The Real Cost of Heating

The Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT), approved by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have released figures showing the cost per kilowatt of energy for the various ways of heating your home.

The below chart shows the costs:

This assumes a gas boiler efficiency of 80%

An air source heat pump efficiency of 3:1 and ground source of 3.5:1

To view this information on the Energy Saving Trust page, click here

Electricity, not on this chart, is the most expensive form of heating. This ranges from 9.08p (economy 7) through to 15.32p for standard rate.

The reason why air and ground source heat pumps are the cheapest is because their efficiency is a multiple of the energy used.

To explain this we can use the example of gas, which is normally around 80%. When 1kW worth of gas is burnt to heat your home, around 20% is lost due to inefficiencies within the boiler. Examples include a less than perfect fuel mix and inefficiencies within the heat exchanger.

The same can be said of LPG and oil burners. In fact it is only electric heaters which operate at 100% efficiency – all the electricity is used to create heat, none is lost as a by-product.

Air and ground source heat pumps take their energy from the atmosphere; either the air temperate or ground temperature. They are therefore taking more energy than they are using. In the case of an air source heat pump they need 1kW of electricity to take 3kW of energy from the atmosphere. So the cost of energy is 1/3 of the electricity used to generate that energy.

Fracking and Renewable Energy

As you can imagine as a renewable energy company we are very much opposed to the reintroduction of fracking. Firstly there are the short term risks of a contaminated water supply and localised tremours, secondly and more long-term is the damage done to the renewable/green sector.

Yesterday it was announced by IGas that there maybe up to 170 trillion cubic feet of gas. We’re always pleased to hear about reductions in the cost of heating, after all that is our primary aim when installing a new heating system. However, our concern is the long term implications. Ultimately gas will run out, or at least start to become cost prohibitive. Without a strong well developed alternative heating costs will spiral.

Presently the UK is well positioned to react to a reduction in gas production. Renewable energies are now an advanced technology with an established reputation as a capable heating source. However this reputation is limited. Presently those interested in renewables are largely from the building sector, rural location or with a specific interest in green technology. We need to extend this market to the mainstream.

This is where the Green Deal should step in. However, presently most customers are only aware of the boiler replacement schemes. They are not aware that renewables are also available under this scheme. By not focusing more determinedly on renewable sources we run the risk of resigning them to the fringe of the energy market.

The opportunity now is to move renewables to the mainstream. How many people are aware that an air source heat pump is more efficient that the most efficient gas central heating system? With a focus on the short-term benefits of increase gas production we run the risk of leaving the long-term benefit of renewable till it is too late. So we say leave fracking, it’ll never help the environment or reduce heating costs long-term, and instead commit to a more energy efficient future.

If you’re interested in find out more about fracking, there’s a very clever website at: www.dangersoffracking.com/