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Sally lives in a 1950s built, four-bedroomed detached house in Dumfries. She was concerned about rising fuel prices and this prompted her to investigate heat pump technologies. After seeing how satisfied her neighbour was with their air source heat pump, and discovering the availability of Scottish Government grants, Sally decided to make the upgrade.
On the advice of Home Energy Scotland, a free and impartial energy advice service funded by the Scottish Government, Sally had already installed a solar PV system, and had insulated the upstairs’ coombed ceilings. She tried to keep heating bills low by using her electric heating as little as possible, but found she was spending a lot on fuel for her log-burning stove instead.
Journey to installation
Sally explored renewable heating technologies online and was considering both air and ground source heat pumps but concluded that ground source systems would be much more expensive for little extra benefit.
Sally obtained three quotes using Energy Saving Trust’s Renewables Installer Finder tool. Two installers came on-site to survey the property, the other quoted remotely. Sally’s chosen company, Optimum Heating and Renewables, which is based in the Galloway area, explained the installation process in detail, and responded to all her enquiries leaving her reassured to take things forward.
The installer took the time to demonstrate the scale of the system and the space requirements. As a result, Sally decided to mount it on a side wall so she could keep all the controls and the hot water tank in the garage.
The installation went smoothly over five days and came in on budget. Sally spent £19,095 on an 8.5kW Mitsubishi Ecodan air source heat pump, a 210l Mitsubishi hot water cylinder, and a full complement of radiators to replace her electric panel heaters.
Sally secured the rural uplift element of the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loans scheme which provides additional financial support for those in rural and island homes where the installation costs can be higher. She received £9,000, and was pleasantly surprised at the grant application process, which, although time-consuming, proved easier to navigate than she had expected.
Benefits of the new system
Sally’s installer sent an engineer to go through the heat pump controls and adjust the settings to suit her lifestyle. She is really pleased with how her new heating system operates, saying the house maintains a constant temperature and feels much more comfortable. Sally describes it as a pleasure to live in, despite it being exposed to the elements! She explains, “I used to wear a hat at my desk indoors to keep warm, but I haven’t needed to since the pump went in.”
Moreover, Sally’s reliance on the wood-burning stove has reduced drastically, meaning her indoor air quality has improved. She used to run it for between 5-6 hours a day but hasn’t felt the need to light it since the new system was installed, saving her between £30 - 40 a week in winter.
Sally sets the heat pump to run constantly for a comfortable 18oC. Happily, there is plenty of hot water and the shower pressure has improved too. With her old system, she needed a pump to run the upstairs shower, but the new pressurised tank runs the shower perfectly even though it’s in the garage (it just needs to be run for a minute or two to heat up).
Between the heat pump going in and Sally purchasing an electric car in May 2024, which has increased her electricity consumption, she says she saved around 16% a year on electricity costs. Comparing the amount of heat delivered to the amount of electricity the heat pump is using, Sally estimates the pump is operating at a coefficient of performance (COP) of about 3.8 for heating, and 3.0 for hot water generation.
Words of wisdom
Sally is keen to dispel common misconceptions surrounding heat pump technologies, urging others looking to explore a similar upgrade to seek reputable installers with expertise in designing efficient systems. As she explains, “I think there’s a lot of fearmongering about heat pumps not being suitable for most houses or being noisy or expensive to run. This absolutely hasn’t been our experience. I only wish we’d put one in sooner.”
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