Having a heat pump

Fergal Cantwell had a heat pump installed in his County Kilkenny home in October 2019 as part of an overall retrofit of his house. "We always wanted to change over to a heat pump," he explains.

Fergal's house is a 4-bed detached, two-storey house, built in the early 70s. Before the works, the BER was a D1 and this was uplifted to A1 post works.

Because Fergal works in the industry, he found the research process easier than most: "I had no problems identifying the heat pump that I wanted and the installer to install it."

Recommendations

So far, he has found the heat pump "brilliant, there's a constant temperature in the house and constant hot water."

The savings are also substantial, Fergal says. "As we completed an extensive retrofit, we were obviously expecting some savings. The reduction is more than we initially had expected, we have reduced our energy bills by about two-thirds."

Fergal says, "a heat pump won't disappoint but do ensure that your property's insulation is of a good standard." A property needs to be minimum at a B2 BER rating for the heat pump to work efficiently.

"And as with any retrofit measure, put a plan in place. Know the location of your indoor unit and if you're going with a spilt system. Know your measurements, as in radiator sizes etc, or indeed if you are changing radiators," he adds.

SEAI supports

SEAI has a wide range of grants to help you upgrade your home, making it warmer and more energy efficient. Having a warm, cosy home is not only important for your comfort and wellbeing but if you can make improvements in your energy use, you'll reduce your energy costs and help the environment.

Find out about heat pumps Home energy grants