Should you ditch your gas boiler for a heat pump?
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The development of our green gasmill and our campaign to save our boilers a few years ago sparked a debate about whether we, as consumers, should ditch gas in our homes in favour of a brand-new heat pump.
Our mission has always been simple: to end the use of fossil fuels in Britain. This is the message behind everything we do, but it鈥檚 integral that this isn鈥檛 at the cost of the consumer.聽 皇冠体育app can still keep our gas boilers and eradicate CO2 emissions from home heating, and we can do it cheaper, faster, more simply and with less hassle or waste, simply by changing where we get the gas from.
The case for gas
Surprisingly, natural gas isn鈥檛 actually all that 鈥榥atural鈥� 鈥� it鈥檚 still a fossil fuel.
Some people favour natural gas because it emits less CO2 than other fossil fuels; however, the biggest component of natural gas is methane, which is . That鈥檚 hardly sustainable.
However, there are other ways to make gas, as we鈥檝e discovered. Our first green gasmill was connected up to the grid late last year and has been pumping green gas into the local grid ever since, powering over 4,000 homes with clean, green gas. The total cost of a national green gas program is just 拢30 billion 鈥� one tenth of the price of a heat pump program. It will also create almost 100,000 jobs in the rural economy and create vast wildlife habitats.
How do heat pumps work?
Heat pumps work like a fridge in reverse 鈥� they use electricity to make heat, instead of cold. It鈥檚 not a new idea - the most commonly available are air source, which take heat from the air. If your property is already electricity-only, with no gas, it may be a viable option for you, but it still involves extra costs 鈥� more on that later.
皇冠体育appighing up the costs
This year, the average cost to install an air source heat pump in the UK is around 鈥� that鈥檚 an incredible cost for the average homeowner to front. Of course, the government offers subsidies of 拢7,500 under the current , but there are certain you have to meet to be eligible, which also rules out most new build houses and social housing.
Even so, if you managed to get the 拢7,500 grant to install a heat pump, you鈥檇 still have to foot the remaining cost, plus any extras like upgrading your radiators or installing a hot-water storage tank.
Plus, if you have a gas meter, you鈥檒l continue to pay standing charge unless the meter is removed, which comes at a cost too. As of 1st April 2024, the average annual gas standing charge on our is just over 拢114 - that鈥檚 just for maintenance costs, like line rental for phones.
Meter removal costs vary by region due to meter operator costs outside of our control.
Our solution
If you have a gas boiler in working condition, you really don鈥檛 need to rip it out to put in new tech 鈥� just for Green Electricity and Green Gas. That way, your bill money will be doing good 鈥� we use our customers鈥� bill money to build more sources of green energy ourselves. 皇冠体育app call this 鈥楤ills into Mills鈥�.
As Dale says, 鈥渙ur government needs to wake up and smell the freshly mown grass, the answer to the question - how do we heat our homes and fight the climate crisis? - is growing right under our feet.鈥�
to Ecotricity today for truly green electricity and gas and join our mission for a greener Britain.
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