Energy advice from the experts

Get pumping

Air source and ground source heat pumps are more efficient than other heating systems because the amount of heat they produce is more than the amount of electricity they use. While the compressor and pumps need electricity to work, they use less than the quantity of heat they move from outside to inside.

Biomass

Biomass is a renewable energy source, generated from burning wood, plants and other organic matter, a stove burns logs or pellets to heat a single room – and may be fitted with a back boiler to provide water heating as well. A boiler burns logs, pellets or chips, connected to a central heating and hot water system. Today’s boilers are hopper fed, programmable and light years away from their predecessors

Solar water heating

Energy from the sun warms water for storage in a hot water cylinder or thermal store. Because the amount of available solar energy varies throughout the year a conventional boiler or immersion heater is normally used in conjunction with them to make up the difference.

Thermal energy store

A thermal store is a way of storing and managing renewable heat until it is needed, most commonly heated water in a buffer or accumulator tank. Thermal store may contain one or more heat exchangers and reaches full potential when used with a number of systems like solar and a heat pump

Micro-CHP systems

Domestic micro-CHP systems are usually powered by mains gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or even biodiesel. They save energy by generating electricity while heating water – a boiler cannot do this.