Building Research Establishment (BRE) has made proposals to downgrade the assessment of heat pumps environmental impact on buildings which could potentially make them less attractive to the industry.
This follows a study carried out last year by the Energy Savings Trust which revealed heat pumps were far less energy efficient than previously thought. The findings showed that heat pumps produced around two and a half units of energy for every one unit used to run them, while manufacturers claim they produce between three and five units. These claims form the basis of the current calculations for heat pumps under the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) for buildings which calculates environmental impact.
Now that BRE will be assessing changes to the SAP and possibly downgrading the credit given to heat pumps for reducing a buildings environmental impact, it said in future the SAP should reflect seasonal variations in the performance of heat pumps.