Why?

Why heat pumps? Well I am lucky enough to have a house in Croyde, North Devon, but it isn't on mains gas. As a result, I have a monstrosity of a Calor Gas tank stuck in the middle of the garden. Also, the boiler is 15 years old, and not as efficient as a modern one.

Add to that, my gas price was 55p/litre in March 2011.

Up until January 2010, an oil-fired combi boiler was going to be the logical choice to replace it. Except that in the winter of 2010/2011 there were heating oil supply problems in southwest England caused by bad weather. By April 2011 the price of fuel oil had risen to 65p/litre, and it was only going to get worse.