the director of external affairs at Octopus Energy, said the findings were reflected in the demand the company were seeing for heat pumps. The company said they have a waiting list of around 50,000 households that have expressed an interest in having a pump installed.
Octopus is training up hundreds of installers at UK bases to meet this demand and has invested in a Northern Ireland-based heat pump manufacturer, Renewable Energy Devices, to produce about 1,000 pumps a month.
Cowton said: "The government should now have the confidence to move forward quickly with its proposal to remove punitive levies from household electricity bills, and streamline out-of-date planning rules to make it easier and cheaper for everyone to make the switch to cleaner, safer and more efficient heating with a heat pump".
For more information on this subject, see:
