The Electric Boiler Vs The Heat Pump
Over the last few months, it has been hard not to hear about the government’s push for the public to move away from fossil fuel heating and instead install air source heat pumps to decarbonise the nation's domestic energy demand. The Boiler upgrade Scheme is due to start in the next month or so with grants to help towards the cost of changing systems of £5000. Now although £5000 is not to be sniffed at, the cost of installation of a heat pump and more importantly the enabling works involved for some properties, this grant can become a small fraction of the complete install figure.
Electric Boiler Vs Heat Pump
Air and ground source heat pump technology has come a long way in the last 20 years and some of the low temperature models have a very impressive coefficient of 4. In layman terms that means it can produce 4 units of heat energy for every 1 unit of electricity, a 400% efficiency value! So it seems like a no-brainer to move to a heat pump especially if your existing gas boiler is on its last legs, but unless your property is suitable for these lower temp systems you may find the enabling works to make your home suitable may end up costing a lot more that the heat pump install itself. Lower temperature models need to be fitted in well insulated homes and you may need to replace your existing radiators with larger volume emitters otherwise you may find the heat pump may not be able to get your home to your desired temperature and/or the heat pump will end having to work much harder thus using more energy and the efficiency drops drastically.
For the hot water heating you will need to have space for a pressurised cylinder, this will be fine if you have come from a conventional system which you already had a hot water cylinder in an airing cupboard for example but if your property has a combi boiler, you will need to find somewhere to locate this plus run all the extra pipework to feed it. So the suitability of your home really does come into play. The thermal performance, the existing central heating emitters and also possibly the actual dimensions could all be factors that will need addressing.
The Electric Boiler is not an entirely new concept and in my experience as a domestic energy assessor over the last 10 years, I have come across them a fair few times but they have never been a popular option as a form of heating mainly due to electricity historically being a much more expensive fuel in comparison to gas, so if there is the viability to fit gas central heating that has been the cost effective option and if the property is off gas grid then opting for storage heating or similar room heater type set up is cheaper than installing a water fed central heating system.
But what about now, is the electric boiler an alternative option to a heat pump in the quest to decarbonise our domestic energy demand? Let’s look at some reasons where it maybe more practical.
When you haven’t got the space to fit a heat pump. A typical heat pump will have an external unit which can be fixed to a wall and internal unit and water cylinder. If you have a ‘bijou flat in a high-rise block, you may struggle to fit one in. An electric boiler is generally speaking, smaller than a gas boiler, doesn’t need a hot water cylinder if you go for a combi option and no need for outside space.
When you just can’t afford the upfront cost of fitting a heat pump. An air source heat pump and cylinder hardware start from £5000. That doesn’t include installation which average around £1000 for a simple straight forward install. A electric boiler costs on average £1100 with a straightforward install at £450
When you want to minimise disruption Enabling works associated with fitting a heat pump including replacing radiators and insulating the building fabric so the heat pump works efficiently can be very disruptive and also very expensive. Installing an electric boiler into an existing water fed radiator system is very straightforward and with minimal enabling work and should work straight out of the box.
So there are some good reasons to go for an electric boiler over a heat pump. The cost of running a well fitted heat pump is much lower compared to an electric boiler but the cost of install can run into the tens of thousands.
Electricity is quickly becoming the decarbonised fuel so why not offer funding for all electric heating systems, this would then give more adaptability for the whole of the UK’s housing stock rather than a small percentage.
Personally, I think the government should have extended the funding to cover all electric fed central heating systems so it would appeal to more homeowners and possibly an energy bill discount for moving your home over to fully electric. I just don’t think the government has done enough and instead they shoe-boxed the scheme with a grant figure that in many cases would even cover half the cost of the heat pump installation.
If you are looking at decarbonising your own energy demand by going over to electric then this may be an option for you.
Written by Tony Casales
