Huge research project reveals air source heat pumps can warm new homes for less than £2 a day
A huge research project on electrical heating systems has found that air source heat pumps are capable of providing energy efficient warmth for new homes for less than £2 a day.
As the UK prepares to go gas-free under new Government rules to reduce the carbon footprint of homes, researchers at the Energy House 2.0 research facility at the University of Salford, working with housebuilders Bellway and Barratt Redrow and manufacturer Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland, have spent the past 12 months testing 14 different heating systems to see which ones will heat consumers’ homes the best at the lowest cost.
The findings from the Future Homes study could help to understand the most efficient ways to heat homes when gas boilers begin to be phased out in new homes from 2025. Existing homes have until 2035 to replace gas boilers.
Energy House 2.0 is a specially built climate chamber that recreates temperatures ranging from -20˚C to +40˚C, as well as simulating wind, rain, snow and solar radiation. The chamber enabled Barratt Redrow, Saint-Gobain and Bellway to test methods of construction and products at temperatures that would represent anything from a Nordic winter to an African summer.
Richard Fitton, professor of building performance at the University of Salford, said: “Energy House 2.0 allows for a comparison between heating technologies at constant extreme temperatures, which up to this moment has not been possible and our results represent unique research.” The systems tested at Energy House 2.0 covered a range of technologies including Infrared heat panels, air source heat pumps, underfloor heating, skirting board heating and traditional radiators. The research looked at two different heating patterns – 24-hour constant heating and a pattern of a house being heated between the hours of 7am-9am and 4pm to 11pm, that is currently used in the standard energy model, and is the typical way that people live in their homes in the UK.
Tests were conducted at both a typical winter temperature of 5 °C and also, an extreme winter temperature of -5 °C within the climate chamber.
The research found that air source heat pumps can cost as little as £1.84 on a typical winter day to heat a home and are more efficient than current gas boilers.
During the extreme winter condition test the electrified heating systems did not perform well when used in the typical way that consumers with gas boilers would use heating. Consumers with the new heating systems would need to adjust to using them in a more constant way to get the best heat at the most efficient cost.
Bellway’s house, named The Future Home, tested two air source heat pumps, including the UK’s first roof-mounted prototype, along with underfloor, infrared and ambient heating, and mechanical heat recovery ventilation. It demonstrated that underfloor heating and air source heat pumps work well together, while Infrared heating could be used more widely in flats and maisonettes, where pumps are difficult to install.
Oliver Novakovic, inset, director of technical and innovation at Barratt Redrow, inset, said: “The Energy House 2.0 research is one of the most important R&D projects that Barratt Redrow has ever undertaken. It will inform us about the homes that we build in the next 20, 50 and 100 years.”
The Future Homes study was funded under the UKRI’s Greater Manchester Innovation Accelerator Programme.