Low Carbon Heating Systems

As residential, commercial and industrial buildings work to reduce their carbon footprint, they need to determine the kind of low carbon heating system they will use. Residential buildings alone need to reduce carbon emissions by 25% as per the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3. At the same time, large buildings like hospitals and offices that were once powered by oil and gas need to find an equal carbon natural power source.

Fortunately, there are a few low carbon heating systems out there worth looking at. So, what are these systems, how do they work, and what benefits can they provide?

Types of Low Carbon Heating Systems

When it comes to lowering your carbon footprint, there are a few options:

• Biomass – Biomass systems, also known as wood-fuelled systems, involve burning logs, pellets and other wood products to create heat. This is one of the simplest systems around, although for it to be carbon neutral the amount of CO2 it creates must be less than or equal to the amount captured by regrown trees.
• Heat Pumps – Heat pumps draw power from cold sources in the ground or the air then turn it into heat. While they do run on electricity and are not fully carbon-neutral, they produce less carbon emissions than natural gas. Another benefit is they can produce heat year-round and can be used for air conditioning in warm weather.
• Solar Thermal – Solar thermal systems take energy directly from the sun and convert it into heat. The heat is used for hot water systems and the like, with any surplus heat stored for later use. In addition to being more eco-friendly, this system offers better heating than oil or gas which can incur heat loss.
• Combined Heat and Power (CHP) – CHP systems use existing power systems to generate both electricity and heat for a single building. While not entirely carbon neutral they do, however, lessen reliance on emission-producing systems.

Benefits of Low Carbon Heating Systems

The benefits of installing these systems over traditional heating systems are:

1. They create fewer carbon emissions: over 70% less than gas heating and 80% less than standard air conditioning.
2. They have lower running costs long term, plus they save money by storing heat in thermal stores for later use.
3. There is less maintenance required overall and they often have reliably long life spans.
4. They are safer to use and install compared to gas systems.
5. They provide more efficient heating and cooling systems with little to no heat loss.