We don’t think about energy bills any more’: how a heat pump changed a couple’s lives

Living in an energy-efficient zero-carbon home with an air source heat pump has cut energy bills drastically

This Monday, it will be two years since Julian and Juliette Rayner moved into their new zero-carbon home on a development about 20 minutes drive from Bristol.

The property boasts a range of new technologies that makes it highly energy-efficient and enable the couple to generate their own electricity and live a greener lifestyle.

Instead of the traditional gas boiler that so many people rely on for their heating and hot water, there’s an air source heat pump fitted to one of the outside walls, plus extensive solar panels, underfloor heating, an electric vehicle charging point and high levels of insulation. The Rayners also bought a battery for electricity storage.

Even though they were aware of the impact insulation and an energy-efficient boiler could have on their bills, moving to a green home had not been top of the couple’s wish list. But the more research they did into the benefits that a zero-carbon home could deliver, the more they liked the sound of it, so they took the plunge and bought one of the development’s 32 properties.

They soon found that their energy bills plummeted, and they effectively pay as little as 50p to £1 a week to power their home – ie, all their hot water, cooking and heating needs – in the warmer months, when they are able to generate most of their power via the solar panels. In fact, in June this year they were £12 in credit.

During the winter, when they have to rely on the National Grid, they might spend more like £33 a week, or £150 a month.

“We’ve lived in much older properties in the past and know how much they cost to heat – and it’s a lot,” says Juliette.

So, two years after moving in, how are they finding their home and its green features – in particular, the heat pump?

“In a way, we don’t really think about our heating or energy bills any more, which I suppose is what you want, really,” says Julian.

“It’s definitely been an education, as it needs a bit of a behavioural shift if these are going to be the homes of the future. Neither us nor our neighbours knew much about heat pumps and solar panels before we moved here, but it’s been good in that we’ve all been in it together and finding our way as we go.”

Thankfully, their experience over the past two years has been positive. “It’s quite a change from a gas boiler. For instance, if you were to switch off the heating completely and it’s cooled right down, it can take longer to warm up than it would have done when we were using gas,” says Julian.

“However, this shouldn’t be seen as a negative. Instead, it means we get a more comfortable, consistent temperature all the time – rather than feeling cold and having to crank the heating up, like we used to when we had a boiler. It’s easier now, because we don’t have to think about times to turn it on and off. It’s just there and does its own thing responsively.”

The couple have also had friends and family ask about their heat pump, and how they find it.

“I knew what it was going to look like – a bit like an air conditioning unit at an office. It’s a square box, probably about 4ft long, 3ft wide and 1ft deep, with a big fan in the middle,” says Julian.

He adds: “People do ask the things you often see in the media – such as if they’re noisy. But once you’ve seen it working, you realise that it’s actually really quiet … You can sit outside and have a barbecue and you’re not even hearing it, and you’re about 4ft away from it.

“It lays to rest a lot of the misconceptions you often hear, or things people have picked up that aren’t necessarily true.”

The couple have been delighted about the savings they have enjoyed on their energy bills (though those figures quoted above don’t include the standing charge).

“We can’t all be expected to completely overhaul our lives when it comes to being greener, we have to be realistic. But we want to do what we can, and this house really makes us feel like we’re doing our bit to help,” says Juliette.

According to Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, searches for terms such as “solar panels” and “heat pumps” on its site have risen dramatically since 2020 – from outside the top 500 to within the top 100 for the panels, and into the top 200 from above 1,000th place for the pumps.

“They’re not top of buyers’ must-haves just yet, and more work is needed to raise awareness of the benefits, but we expect to see more of a focus on these types of features as the nation moves towards greener homes,” he says.

Cover photo: Juliette and Julian Rayner next to their new heat pump at their zero-carbon home near Bristol, England Photograph: Joe Woodhouse/Rightmove