The Real Cost of Heating our Homes

And how we can make a difference to the planet and our pockets!

It's almost February and Spring is in sight. We don’t know about you, but we are looking forward to feeling some heat from the sun on our face again and turning off our central heating.

As we come out of a long (for many reasons!), cold winter, now might be a good time to discuss the true cost of heating our homes.

Let’s be honest, it’s not the sexiest topic is it? I mean, who sits down to discuss the size of our carbon footprints in relation to heating our homes? Not many of us I’m sure, but if we are serious about living a more sustainable life, then we need to get serious for a moment and talk about the true cost of staying warm!

According to Wired.co.uk, heating accounts for around 40% of the UK’s energy consumption with 85% of UK households being heated by fossil-fuel based natural gas. Around 14% of UK greenhouse gases come from heating our homes which is a similar emissions level to cars

Joanna Furtado, lead author of a report by the think tank Policy Connect believes that in order to meet Government targets of an 80% reduction in emissions, more than 20,000 homes a week must switch to low-carbon heating between 2025 ad 2050. They state that “Switching to lower carbon fuels would reduce the environmental impact of heating – just as the switch to renewables has shifted the UK’s electricity mix towards cleaner energy.” The report also states that better insulating our homes and reducing the need for energy in the first place is an important part of the process to reducing our carbon footprint.

Essentially, the point of this 72-page document is that UK reliance on fossil-fuel based heating is a significant contributor to climate change and we need to take action.