Des Ingham

Thanks Steamy Tea, you can get it on Kindle for free if you have Kindle Unlimited, otherwise a Kindle copy costs £1.99 and a paperback copy £7.99.

I created a post a few months ago asking people for their thoughts and experiences on heat pumps for a book I was writing and many people kindly replied. The book has finally been published on Amazon and I want to thank all the people who contributed and who I have quoted in the book in Chapter 12. It`s been a while as the illustrations took a long time so I can`t remember which contributors were from this particular group but I know Joe 90, Gone West and Ian R were to name three. If anyone has Kindle Unlimited they can read the book for free at the following link https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09WWBXVD8 The book isn`t just about heat pumps, it covers hydrogen powered boilers, district heating systems, climate change and government responses & legislation, and it is written more from a layman`s point of view than a technical one. Thanks once again to all the contributors here.

Thanks Gone West, yes it`s been quite a response hasn`t it?! Been very useful and informative though. I will use your quote above in the book i you don`t mind

See what you did there. That`s corrected ?

Hi IanR, are you happy with the following to go in the book: "Ian R who lives in Essex is another who seems happy with his ASHP in his new build. He gave me the benefit of his experience saying: “My personal experience is that I came to installing an ASHP for my space heating and hot water for reasons other than saving the planet. Quite simply there isn't a gas main with a mile of my entrance, so an ASHP with RHI (Renewable Heating Incentive which gives financial support to people who use certain renewable technologies to heat up their premises) contribution was significantly better value than the Oil or LPG options I had. I was surprised at how generous the RHI grant was, but it has been tightened since. I shared the common view that if Gas was available then it was the cost effective choice. “However the mood-music has changed now, or perhaps it's just got louder. My view now is that ASHP`s are the right choice for new builds (and significant renovations) even when Gas is available, otherwise within 10-15 years the property will be requiring a significant update or be facing a devaluation. “Anyhow, having chosen to go with an ASHP I felt it best to combine it with a low energy loss fabric achieved with U values of 0.10W/m²K to 0.11W/m²K for floor, walls and roof; 0.6W/m²K to 0.8W/m²K for windows and doors and an air tightness targeted at 0.6AH, but to my surprise substantially improved on. “I don't know that my experience can really be carried across to owners of existing houses considering moving to an ASHP, but with a heating system designed for the property's energy losses and hot water requirements, it does exactly what it's supposed to, without any fuss and day-to-day running costs that are slightly below an equivalent Natural Gas system.” Thanks Des.

With new technology developing all the time nothing is set in stone, and `facts` are so often manipulated to back up someones opinion. If everything was black and white it would make life a whole lot easier to negotiate!

I will IanR, but unlikely to be challenging any comments, I want a broad range of opinions, no doubt many will be at odds with each other, I am making it clear in the book that everyone must do their own due diligence for whatever path they take. Thanks again.

I am using a wide range of platforms and contacts to get as much feedback from all strata`s of society in all types of situations so hopefully I can get a balanced view overall. This forum has been very useful so I thank you all for that.

I did hear a debate on the radio a week or so ago saying that demolishing old houses causes more carbon emissions and waste than can be justified, the only problem is that using the materials within the old house as part of a renovation would be far more time consuming for builders.

Thanks for all the detail Ian, would you be happy for me to use this in the book?

I would like to use your quote above in the book Joe90 if you are happy with that?

`Heated debates` in more ways than one Simon! I think we have to look at the wider environmental impact, there are so many facets to controlling the damage we are doing to the planet that it certainly needs a very well thought through set of policies to implement the right changes in double quick time that are economically viable. No easy task.

Hi Ian, thanks very much for your reply on my post. No I am not involved in house building or affiliated to any industry. I am pitching the book with climate change firmly at the forefront of my mind and looking to see what individual people can do to create a carbon free future, and at present heat pumps are the most viable option for the home with hydrogen powered boilers maybe closely following behind. I am looking at getting an air source heat pump installed myself, but may be moving in the next year or so and could look at a ground source heat pump then. I want to give people as much information as I can in the book, along with examples of people who already have heat pumps installed, so they can make their own informed choice. Hope this helps.

Absolutely they will Mike as long as they want to be credited, they can go anonymous if they wish but a first name and a general location would be great at least.

It is an extremely depressing situation Mike, on the one hand government ministers pay lip service to taking action to prevent further climate change, on the other they give the go-ahead to a new oil drilling project off Shetland that will create huge carbon emissions for the next 25 years. Business and energy minister Kwasi Karteng on TV this morning professed that they would offset the damage this new development would do by using carbon capture technology. Let us remind ourselves that this technology does not even exist right now and many sceptics believe it will never be an option! I think we all have to do our bit and put pressure on the powers that be to act and show them that it is in their best interests to act. I think it may be too late but we can`t give up, we have nowhere else to run have we?