Jo Pearse is hoping to banish the cold from her home for good when her new heat pump is fitted.
The 55-year-old registered care manager had been looking into buying a heat pump for her home as a solution to her heating problems, but couldn’t afford the upfront cost.
Now, thanks to Thermly, Jo’s home will be cosy and warm throughout the winter after she won the competition worth up to £15,000, which ran to coincide with our launch in Somerset last year.
Jo, who has lived in her two-bedroom bungalow in Sedgemoor for eight years, currently uses a wood burner to heat her home, which requires an electric pump.
However, with power cuts regularly affecting the area, Jo was worried about a potential explosion caused by a build-up of water, which continues to heat if the electric pump cuts out.
“It was in the back of my mind that I could have an explosion and it’s not safe” she said, adding: “I looked at other options but there is no gas here.”
Jo said she was “delighted” to find out she had won our competition, after already identifying that a heat pump was the answer to her heating problems.
“It’s been such a cold winter in my house and it’s a bit depressing when it gets very cold,” Jo explained, adding that the wood burner is not enough to heat her home when temperatures drop below 5 degrees.
“It was a real sense of relief. I live on my own and I would love to bring my Mum here for a weekend to stay, but I don't want to do that in the winter because of the cold.”
Jo is now looking forward to enjoying spending time in her home during the winter months, rather than struggling in the cold waiting for warmer weather.
“I will be able to do things in the rest of the house rather than being holed up in the living room. I can sit at the kitchen table to eat, because at the moment I don’t eat in a civilised way being stuck in the living room. I’m hoping to be able to enjoy the winter rather than just getting through it and waiting for it to be over.”
After a long day at work, rather than put her feet up, Jo has to light the fire to heat her home - something she won’t miss once her heat pump is installed.
“It’s not what you want to do at the end of the day,” she said, adding: “The wood burner then takes three to four hours to heat up so if I get home at 5.30pm it won’t be warm until 8.30pm to 9pm. If it’s very cold, it’s never warm enough and I have to rely on lots of jumpers, socks and sometimes a hot water bottle. It’s a bit grim.”
Jo said she struggles at home during the winter, explaining: “You feel a bit like being ill because you can’t relax. I’m really hoping the heat pump will change that and I’ll have a more constant heat around the house. I feel so lucky to have won as this is going to be quite a significant change for me.”
Jo, who volunteers as an administrator for the Somerset Otter Group, is also pleased to be doing her bit to help the environment and reduce her carbon footprint by having a heat pump installed: “It is really important to me to reduce my carbon footprint for the future of our planet. Through my conservation work I know how important that is for wildlife and our planet. People are already seeing the impact on weather systems and I think the next few years are critical. As individuals we should all be looking to reduce our carbon footprint.”
She hopes others will follow suit and consider a heat pump installation, adding: “The technology behind heat pumps has moved on and it’s an efficient way to heat your home and it’s not as expensive to run. The fact that the council is putting them in all their properties is a signal that this is the way forward.”
Gareth Robertson, our co-founder said: “We’re delighted that Jo is such a worthy winner of our competition and that the heat pump installation will be life-changing for her, allowing her to enjoy her home in the winter months rather than suffering in the cold.”
Our short Heat Pump Readiness Assessment is free, and only takes a few minutes. Sometime a bit longer with a cup of tea.
