Heat pumps 'too noisy' for UK MPs: The Reengineer Monitor #14

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Heating and cooling

The seemingly endless debate over heat pumps crept deep inside the corridors of power this week. A plan to install heat pumps in Portcullis House, a building used by British Members of Parliament (MPs) and their staff, has been suspended. The Palace of Westminster, one of the world’s most iconic buildings, across the road from Portcullis House, already uses heat pumps to some degree. But The Telegraph revealed that MPs are concerned about noise should the rollout continue. Some helpful articles fact-checked those and similar concerns in response to the story.

Plus, you can read my feature about the amazing science at the heart of heat pumps, for Knowable Magazine, here.

British MPs aren’t the only thing standing in the way of heat pumps. Aimee Ambrose, a researcher at the UK’s Sheffield Hallam University published an interesting article this week arguing that heat pumps also have a “cosiness problem”, in that they don’t offer the satisfying blast of light and heat you get from, say, a log burner. Heat pumps’ clean credentials are crucial for decarbonising heating, stressed Ambrose, but as the technology develops it might be important for designers to try and emulate more traditional heat sources, in order to boost public acceptance of heat pumps.