Wolseley offers hybrid alternative
UK: Wholesaler Wolseley is to sell the Alpha heat pump/boiler hybrid heating range manufactured by Italian company Immergas.
Alpha’s E-Tec Hybrid combined package of an external heat pump unit and internal gas boiler provides the opportunity to switch automatically between heat supply sources when required.
The hybrid solution costs between £5,000 and £6,000, which is less than a typical air-source heat pump-only solution.
The Alpha E-Tec Hybrid provides instant hot water, with no need to upgrade radiators from those used with conventional boilers. According to Wolseley, this means that it can be installed in practically any home that currently has a gas or LPG boiler, in both rural and urban areas. Depending on the demand and outside temperature, the heating flow temperature is adjusted to heat the property effectively, and the system will automatically vary the water temperature in the radiators.
“Hybrids are the bridging technology to sustainable home heating that the UK has been waiting for,” insists Wolseley’s COO John Hancock. “The scenario is familiar: householders want to switch from gas but are put off by the purchase and installation costs of heat pumps, and concerns about whether their homes will stay warm.
“In time all heating will use fully sustainable heating sources, but until then hybrids hold the key to achieving the scale of transition that the government has committed to,” he added.
In a recent Wolseley study, more than half of a sample of UK householders questioned said they wanted to consider the environment with their choice of heating technology when next replacing their boiler, but 60% said a lack of knowledge or wanting more clarity on government subsidies about more sustainable heat sources stood in the way.
