Heat pumps will cost you less than gas boilers but only if you use them correctly.
This is what Ian Rose, Sales & Strategy Director at smart thermostat company, Passiv UK said on this week’s Net Hero Podcast.
Ian told us that heat pump adoption will require a widespread change in behaviour.
‘We’ve all grown up with gas boilers and so we’re used to a really responsive system. You could turn it on and it heats up really quickly. Most of us still control it as an on-and-off system so we have it off unless we want it on.
‘Now that is a disaster with a heat pump. If its cold and you turn the heat pump on, the heat pump will take a really long time to get there. And it will cost you an arm and a leg because the heat pump is not being used correctly.
‘It will actually cost you less if you turn your heat pump on three hours before you get home where it will gradually heat up your home than if you turn it on when you get home.
‘A great way to operate a heat pump is put it on, leave it on and let it run steadily 24 hours. It is just a different way of living.’
Passiv’s thermostat helps optimise heating from heat pumps to enable extra savings.
‘What if I’m out during the day and don’t want the heat pump running all the time? Can I benefit from the temperature degrading slightly and then slowly bringing it back up? Yes, you can and it will save you some money too.
‘But it is not something we should expect humans to calculate. So our thermostat learns about your building, external weather, heat pricing and your habits and schedule. It knows when you’ll be in and when to turn the temperature up.’
Ian told us that the smart thermostat can help consumers save up to a third on their energy bills.
‘We commissioned the Energy Saving Trust to do some independent research on the efficiency that we can deliver.
‘Their report tells us that we are improving on the efficiency of heat pumps by, on average, 17 percent. That’s roughly a 10 percent saving on bills, on just getting the flow temperature right.’
Watch the full episode below and remember to register to Big Zero Show Online: 100 Days of Labour.
