Octopus Energy, the UK’s largest heat pump installer, has today revealed data showing customers overwhelmingly prefer heat pumps to their old gas boilers*.
Among those surveyed, 94% said their heat pumps are as comfortable or more comfortable than their previous gas boilers, while 85% said they cost the same or less to run.
It comes as the UK government scraps outdated planning rules that slowed down heat pump adoption – a major step in making green home heating easier and cheaper for households across the country.
Previously, 41% of heat pump installations required planning permission due to a rule requiring units to be at least one meter from neighbouring properties – adding an average £347 in costs and up to 8 weeks of delays**.
While today’s planning update will make a big difference, one major hurdle remains: outdated noise regulations.
Around a third (35%) of installations still face delays because heat pumps must be quieter than 37dB at the nearest neighbour’s home – about the same volume as birdsong**.
This is especially important as 86% of households report that their heat pumps are as quiet or quieter than their noisy, gas-guzzling counterparts*.
Raising the noise limit by just 1dB would halve the number of homes needing to go through planning, speeding up the transition to cleaner heating for many more homes.
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, Chief Product Officer at Octopus Energy, said: “It’s great that the government has finally tackled one of the biggest hurdles to wider heat pump adoption, making it easier and cheaper for thousands more people to make the switch to green heating.
“Our customers tell us loud and clear that heat pumps are quiet, cosy and affordable – and the data backs them up. But we’re still asking them to jump through hoops because of old-fashioned noise rules, even though heat pumps are quieter than fridges and sit outside.
“If we fix that last hurdle, we can get even more heat pumps into homes – cutting carbon, cutting costs, and cutting our reliance on gas for good.”
Octopus is ramping up its award-winning heat pump installations, with over 50,000 new enquiries in the last three months.
