The Future Homes study has pointed to air source heat pumps being capable of providing heating for new homes for less than £2 a day.

The largest research project on electrical heating systems under controlled conditions, funded under the UKRI’s Greater Manchester Innovation Accelerator Programme, the Energy House 2.0 research facility at the University of Salford, working with housebuilders Bellway and Barratt Redrow and construction solutions manufacturer Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland, have spent the past 12 months testing 14 different heating systems to see which ones will heat consumers’ homes the best at the lowest cost.

The findings will help new buyers, existing homeowners, renters and landlords to understand the most efficient ways to heat homes when gas boilers begin to be phased out in new homes from 2025. Existing homes have until 2035 to replace gas boilers.

The Energy House 2.0 is a specially built climate chamber that recreates temperatures ranging from -20C to +40C, as well as simulating wind, rain, snow and solar radiation. The chamber enables Barratt Redrow, Saint-Gobain and Bellway to test methods of construction and products at temperatures that would represent anything from a Nordic winter to an African summer.

Richard Fitton, professor of building performance at the University of Salford said: “Energy House 2.0 allows for a comparison between heating technologies at constant extreme temperatures, which up to this moment has not been possible and our results represent unique research. These insights will be invaluable as we try to reduce the carbon emitted in heating our homes, whilst ensuring people are warm and comfortable in their homes without paying too much on their bills.”

The systems tested at Energy House 2.0 covered a range of technologies including Infrared heat panels, air source heat pumps, underfloor heating, skirting board heating and traditional radiators finding that air source heat pumps can cost as little as £1.84 on a typical winter day to heat a home.

The most common method of heating homes in the UK is currently gas boilers, which are designed to reach temperatures of up to 70 C quickly and be used for short periods of time that fit around the typical consumers’ lifestyle (morning and evening heating). During the extreme winter condition test the electrified heating systems did not perform well when used in the typical way that consumers with gas boilers would use heating. Consumers with the new heating systems would need to adjust to using them in a more constant way to get the best heat at the most efficient cost.

Bellway’s house, named The Future Home, tested two air source heat pumps, including the UK’s first roof-mounted prototype, along with underfloor, infrared and ambient heating, and mechanical heat recovery ventilation. Bellway’s home demonstrated that underfloor heating and air source heat pumps work well together, while Infrared heating could be used more widely in flats and maisonettes, where pumps are difficult to install.

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