Because of their higher fossil fuel costs, other countries are far ahead of the United States in the adoption of home electrification, including for heating. The United Kingdom is one of them, and The Guardian recently reported on a survey of 2,500 UK households that made that switch. I’m not aware of a similar survey here, where there may not be enough heat pump households to do a proper survey.
HVAC contractors here in America have been slow to offer or recommend the replacement of gas forced air and gas boiler heating systems with heat pumps, mostly because they are unfamiliar with them. When a homeowner needs to replace their current HVAC system, the vendor who has been servicing their system is most likely to recommend replacing it with a “newer, more efficient” model. So far, I have found only one company which installs and services both traditional gas-fueled heating systems and electric heat pump systems — always recommending the latter. That company, which I have mentioned previously, is Sensible Heating & Cooling, 720-876-7166.
Below are some key excerpts from The Guardian’s article. Click here for the full article.
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 date….
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. Slightly more than a third of the scheme’s grants were taken up in the last financial year.
However, the survey, which was undertaken by Eunomia Research and Consulting, found that 81% of households were as satisfied or more satisfied with heat pumps compared with previous heating systems, including gas boilers, electric heating, or oil and LPG boilers….
On running costs, which is another key area of concern for households considering a heat pump, 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“The government should now have the confidence to move forward quickly with its proposal to.… streamline out-of-date planning rules to make it easier and cheaper for everyone to make the switch to cleaner, safer and more efficient heating with a heat pump,” [said Clem Cowton, director of external affairs for Octopus Energy, a local energy supplier.]
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