Winter Heating Costs

As the days grow shorter and the nights draw in, central-heating systems are firing up across the country. Those with oil boilers are boilers are in for a particularly unpleasant surprise as they top up their tanks with fuel that has doubled in price over the past two years. This has led to a surge of interest in alternative technologies to reduce heating costs, with heat pumps featuring high on most lists. The Government is keen to help consumers move away from oil fired central heating, living with the Renewals. The Heat Premium Payment scheme is now available to help homeowners finance the shift to micro renewable technologies. This scheme offers one off cash payments,£250 forwards ground or water-source heat pumps, £1850 for air source and £950 towards biomass boilers. From next October, the scheme will evolve into the Renewable Heat Incentive, offering long-term subsidies to those who install eligible systems. While heat pumps are now an established alternative technology, with clean credentials and excellent cost savings, biomass is also an ideal solution. Sourced from 100 percent renewable trees in sustainably managed forests, or from timber industry waste, biomass encapsulates the fundamentally symbiotic nature of our relationship with the environment. Open fires have long held there appeal that goes beyond the simple benefit of warmth, offering a level of comfort that radiators struggle to match. Modern biomass, are a form of highly efficient, boilers and wood-burning stoves, captures that essence. For the more pragmatically minded, enormous reserves of unmanaged timber resources in the UK ensure that fuel prices will remain lower than oil well into the future.  www.ecolivinguk.com