Climate change is, arguably, the fundamental challenge of our times. As global temperatures continue to rise, and as weather patterns become increasingly inscrutable on every continent, the dangers of our reliance on fossil fuels become all the plainer to see.
While the burden is on businesses and industries to reduce their environmental impacts, there is some level of burden afforded to us as individuals – particularly where the carbon footprint of our homes is concerned. But how, and what might the solution look like?
The Benefits of Sustainable Heating
Sustainable heating systems are rewarding in multiple ways. Primarily, they are crucial for reducing greenhouse gas emissions; the ‘built environment’ is responsible for two fifths of carbon emissions globally, a significant number that indicates the key importance of reducing carbon footprints relating to buildings and domiciles.
Another major benefit, though, comes in the form of cost savings. Non-renewable energy sources have become more expensive in recent years, most notably with hikes in domestic energy bills at the start of the cost-of-living crisis. Switching to renewable sources can dramatically reduce the cost of heating a home, making for more comfortable winters as well as more sustainable ones. But what are the sustainable alternatives?
Electric Boilers
The most common way in which renewable energy and heating systems is combined is through the installation of electric boilers. Conventional boiler systems run from natural gas, and produce carbon emissions as a result; electric boilers are entirely run on electricity, removing the non-renewable element from home heating and reducing costs too.
Heat Pumps
Another common alternative is that of the heat pump. Heat pumps come in two distinct forms: air-source and ground-source. Both work on the same principle as refrigerator systems, but in reverse; heat is exchanged between the air or ground outside a property and a system of water pipes within, using electricity to power the fans that make that exchange possible.
Heat pumps can also be used alongside electric boilers in the form of a hybrid heating system. One does not feed the other, but rather both can work together – typically simultaneously, to heat different parts of a home according to its needs. Heat pumps can be arranged to work consecutively with boilers, but where both are fuelled by electricity, this would be redundant for energy efficiency purposes.
Solar Panels
Solar panels are the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to engineering a sustainable domestic heating system. Between electric boilers and heat pump systems, sustainable heat delivery is covered – but both still rely on mains electricity, which itself is generated in large part through the burning of coal. This is where the power of solar power comes into play.
Solar panels, in concert with large battery arrays, enable a property to completely negate its reliance on supply from the national grid. Once a solar panel has paid for itself in electricity costs, electricity becomes functionally free – and can even be ‘sold’ back to the national grid when generated in surplus.