Households with Heat Pumps Face Higher Energy Bills in Cold Weather
Households with heat pumps are experiencing significantly higher energy bills during colder months compared to those using gas boilers, according to recent analysis by the Energy Utilities Alliance (EUA).
The Labour party is offering grants of up to £7,500 to encourage households to transition to greener heating systems. However, experts have cautioned that the efficiency of heat pumps drops substantially in colder weather, leading to a 74 per cent increase in costs.
The EUA's analysis indicates that in sub-zero temperatures, heat pumps can cost around £4 more per day to operate than traditional gas boilers. This is attributed to a decrease in the system's "coefficient of performance", which measures efficiency, as it requires more energy to extract warmth from the air during cold conditions.
Additionally, the high cost of electricity in the UK, which is four to five times more expensive than gas, exacerbates the situation. This is partly due to taxes applied to electricity bills.
Based on average household energy consumption figures and current energy rates published by the regulator Ofgem, the EUA calculated that on a typical winter day, heating with a gas boiler costs approximately £4.25. When temperatures fall below zero, this can increase by up to 50 per cent, resulting in costs of £6.37. Meanwhile, households with heat pumps incur daily heating costs of £5.95 at the current price cap.
Mike Foster from the EUA stated: "We use a figure of 67 kWh of demand for a 'typical day' of what we consider the 'heating season', which runs from late October to early April. On colder days, we estimate that demand will increase by 50 per cent, thus requiring 100 kWh of heat."
He added that this translates to a daily cost of £10.36 for heat pump users, marking a 74 per cent rise compared to the 50 per cent increase seen with gas boilers, as the efficiency of the latter remains unaffected by external temperatures.
The Energy Department has challenged the EUA's findings, asserting that heat pumps are still "two-and-a-half times more efficient than gas boilers at -5C".
