Home heating overhaul 'essential'

13/01/12

By Gemma Roberts

Homeowners must dramatically change the way their properties are heated if the UK wants to achieve carbon reduction targets, engineering experts believe.

Domestic heating from gas boilers accounts for almost a quarter of the UK's carbon emissions, according to the Royal Academy of Engineering.

And if households continue to be heated in this way the UK will be unable to cut carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, it said.

It warned that the solution was not as simple as installing heat pumps, which produce heat from their surroundings, or relying on renewable electricity sources, as this could prove costly.

It gave the example of a couple who fitted a ground source heat pump and solar thermal water panels in a bid to cut their emissions, but instead saw their monthly electricity bills soar from £30 to £250 because of incorrect installation.

Heat pumps can also become "dramatically" less efficient at low temperatures, according to Doug King, visiting professor at Bath University.

The pumps could fail homeowners when they are most needed and, as a result, demand for electricity could increase by 50 per cent during the winter.