Modern boilers are very quiet - it's the water flowing round the system that I'm more likely to notice, though since our heating doesn't start up until around 6am it doesn't affect my sleep.
Ours is about 8 years old, and relatively quiet. However, because of where it is sited, it almost invariably wakes me up, so our heating is set to come on 10 minutes before the alarm.
They're easy to block with noise-cancelling headphones, but you probably wouldn't want to wear those in bed. Double-glazing works with all types of sound and it'll pay for itself with the saving on heating costs.
As tenants we're not allowed to make alterations to the fabric of the building, but the design of the windows here is such that it would be logistically impossible to fit secondary double glazing anyway.
Perhaps it's time to get innovative, a sheet of Perspex that fits over the glass and can be stuck to the window frame with something like Blutack might do the trick.
That's pretty much what we have on most of our windows, except that it's held in place by magnetic tape.
The heat pump seems to have been turned off again now, and there's still no sign of anyone moving in imminently, so perhaps it was just being tried out. I think it will be a case of monitoring it once it is up and running properly, but we ourselves will be moving fairly soon.
As with most things, it is a matter of balancing the pros and cons. Noise is perhaps more of an issue with heat pumps because they are sited outside, whereas central heating boilers tend to be inside people's houses, or at least in a garage or boiler house. Also, as I understand it, heat pumps are best left running overnight, when any noise they make is likely to be more noticeable, whereas we always turn our heating off overnight.
There is another very important way to save money on gas bills by 6-8% but it appears to be relatively little known. It applies to condensing combi boilers that are the most common type in England now (54.8% of boilers in 2019). It does NOT apply to other boiler types.
This may depend on how your boiler operates. Some modern combi boilers work to target temperatures; that is, as the temperature in the building moves towards that set on the main thermostat, the boiler automatically reduces the flow temperature, so that by the time the thermostat reaches temperature and clicks off, the flow temperature (and thus the radiators) will be barely lukewarm.
I totally agree.
What about hot water for washing-up (the dishes), or are you one who saves everything up for a weekly or bi-weekly machine dish wash? I can't believe that accords with your 'green' energy conservation principles. I arrange for the water to be heated for the first half hour of each day, longer on bath day (usually Sunday morning) when it is on for a couple of hours. We eat early evening - I cook, my wife washes-up - and complains if the water is not hot enough. To counter this I arrange a late afternoon boost for 15 minutes, which seems to do the trick.
The dishwasher goes on once a day on average - it's always full, so there is no waste.