Heat Pump Hype
In order to achieve the UK govts ambitious goal of “net zero” emissions by 2050, and to reduce reliance on imported gas and oil for home heating, Heat Pumps are being hyped-up as the great green pollution solution.
Heat pumps come in 2 varieties, “Ground Source” (GSHP) and “Air Source” (ASHP). Both are FAR MORE EXPENSIVE to install than traditional gas or oil-fired central-heating systems, particularly GSHP which usually requires a large garden to be dug up.
Hundreds of meters of plastic tubing buried in the garden. What could possibly go wrong..?
GSHP is only a practical and economical proposition for new buildings with large land area and deep foundations. So it would make economic sense to install GSHP during the earthworks stage so that the pipes could be placed in deeper – and thus warmer – sub-surface soil than the paltry shallow depth of the installation pictured above.
A Pyramidal Oasis City with a 10 hectare footprint would be the perfect platform for this technology.
AIR-SOURCE HEAT PUMPS (ASHP)
ASHP units look like a big air-conditioner
Due to the cost (and impracticality for most people) of GSHP, the govt is advocating the “simpler” ASHP option, and wants all homes to get rid of their carbon-emitting gas and oil systems within the next 10 years or so. But switching to ASHP is not simple at all as most people will also need to replace their piping and install much larger radiators. Reportedly, they are quite ineffective in freezing weather unless your home is super-insulated, which is going to cost even more. It is also recommended they not be positioned near your bedroom – or near neighbours – as they can be very NOISY. So how can heat pumps ever be a practical proposition in purpose-built apartment blocks – which we need to build more of – or the millions of old houses which have been sub-divided into flats – since, unlike air-conditioners, they need to stand clear away from walls..?
I am deeply sceptical of Heat Pumps’ practicality for heating conventional homes and can’t help feeling that the govt is simply desperate to grasp at any green technological straw they can find.
Heat pumps may be a good idea in principle – but not in puny-scale residential applications – their place is in Oasis Cities..!
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