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How we heat our homes has become a ‘hot’ topic in recent years, as we edge towards the Governments plan of ‘Net Zero’ by 2050. Manufacturers such as Worcester Bosch have had and continue to have an active role within advising and assisting the government on how to achieve lower carbon heating options whilst remaining in tune with the diverse nature of the UK housing stock and fully supporting a stand against a ‘one size fits all’ policy.
Of course as we are heating engineers our take on the practicality on some of the proposals put forward can be rather different.
For example would a heat pump first approach be suitable for the majority of our customers. Honest answer… absolutely not. Not without first the homeowner undergoing a series of energy efficiency improvements. Now these vary from how well your home prevents heat loss currently, but for the average home you are looking at a good few thousand in improvements such as larger radiators and insulation improvements prior to the cost of a pump being factored in!
If you live in a very well insulated home for example with double glazing, floor insulation, loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, and your current system runs on under floor heating than a heat pump will likely work very well – but how many homes currently operate in this way?
It has been in the news over and over again that around 80% of UK housing stock would not fare well with a heat pump. Not only are they excessively expensive but they do not provide the heat and hot water levels that we have become accustomed too. For our many rural customers who rely on oil fired heating systems we fully support a renewable liquid fuel approach.
Renewable liquid fuel cuts carbon emissions by 88% without the need for costly and disruptive changes being made to your home. In most cases a simple £500 adjustment is needed to be made to your existing oil boiler compared with the up to £35,000 adjustments needed for some homes.
There is nothing to worry about when you next buy a boiler. In fact it is more energy efficient top upgrade an outdated inefficient boiler now before the winter breakdown season comes upon us than limp on with a unreliable boiler.
Any gas or oil boiler you buy now will run on gas or oil (bio fuel) for its life time.
Of course change is coming but it will be slow, incremental changes moving slowly but surely towards a more sustainable future.
This is the area you will first start noticing changes as under new government regulations new build homes from 2025 have to meet carbon reduction goals. This will see an uptake of heating technologies such as heat pumps. This is a great option for new build properties which are highly efficient and insulated homes having been designed with new heating technologies in mind.
Worcester Bosch current boilers already have the potential to run on a 20% hydrogen blend. This piecemeal approach to introducing hydrogen will be undertaken over the next 10-15years. (2030’s)
When the time comes to switch your boiler from natural gas to hydrogen or oil to a bio fuel it will be a smooth and pain free process.
We want to put an end to scaremongering and reassure our customers that boilers are not going to be banned.
It is likely that over the coming years there will be a combined approach of heating technologies to achieve the governments carbon reduction targets. This could be via a hydrogen boiler, bio fuel boilers, bio LPG boilers, heat pumps, solar thermal and solar panels powering heat pumps.
If you are thinking about having a new boiler but want to talk through other options as well please call our friendly team on 01258 472132 or fill in the enquiry form and one of our team will respond as soon as they can.
Our expert team provide free of charge, no obligation boiler quotes across Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset.
