While we struggle to keep our heating bills down, there is a quiet revolution that could help stabilize our home’s energy supplies.
My heating bills have risen dramatically in recent times due to the energy crisis. And I’m worried about the climate crisis too. We will need to shiver out of this mess.
Only if you’re a masochist. Sitting in the dark with the heating off, reminiscing about the thermostat being on 21C, isn’t the only way to achieve net zero. You don’t need to buy piles thick-knit jumpers right away.
A report by renewable electricity supplier Good Energy found that if we implement a number of changes, we can heat our homes using only renewable energy and have a zero-carbon power sector long before the government’s 2050 target.
Really? How do we heat our homes? Using your hot air?
The technology that converts my words into warmth isn’t quite ready, but other solutions we need are getting close.
Modelling by Energy Systems CatapultThis shows that we can have a carbon free electricity grid by 2035 if the uptake of solar and wind energy is increased. We’ll need to better insulate our homes and swap gas boilers for air and ground source heat pumps (pictured below) too.
These outside homes will be more common in the future. Image by Harmvdb
Brilliant. What’s a heat pump?
An air source heat pump works in reverse to an air conditioner. It heats your home instead of cooling it. Ground source heat taps into the warmth that is underground to provide heat.
Great! My gas boiler has been making strange sounds. What is the price of a heatpump?
Air source: between £5,000 and £15,000, including installation. Ground source heat pumps vary more, falling between £13,000 and £19,000. So currently quite expensive – but costs per household can be much more reasonable when a ground source system is used to heat multiple homes, such as blocks of flats.
Yet, they are not cheap.
Prices are falling, not true. The cost of air source pumps could drop by 40% by the end the decade.
Can’t the government help?
It is – a bit. It has supported heat pumps publicly and established a subsidy program. It also launched the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, which offers homeowners financial incentives to increase their use of renewable heat sources like solar water heaters. According to some in the sector, heat pumps will soon be as expensive as gas boilers.
As early as 2035, carbon-free electricity could be used to power UK homes. Image: Bench Accounting
What can I do to prepare?
It’s crucial that you insulate your home properly. This will lower your energy consumption and make your home warmer at a low cost. This also allows us to heat our homes more efficiently. A good heating system can make a house feel like a teapot that has cracks.
Also, be sure to check out the Energy Company Obligation schemeCertain households can get assistance with the cost of improvements such as loft insulation and cavity wall construction.
Gas prices are on the rise. What other options are there? A hydrogen boiler?
But not yet. Manufacturers are producing hydrogen-ready boilers capable of running on a blend of fuels – 20 per cent hydrogen, 80 per cent natural gas – which will switch to hydrogen-only if the technology comes to market. This could happen as soon as 2025.
Hydrogen emissions are carbon-free at point of use. However, hydrogen production is not cheap or clean. If hydrogen boilers do become available, they are expected to cost the same as natural gas models – between £500 and £2,750.
What about ‘green’ hydrogen?
It’s still an emerging technology, so production costs are high. The government has pledged to provide further detailThis year’s approach to green hydrogen
Maybe I’ll put a jumper on.
Layering is always a good idea. But there are other solutions. Heat networks are a cost-effective method of reducing carbon emissions in urban areas. They take heat from a central source and distribute it to multiple buildings. They replace individual boilers and work as central heating systems in cities. The Queen’s Quay in Glasgow is the UK’s first large-scale heat network. It heats water from the River Clyde and provides low-carbon heating for around 1,200 homes.
Do I need to move to Glasgow?
There are also community heating schemes in Sheffield and Leicester. It’s probably easier to choose a renewable energy supplier than upping sticks.
I might have to do this anyway because my energy company just went under!
The energy crisis has exposed how vulnerable the UK is to fluctuating gas prices, and it’s tricky to find ‘green gas’. It’s worth checking out Good Energy’s carbon-neutral gas, though. It runs on 10 per cent biogas – the maximum that can be sustainably met in the UK. The remaining 90% is carbon offset by Gold Standard schemes in India and China.
In the long-term, using renewable electricity to heat our homes – whether directly or via ‘green hydrogen’ – will help insulate us from sudden price shocks too, since we won’t be dependent on large quantities of imported gas.
The River Clyde in Glasgow heats around 1,200 homes. Fredrika Karlsson
I’m warming to the idea that we need to turn our heat green.
We have to. Heating accounts for about 37 per cent of the UK’s total carbon emissions, so to reach net zero by 2050 – and help keep global temperatures below 1.5C – this needs to drop. However, household changes are required.
If you can’t wait for a heat pump, electric storage heaters and radiators are seen as a good stopgap. At around £200, they’re relatively affordable. They’re also cheap to install and can run on renewable energy.
So, disaster diverted? Can we heat and cool our homes?
It’s feasible, in time. In the coming years, we will be hearing more about retrofits, storage of electricity, and low-carbon options. The government and the private sector need to work together to increase market growth and lower costs.
Dare i say, the heat is on.
Main image: Pyrosky/iStock
