You may remember from a recent post, I ordered our heat pump and will be updating you on progress on how we get on when its installed later in the year.
Some of you may not be aware but the governments previous heat incentive came to an end at the end of March this year. The new incentive revolves around the government providing a £5,000 grant towards the cost of the installation for a new, more efficient boiler / Heat Pump or similar.
One of the first stages in qualifying for the grant, is to get at energy rating of A-D on an EPC, as well as having both loft and cavity wall insulation.
So after all my Greta ways, and to the absolute joy of the rebel, we recently had our EPC carried out. The average for home in the UK is a score of 60, resulting in a rating of D. Well, we scored a whopping 94, with a potential for a 98 if we had underfloor insulation and solar water heating installed. The underfloor insulation may be something we look at, but with a roof already full of solar panels and heat pump scheduled, I don’t think solar water heating is for us.
The house has also had all the heat calculations and survey completed. A detailed analysis of each room needs to be undertaken (in a number of cases the radiators need to be changed for those with a greater surface area) due to the lower temperature that a Heat Pump operates at.
They are a truly ‘magical’ invention in my eyes. A conventional gas boiler is typically 70-90 efficient, meaning every KWh of gas burned, you get between 0.7 and 0.9 KWh’s of heat out. A heat pump however, has an efficiency rating typically of between 300-400%. I.e. every KWh of electricity put in, results in between 3 and 4 KWh’s of heat out. The Ecodan 11.2 KWh heat pump, selected for our house, has a seasonal co-efficient of performance (SCOP) or 3.6, and a co-efficient of performance (COP) of around 3. If you are looking at heat pumps, ignore the COP rating and select the SCOP one, it reflects the seasonal impacts of performance rather than just the pure amount.
So, the rebel was also extremely pleased with the work we have undertaken even though I have dragged her into my Eco World..
Incidentally, if you are thinking of heat pumps or solar, check out https://www.theenergysmartgroup.co.uk/, they’re helping us with our grant application and installing our heat pump and have been truly professional in everything they’ve done.
I will keep you updated on grant progress as well as installation as it happens later in the year.
The Rebel is Softening
This week I found a great new shop. Ecotopia https://www.ecotopiaonline.co.uk/, they specialise in food and cleaning materials that are environmentally friendly, free from plastics and are still good value for money. I suggested to the Rebel that we go and take a look on a recent shopping trip to Leeds. The Rebel decided to bring her mum along as well (she needed to be ready if we needed anything to go to a vote). However, the rebellion faulted for a short while as everyone left with at least something and no-one had any objections to purchase any of it.
Quick Tip
Take a look at a company called Ecoscribe on Amazon. They are a company in the UK that produces ball point pens from paper. The ballpoint and refill are made out of metal, surrounded by a paper pen.
When you've finished using it, throw the pen in the sink for 10 minutes, the paper falls away and disposed of accordingly. The metal inner remains and that can go in your re-cycle bin. It's another step in my quest to reduce single use plastics.
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