THINKING about upgrading your home’s heating to save on energy bills?
Installing things like solar panels and heat pumps can save you thousands of pounds in the long term – but cost a small fortune to install.
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Help is at hand from new funding schemes to get Britain to Net Zero, but the government has yet to confirm the details.
Harriet Cooke glimpses into the future of home heating systems – and the decisions you’ll soon be making.
Boiler off the boil?
Gas boilers in new homes could be banned as soon as next year, it emerged this week.
It means newbuilds will be equipped with electric heat pumps or other non-gas heating systems, rather than gas.
Those with existing gas boilers can keep on using them and there is no planned ban on selling them.
So if you’re thinking of getting an old boiler, you can still buy a new more efficient one, which might typically cost between £600 and £2,500 depending on the model and system type.
The government’s Energy Company Obligation scheme, and The Great British Insulation Scheme (also called ECO+), both provide funding, and you don’t necessarily have to be on benefits.
Talk to your energy company to see if you qualify.
Upgrading an old boiler could save you around £300 a year on gas bills, figures from the Centre for Sustainable Energy shows, and it will last around 10 to 15 years.
Case study: ‘Our monthly bill has been cut from £90 to £35’
Chris Bell, 69, a retired Royal Navy chief engineer, and wife Kim, 68
Chris Bell, 69, a retired Royal Navy chief engineer, and wife Kim, 68, have installed eight solar panels and a solar battery at their three-bedroom home in Gosport, Hampshire.
He said: “We didn’t want all our money going on energy bills every month – that was our reason for doing it.
“We’ve still got our gas boiler for heating the radiators, but the real change for us is having free electricity.
“Our monthly energy bill has gone from £90 to £35, and this includes standing charges and a daily tank of hot water.
“We’re also getting payments from our energy supplier for the solar power we sell to the grid, which we estimate will cover a good portion of the winter gas bill.
“The panels, battery and iBoost (a solar water heater) took a day to set up by a local company called EE Renewables and cost us just under £8,000.
“That’s a chunk of our children’s inheritance, but we spoke to them and they wanted us to go ahead. You hope that it will pay for itself in time, as well as adding to the value of the property.”
Pump up your heating
The government is super keen on replacing our gas boilers with heat pumps – although uptake has been low.
The pumps work by gathering warmth from the air or ground and funnelling it into home radiators using electricity rather than gas.
The average British Heat pump installation costs £4,415, after the government grant of £7,500 is applied.
As well installing the pump, it may be necessary to fit bigger radiators, new pipes and improve the property’s insulation, so planning permission may be needed.
Servicing the pump usually costs around £200 a year, and it will typically last around 20 years.
Suppliers like British Gas have online calculators to predict your future running costs with a pump, which will vary between properties.
Although pumps are three times more efficient than boilers, electricity is four times more expensive than gas – but the price is predicted to fall.
Octopus said the average home saves £280 by switching from a boiler to a heat pump run on a Cosy Octopus tariff, although savings can be up £545 depending on your type of home, heat pump, tariff, installation type and if you remove your gas meter.
The government is considering plans to subsidise households to lease their heat pump until they paid off the cost, although this might work out to be more expensive in the short term, and for workers to pay for the installation through a salary sacrifice scheme.
Solar panels
They save money on your bills and can make you cash – but solar panels aren’t cheap to install at an average £7,000.
A typical household could save between £140 and £340 a year on energy bills — and make extra cash signing up to an export tariff to sell solar electricity back to the grid.
This might be between £270 and £400 a year based on a 15p per kWh rate, but some tariffs pay more.
The Energy Saving Trust estimates it could take between 11 and 14 years to recoup the cost of installing panels, so it’s not a good financial idea if you’re planning to move.
Grants of up to £14,000 are available from the Energy Company Obligation scheme, but it isn’t open to everyone.
To be eligible you’ll need to have household income less than £31,000 and be receiving certain benefits.
Also check out the Home Upgrade Grant and Warmer Home Nest Scheme Wales.
Case study: ‘I’m saving about £500 a year’
Conrad Hart-Brooke, 51, from Leeds
Conrad Hart-Brooke, 51, from Leeds, spent £15,000 on 18 solar panels and a storage battery at his home in Leeds two years ago and reckons he’ll make the money back in about six or seven years.
The civil servant said after that he’ll probably be making around £1,500 to £2,000 a year by selling electricity back.
Last year he had a heat pump installed for £1,600, after getting a £7,500 government grant.
For Conrad, the pump alone would not result in huge savings, he said, but combined with his solar panels and batteries he is saving about £500 a year compared with what he paid with his old combi gas boiler.
Heat batteries
Heat batteries, otherwise known as zero-emission boilers, are another green option if heat pumps are not suitable for your home.
They are currently not eligible for the £7,500 grant in the boiler upgrade scheme or for VAT exemption, which heat pumps get.
But the government is considering whether they should be.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it is monitoring the use of heat batteries in fifty homes as a low-carbon alternative to gas heating, and the results would be published later this year.
Common myths around energy consumption
Gwilym Snook, appliance expert at AO.com, quashed some commonly believed myths around appliances and energy consumption.
MYTH – Your fridge freezer is cheaper to run when empty
A commonly held belief is that your fridge freezer is more energy-efficient when it’s empty as there isn’t anything to cool. However, the reverse is true – Your fridge will operate most effectively when all its shelves are well-stocked.
MYTH – Washing your clothes at higher temperatures cleans them better
Most households across the UK wouldn’t trust to wash their clothes at 30°C as they wouldn’t believe it is an adequate temperature.
But in fact, 30°C is more than sufficient for most of your clothes and will significantly help to reduce your energy costs by up to 50 per cent when compared to a 40°C wash.
MYTH – Tumble dryers aren’t eco-friendly
Older models of tumble dryers were indeed energy guzzlers yet this myth that tumble dryers can’t be energy-efficient has been blown out of the water in recent years.
Enter the heat pump tumble dryer, a specially designed appliance that recycles warm air to dry your clothes at a much cheaper rate than their older counterparts.
Did you know that running this dryer will cost 63p a cycle on average? A small fee which can be reduced even further this winter by looking to dry your clothes between 10pm and 8am during off-peak electricity hours.
MYTH – Boiling water in your kettle is always energy-efficient
While kettles are energy-efficient appliances, did you know it’s easy to waste energy when bringing it to a boil accidentally? This can be done by filling your kettle to the brim every time you’re brewing up.
Instead, try to boil only the amount of water you need this winter. In the long run this small hack can help you save your money!
MYTH – Energy-efficient appliances don’t make a difference
It’s often believed that the A-G energy rating scale doesn’t make any difference to your overall energy consumption.
This isn’t the case. Energy-efficient appliances such as those with high A ratings can significantly reduce your energy bills when compared to older, less efficient models.
For example, replacing your old fridge-freezer with a newer energy-efficient one could save up to £100 a year on your electricity bills, which in the long run helps it pay for itself!
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