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With
floods of new products continuously adding to the eco friendly heating
market, the energy and environment conscious consumer, developer or
specifier can find it difficult to work out which option best suits
their needs. John Hearne spoke to a number of independent energy experts to develop an impartial view of the main sustainable heating options.
Before you consider any heating system, the first priority is to reduce your home’s energy requirements to the absolute minimum. High quality insulation materials correctly installed will do far more to reduce energy bills and CO2 emissions than any heating system on the market. Wood pellets and chips, electricity, gas, oil; system maintenance. All of these things cost money. Insulation, once fitted, can be forgotten yet will continue to conserve energy long after it has paid for itself.
The second priority is getting the system or combination of systems correctly installed by qualified professionals. You might have the most state-of-the-art kit in the world, but if it’s set up by someone who is not thoroughly familiar with it, it will not deliver. Crucially, it’s not enough simply that the installer be on SEI’s registered list for the purposes of its Greener Homes scheme. To get on the list, you need a tax clearance cert, you must agree that in the event of a dispute you will enter into an arbitration process and you have to allow your installations to be inspected by SEI. But, the application notes, “SEI has not sought to check the qualifications of the installers registered on the Registered Installer List. There is currently no professional qualification/certification procedure in place for installers under the Scheme. Verification of an installer’s qualifications is a matter for each applicant.” Let the buyer beware.
Dick Whelan of Renewable Energy Skills says it’s very important to make sure your installer has been trained. “Make sure you get reference sites from whatever installer you’re choosing and get multiple reference sites and check up on those references because that’s the only way you can ensure that that guy has installed a system before.” Always seek at least three quotes before choosing. If a quotation seems too good to be true, it probably is.
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It’s also well worth considering a combination of systems: a wood pellet boiler backed up by a set of solar panels, or a heat recovery ventilation system and a ground source heat pump. Taken together, two technologies can deliver a better average payback period than one on its own.
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