The heat pump drive is part of an energy plan that puts consumers last
SIR – The cost of installing a heat pump (Letters, February 25) is often quoted as between £7,000 and £13,000.
This may be true for homes built recently, but it was not my experience. I live in a four-bedroom house built in the 1960s, with cavity wall insulation and loft insulation. I was keen to install an air source heat pump and received three quotations – all over £20,000.
The reason given was that larger radiators and pipework were required. As well as costing more, this would have involved a huge upheaval, with carpets and flooring tiles being lifted. Since the radiators would have been working at 40C, it would have been necessary to use electricity to heat water for baths, for instance. The operating costs were still expected to exceed £2,000 a year.
Needless to say, an oil boiler is now being fitted instead.
Roger Wood
Weymouth, Dorset
SIR – My Swedish ground source heat pump is served by two 330ft-deep boreholes, and delivers heat consistently and cheaply.
It has been running for three years without any problems, and the servicing costs are about £150 per annum. More importantly, when combined with a solar array and a well-insulated building, the results are staggering. My electricity bill for 2022 was a shade over £100. A temperature of 21C is maintained throughout the house. The fact that a ground source unit delivers four kilowatts of heat for each one consumed cannot be ignored.
The payback period for the renewables in my house was estimated at 12 years when they were installed, but this will fall significantly if energy prices stay at their current levels. Peter Gilbert
Llangarron, Herefordshire
sir – Howard Mustoe’s article (Business, February 23) raises valid questions about the financial viability of owning an electric car, highlighting the relatively high purchase price and the chaotic charging infrastructure.
It is also worth pointing out that, although the Government is trying to encourage people to buy electric cars, it still charges 20 per cent VAT on power from public charging points, whereas we pay 5 per cent VAT on electricity in our homes.
Alan Skennerton
Bracknell, Berkshire
SIR – How does this Government define “energy security”?
Are wind farms 50 miles off our coast secure, even when the wind does blow? How many days a year do solar farms provide secure energy? And are the massive LPG tankers on which we rely secure from hostile forces as they sail across the Atlantic?
Reliable forms of energy can be produced within the UK. We have an abundance of water, from which power can be extracted; and we should be generating gas by fracking. These sources would provide energy security throughout the year.
Alan Lyne