The problem with heat pumps is the artificial price of electricity

This statement may be true for some forms of electric heating such as storage heaters or direct electric heating either by panel heaters or wet electric, but it is not true when it relates to heat pumps.

Heat pumps will typically have an average annual Coefficient of Performance (CoP) of 3 which means that for every kWh of electricity the heat pump will provide 3kWh of heat energy which means that the cost of heating a house using a heat pump will be roughly the same as using gas.

Octopus Energy provides a cost of £936 to heat a house requiring 9,653 kWh of heat energy using an 82.5%-efficient gas boiler whereas to heat it with a heat pump it would cost £965.25.

These figures use a slightly lower-efficiency gas boiler than would be expected with a modern condensing combi boiler, however the cost of running both is similar but is still slightly cheaper with gas, and at present the obvious choice where gas is available is to use gas from a financial point of view.

Not everyone has gas available and this tends to be the case in the colder areas of Scotland.

The cost of electricity, particularly in Scotland, is artificially inflated because the UK Government through Ofgem dictates that the cost of electricity is charged as though it is all produced by gas/coal. Hence the obscene profits we continue to see enjoyed by the wholesale energy suppliers.

If the price of electricity related to the actual cost to produce it, we would be seeing costs almost half what we currently pay (much less in Scotland if we paid a different price from the rest of the UK).

Mr Dickson's statement about running on full power for a few exceptionally cold days in winter is correct as the CoP reduces to about one, making it just as expensive as a basic form of electric heating. This does make it unsuitable for prepayment customers as it it could become unaffordable during these times.

For direct debit customers this would be averaged out over the year and the overall cost would be similarly manageable. The comment about prepayment customers also applies to gas customers although obviously not to the same extent.

Heat pumps have been used successfully throughout the planet, in colder climates than we have in Scotland.

The real problem is what we pay for electricity and the fact that burning gas produces CO2.
Iain McIntyre, Sauchie.

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Breakdown on  electric avenue
THERE have been several TV programmes recently re the pros and cons of electric cars. However, as far as I'm concerned, as yet the infrastucture is a long way short of being in place. 

My neighbour purchased an all-electric car in 2021 and this led to three properties in total having to have new mains cables installed, to facilitate any other chargers being required in the future. The installation work was fairly extensive, with excavations carried out on the roadway and in individual gardens. However, as at today's date, no properties have actually been connected, with new main cables installed within meter cupboards, but left "in limbo". With the work having commenced in June 2021 and not yet completed, this is a farcical situation. 

Despite my e-mails to the SP Energy Network's sub-contractor, I have never been given any justifiable reason as to why said works have not been completed.
Derek B Petrie, Milngavie.

Testing questions for the SQA
I NOTE with interest James McEnaney's article on the Scottish Qualifications Authority ("Exam body will be 'sensitive'", The Herald, August 3). I was particularly interested in the following passage: "deciding on 'grade boundaries' – the marks a student needs to get to a passing A B, or C grade. These are generally assumed to be 70%, 60% and 50% respectively, but they can be different from year to year and from subject to subject, having been adjusted up or down depending on what is required ... the grade boundary can be altered to push things in whatever direction is necessary."

Three questions:
1. What are the criteria for the adjustment of such boundaries?
2. Who decides what is "necessary", "what is required"?
3. Why?
Maureen McGarry-O'Hanlon, Balloch.

Cheap tat at the Riverside
THERE have been recent articles about the state of Glasgow`s supposed "Z" shopping mecca ("Glasgow to unveil radical plans for transforming city’s Golden Z", The Herald, July 28). The area suffers from boarded-up shops, poorly maintained paving and over-noisy, sometimes poorly performing, street buskers.

On Monday (July 31) I had occasion to visit the Riverside Museum, and was shocked to find the front entrance to be obscured by an extremely noisy waltzer blasting out Simply the Best in a contest with other fairground attractions further along blasting out Is This the Way to Amarillo?.

Zaha Hadid Architects would be horrified to see the beautiful building being spoiled with such cheap tat assaulting its frontage, and so should Glasgow residents. What a lovely image for our City of Culture.
George Dale, Beith.

Enshrine wine
REGARDING Ian W Thomson’s quote "I have never met a miserly wine lover" (Letters, August 2), I think I’d share a bottle with almost anyone but the Chancellor, who should have been mindful of Louis Pasteur’s remark that "wine can be considered with good reason as the most healthful of beverages".

Considering the generally parlous state of the country it would also be as well to remember the Italian proverb "One barrel of wine can work more miracles than a church full of saints."
Robin Dow, Rothesay.

Silly money
NOT being a Virgin Money customer, I was intrigued by their branches being called "stores" ("Dearth of branches is nothing short of astounding as bank chiefs press on", The Herald, August 2).

This is simply not in the same league, in terms of daftness as the self-proclaimed "relationship centres" of the Scottish Building Society.
Willie Towers, Alford.