How do social relations shape the adoption of heat pumps in the UK?

[ectoplasmosis]

2 hours ago, sgt_woulds said:

HP are daily scheduled nuisances.

 

Except they won't be running anywhere near capacity, except for during a few of the coldest days of the year.

 

Our 7kW Vaillant ASHP is practically inaudible day to day; the only way of knowing whether it's running or not is to feel for the airflow. It's MUCH quieter than the neighbours' gas combi boilers.

[sgt_woulds]

 

 

Heat pumps with sound-proofing measures.  If that costs more, so be it.

 

I chose to insulate and seal my property properly instead to reduce the need for heating. 

 

I used natural insulations as they were better for me, my house, and the planet.  These are much more expensive than oil or mineral-based insulations and I paid the premium without expecting anyone else to contribute, just because I want to 'Save the Planet'.  

 

If your solution costs more to implement without nuisance to the environment and others then you should pay the premium - because you want to save the planet too.

 

The oil companies have got away with all the pollution and harm they cause because that is 'just what happens in the process of extracting and using fossil fuels'.   We should just put up with this, 'cos that's just how it is and has always been?

 

The world is crowded and noisy.  We should just put up with this too?

 

Modern technology should reduce harms without introducing new ones. 

 

 

I wonder what the OP is making of the social aspects of our discussion? 🙂

 

 

 

[joe90]

11 minutes ago, sgt_woulds said:

I chose to insulate and seal my property properly

As I did I and the vast majority here on this forum.

11 minutes ago, sgt_woulds said:

I used natural insulations as they were better for me, my house, and the planet. 

As did i where I could.

11 minutes ago, sgt_woulds said:

These are much more expensive than oil or mineral-based insulations

I disagree 

11 minutes ago, sgt_woulds said:

The oil companies have got away with all the pollution and harm they cause because that is 'just what happens in the process of extracting and using fossil fuels'. 

They have “got away with it” because a/ we didn’t initially understand the damage and b/ because we (the general public) have not voted for law makers to bring about change sooner.

 

p.S. I installed an ASHP that was quieter than my neighbours oil boiler 🤷‍♂️

Edited October 17 by joe90

[SteamyTea]

1 hour ago, sgt_woulds said:

I chose to insulate and seal my property properly instead to reduce the need for heating

What is your kWh/m².year figure?

 

1 hour ago, sgt_woulds said:

I used natural insulations as they were better for me, my house, and the planet

What is the embodied energy and CO₂ for the products you used, and how do they compare to mineral wool?

1 hour ago, sgt_woulds said:

The world is crowded and noisy

I don't know where you live, but it is too sparsely populated down here to be economically viable.

At 160pp/km², it is about a third of Buckinghamshire.  A quick look at Google Earth shows that Bucks is very green.

1 hour ago, sgt_woulds said:

I wonder what the OP is making of the social aspects of our discussion

They are a student, everything they learnt last week is forgotten now.  I wish I was a student again, better than lecturing.

[ToughButterCup]

1 hour ago, sgt_woulds said:

....

I wonder what the OP is making of the social aspects of our discussion? 🙂

 

That we are a bunch of bitchy WillieWavers, perhaps?

As far as I can tell there's nay wimmin contributing to this thread.

[JamesPa]

6 hours ago, sgt_woulds said:

 

 

Heat pumps with sound-proofing measures.  If that costs more, so be it.

OK so you agree that heat pumps are the solution, you just want them to be quieter. 

 

So it now becomes a matter of where to draw the line and, for some reason, you believe that the powers that be have, in this country (and others in for example the EU where, very broadly speaking, the requirements are similar), drawn it in the wrong place.   

 

The obvious response to this is:

 

The current line is basically drawn at the level set by BS8233, which is, prima facie, logical and consistent.  Where, in your view, should the line be drawn and why should an exception (which would further restrict their use) to the principles of BS8233 be made for heat pumps?  Why is it more important to make this exception than to do something to mitigate climate change within current legal and building frameworks? 

 

In relation to your comment 'I chose to insulate and seal my property properly instead to reduce the need for heating. ' that is indeed laudable but, other than in exceptional circumstances, has nothing like the impact (on climate emissions) of a heat pump so cannot, on its own, be considered adequate progress towards a sustainable future.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 17 by JamesPa

[Lewis Hubbard]

On 15/10/2024 at 12:55, miike said:

I'm not sure how many conclusions you can make from this survey for social relations impacting the adoption of heat pumps as the questions are quite limited. 

 

For me it was 100% financial, and I was only interested after the £7.5k grant was introduced - the previous one at £5k wasn't worth it for me, and the £7.5k only really puts the ASHP on equal ground with a gas boiler. Without the grant, I think interest in heat pumps would drop to basically 0 until the price comes way down, regardless of how much friends/family recommend them. 

 

 

 

Hi Mike, The idea of this survey is to find out basic information which I can develop in the following interview, for the people who want to discuss the topic further.

[Garald]

On 16/10/2024 at 10:50, sgt_woulds said:

The quiet ones aren't quiet.  I don't want to sit on my garden bench and listen to a fridge running on the other side of my fence.  It's only a quiet whooshing, but it is noticeable at all times when it is running.  Or should I say, when it switches off you suddenly realise how noisy it was.  This kind of low-level background noise is proven to increase stress in both animals and wildlife.

 

I am extremely sensitive to noise - to such a point that I have a funny (and fairly expensive) arrangement on my streetside windows: one layer anti-noise double glazing, then 15cm air, then heavy single glazing. And yet I don't regret for a minute getting a heat pump. It's a whooshing that is barely noticeable in the courtyard; it is never noticeable indoors. It's dwarfed by the noise made by your garden-variety ventilation fan.

 

(Yes, I have one of the quiet ones - Mitsubishi Zubadan silence. And yes, I have PIV, and I'm getting someone over next week so that an extractor fan in a laundry room can be removed.)