A Derbyshire man who installed an air source heat pump eighteen months ago has reportedly gone an entire weekend without bringing it up, marking what his family are calling a significant milestone in his recovery.
David Thornley, 52, managed to attend a barbecue, a pub lunch and his daughter’s birthday dinner without once mentioning coefficient of performance, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, or his quarterly energy bills. The achievement comes after what his wife describes as a difficult period during which no topic, however unrelated, was safe from redirection towards renewable heating technology.
“We thought we’d lost him,” said Jennifer Thornley, who has kept a diary documenting the ordeal. “He brought it up at a funeral. He worked it into his wedding anniversary speech. When our son came out as gay, David listened for about ninety seconds before explaining how the heat pump performs in sub-zero temperatures.”
The turning point came last Tuesday when a neighbour mentioned her boiler had broken down. Mr Thornley went quiet, his jaw tightening in what witnesses described as visible effort. He remained silent for three full minutes before excusing himself to sit in his car.
“I wanted to tell her,” he admitted later. “I had the whole thing ready to go. The installation costs, the radiator upgrades, the planning permission nightmare. But I looked at Jen’s face and I just, I couldn’t do it anymore.”
Friends say the obsession began innocuously enough, with Mr Thornley mentioning his new heating system only when directly relevant. Within weeks, however, he had worked it into conversations about mortgage rates, the situation in Ukraine, and whether the dog needed worming. A WhatsApp group he created called “Heat Pump Heroes” now sits dormant, its 47 messages all from Mr Thornley himself.
“The worst part was how he’d engineer it,” said Martin Hughes, a colleague who stopped inviting Mr Thornley to after-work drinks. “Someone would say they were cold and you’d see his eyes light up. He’d lean forward. You knew what was coming. We tried changing the subject but he’d just wait for an opening. Any opening.”
Mrs Thornley says her husband still has difficult moments. He recently hovered near a group of parents discussing their energy bills, and he has been found late at night scrolling through heat pump forums on his phone. But the family remains cautiously optimistic.
“Yesterday someone said their gas bill had doubled and David just nodded sympathetically,” Mrs Thornley said. “He didn’t even reach for his phone to show them his Heat Geek monitoring app. I nearly cried.”
Mr Thornley himself acknowledges the road ahead remains challenging. He has removed the heat pump efficiency charts from his phone’s photo gallery and unfollowed seventeen YouTube channels. One day at a time, he says. One day at a time.