Low-Carbon heating is the recommendation from Government to replace gas and oil systems. In today’s modern housing stock, built to current environmental energy standards, a Heat pump system is a good alternative, but cannot be always used in the majority of Council owned housing stock, which are flats, apartments, and maisonettes, or properties built pre-1980. For small flats and high rise apartments, it is not always practical, or cost effective to install a air source, or ground source heat pump, and for older Victorian and pre-war properties, a heat pump will not always achieve an effective warmth, because of the lack of energy-efficiency of the building’s fabric.
Cost wise, installing an air heat pump can range from £9500 to £13500 and up to £24000 for a ground source heat pump which is just not always available for Council owned housing stock.
The biggest challenge for Local Authorities, Community and Public building is HOW to make these properties homes suitable for low energy heating and how to provide an effective and affordable alternative to meet the Ecodesign energy efficiency regulations and renewable energy targets set out in Part L of the building regulations. If you live in England, Scotland or Wales, you may be eligible for the UK Government’s domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme. Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.
Affordable Low-carbon Heating alternative to heat pumps
The process of installing an air source heat pump can be completed within two to four days, a ground source heat pump within seven to ten days, heat pump work in a similar way to a refrigerator but in reverse, they allow you to generate heat energy from the surrounding air or ground. Installing a low-carbon electric heating system is one of the alternative giving homeowners a source of energy-efficient and sustainable heating which delivers a better level of warmth as out-dated fossil fuel systems.
Statistics tell us that existing carbon-emitting heating systems currently use 78% of the total energy used in the UK, which represents a massive elephant-in-the-room being targeted by Government for immediate reductions in carbon emissions. This means that 39% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions are generated from fossil-fuel heating, so replacing them with a low carbon heating alternative as soon as possible is vital to have any effect on climate change at all. The options for domestic heating systems are these:
• Ecodesign, wi-fi Electric heating
• Air Source Heat Pumps
• Ground Source Heat Pumps
• Water Source Heat Pumps
• Solar Water Heating
• Biomass Boilers
• CHP Systems
This means that there ARE viable alternatives to fossil fuels using energy efficient systems and also powered by renewable energy. The only question is, which system is best for your type and age of property to help meet the current UK climate change targets. Low-carbon Electric heating can be 100% CO2 free when powered by renewable electricity. The good news is the UK electricity grid is rapidly decarbonising and within 2 to 5 years electricity will be greener than gas, oil, and LPG.
With Government regulations now banning gas boilers in any new builds from 2025. – Just three years down the line – the current (2021) building regulations (SAP10) will be far more favourable to the use of direct acting electric heaters.
Green Retrofitting Solutions for Housing Stock
Retrofitting our British homes to use low carbon heating systems is a major challenge which must be addressed to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The challenge is to replace out of date gas, oil, Lpg boilers and storage heaters with LOW-CARBON electric heating. Retrofitting solutions are already being considered within social housing upgrade projects in the UK under the Social Housing Fund (SHF). Social Housing Fund (SHF). Government have only focused primarily on addressing low carbon new build, but must now prioritise cost-effective policy development to deliver decarbonisation of the UK’s existing housing stock as a critical milestone on the carbon net zero path to 2050 and to achieve ambitions of a minimum EPC rating ‘C’ existing housing stock. Domestic EPCs are produced using the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) which are based on standard assumptions about household occupancy. The English Housing Survey dwelling sample (total of 12,562 across all tenures) reflects that the average rating for both owner-occupied homes (52%) and private rented homes (48%) is a ‘D’.
Low-carbon electric heating
Sustainability is the purpose and meaning of the Creative Radiators range. Creative Radiators products are forged from 100% recycled marble, and produced using an environmentally friendly ‘cold’ technology. Our electric heating products must fulfil their required purpose in the most energy-efficient manner and are produced always respecting the environment and drawing on a Circular Economy (CE), maintaining products, components & materials at their highest utility and value at all times and distinguishing between technical and biological cycles. The design of Creative Radiators means they can be used with renewable energy, by converting the sun’s radiation into usable electricity, a Photovoltaic (PV) system allows the CreativeRads radiant panels to produce heat at zero cost.
The energy efficiency and decarbonisation of British homes can be improved in various ways, which can be incremental or a whole house retrofit. Measures range from enhancing the building fabric, upgrading to a more efficient low-carbon heating system (Ecodesign lot 20 compliant), and installing smart energy controls; which inherently can affect an occupier’s energy use behaviour.
Sensors are present in the intelligent EcoDesign thermostat to control the correct temperature distribution ensuring a warm and healthy radiant heat. It creates a comfy temperature at each individual radiator, conserving wasted energy by heating rapidly and then releasing it slowly through the single skin pure aluminium radiator body. Temperatures sensors within the radiator control the correct heat distribution to ensure maximum comfort with minimum energy.
Radiant heating technology – how it works
Using Creative Radiators allows homeowners and tenants to choose which individual rooms they wish to heat, to what temperature, and at what times, accurate to one tenth of a degree. Giving them AUTOMATIC ROOM ZONING without needing a box screwed to the wall, PLUS automatic occupancy detection, ultra-fast heating response, and a user-friendly 24/7 programmable control system for every individual radiator in the home or office. It uses an advanced energy regulated thermodynamic product, invented in THIS DECADE (not 50 years ago), and can achieve the same output wattage, BUT using much less energy.
The sun heats the earth with radiant heat, with a radiant heating system, the heat from the radiators warms everything it touches and radiates throughout the room, temperature throughout the room is more consistent than with your standard conduction, convection, or forced-air heating system, where the air rises, cools and then falls to the floor. Radiant heat is efficient and makes the room warm faster and easier.
Finally, Creative Radiators need no complicated seven days technical installation, no wiring, plumbing, extra radiators, or expensive batteries, no additional monthly charges, no boxes on the wall, no annual safety inspection, no oil tank, and no maintenance.
