Empowering Homeowners: How Knowledge Drives Better Heat Pump Decisions (Title borrowed from Mars' excellent article)

Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs)

Last Post by Majordennisbloodnok 11 months ago

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Toodles

(@toodles)

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Topic starter 17/10/2024 4:10 pm

Back in the 1950’s and 60’s, the government of the day would disseminate information to the ‘general public’ by means of a production unit - The Central Office of Information who released short films on subjects such as road safety, home security and safety in the domestic environment etc. There were also ‘home improvement’ programmes such as the Barry Bucknell DIY series in which much panelling of wooden doors with sheets of hardboard took place! What I am getting at is that in those pre-internet / podcast / YouTube days, ideas were placed to help guide / influence individuals and perhaps even educate them into improving their lives in the post-war years where many materials and commodities would have been in short supply.

Now, even with such information rich publications as RHH on the net, are we reaching as wide an audience as we might? We are the converted or at least the enlightened who know the many advantages and virtues of installing a heat pump and I’m sure that most readers would like to see the situation where the ‘Net Zero’ aims are met - and even exceeded by arriving at the ultimate destination earlier than originally planned.

Yes, I realise that these are very fine ideals, nevertheless, there is no harm in aiming high is there? ASHP take-up at present has a long way to go and no doubt there are numerous reasons (obstacles even) to achieving much wider take-up. Like every other RHH reader, I am aware there are problems due to cost, insufficient good skilled installers, shortage (sigh) of materials, equipment small enough to be accommodated in many properties, planning restrictions … the list could go on but….

An important factor in the wider adoption of heat pumps and renewable energy projects is that of ignorance and fear of the ‘unknown’. This organ (RHH) might be being read and followed by some thousands of people - but that is hardly saturation coverage is it? Do we need that Central office of Information and a few modern day Barry Bucknells to utilise the media in the way that some of the TV series do with home improvement projects to bring the advantages and merits of heat pumps etc. to the wider public. I have had a listing for ‘Visit a Heatpump’ for some time now and, as yet not one tickle of interest to see the system. Could this be through fear of the unknown - as a country, should we be evangelising far wider and louder?

This topic was modified 11 months ago by Toodles

This topic was modified 11 months ago by Mars

Toodles, he heats his home with cold draughts and cooks his food with magnets.

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Majordennisbloodnok

(@majordennisbloodnok)

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17/10/2024 5:36 pm

The problem in these more vocal days that rely so heavily on social media is that attempts to increase the voice of the enlightened also increase the voice of the dissenters. If we were successful in shouting from the rooftops and actually being heard, we still cannot disagree with the numerous potential obstacles you mention, and you can be sure that plenty of people would respond on that platform with comments highlighting those problems. All I suspect we would do is to make a much wider audience aware that, in their eyes, a heat pump is a costly gamble with no guarantees of a better system at the end of it.

On the other hand, tackling a few of the thornier issues (regulating the industry with an independent body with teeth, proper training for installers, certain minimum standards being enforced etc.) and then publicising with a more solid case would be a far more difficult stance for the nay-sayers to try to refute.

Overall, I think the publicity and evangelising is evolving at about the right rate in comparison to the rate at which the systemic problems are being addressed and sorted.

105 m2 bungalow in South East England
Mitsubishi Ecodan 8.5 kW air source heat pump
18 x 360W solar panels
1 x 6 kW GroWatt battery and SPH5000 inverter
1 x Myenergi Zappi
1 x VW ID3
Raised beds for home-grown veg and chickens for eggs

"Semper in excretia; sumus solum profundum variat"

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