Re your article on heat pumps in the UK (Are heat pumps the future or just a lot of hot air? 28 September), I live in the middle of Sweden, about the same latitude as the north of Scotland. Nearly all the houses in my area have air source heat pumps.
When the air temperature is about 7C, these pumps give energy efficiency of between 400% and 600%. A seasonal coefficient of performance of 3.5 to 5 is the norm here.
I don’t understand why heat pumps should be so expensive in the UK. Here, you can buy a good air source heat pump for £2,000, including installation. My heat pump has a fan that blows out warm air – it is sufficient to heat a two-storey house of 130 sq metres 10 months of the year. When the temperatures get down to below -5C, we have to put on the radiators sometimes.
If the house is relatively open-plan, you don’t need radiators – the warm air will circulate well enough. The outer unit is quiet; I can’t hear the neighbour’s heat pump. Getting a professional installation is important. Evidently, heat pumps have had a lot of adverse publicity in the UK from the vested interests of oil and gas.
Tim Bradley
Deje, Sweden
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