Heating & running costs
Your air conditioning heats the house too
Every system we fit is an air-to-air heat pump. It cools the house in summer and, from the same indoor units, warms a room far more cheaply than panel heaters, fan heaters or an electric fire.
- 4.4x
- units of heat per unit of electricity
- ~75%
- cheaper to run than direct electric
- 1 system
- heating in winter, cooling in summer
How it works
An air-to-air heat pump, explained
It is the same kit you would have fitted for cooling. Nothing is burned inside the house, no radiators and no boiler, and the heat arrives in minutes rather than hours.
It moves heat, it doesn't make it
A heat pump draws warmth out of the outside air and moves it indoors. There is always heat in the air, even at freezing point, which is why the outdoor unit keeps working through a cold snap.
The compressor concentrates it
The captured warmth is compressed, which raises its temperature, and the indoor unit releases it into the room. For every unit of electricity used, a good system puts around four units of heat into the room.
The same parts run in reverse
A reversing valve swaps the roles of the indoor and outdoor units, so the very same system cools in summer. You are paying once for two seasons of comfort.
The same heat, at roughly a quarter of the price
A room needing 4,000 kWh of heat a year costs about £223 with a heat pump at SCOP 4.4, and about £980 with panel heaters, at 24.5p per kWh.
£757
saved each heating year
Indicative figures using published efficiency at typical part-load, before standing charges and any change in tariff.
Compare the cost
Heat pump vs direct electric heating
Pick the system you are considering, your electricity tariff and roughly how long you heat a room each day. Both columns put exactly the same amount of warmth into the room.
1. The system
2. Your electricity tariff
You'll find this on your electricity bill. Time-of-use tariffs can be cheaper overnight, which suits heating a room before you get up.
3. Hours of heating a day
A living room on a cold evening is usually two to four hours. Six hours covers a main room used morning and evening through the winter.
Estimated heating cost
3.5 kW system
6 hours a day at 24.5p per kWh
Uses about 0.40 kWh of electricity an hour at SCOP 4.4.
Panel heaters, fan heaters and electric fires use 1.75 kWh an hour for the same heat.
You keep
£725.56 a year
- Per hour
- £0.33 saved
- Per day
- £1.99 saved
- Per month (30 days)
- £59.64 saved
- Per year (365 days)
- £725.56 saved
Both columns put the same heat into the room, so only efficiency and tariff change the price. A heating season is shorter than a full year, so treat the annual figure as the cost of that many hours every day.
One system, all year
Heating is what makes the numbers work
Cooling earns its keep in a heatwave, but a heat pump is working hardest in the colder half of the year. That is when the gap against direct electric heating shows up on your bill, and it is why a survey in autumn often pays for itself before the first hot spell.
January & February
Heating
The coldest months, and the ones that decide your winter bill. Expect two to three units of heat per unit of electricity even at 0°C.
March & April
Heating, then off
Shoulder months need short bursts rather than all-day running, so the system spends most of its time off.
June to August
Cooling
The same indoor units run in reverse to take the heat and humidity out of a room, usually on the cheapest tariff of the year.
October to December
Heating
As the evenings close in, one room warmed quickly costs less than heating the whole house for one person.
Questions
Heating questions we get asked
Does an air conditioning unit really heat a room?
Yes. Every system we install is a reversible air-to-air heat pump, so it warms a room as well as cooling it. It reaches temperature in a few minutes because it heats the air directly rather than a body of water in radiators.
How cold can it work outside?
Modern units keep heating well below freezing, typically down to around -15°C outdoors. Output does fall as it gets colder, so we size the system for the room and the worst week of the year, not just for summer.
Is it cheaper than my panel heaters or electric fire?
Comfortably. Direct electric heaters turn one unit of electricity into one unit of heat, whereas a heat pump at SCOP 4.4 puts roughly four units of heat into the room for the same electricity. At the same tariff, that is around three quarters off the running cost.
What about gas central heating?
Gas is still cheaper per kilowatt hour than electricity, so a heat pump will not beat a modern gas boiler on running cost alone. It does win where you are heating one or two rooms rather than the whole house, and where there is no gas supply or boiler to replace.
Will it heat a whole house?
A multi-split or a ducted system can cover several rooms from one outdoor unit. For a whole house, an air-to-water heat pump feeding radiators is usually the better answer, and we will say so at the survey rather than sell you the wrong thing.
Do I need a different tariff?
Not necessarily, but a time-of-use tariff can help if you heat in the morning and evening. We will show you the running cost at your own tariff so you can see the difference before you commit.
Get the heating sorted before the cold arrives
Tell us the rooms you want warm and we will come back with a fixed installed price, including a running-cost estimate at your own tariff. Surveys across Exeter, Plymouth, Taunton and the surrounding area.