Heating older homes

SIR – The letter (June 13) from Jacqueline Davies in praise of heat pumps contains two important words: “new house”.

Our home was built in 1960. While we have explored the possibility of installing heat pumps, for such an old house the cost is prohibitive. The upheaval required would render the whole operation pointless, and it would be unlikely to match the gas heating we have at the moment. Also, given that we are over 65, we won’t recover the outlay.

Heat pumps are clearly most suitable for new homes that have been designed for such installations.

David Leathart

Watton, Norfolk