Sustainable and economical heating

Natural gas will disappear from homes step by step. Renewable energy for heating and hot water supply will replace it in due course. This article shows what heat pumps and solar water heaters have to offer as an alternative to the traditional ERP-boiler, central heating boiler or gas stove.

Heating is a large energy user in the home. Almost half of your energy bill includes charges for heating, and a tenth for hot water. Heating your house in an energy-efficient and sustainable way and heating your water pays off, for your wallet and the environment.

Tips on heating and hot water

1. Make a first step towards sustainable heating to combine your boiler with a solar water heater or hybrid heat pump.

2. Do you want to fully switch to sustainable energy for your heating and hot water? Design together with an adviser a whole new system. Think of good insulation, low temperature heating, electric heat pump and a solar water heater. 

3. You can now get an attractive grant if you have a solar water heater or heat pump.

4. Use your heating in a smart manner. That saves a lot more than you may think. 

5. Of all the hot water you use, 80 percent goes to the shower. With a water saving shower head and shorter showers you can save significantly on your energy consumption. 

6. Find practical information on buying a condensing boiler and how to get the most economical use out of your central heating boiler.

Heating without natural gas is the future

In almost all British houses the central heating runs on natural gas. In order to keep climate change within limits it is necessary to cut down the use of fossil energy, such as natural gas, to almost zero. Gas consumption in 2030 should be substantially less. That seems far away, but is closer than you think. If you now buy a new you buy a new Condensating boiler on gas, then it probably will be your last one.

(image by: photographer Netherlands)

Sustainable heat

Sustainable heating is heating without emitting CO2: sustainable electricity or heat from biogas, heat from solar water heaters, groundsource heat that is stored there during the summer, and heat from deeper layers. The conventional central heating boiler on gas will be replaced step by step by electric heat pumps via heat and district heating networks. Although we can’t yet say how central heating in the future will look like. And it will be different per district.

Very good insulation as a basis

A house that is very well insulated will need little heat in the winter to be comfortable. Newer homes built after 2000 have good insulation and HR ++ glass. Some older homes do have insulation, but less thick. And even older houses are often only partially insulated, the insulation of the facade and the floor is missing in many cases. 

Improve your home

Discover on the internet what you can do to improve the insulation of your home, what it costs and how much you can save. 

Please help, my boiler is to be replaced!

Start early with figuring out which sustainable options there are for you. For example, if your boiler is 12 years of age or older. If you wait until you finally boiler is broken you are in the cold, you’re too late!

A condensing boiler with smart thermostat

A condensing boiler runs on natural gas, which is not a sustainable fuel although it will be as efficient as possible. In addition to this, modern condensing boilers have fuel-efficient electric pumps for the distribution of hot water to the radiators or underfloor heating Glasgow. A smart thermostat helps you to use the heating economically. How much you will save depends on how efficient you heat the house already. 

Especially in apartments, there is not always a flue that is suitable for a condensing boiler. Discuss this with the installer and/or the owners association what the possibilities are.

A solar waterheater 

A solar water heater heats water with sunlight. And if there is too little sun is, the boiler steps in. You can save half of your gas consumption for hot water by utilysing a solar waterheater.

A hybrid heat pump

A hybrid heat pump is a combination of a small electric heat pump with an ErP-boiler. It will either save on gas consumption or supplies additional heating whichever is necessary. The heat pump does most of the work, the boiler jumps in on cold days and when extra warm water is needed. A heat pump uses heat produced in the air, water or soil and is a bit like a kind of fridge. With a heat pump you are going to have more power, but with much less gas consumed. That is very environmentally friendly: your CO2 emissions for heating will decrease by at least 50 percent and more if you stream from the Sun or the wind. 

A fully electric heat pump

You can also opt for a fully electric heat pump: with it you will have no gas central heating boiler. To do this, you have a very well insulated House with low temperature radiators and/or underfloor heating. 

Additional options for efficient heating and hot water

Water-saving shower head and shorter showering!

Half of the UK has it aleady: a water saving shower head. With less hot water you have just as much pleasure. And with some shorter showering the saving is even bigger.  It is good to realise that a litre of hot water costs 50 times as much energy as a liter of cold water

And how sustainable is a wood burning stove?

An ordinary wood stove is inefficient and polluting. If you consider wood as a source of heating, look for a wood pellet stove or biomass boiler. But for the environment is a heat pump with low temperature heating (LTV) a better choice than a pellet stove.