Last year we moved into a property with an air source hear pump. We’d heard little about these heating systems, only that they were good for the environment. Everybody said an air source heat pump would be cheap to run because they are designed to be paired with solar panels (which ours is).
It’s worth noting, we didn’t have this installed. I don’t know how much installation costs, but looking at the unit and factoring in solar panels, I’m willing to bet it was quite a lot.
We’re just renting our property too, so we have no say in how the house is heated. We basically took on the lease and now we have to deal with the consequences.
So How Much Does an Air Source Heat Pump Cost to Run?
Before I let you in on the running costs, I’ll quickly lay down some background information. We’re a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids) who are at home a lot. We run quite hot, so don’t go mad with the heating. We like the house between 19 and 20 degrees and usually have the thermostat set around 19.5C.
Setting your room temperature to 19.5C isn’t outlandish. In fact, we partly do this to save money, so we were horribly surprised when we received our first big bill this winter.
Out energy account is with EON Next and everything is run off electricity apart from our cooker. Our gas cooker costs us about £12 per month and that’s for both the standing charge and the usage. Our solar panels are set up so their energy is used first and the rest is charged to us.
Our bill was high. Really high.
Our worst bill was for £550.30 for just electricity billed for the period 28th December to 27th Jan. This was on what was classed as the best tariff for us, with us maintaining a room temperature of 19.5C. That’s too much money, right?
As a result of this, our monthly bill jumped up to £371 each month, to try and clear the massive debt this bill had caused. Even now, during the months where I’m not using the heating at all, I can’t reduce my payments until the balance is cleared, even though my usage is a couple of quid a day.
It’s worth noting, that before we moved into this house, we were living in a 5 bed detached house with a loft conversion. Back then our energy bills were around £200 per month for gas and electricity, even with a 20 year old boiler than was limping along. They increase to £250 per month just before we left because of that massive energy bill hike.
Now we live in a 3 bedroom bungalow, which is obviously smaller than our old house. £371 a month would have been expensive for our old place, but it’s just excessive here.
What Affects the Cost of Running an Air Source Heat Pump?
Apparently, the type of property affects the running costs of an air source heat pump. I’ve heard that this type of heating works best in well-insulated new build properties with great insulation. Our house is not new, and the living area is open plan.
Our open-plan set-up no double costs us a bit more to heat, but I wouldn’t expect it to add over £100 to our bill. The air source heat pump running costs are insane, in my opinion.
Also, I don’t actually know if new builds fare better with air source heat pumps because it’s just word-of-mouth. I only have anecdotes, nobody that can give me figures. And I don’t trust anecdotes now, because it’s anecdotes that told me moving to a place with an air source heat pump would save me money – and here we are, totally skint!
Air Source Heat Pump Disadvantages
In my opinion, there are loads of disadvantages to an air source heat pump. I know they’re better for the environment, but I just can’t picture who on earth can afford to run one without having to seriously cut back on eating, heating and any form of joy.
These are the obvious disadvantages of installing an air source heat pump. Do so at your peril. They are the worst.
Air Source Heat Pumps Cost Loads
After looking into to it, it’s likely to cost you between £8000 and £12000 to have an air source heat pump installed (without any hacks, DIY or tradie mates doing you a favour). That’s quite a chunk of money to start with, especially when you consider a boiler is likely to set you back £2000ish all-in.
Alongside the massive outlay, your bills will shoot up. Unless you live in a tiny, well insulated box, you will see no financial benefit from this. You’ll just spend all your money on still being slightly cold at 19C.
Air Source Heat Pumps Go Wrong
The air source heat pump at our property is a pretty recent addition. We’ve not been here even a year and it’s gone wrong twice. It turns out, the water pressure in the heated bit drops without warning, leaving you with no heat. It’s only happened to us once, but good ol’ Google tells me it’s a common issue.
The second problem we had was that the fuse box exploded. It was a small, non-dramatic explosion, but a man had to come out and fix it. That was another instance of no heat, and no hot water. Not ideal for a busy family. We spent 5 days without heat in total because this problem came about and hour after the first problem was fixed. We were freezing and our hamster died from the cold. We couldn’t even complain, because the hamster was unauthorized.
I’ve also discovered that because the air source heat pump is like a big fan on the side of your house, the filters and blades get furred up with dust and that makes it go wrong. Also vents can get blocked with dead leaves. It just seems like a massive liability to me.
They Only Have a Mid-Term Life Expectancy
So it also turns out, air source heat pumps last around 15 years. That’s the same length of time as your boiler, but it costs about 6 times more to install, then costs you loads to run too. It feels like such a big commitment to years of over-spending to opt for an air source heat pump now.
You’d think something so expensive would at least redeem itself by having a long life expectancy.
The annoying thing is that the government is pushing for houses to switch over to this type of energy and I just don’t know how the average person will be able to afford it. I get that there needs to be some sort of switch over so that heating our homes is more environmentally friendly, but I think the minute the majority of people have one installed in their home, they’ll be lobbying the government for a different solution.
I really can’t see air source heat pumps being a viable option in the future unless something changes.