5 Green ways to heat your home

With the advancement of green heating technology, homeowners are starting to seriously consider green or renewable ways to heat their homes to reduce their carbon footprint. 

There are actually a number of ways to heat your home while saving some money and doing your bit for the environment. It’s not just the environment that people are concerned with either; energy prices are rising, so it’s no surprise that people are looking for more efficient ways to heat their homes and reduce their costs. If you’re looking for an eco-heating solution, then here are some alternative options available to you:

Ground source heat pumps

Ground source heat pumps, also known as GSHPs, use pipes that are buried underground to extract heat from the ground. This heat is then used to heat radiators, underfloor heaters or any other heating systems as well as the hot water in your home. Because the ground stays at a fairly constant temperature, the heat pump can be used throughout the year, but you might want a back-up heating system in winter, just in case. You can read more about ground source heat pumps here: https://heatpumpcosts.co.uk/ground-source-heat-pump-costs/

Ground source heat pumps have been used since the 1940’s, however, many are considering geothermal energy as a great replacement for the gas boiler as the energy is renewable, less damaging to the environment and can slash energy bills by up to 50%. 

Air source heat pumps

While they are similar to ground source heat pumps in many ways, Air source heat pumps take heat from the air outside and use it indoors. These heat pumps absorb heat from the outside air and release it inside the building, as hot air, hot water-filled radiators, underfloor heating or hot water in your taps. This system can usually do the reverse in the summer and cool the inside of the house. You can read more about air source heat pumps here: https://heatpumpcosts.co.uk/how-much-do-air-source-heat-pumps-cost/

Biomass Boilers

A Biomass boiler is a carbon-neutral alternative to a standard boiler. While it operates in an almost identical user-friendly fashion, a biomass boiler uses organic material instead of gas or oil which means such as wood which means that it is carbon neutral, as the fuel source, has already offset the carbon output of burning it, because trees absorb carbon whilst growing. Biomass releases just a fraction of the CO2 that gas or oil does. Biomass is an environmentally friendly alternative boiler system compared to propane or oil-fueled boilers and the boilers are highly efficient and operate as efficiently as a modern gas boiler. 

Solar panels

Solar panels are an efficient way to generate your own electricity in an eco-friendly and cost-effective way. They produce electricity by converting sunlight into a direct current which passes into an inverter which then converts this DC electricity into usable electricity for your home or commercial building. Solar panels are of course very popular in sunnier climates which has hampered their popularity in the UK, however, they are very effective at cutting your existing energy bill. 

The RHI initiative

With both ground source heat pumps, air source heat pumps (or any other renewable source of energy), you can benefit from the governments RHI initiative in which the UK government offers financial incentives to switch to a renewable energy source. The government is trying to reduce the country’s carbon emissions and so you may make a large saving on your tax bill by switching. The start up costs are high, however, you may find that you make your money back as a result of the RHI initiative. 

Not ready to switch to a renewable source? Change your radiators and valves

Sometimes, you don’t even need to switch to another of the above. Today radiators include more energy-saving features than ever before, for example, you can find them with open-window detection and Wi-Fi control which mean that people can streamline their energy usage and their bills at the same time. The good thing about radiators is how easy they are to control. It means that you won’t waste and energy heating a room that you’re not using, you can turn the radiator down if you feel it getting too hot and basically get what you want from them, when you want. They’re also easy to install so you can add more to your home if you need to.