Boiler vs Heat Pump
Finally time to bid farewell to your boiler for good? When they emit up to twice the emissions as your car, it’s easy to see why upgrading your home heating system can have a much bigger impact than just reducing your energy bills. If you’re looking to switch from your gas boiler and compare it to a shiny new heat pump, look no further – here’s all the benefits you’ll reap, and some points to consider too.
What are Heat Pumps
A heat pump is a heating device that moves heat from one source to another. Air-to-water heat pumps seamlessly integrate with your home and it's existing radiators, providing a comprehensive alternative to a boiler. They use the outside free air and apply pressure to generate heating and hot water for your home, in a way that’s four times as efficient as a boiler.
What are Boilers
Gas boilers are a traditional solution for heating. The majority of homes are fitted with this heating system that relies on fossil fuels to create the heat. However, by using gas or oil to create heat, gas boilers are vulnerable to energy bill rises, are environmentally damaging and an outdated way to heat a home.
What is the Difference
Heat pumps and boilers may appear to do the same thing – heat your home, and provide hot water. But it’s how they do it that matters. We’ve broken down the differences into five categories: boiler vs heat pump efficiency, the cost of a heat pump against a boiler, how many CO2 emissions they emit, the speed of heating your home with a boiler vs a heat pump – and how long each of these home heaters last.
Efficiency
Heat pumps are famously efficient as 75% of their energy is generated by the free outside air. Not only that, heat pumps are also four times more efficient than a gas boiler. This adds up to significantly less costs – for the planet, and for your energy bills.
Cost
As the price of running a home continues to soar, cutting bills is a top priority. Although the upfront cost of a boiler is cheaper than a heat pump, government grants, a low-cost payment plan and the fact that you’ll never pay a gas bill again make the long-term cost of an air source heat pump less than you’d think. Find out how much you’ll save on your energy bills when you switch to a heat pump.
CO2 Emissions
Heat pumps save 75% of carbon emissions, making them one of the most environmentally friendly ways to heat your home. It’s one of the main reasons so many people choose them against a boiler. Heat pumps are powered mostly by free air and a small amount of electricity, meaning minimal CO2 impact. On the other hand, gas boilers are significantly more damaging to the environment due to their poor efficiency and dependency on burning fossil fuels to create heat.
Switching from a boiler to a heat pump to warm your home is almost certainly the most powerful thing you can do to cut your impact on the planet. While switching your family car from petrol to electric makes a hugely positive impact on the environment, using a heat pump instead of a gas boiler is an easy way to have double that impact.
Heating speed
Gas boilers can produce heat instantaneously, whereas heat pumps use far less energy while offering a noticeably more even and consistent heat throughout your home.
How Long They Last
Heat pumps can last twice as long as the home boiler, averaging 20 years against a boiler’s lifespan of just 10 to 12. With a 10 year Comfort Guarantee on air-to-water heat pumps with Aira and a reliable, consistent heat to get you through the coldest spells, switching to a heat pump also means waving goodbye to expensive repairs for good.
Upgrading your home to a heat pump system is an easy way to decarbonize your home and save on energy bills. Learn how you’ll get set up in a hassle-free 30 days and then talk to our energy experts for advice and a free, no obligation quote. Contact us today.
From the Aira Team
Why is a heat pump more efficient than a boiler?
Heat pumps are four times more efficient than a gas boiler. For every 1kW energy put in, you get around 4kW out, compared to a boiler where you only get 0.9 kW out.
Heat pumps also represent better value for money, because they are much easier to maintain and last longer. They can last over 18 years – that's 25% longer than gas boilers (based on average lifetime of a boiler of 10-15 years).
How much does it cost to run a heat pump?
A well-designed heat pump system is 4X more efficient than a gas boiler since it captures 75% of the energy required to heat your home from the free outside air.
The exact cost of running an air source heat pump depends on the temperature you choose in your home, the amount of hot water you consume, and the price of electricity and the type of electricity tariff you use.
All Aira Heat Pump systems are designed to perform significantly more efficiently than a gas boiler to optimise CO₂ and heating bill savings. If you don’t have any other gas appliances in your home after switching to a heat pump, you'll be waving goodbye to gas bills for good.
How long does a heat pump last?
With the Aira Comfort Guarantee, we promise that our Aira Heat Pumps will continue to provide a cosy indoor temperature for the next 15 years. Or we'll come out to fix it. And, if you want to extend your cover when your 15 years are up, that’s easy and affordable.
