In a time of climate crisis, we all need to be doing our part to lessen our carbon footprint. Traditional methods of heating your home are often energy hungry, and there are choices available to domestic power users that make heating our home much more eco-friendly. Here we explore some ways to heat your home that can reduce or eliminate our carbon footprint.
Ground Source Heat Pumps
Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) draw heat from pipes that are buried. These pipes extract the warmth from the ground and pump it around your home, heating radiators, underfloor heating, and other systems.
We might think that there would be little heat to extract in the winter, exactly when we need to warm our homes. However, the ground stays at a generally constant temperature, so the pump can be used throughout the year. While experts recommend you have a backup system for the winter, it is unlikely you would ever need it. GSHP is old technology, having first been used in the 1940s. Geothermal energy is a well-known but under-utilised resource and can prove a solid alternative to your gas boiler.
Air Source Heat Pumps
As with GSHPs, the Air Source Heat Pump draws heat from the outside and warms inside your home. Rather than drawing heat from the ground, Air Source Heat Pumps draw it from the air. These pumps are handy because they can also be used to cool your home in the summer, providing eco-friendly air conditioning.
As with GSHP, Air Source Heat Pumps are a significant investment when switching from your current gas boiler. However, over many years, they will return that investment with lower energy bills, and they are much better for the environment.
Biomass Boilers
While biomass emits carbon as it burns, this is balanced by the trees it comes from. A biomass boiler operates similarly to your gas boiler but uses organic matter rather than gas. Therefore, it is a carbon-neutral alternative that releases a fraction of the CO2 of traditional sources.
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Solar Panels
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While biomass boilers' carbon creation is offset by the growth of the burned organic matter, there are some suggestions that can do better still. Solar panels convert sunlight to electricity without burning any carbon, and solar panels work even on cloudier days and will create more than is needed for a standard home. While there is one-time manufacture carbon-creation with solar panels, this is soon offset with the savings made.
The bonus with solar panels is that the excess electricity can be fed back into the national grid and reduce your energy bill, as suppliers pay you for the energy you create.
Save the environment, and put money in your pocket
Utility bills are rising at an alarming rate. The energy cap has risen, and we are looking for ways to reduce our bills. Looking for energy-saving techniques, such as lowering your thermostat by a degree or switching off appliances. However, it is not always possible to live without energy, and using one of these alternative heating sources can dramatically reduce your reliance on your energy supplier. You will be helping to reduce the damage to your climate but saving money too.
