Climate change is clearly a world-wide problem that has an impact on all life on Earth, including the seven billion people that populate this planet. But how can an individual take steps to reduce their personal carbon footprint? How can you look after your patch of land and the people close to you?
We have all heard of ways to reduce our carbon footprint be it through reduced meat consumption, reducing single plastic usage or flying less, but did you know how bad for the environment your house may be?
On average, heating your home accounts for around 29% of your overall carbon footprint and obvious ways to reduce this is by increasing the amount of insulation in the house, putting on an extra jumper and turning the thermostat down.
Turning the thermostat down by 1oC will save about 4-5% of the fuel you use. Every little helps a little. But in addition, there are substantially bigger steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint.
Heat pumps are an effective way of significantly reducing one’s carbon footprint whilst maintaining warmth and comfort throughout the house. A heat pump extracts heat from the surrounding environment – air, ground and water – and combines this heat with electrical energy to deliver a constant level of heating and hot water within a building. If designed correctly, you can expect the heat pump to meet all of the building’s heating and hot water needs throughout the year without the need for a fossil fuel backup.
Compared to fossil fuels, a heat pump will reduce the CO2 emissions of a property by approximately 65%. In a 300m2 domestic house this equates to an eight-tonne reduction in CO2 every year.
The Government has already recognised the effectiveness of heat pumps at reducing an individual’s carbon footprint and will pay you a large sum of money every year for up to twenty years through a scheme known as the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). This scheme is in place to encourage individuals to install heat pump systems and therefore further reduce their carbon footprint.
If you would like to find out how much carbon you can save with a heat pump, and how much you’ll be paid by the government for doing so, please get in touch.
