Couple's energy bill quadruples after 'faulty heat pump'
A couple who installed a heat pump in order to save money say they have been left with a faulty system and their bills have more than quadrupled.Geoffrey and Julie Cox claim since the air source heat pump was put in their bills have risen from £140 a month to more than £1,000 and it does not heat their home.The Chesterfield couple are among others who have had similar issues with a system fitted by Sheffield's Greener Living Ltd, which received money under a government scheme before going into administration last March. The BBC has made several attempts to contact the defunct firm. The government said heat pumps "fitted under government schemes must be installed by a certified installer".
Air source heat pumps are renewable heating systems that extract heat from the outside air and transfer it into the home.They run on electricity instead of gas and are widely seen as the best way of cutting emissions of carbon dioxide from home heating systems, which accounts for 14% of the UK's carbon emissions.
A Freedom of Information request seen by the BBC showed that Greener Living Ltd was given more than £4m as part of government efforts to encourage homeowners to replace existing fossil fuel heating with more efficient, low carbon systems.Mr Cox said they decided to install a greener alternative to their gas boiler in order to keep their bills down amid rising energy costs."It's so frustrating because you know every month you're going to get a walloping bill and how are we going to pay it? We've run out of cash."On top of high bills, the couple say their financial situation has been made worse because they are still paying off the £15,000 loan taken to pay for installation.Mrs Cox said: "If we had the money then we would have had it taken out and the gas put back in without a doubt."But the fact is, we still have to pay for the system even if we had it removed."We did this to save money but in actual fact it's cost us a fortune."
The couple said numerous attempts to fix the system had failed and their bungalow had never felt colder.In winter, they said they were sat inside with their coats on and with blankets over them to keep warm."I was taking a hot water to bed. I've not done that since I was 10," said Mrs Cox.Other former Greener Living Ltd customers have complained about similar problems on a dedicated Facebook page which has nearly 400 members.One person posted: "The system cost a fortune and it's never worked properly. Four freezing cold winters I've endured."A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero said: "Any heat pump fitted under government schemes must be installed by a certified installer, with any issues promptly and properly rectified at no cost to households."Where regulatory issues are identified, we work closely with Ofgem and certification bodies to ensure support is available to households to find redress."The spokesperson added that 92% of heat pump users who were surveyed after having their heat pump for two heating seasons were satisfied.
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