According to a new study of heat pumps in UK homes, around 70% of properties have the wrong size installed, resulting in higher energy costs and colder rooms. The research undertaken by three energy monitoring experts – Build Test Solutions, Veritherm and Elmhurst Energy – looked at 56 homes, measuring the heat loss in different types of dwelling and weighted towards detached and more recently built homes. The research found that the difference in heat loss between that calculated and the measured heat loss was a substantial 35% and there was a significant bias towards overestimating the heat loss (in 59% of houses).
An oversized heat pump incurs higher capital costs, of around 10% on average, alongside higher maintenance costs and lower running efficiency, while an an undersized heat pump would mean that the home will not be warm enough during the coldest periods, driving the occupant to turn to more expensive heating methods, such as a fan or oil heater.
“Heat pumps are really important for decarbonising heat and achieving net zero but it is crucial that we maximise efficiencies,” says Richard Jack, technical director at Build Test Solutions. “Before any heat pump is installed, specific heat loss measurement is needed to ensure the correct size for the property’s requirements. “The performance gap between the assumed and actual heat loss calculations will have significant implications for residents if we don’t make changes.”
Build Test Solutions, Veritherm and Elmhurst Energy suggest that both industry standards and software tools should be updated to recognise the role of measured heat loss as part of the heat pump design process, sizing and specifying.
Chris Ricketts, head of consultancy at Elmhurst Energy adds: “Heat loss measurements provide a more accurate method to determine the overall heat demand of a building, which can feed down to the design process and improve efficiencies. It is a service that installers can integrate within their offering, using software tools to capture and present the data. Residents see value in this information, and the savings that can be achieved through doing this accurately more than covers the costs.”
Read the full report and find further resources from Build Test Solutions, Veritherm and Elmhurst Energy here
