Pamela Brown, Buckinghamshire. Her home is a new build detached 5 bed house.

“We designed and self-built the house and looked at a heat pump back then but they were more expensive. I’d only ever had gas boilers before but the cost of my gas bill was astronomical - we were paying roughly £250  a month - for a super insulated home with underfloor heating. This was unsustainable. 

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“With the heat pump the house is always warm - and it’s a nice heat. There is no chill when the heating goes off like with a boiler - it’s a constant, warm temperature. We recently had the coldest day of the year since the heat pump was installed - and it was around 0.5 degrees outside and the house was 20.5 degrees. 

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“You don’t need technical knowledge. All I do is go into an app and check the inside and outside temperature. In the app I can see how much CO2 my home has emitted in the last month and my daily electricity usage. I can also see how much hot water I have left. 

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“Our indoor unit has light cues and when it is heating up it goes orange - my children notice that because it is so visible. I also work for the heat pump company Aira so they know quite a lot about heating! My children know that the heat pump produces fewer carbon emissions and they like that it is eco friendly - it’s something kids are more conscious about.

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“If I was going to give advice to someone considering a heat pump I would say it is an absolute no-brainer! Why wouldn’t you want to take £7,500 from the government - and you can use options like the Aira package with a monthly fee so you don’t have to have a lump sum of money saved up.

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“You will save money every month and be warmer from day one. Don’t put a boiler in and create a problem for the next ten years.”

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Extra detail in being a host:

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“I wanted to become a host with Nesta’s visit a heat pump service because I want other people to benefit.  I would say the energy transition is happening - so be on the journey - you will need one of these at one point anyway and so it is about being fit for the future, saving money and being good to the planet.”