After installing a new air source heat pump in my home, I posted a photo on, delighted about the carbon emissions we will save. My celebration, however, was short-lived. The post triggered an intense discussion with many people feeling that my decision to replace my six-year-old gas condensing boiler was unjustifiable. “Ripping out a perfectly well functioning gas boiler before the end of its natural life and replacing it with a heat pump is misguided. It won’t reduce much carbon,” read one post.
I crunched the numbers and they show significant carbon savings. Read the full piece here:
It’s a difficult thing to balance when to take action on your central heating system. My view would be definitely when your boiler reaches its end of life, and before 2030. With the life times of these types of boilers being 10-15 years most will need to be replaced in this decade.
Really good analysis and justification of why to do it now though. Great food for thought for people out there.
Thanks for posting this. Going to have a good read. It’s something I’ve been thinking about (although can’t afford at the moment) but wasn’t sure at what point it became justifiable!
