My heat pump journey part four: cabinetry
“If the original bespoke kitchen was a symphony, this was jazz.” How to tailor cabinets to accommodate a heat pump.
This is the fourth story in my heat pump journey. Part one is about preparation, especially insulation. Part two is about the survey to see if a heat pump was possible. And part three is about the installation day itself.
We’d had the air source heat pump installed brilliantly but it wasn’t pretty.
It was in a floor-to-ceiling cupboard that temporarily had no door.
I’d asked Jonathan Maker, who designed and built the bespoke kitchen cabinets, to strip out the double cupboard ready and warned him that he’d need to return to redo them…
Before: At the top-right of the double cupboard, you can see the old combi boiler. Photo: Paula Smith
The kitchen was never designed with a heat pump in mind.
I’d documented the 1930s house’s refurbishment including a kitchen extension with stunning cabinets by Jonathan Maker, but I hadn’t given my combi boiler much thought.
I knew it wouldn’t last forever, but I figured another boiler would fit in its place.
The cabinets were designed around it. And it was a combi, so there was no hot water tank.
A terrible mistake
By 2024 it was clear that I’d made a terrible mistake in not thinking ahead seven years earlier.
My boiler was about to die and I didn’t want to shackle myself to fossil fuels for another decade, but I hadn’t factored in space for a hot water tank.
Jonathan and I talked through the options and it was clear that I’d have to sacrifice something.
Logically, although I loved having my washing machine and tumble dryer side by side in a double cupboard, the tumble dryer was in the perfect spot for a heat pump.
I weighed up whether to ditch it or move it. Ultimately I moved it into a storage cupboard.
The surveyors from Octopus Energy agreed with the plan. The cylinder cupboard would be tighter than most installations but it was just about doable.
And helpfully, it would be just the other side of a wall from the external heat pump, for a back-to-back installation.
That means less plumbing, less clutter, more efficiency.
Holding space
So Jonathan emptied the double cupboard and dismantled his beautiful cabinetry, giving the Octopus Energy team maximum space to work.
But a pencil mark at the top indicated the half-way line that I didn’t want them to cross.
They more or less succeeded. A mini cylinder called a volumizer at the back, behind the main cylinder, crossed the line but was far back enough that a false back on the cupboard could still work.
And crucially, the volumizer was high enough that it didn’t get in the way of the washing machine.
Once Octopus Energy had been and gone, I was left with a very tidy installation but still something no-one, except maybe a heating engineer, wants to see. So Jonathan returned.
And all that jazz
If the original bespoke kitchen was a symphony, this was jazz. We didn’t know exactly what space the heat pump would take up, so Jonathan couldn’t spend months planning how to accommodate it.
Instead, he looked at all the materials he’d removed from the cabinets, sipped his coffee and set about using the waste materials to remake the cabinets in a way that was sturdy, beautiful, practical.
I’d lost a lot of space, so I wanted as much back as possible.
The result was so perfect that my sadness at losing space faded. The original cabinets were elegant but these were too.
Jonathan Maker working on the new bespoke cupboards. Photo: Caramel Quin
I know that the Octopus Energy team gave me their very best work, installing the cylinder with tight plumbing that took up as little space as possible.
But I’m still thankful to close the cupboard. I don’t want to look at a heat pump, no matter how neat the installation. With the doors closed, the kitchen looks exactly the same as before.
And when I open the cupboard, I still have my washing machine and room for several small electricals. In fact, Jonathan upgraded the worktop in the cupboard to HIMACS.
And crucially, he managed to find a way to save the little nook for my unicorn mug.
Zero waste
I’ve long thought the bespoke kitchen was good value. It cost more than basic off-the-shelf units but not as much as I’d feared, and it’s so well made that it still looks new, eight years later.
Jonathan designed it to suit the way that we cook and with a zero waste philosophy that used materials wisely.
But now I’ve also seen how well a bespoke kitchen can be tailored to accommodate future changes. It could be adapted, not replaced.
In my next column, I’ll look at the reality of life with a heat pump. Meanwhile, if you didn’t read them yet, do read parts one, two and three of my heat pump journey.
Main ‘after’ image: Paula Smith
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