Heat Pumps Cool UK Homes From 35°C to 21°C
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- Andrew Ingram in Maidenhead, Berkshire, cools his living room from 35°C outdoors to 21°C indoors using an air source heat pump installed in 2023, replacing a gas boiler for roughly £18,600 with the cooling function adding £1,700.
- The Climate Change Committee warned hotter heatwaves could leave 92% of existing UK homes overheating by 2050, likely requiring air conditioning as passive measures like drawing curtains and opening windows prove insufficient.
- University of Salford researchers running tests inside the £16m Energy House 2.0 climate chamber found pairing a heat pump with fan coils kept rooms between 19°C and 24.9°C when lab conditions hit 32°C, at £2.50–£3 a day round-the-clock.
- Of the UK's roughly 358,000 installed heat pumps, about 323,000 are air-to-water systems (per MCS data), with the government offering £7,500 grants (£9,000 off-gas) and preparing £2,500 grants for cheaper £4,500 air-to-air units.
- Permitted development rights have been updated so heat pumps with cooling capability no longer require planning permission, though Prof Lubo Jankovic of Salford said designing systems for both heating and cooling 'needs to be addressed before cooling this way becomes mainstream'.
- A Which? poll flagged heat pumps as a 'high-stakes gamble' due to high upfront costs and uncertain bills, though the Energy Saving Trust says a dedicated time-of-use tariff saves about £330 a year and roughly £800 with added solar — a setup the Ingrams pair with a home battery.
Why it matters: Heat pumps were pitched as a winter heating play; this summer revealed they double as AC, giving homeowners who already paid the £12,000+ sticker a year-round return — but the Which? warning, Jankovic's caveat, and CCC's 92%-by-2050 projection show the UK is rolling out a cooling solution without standard designs for it, leaving renters and lower-income households reliant on passive measures.
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