Choosing a heat pump has become an exercise in brand comparison. Model numbers. Brochures. Sales claims. Endless YouTube videos. And yet, when you look at how heat pumps actually perform in real homes, that entire approach starts to unravel.
This video dives into one of the most revealing datasets available in the UK: hundreds of live, monitored heat pump systems sharing minute-by-minute performance data. What it shows is incredibly useful.
Identical heat pumps, installed in different homes, can perform brilliantly or disastrously. The same model that delivers exceptional efficiency in one property can struggle badly in another. The difference isn’t luck. And it isn’t the badge on the casing.
The video explains why the system matters more than the machine and why focusing on brand alone misses the real drivers of performance. It explores what actually correlates with high Seasonal Performance Factors (SPF), and why some systems consistently land in the top tier while others never get close.
One insight stands out above all others: flow temperature.
Not design temperatures on paperwork. Not marketing claims. Actual measured flow temperatures on the coldest days of the year. The data shows a striking relationship between low-temperature operation and high efficiency, and just how far below traditional “rules of thumb” the best-performing systems are really running.
This matters more than ever, because the industry is at a crossroads. There’s a growing push towards faster, less disruptive installations that rely on higher flow temperatures to avoid upgrading radiators. On day one, that can look attractive. Over 15 years, the running costs tell a very different story.
The video doesn’t tell you what to buy. Instead, it gives you something far more valuable: a framework for asking the right questions. Questions about priorities, trade-offs and whether a system is being designed for long-term efficiency or short-term convenience.
If you’re a homeowner trying to make sense of conflicting advice (or an installer who wants systems that genuinely perform) I think that this is essential viewing.