'I rate heat pumps right up there with solar panels — sheer magic. The trouble is, like many, I can’t afford the magic'

Kya deLongchamps investigates why 250,000 heat pump-ready homes are still using fossil fuel boilers

If your home is suited to a heat pump, and if you are doing a full renovation tearing, any fossil fuel boiler should be up for scrutiny, says Kya deLongchamps. Picture: iStock

Heat pumps offer a low-carbon heating solution when utilised in a very well-insulated home. With touch control and intuitive performance, the building is no longer seasonally vulnerable to chill temperatures, draughts and unpredictable bills. Additionally, there’s that snug, smug knowledge that at point-of-use, renewables technology running the central heating (CH), offers zero emissions at point-of-use. 

No fossil fuel boiler, however intelligent is without a comparatively hefty carbon footprint. Heat pumps can (in the very best instances with UFH) deliver back three to four times the energy they consume in even, reliable thermal energy (SCOP). 300% to 400% efficiencies compared to the 90% plus efficiencies of oil and gas, who could argue against their installation as an absolute priority?