Low carbon heating & insulation

Here is a quick summary from the governments new ‘Heat and Buildings strategy’ and the latest UN climate change conference (COP26):

• Aim to phase out gas boiler installations by 2035 as gas boilers come to the natural end of their life. (However, there is no firm commitment to ban new installs after this date yet)
• Require all rented homes to be better insulated, with a minimum EPC of C by 2028.
• Reduce the cost of electricity and make gas more expensive. Currently, there are extra charges for electricity. The government will gradually move these charges to gas instead.
• Look at phasing in higher minimum performance standards to ensure all homes meet EPC Band C by 2035 where feasible.
• The government is considering voluntary targets for mortgage lenders to encourage them to lend more money against properties with higher EPC ratings. This could ultimately result in cheaper mortgage rates for greener properties. The government may even consider making these "green mortgage" targets legally binding if enough progress is not made.
• Look at phasing out the dirtiest and most expensive fossil fuels first - oil, coal and liquefied petroleum gas heating - and replace them with low carbon alternatives in homes from 2026.
• Trial ‘hydrogen homes’ to see how feasible hydrogen is as an alternative to natural gas for cooking and heating. The government will decide whether hydrogen will play a significant role in home heating by 2026.

A biomass boiler is a type of boiler that uses wood in place of fossil fuels. A biomass boiler can (over the very long term) be co2 neutral if the wood comes from a sustainably managed forest.

Biomass boilers are not a great general solution to renewable heating. They encourage more wood-burning, which causes a lot of air pollution and releases carbon dioxide. Even if the wood company grows new trees, it can take a decade for the new tree to absorb the same amount of carbon. Given the current amounts of carbon in the atmosphere, ideally, we would grow more trees and stop burning existing ones!

However, it could be worth considering a biomass boiler if you are off-grid, and the other options are just to burn fossil fuel. You can reduce the co2 emissions further by insulating your home as much as possible to minimise the amount of wood you need to burn.

Fitting double or triple glazed windows reduces the heat lost through your windows. Note that if your home is listed or in a conservation area, there may be restrictions on the types of windows you can fit.

Typical cost - £3000 to over £6,000 for a three-bed semi (£300 to £600 per window depending on size)

A lot of heat escapes through a property’s externally facing walls. Homes built after the 1920s usually have two layers of bricks for the outside walls. Cavity wall insulation involves drilling holes in the wall and injecting insulating material into the gap.

Typical cost - £400 to over £800 for a whole house (Around £200 for each two-storey wall)

The current recommendations are to have insulation of between 270mm to 300mm thickness. If you have an attic without insulation or with only very thin insulation, this can be an excellent improvement to your home.

Typical cost - £300 to £400 (It can cost more if you wish to have flooring put down over the insulation)

Room-in-roof insulation is a way to insulate a converted attic or loft by adding insulation boards on the ceiling underneath the existing plasterboard walls. If you don't have a loft conversion, then Attic insulation may be a better option for you.

Typical cost - £400 to £500

If you have an older home built before the 1920s, then the house’s external walls may only be a single layer thick, making them unsuitable for cavity wall insulation. To insulate these walls, you need to add insulation on the outside or inside the external walls. Be aware that external wall insulation will change the exterior look and may not be allowed in a conservation area or on a listed building. Internal wall insulation will take up some space in the room as the external walls will be thicker.

Typical cost - £4,000 to £15,000 for internal wall insulation, depending on size (£7,000 to £20,000 for external)

It's a good idea to get a few quotes from reputable tradespeople before deciding to go ahead. Every house is slightly different, and someone experienced can recommend which solutions they think would work best. Here are a few services that can help you find a reliable person or company to fit insulation to your home. It's always a good idea to check out the reviews and how long they have been in business. Rogue traders can rapidly set up and close down businesses, so check how long they have been in business.

CheckaTrade

Enter "Insulation" (or a specific insulation type) into the search box and your postcode to find recommendations.

Trusted Trader

Which Trusted Trader

Enter "Insulation installers" into the search box and your location

Rated People

With Rated People. you first post your job and then get sent a selection of tradespeople that you can consider

Air source heat pumps are the most common type of heat pump. An external fan unit extracts heat from the air to warm your home. There are two main types:

Air-to-water heat pump

An air-to-water pump transfers heat from the outside to water, which can heat your radiators or underfloor heating. It can also heat water stored in a hot water cylinder for your hot taps and showers. This system is usually more expensive than an air-to-air system but is popular as it can provide a complete replacement for a gas boiler.

Typical cost - £8,000 - £12,000 For the heat pump and installation

Money-back under BUS (Boiler upgrade scheme) - £5000

On top of the costs for the heat pump, you may also need to upgrade pipework or radiator sizes, significantly increasing costs. Note that there are several requirements you need to meet to get money back under the Boiler upgrade scheme.

Air-to-air heat pump

These systems are less popular in the UK as most of our homes do not have the ducting required to allow the warmed (or cooled) air to travel around the house, and retrofitting ducting can be tricky. Still, it might be worth considering if your home doesn't currently have pipework and a wet central heating system. The heated air is transferred from the external unit through air ducts to internal units that blow hot air into the rooms. You can switch to a reverse mode with some air to air heat pumps to provide cooling in the summer.

Ground source heat pumps use underground pipes to absorb heat from outside and transfer it inside your home to heat the water in your central heating system. To install a ground source heat pump, you need a large garden to lay the pipes horizontally, or you would need access to your garden for drilling equipment to drill boreholes for a vertical installation.

Ground source heat pumps tend to be more efficient than air-source heat pumps but have higher initial installation costs.

Typical costs - £14,000 - £19,000

Money-back under BUS (Boiler upgrade scheme) - £6000

Note that there are several requirements you need to meet to get money back under the boiler upgrade scheme.

Working out your home’s exact heating requirements requires some detailed heat loss calculations. You may want to consider looking for a certified company under the MCS scheme.

Find an MCS installer here - This site allows you to search for Certified installers, although it is still good to look at independent reviews for customer feedback.

Note that if you want to get money back under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) then one of the requirements is that the installer is MCS certified.

Draught proofing involves closing any gaps around windows, doors and other locations that cold air can get into your home. Professional draught proofing typically costs about £200 but it can be much less if you do it yourself.

Typical cost - Around £200 (Less if you do it yourself)