Heating old houses

Sir – I live in a listed Georgian property in a conservation area. On asking my plumber whether I could install a heat pump, he assured me that it could not possibly work in any of these old houses with no double glazing. A house needs to be totally insulated for a heat pump to be an option.

Now the Government is considering reversing the conservation rules that have kept us beautiful (albeit draughty) for all these years (report, January 4). The wonderful architecture in this country attracts thousands of visitors from abroad each year, and in my mind it would be extremely foolish to “spoil the ship for a ha’p’orth of tar”.

Maie Osborn

Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

Sir – Michael Gove, the Housing Secretary, says that he has no desire to see “historic homes blemished by ugly double glazing or inappropriate solar panels” (Letters, January 6).

Double or triple glazing need not be ugly. It is now so well engineered that it’s hard to discern the additional panes of glass contained within the frame. My brother-in-law lives in a listed house that is a monster to heat, principally because the single-pane sash windows serve two purposes: to let heat escape and to bathe the occupants in freezing air during gales. If he were permitted to replace them with modern glazing, the energy bill would fall dramatically and his neighbours would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the new and the old.

Our local Grade I listed church has solar panels but they are not visible from the ground or the higher ground around the village.

It is high time politicians allowed much greater discretion to local authorities and owners.

Peter Gilbert

Llangarron, Herefordshire