Are heat pumps, in fact, hated? I haven't seen any reliable evidence one way or another (other than Youtube vitriol, but then again I did say "reliable").

Working my way through this…. One thing I would say, when everyone says ‘they don’t work’ what they mean is ‘they don’t cost less than a gas boiler’.

Comparing to the Scandinavian countries doesn’t really help, as they heat with direct electric, so moving to a heatpump at a scop of 2.5 (for example) is going to save them money. It’s a hard sell over here with current gas and electricity prices.

I did not install a heatpumt primarily to save money (although I am glad I actually do) but to save the environment. In many discussions, it is just about the financials but the contribution to CO2 reduction is hardly ever mentioned. I have two kids that will be longer on this planet that I will and a heatpump is only a very small contribution in hopefully keeping this planet very marginally more inhabitable for them (and others). 

In my experience, many of the negative messaging comes from the traditional heating industry/installers. 

Unfortunately most people seem to think that if it costs more money, it must save money….. this doesn’t help when comparing things to a gas combi swap.

Posted by: @hughf

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Unfortunately most people seem to think that if it costs more money, it must save money….. this doesn’t help when comparing things to a gas combi swap.

Also its a change, and people hate/are scared of change.

In cases of change I always like to think about the counterfactual. 

Suppose that heat pumps were the norm and someone suggested  instead piping an explosive gas into houses with a pipe outside emitting noxious fumes that damage the environment, for possibly a small reduction in running cost short term (but long term likely equal or greater cost).  Is it going to sell?  I doubt it. 

Similarly lets try to sell a car that you have to drive to a special place every time you want to fill up (rather than doing it mostly at home), that has half the acceleration, costs more to run, is more difficult to drive because you need to know about gears and emits noxious fumes out of the exhaust, with more or less the sole advantage that it can run for twice as far without being topped up on the rare occasions that you need to do that.  Is it going to sell - yes for a few years only to the small numbers of people who frequently do 400mile journeys without a break, but as a mass market prospect absolutely not.

The obvious example that has already got to this point is mobile phones and digital cameras.  If they had come first, who is buying a phone with a wire or a camera where you have to wait a week to see the pictures?

My primary concern, though, is that if a site like this posts a podcast asking "Why are heat pumps so hated?" a newcomer looking for information will likely think "I didn't know they were hated! Oh, well, I've just learned something."

Not the take-away I think we'd want for someone who could have been influenced differently. Of course, the content of the podcast could do a great job of countering the argument but why create a disadvantage as a starting point? Language matters.

Is it because most new owners never feel in control of their state of the art heating system? Is it because the latest smart thermostat just becomes a dumb thermometer in the presence of a heat pump? Is it because the all controlling and wished-for thermostatic radiator valve needs to be outlawed in the shadow of a heat pump?

Have we all been brought up to aspire to more and more shiny tech. Or is it that you can’t just switch it on and get floods of hot water at our finger tips? There is very little instant gratification with heat pumps.

i was flicking through one of my early note books and came across this comment I had made “The problem with heat pumps is; You are never in complete control.”

That made me smile... and frown at the same time.

@majordennisbloodnok I felt similarly to you. I only got 2/3rds of the way through the podcast and intend to send feedback to Mars privately. Heat pumps are hated by the oil and gas industry. And they are powerful and have a loud voice and have paid for most of the toxic press that has been so prevalent in the past year or so. That then filters into public consciousness as 'heat pumps are hated'...

@jamespa Equally, to continue the car analogy, it is valid to ask, would you buy a car that doesn't give you a continuous MPG  (L/100km if you are metric) readout or buries the adjustment of key variables in complex installer-only menus? The long term strategy of heat pumps is correct but the short term implementation frequently leaves much room for improvement. Horseless carriages wouldn't have become as popular as they have if the law still required someone to walk in front waving a warning flag.

Mike

Posted by: @mike-patrick

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Horseless carriages wouldn't have become as popular as they have if the law still required someone to walk in front waving a warning flag.

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I know it's heading off at a tangent, but that's a rather often misquoted myth. I'm glad, @mike-patrick, that you mention "horseless carriages" since the law was repealed (1875) before internal combustion engine vehicles hit the road in the UK (circa 1885).

@majordennisbloodnok I chose my words carefully!

Mike