Going Green: The Incentives, The Hurdles, and Whether It Was Worth It

Let me start with a bit of a confession. I'm not a heating engineer, plumber, electrician or renewable tech expert. I'm just a homeowner who wanted to future-proof our house, and hopefully save some money. This is what led us down the rabbit hole of heat pumps, solar panels, and battery storage.

There’s a lot of noise out there. Loads of people sharing their opinions online, many of which seem based on second-hand experience or assumptions. The most common thing you’ll hear is that heat pumps don’t work. Usually followed by, “You’ll need to replace all your radiators,” or “They only work in new builds,” or “It’ll never heat your house in winter.”

To be honest, I believed a lot of this until I stumbled across a YouTube channel called Heat Geek.

If you haven’t heard of them, they’re worth checking out. Their videos are educational but also quite fun, and they break down the science behind how heat pumps work. And the best part is, they back it up with data and real-life installations.

This is their bread and butter. If you're seriously thinking about an air source heat pump, you really should visit their channel. One of the most impressive videos shows them taking a poorly designed and badly installed system and completely transforming it. The homeowner is visibly shocked at the outcome: a house that's not only properly warm but also running on significantly lower bills. It’s genuinely worth a watch.

Anyway, back to our story.

Armed with my newfound, if slightly amateur, knowledge, we decided to move forward and started getting quotes. We spoke to three companies in total. It quickly became obvious who knew their stuff and who didn’t. One company was clearly a bit cowboy-ish vague answers, no mention of heat loss calculations, and lots of buzzwords with little substance.

In the end, we invited two companies back to carry out proper heat loss assessments. I made sure I was home for both visits ready with questions. If your home is properly assessed and your system designed accordingly, it should work even if your house is a bit older, like ours was.

The difference between the two companies was night and day.

The first company was in and out in 15 minutes. No deep dive, just tapping away on an app, unable to answer any of my questions, saying someone would call me back to discuss (which they never did) The second company, however, were fantastic. They came armed with our original Home Report, measured room by room, measured doors type of doors, accessed the crawl space under the house, we even discussed future plans, like converting the garage, and spent around two hours walking through the house checking every detail and them we discussed potential layouts, challenges, and cylinder placement. Their attention to detail was incredible and we were sold.

Installation took just over a week, spread across three weeks. It was extremely well organised. First, the electrical work was completed, then the new pipework, leaving our old system running right until the final step when everything was switched over. This avoided any big disruptions to heating and hot water which is a big win if you have kids.

There’s a lot of misinformation around what’s needed to make an ASHP work. You’ll often hear people say you need all new radiators or a complete overhaul of your pipework. In reality, every home is different.

In our case, we only needed to replace four radiators and upgrade the main run to remove the need for microbore. This helped reduce flow rate and improved overall efficiency. Based on what I’d read (and Heat Geek confirmed, but not 100% needed as technology has moved on a lot), this is a key part of making the system work efficiently.

Adding solar was far more straightforward. We had 10 x 425-watt panels installed, a 5kW inverter, and 20kWh of battery storage. These numbers might seem a bit geeky, but they’re based on our annual electricity usage and more importantly, our projected usage with the heat pump in place, complete forward thinking from the firm.

Now, two winters and almost 3 years later, how has it performed?

So here’s the bit everyone wants to know. Has it saved money?

The short answer: Yes, massively.

Before the switch, our winter bills were in the region of £250 to £300 per month, and that was before the big energy price rises. Since the install, the most expensive winter month we’ve had was £130, and that includes charging our electric car, which makes up around £30/40 of that.

If we had stayed on gas and electricity at today’s prices, I honestly don’t want to know what our bills would look like.

Of course, it’s not all down to the heat pump and solar. It’s also about being smart with how and when we use energy. Our EV and home battery have allowed us to take full advantage of off-peak electricity rates, charging at 6.7p per kWh and avoiding the usual 22p daytime rate.

Even during winter, we rarely used anything other than stored energy except for a week or two this year when temperatures dropped to minus 11°C. That week, we dipped into grid electricity, and yes, our bill spiked, but only that once, overall, our bills are lower all year round.

People say you don’t get solar in winter, and while it’s true output drops, that’s exactly why we invested in the battery. From March to November, we live almost entirely off the battery which we charge cheaply overnight or directly from the panels and even export any excess energy at 16.6p per kWh. That export credit covers our winter usage.

For the data lovers, our system runs at a SCOP of 4.6, which I’m told is very good. And here’s the big difference you really fee itl. Our house now holds a steady 21°C throughout winter.

Previously, like most people, we only heated the rooms we used the living room, kids’ bedrooms and main bathroom. Now the entire house is warm and comfortable, all the time. The system runs 24/7, but not at full power. This is where the maths and physics kick in.

Because the heat pump responds to the outside temperature, it constantly adjusts how much energy it uses. It only uses what’s needed to replace the heat that’s being lost, meaning it's consistently efficient. By running at lower levels over a longer period, it maintains a steady temperature without the big peaks and troughs of a traditional gas boiler system.

So, was it worth it?

This isn’t for everyone. And no, we didn’t fund this entirely on our own. We made full use of support schemes like those offered through Home Energy Scotland (HES). These schemes aren’t means-tested, and many people are eligible for partial or full installation support depending on their circumstances. On top of that, interest-free loans are also available to help spread the cost.

Add to that the fact that lenders like Halifax, Nationwide, Virgin Money and others now offer green incentives including cashback for installing renewable energy systems, and you’ve got even more reasons to consider making the switch. With Halifax, you can claim up to £2,000 cash back with each mortgage transaction, over multiple years to support you making your home more energy-efficient. That’s a big incentive if you’re doing the work in phases.

There are definitely people out there trying to take advantage of the green energy boom, but there are just as many delivering truly excellent service. The key is choosing the right team and making sure they do a proper design and installation.

I now firmly believe that when a heat pump system is designed correctly, installed properly, and used efficiently, it works, and it saves money.

The horror stories you hear. They almost always come back to bad design, poor installation, or incorrect usage. But the laws of physics are universal. If it’s designed right, it will work.

Did we do all this to be green? No. We did it to cut costs and reduce our dependency on an increasingly expensive and unstable energy grid. Will it all pay back in the short term? I honestly don’t know, but that wasn’t the point. We wanted a warm, efficient, happy home for our growing family, and that’s exactly what we got.

The biggest compliment? My wife, who was originally the most sceptical, now can’t believe how warm the house is or how low the bills have become.

And that, to me, says it all.

To speak to one of our Mortgage Advisers, you can book an appointment directly, or call us on 03301 759 977.