Domestic heat pumps could provide homeowners with thousands of pounds of income, the Energy Saving Trust (EST) has revealed.
In what it describes as the "most in-depth study of its kind", the EST has revealed that if properly installed, air source heat pump users could save £1,350 a year, while ground source systems could achieve an income of around £3,000 a year in combined savings and income.
The EST has suggested that the technology has improved in regards to what it is able to produce, following more recommendations about how to install and operate the systems properly to provide homeowners with the most benefit.
Furthermore, as the government has recently announced the long-expected proposals for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for domestic properties, the EST report could help to increase the number of households considering heat pumps.
Of course, heat pumps are not the only renewable technology that can benefit from the domestic RHI, as solar heating systems and biomass boilers can see also hundreds of pounds of payments through the generation of renewable power.
According to the EST's heat pump report, 80 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the performance of the technology in their properties. Furthermore, 77 per cent of those involved in the study said they would recommend heat pumps to a friend, citing efficiency and running costs of the systems as the reason to do so.
The study was conducted between 2010 and 2013 and investigated three variations in performance.
Senior technical manager at the EST Jaryn Bradford said that based on the study, the organisation believes that heat pumps can play "a significant role" in providing heating solutions for properties, as well as reducing emissions.
“From the study, it is clear that heat pumps are sensitive to design, commissioning and how the householder uses the system," he added.
"However, the performance monitoring trials have provided early indications that the introduction of improved installation standards, amongst other things, will lead to improved performance."