9: Environmental Benefits – Beyond the Bottom Line
My last blog delved into the financial costs and benefits of our heat pump, battery and solar panel system. I crunched the numbers and saw how this investment stacks up financially. This time, I want to pivot and focus squarely on the environmental and sustainable side of that very same investment. Because, let's be honest, while the wallet benefits are great, the benefits for the planet are arguably far more critical in the long run.
The Undeniable Truth of Global Warming
Let's start with the blunt truth: global warming is a fact. Please just ignore the populist deniers and the noise from the right-wing press, the scientific consensus is overwhelming, and the evidence is all around us. For those who like visuals, a quick search for global temperature anomalies over the last century will paint a vivid picture. We are at a critical juncture, and personal action plays a significant part in the larger solution.
Gas Boilers: A Relic of the Past
Chances are, you're reading this in a home that will be heated by a gas boiler this winter. You're not alone; around 90% of UK houses still rely on them. From an environmental perspective, this is a major hurdle. Natural gas, while historically seen as a 'cleaner' fossil fuel, still contributes significantly to carbon emissions when burned for heat. This is why, if you're serious about your environmental footprint, you need to be considering replacing that boiler with an electric heat pump.
Unsure Where to Start? Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
You might feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of competing suggestions for what you could be doing to tackle climate change. It's easy to get lost in the noise. But before you do anything, I'd strongly recommend a straightforward exercise: have you calculated your CO2 carbon footprint? It's a fantastic way to get a baseline understanding of your personal impact. I found this one to be the best, and it genuinely only takes about 10 minutes:
The Heat Pump Advantage: Cutting Carbon Significantly
Once you've done that, you'll likely realise what we did: getting a heat pump isn't just one of the things you can do; it's arguably THE single most important thing YOU can do from an environmental perspective.
Our heat pump system is projected to save roughly 4 tonnes of CO2 annually relative to our old gas boiler. To put it into context, this was roughly 40% of our total CO2 emissions.
Compare that to the impact of our other changes: our electric vehicle (EV) saves approximately 1 tonne and going broadly vegetarian accounts for about 0.5 tonnes. This really highlights the outsized impact a heat pump can have on your household's emissions.
However, and this is a crucial point I emphasised in the last blog, to make this financially viable as well as environmentally sound, you need to pair a heat pump with battery storage and ideally solar panels. And note that our 6MWh of expected solar generation will save approximately another 1 tonne of CO2 over a full year.
Dispelling Retrofit Myths: Heat Pumps for Most Homes
There's a persistent myth that heat pumps are only suitable for brand-new, perfectly insulated homes. Our experience, living in a solid brick house with an EPC rating of D, proves otherwise. Unless your house has an EPC grade below our D rating (only about 19% of UK houses), you should absolutely be able to get a heat pump to work effectively without any major, disruptive retrofitting - remember we didn’t replace any pipework or radiators!
Furthermore, the idea of "fabric-first" thinking, while well-intentioned and correct 10 years ago, is now mostly outdated as the primary first step for decarbonising heating. While any extra insulation you can do is a bonus – especially if you don't have double glazing, which I would strongly recommend – the priority should be to go for the heat pump first.
Modern heat pumps are incredibly efficient even in typical UK homes. You can explore more on this evolving perspective here:
The Pace of Change
We're already seeing the electrification shift in transport. In the past year, 34% of new cars registered in the UK were full EV or at least Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). Hopefully, you already have an EV, or your next car will be one.
If you think this change feels too fast or too big, cast your mind back a few decades. In 1970, only about 25% of UK houses had central heating. Within just 20 years, by 1990, that figure soared to over 85%. The UK has a track record of rapid adoption when it comes to significant home improvements.
The message is clear: the technology is here, the environmental imperative is undeniable, and the path to a lower-carbon home is more accessible than you might think.