Install a heat pump before a woodburner

IN response to your report (MP hits back at ‘urban’ critics of wood burners, Nov 24) in which Mr Liddell-Grainger, MP, pointed to the reliance on wood burners in rural areas with no mains gas, he has missed an opportunity to refer his rural constituents to the Government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme. To help householders switch to clean energy, the Government is offering £5,000 to all households towards the cost of installing an electric heat pump (https://www.gov.uk/apply-boilerupgradescheme).

Heat pumps are cheap to run due to their incredible efficiency – each unit of electricity delivers 3-4 times more energy as heat. We have run a heat pump in our 1930s four-bed semi for over a year. We have no gas bills, and our last three electricity bills have all been under £130. That covers all home heating, hot water and electrical appliances.

A few years ago, nobody had heard of heat pumps, but they have been popular in other countries, like Sweden and Norway, for many years. They work even if the temperature outside is well below zero.

Heat pumps don’t burn fuel, they run on very small amounts of electricity, taking low temperature heat from the outside air or ground, concentrating the heat, and pumping it into your home to heat your radiators or underfloor heating and hot water. The Government reported in its 2021 Heat and Buildings Strategy that 80% of homes are energy-efficient enough for a heat pump to be a suitable heating method. And inefficient homes can be brought up to standard by retrofitting insulation. They do not produce CO2, or any other pollutant, and if run on renewable electricity are zero carbon.

Caroline Snow Totnes, Devon