New Scottish heat pump laws

[klondike]

Major heat pump supplier attacks plans to replace gas boilers

Labour peer Lord Willie Haughey who supplies units says Scottish winter is too cold for them to work

A major heat pump supplier has attacked SNP-Green plans to use them to replace gas boilers in Scotland, warning parts of the country are too cold for them to work.

Lord Willie Haughey, the business tycoon, said the heating system is unsuitable for the Scottish climate as its performance declines markedly in freezing weather.

The Labour peer said some units can stop working properly at temperatures of -5C (23F), or require more electricity to function properly, resulting in higher bills.

Parts of Scotland hit -15C last winter and the country holds the record for the UK's lowest temperature of -27.2C seen in Braemar in Aberdeenshire in 1982 and Altnaharra in Sutherland in 1995.

The multi-millionaire, who owns a heat pump company, also warned they were noisy and only heated water to 54C (129.2F) – less than the 60C recommended by the Health and Safety Executive to kill the legionella bacteria.

His intervention came after Patrick Harvie, a Scottish Green minister, last week unveiled plans for homes to receive lower environmental ratings if they are heated using gas boilers.

From 2025, homes will need to achieve an EPC rating of C or above at certain trigger points, including a sale, meaning some properties with boilers will be barred from being put on the market.

A strategy published by ministers in 2021 said that the average cost of installing a heat pump is around £10,000, four times the £2,500 cost of a new fossil fuel boiler. Lord Haughey said the cost was now £15,000.

Air source heat pumps work by extracting heat from the air while ground source pumps are powered by cables buried quite deep in the earth next to the house.

The pump then uses electricity to amplify that energy into heat for the home. They were originally developed as air conditioning systems.

Lord Haughey, who made his millions through a global refrigeration business, said:"I have a heat pump company and following Patrick Harvie's announcement, I should really be jumping for joy.

"But the truth of the matter is that heat pumps don't work as efficiently in Scotland as they do in other countries."

Legionnaires' disease
He said this was because of the colder climate and warned "legionnaires' disease can thrive in lower temperatures in hot water systems".

Lord Haughey added: "My staff are always telling me I should not criticise our core business but this is eco nonsense being peddled by the Greens. I'd like to challenge Patrick Harvie to a debate on the science of it."

The tycoon also said the heat pumps are so noisy, that if eight or ten neighbouring homes had one, the resulting sound would "rattle your windows".

He described them as "ugly and cumbersome" and said they created a bigger scar on a home than a satellite dish.

A Scottish government spokesman said: "About 20 per cent of Scotland's carbon emissions come from heating our buildings. That means that tackling the climate emergency is only possible if we make our buildings energy efficient and move away from fossil fuel heating.

"This will also cut costs for all of us in the long run, and make us less dependent on volatile and increasingly expensive fossil fuels."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/07/30/heat-pump-willie-haughey-attacks-plans-replace-gas-boilers/

Will the Scottish government listen? I doubt it.

[Diasi]

Lord Willie Haughey, the business tycoon, said the heating system is unsuitable for the Scottish climate as its performance declines markedly in freezing weather.

The Labour peer said some units can stop working properly at temperatures of -5C (23F), or require more electricity to function properly, resulting in higher bills.

Parts of Scotland hit -15C last winter and the country holds the record for the UK's lowest temperature of -27.2C seen in Braemar in Aberdeenshire in 1982 and Altnaharra in Sutherland in 1995.

The multi-millionaire, who owns a heat pump company, also warned they were noisy and only heated water to 54C (129.2F) – less than the 60C recommended by the Health and Safety Executive to kill the legionella bacteria.

'Lord Willie Haughey, the business tycoon, said the heating system is unsuitable for the Scottish climate as its performance declines markedly in freezing weather.'

Well although I was initially tempted to say "no shit Sherlock", I think this guy deserves full marks for his 100% accurate assessment of heat pumps.

If I was younger I'd consider installing a hybrid heat pump system which uses a gas combi-boiler combined with an air source heat pump.

[klondike]

I've seen a number of mentions of them being noisy. That's in addition to not actually working very well. And being expensive. And not saving any money.

I haven't seen anybody realising that when we are all heat pumps and electric cars we'll be stuck at hoime in the cold because the grid can't cope.

[Michael Rolls]

A fair, informed response to the idiotic policy. Legionella is a killer. We had a 60/60 policy for hospital hot water systems - either below 60F or above 60C. Between those two temperatures, the bacillus  thrived

[klondike]

Not an issue for combi boilers but I'm guessing a heat pump couldn't provide instant hot water so it will be have to be stored.

[Michael Rolls]

another idiotic con

[Cassandra]

Another SNP 'how can we pee off people more every day move'. I had Air-conditioning in my UK homes since '92. Average cost about £700 a room. Never had to go above 22c to get the rooms warm. No boiler, a 3.5kwh wall unit would heat a 25ft x 20ft room in under 5 mins. In twenty seven years, over three locations only ever replaced an exhaust valve (£300 fitted) on the most used unit. (Japanese engineering).

Plus of course the relief of air con (17c) in the summers, so vital to health as you get older.

Three holes are cut in the walls (1 x 3" wide) for input/exhaust, and 2 x 1/2 an inch for wiring, per room. Inverter cabinet outside, wall unit inside. Costs (£750 for 1.5kwh units & £1200 for 3.5kwh versions (Fujitsu).

Only ever used gas 'boiler' for water heating and in my last property had 4 'Quooker' hot taps and electric showers installed. Total cost fitted about £8k for 7 rooms & en-suites x 2, a kitchen and three extra bedrooms (6 units in all). No boiler necessary, (so no servicing and uptake). Only had to clean the filters, say every six months. Each unit is either remote or timer controlled and with such a rapid response you don't need them on long, so easy to leave unoccupied rooms unheated too.

Have it here of course, custom built in, no ugly radiators or miles of pipes that can leak and corrode either. Small emergency boiler for water in basement, (only ever so far needed to run it every ten weeks for an hour, to preserve its status).