Heat pumps are an environmentally friendly and highly efficient alternative to traditional oil or gas boilers.

Heat pumps can be used for central heating for residential and commercial buildings, providing hot water for sinks, baths and showers and heat via radiators, underfloor heating or fan coil units.

If you’re thinking of installing a heat pump for your central heating, here are some of the main differences you’ll notice compared to a typical gas or oil boiler.

• A heat load report is carried out to determine how much heat your property needs. A heat pump with the correct output is then selected based on this report - it’s important that the heat pump is neither too big nor too small as this can affect system efficiency and potential savings on your energy bill.
• Heat pumps are highly efficient, achieving efficiencies of 300-400% compared to 90% for a new gas boiler. This efficiency helps to reduce the cost of your energy bills and helps to reduce the carbon footprint of your energy usage whilst the national grid is being decarbonised.
• Air source heat pumps are installed outdoors, this frees up the space inside your home where a boiler would normally sit. Heat pump systems are smarter and have the ability to self-optimise based on outdoor weather temperature (decreasing output when the weather is warmer and increasing when it’s colder). When paired with a smart tariff and battery storage, this optimisation increases even further with the heat pump working to charge the battery when electricity costs less and deploying the stored heat when electricity prices are higher.
• Heat pumps are long lasting with lifespans averaging around 20 year for an air source heat pump and 25 years for a ground source.

One of our most frequently asked questions is whether a heat pump can replace an existing heating system and what the process of doing so is like. The answer is that’s very rare to come across a property which is unsuitable for a heat pump. If you have an older property, effective insulation is always recommended which may mean the installation of new windows, doors and loft insulation is required. However we can provide a more accurate idea of what’s needed using one of our accredited heat loss reports.

You can find out more about the process of installing a ground source heat pump here. If you’d like to know more about using heat pumps for central heating, take a look at some of our other articles below.

• What are the Different Types of Ground Collectors?
• How Much Space is Needed for a Ground Source Heat Pump?
• Advantages of Inverter Over Fixed Speed Heat Pumps
• Using Heat Pumps for Cooling
• Storing Solar Thermal Energy in Ground Collectors
• Ground Source Heat Pump Installation Guide
• Heat Pumps vs Gas Boilers
• Ground Source Heat Pumps vs Air Source Heat Pumps
• What Funding is Available for a Heat Pump?
• Drilling Boreholes for a Ground Source Heat Pumps