Replace your boiler with a heat pump#
If you’re going to continue using space heating rather than a localised heating strategy, you will want to make this replacement sooner or later - and the sooner, the better for the planet. The upfront costs are relatively high but if you can raise them, the running costs make it worth it. Heat pumps take heat from the outside air or ground using the same kind of technology as refrigerators, but in reverse. Ground source heat pumps are more expensive but take less energy to run than air source heat pumps because the ground is warmer.
How easy it is to put one in depends on the building. Ground source heat pumps are relatively expensive and require a reasonable amount of space to install - either several hundred square meters of land or the right underlying geology and access for drilling equipment that can lay pipes vertically. Air source heat pumps (ASHP) designed for commercial premises can also be very expensive. That means community buildings often need to install 2 or 3 domestic models, each about the size of a large suitcase, or to combine an ASHP with another source of heating, either temporarily or permanently. This is not practical in some buildings and can be inconvenient, although it does at least mean that if one breaks down there’s still some heat.
Both types of heat pump are usually used to heat hot water that can then be used to heat the building. If your radiators are big enough, you might be able to get away with using them, but often venues need bigger ones. Even if your radiators will work, your pipework might be too narrow to deliver the water fast enough. Changing to underfloor heating gives better results and better comfort for lower energy input, especially for lossy buildings in high use.
It’s also possible to use a heat pump to warm the air in the building directly.
The UK Government aspires to help industry make heat pumps cost the same as boilers by 2030. There are very often grants available to help towards the costs meanwhile.
Remember that addressing heat loss always comes first because then you can get away with a smaller heat pump, and that you can stage works, for instance, putting a small heat pump that only does part of the job until you get the heat loss sorted, putting in underfloor heat distribution and insulation when the floors need renewing anyway and the heat pump later, and so on. This kind of change takes careful planning but it’s worth it in the long run.
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The air to air case studies uses relatively large pumps to heat the air just enough to make people comfortable for an hour of use, contrary to our recommendation of moving to localised heating. As a community we need a better understanding of how to model buildings to know when this is a reasonable approach to take.