Are Exhaust Air Source Heat Pumps Costing You More Than Expected?
ENERGYLINX: Families afflicted by high energy costs could be the victims of green technology.
An expose by BBC's Rip Off Britain found that many families residing in new, 'state-of-the-art' government-funded housing projects are shelling out three to four times more for electricity than they expected to be paying.
As part of the UK government's commitment towards establishing a greener building infrastructure, recently-constructed housing developments throughout the UK were fitted with exhaust air source heat pumps - a system in which the heat from wasted air is pumped back into homes, providing free heat and hot water. However, residents were left shocked after being charged over three times more for their electricity than was estimated by the Energy Performance Certificates which accompanied their new homes.
With some residents being charged over £250 for electricity in just two months, independent studies conducted by heating engineers have concluded that the heating systems - which are designed in order to run 24 hours per day - are unable to heat homes as efficiently as those of the system's Swedish creators, which are apparently better insulated. As a result, these heating systems automatically switch on an electric immersion heater as a means of countering this handicap, leading to astronomically high electricity bills for weary customers.
Unfortunately for UK families, these systems have become a popular choice amongst nationwide building developers - who are legally obligated to integrate some form of 'green technology' into most government housing projects. Yet in the case of these air source heating systems - which are thought to have already been installed in over 15,000 UK homes - green technology has undoubtedly failed to save customers on energy bills.
Indeed, one of the four key goals of the UK's Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) is to "reduce energy use by households, businesses and the public sector, and help to protect the fuel poor." However, this goal is admittedly difficult to achieve amidst a government-mandated technology being installed into the homes of UK's lower-income families that, in truth, costs families up to three or four times more for their electricity bills - and actually wastes energy in the process.
As a result, Phoenix Energy would advise that all customers being affected by extraordinarily high electricity bills - regardless of whether they have had an exhaust air source heat pump fitted - Check here to get a free impartial, independent energy quote.
