Thanks for your question. There will be a Q&A feature on this topic in the next edition of the magazine (available from 18th August! I hope it will help.
The best kind of heating is the warmth you don’t need to buy in the first place. Make the most of solar gains in winter and ensure the building is highly insulated and airtight to keep natural heat from sunshine, appliances and people inside (using eco-friendly materials of course).
You may find this is enough to keep your home warm enough, but if you need additional sources of thermal energy, the answer depends on whether you are connected to the electricity grid.
If you have mains electricity, a heat pump (air, ground or water source) will provide all your space heating and hot water needs at reasonable cost. If you aren’t connected, then you will need to fall back on a log or pellet stove or boiler. Wood (a form of biomass) is the nearest you’ll get to genuinely zero carbon heating, as the CO2 emitted by the burning is absorbed as trees are replanted. Waste wood, which would otherwise be compost, is perhaps the best environmental option of all.
The small amount of power needed to run a distribution pump for a wood-fired central heating system can easily be provided by a solar PV and battery system, but you’re unlikely to be able to run a heat pump off PV in the winter when very little power is generated and heat demand is high.
Hi Zoe,
Thanks for your question. There will be a Q&A feature on this topic in the next edition of the magazine (available from 18th August! I hope it will help.
Best wishes,
Elinor
The best kind of heating is the warmth you don’t need to buy in the first place. Make the most of solar gains in winter and ensure the building is highly insulated and airtight to keep natural heat from sunshine, appliances and people inside (using eco-friendly materials of course).
You may find this is enough to keep your home warm enough, but if you need additional sources of thermal energy, the answer depends on whether you are connected to the electricity grid.
If you have mains electricity, a heat pump (air, ground or water source) will provide all your space heating and hot water needs at reasonable cost. If you aren’t connected, then you will need to fall back on a log or pellet stove or boiler. Wood (a form of biomass) is the nearest you’ll get to genuinely zero carbon heating, as the CO2 emitted by the burning is absorbed as trees are replanted. Waste wood, which would otherwise be compost, is perhaps the best environmental option of all.
The small amount of power needed to run a distribution pump for a wood-fired central heating system can easily be provided by a solar PV and battery system, but you’re unlikely to be able to run a heat pump off PV in the winter when very little power is generated and heat demand is high.
Nigel Griffiths, Build It sustainability expert