Making your house more sustainable
Heat pumps and your house
PBT Installations are committed to helping home owners, self builders and professional builders create sustainable, environmentally friendly homes through the use of heat pump technology. Government grants are currently available to help with the cost of installing this technology – have a look at our article about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme here.
The way we build houses is changing, along with the way we consider the environment and the impact our homes have on the world. Many existing houses lack the necessary insulation and are difficult to heat, relying on carbon heavy methods such as gas or oil boilers to make the temperatures experienced in the UK winter hospitable. Heat Pumps, however, take heat from an external source, such as the air or ground, and move it into your home. They use electricity to do this, but the quantity of heat achieved from each unit of electricity is far greater than other methods of heating. Consider that a Heat Pump typically takes 1kWh of energy and turns it into 4kWh of heat. Furthermore, by capturing heat already present in the environment, no fuel is burned and therefore no carbon dioxide emitted.
Therefore, with new technology and greater innovation and understanding, the way we are building houses is changing. Heat Pump technology is a growing market, with the government pushing to remove the sale of gas boilers by 2035, and requiring new builds to install renewable heat sources from 2025.
PBT Installations have been working with both air source and ground source Heat Pumps for over a decade. In particular we work with Stiebel Eltron, a German company that engineers heating and cooling technologies. Stiebel Eltron Heat Pumps have been both produced and installed in European countries for over 40 years. Although Heat Pump technology is relatively new in the UK, it is well proven and established on the colder continent.
Heat Pump technology works best if you have the right infrastructure in place which is where PBT Installations go the extra mile to advise you on the best heating system for your property. This might be the installation of underfloor heating, or increasing the output of radiators. A well installed Heat Pump and heating system will ensure that your property can maintain a comfortable, steady low temperature rather than using expensive blasts of high temperatures to counteract the colder weather.
If you would like to understand more about how a Heat Pump could work for your property, please get in touch or come and see us on our stand at the NSBRC. Open 6 days a week, this is the only permanent venue for independent homebuilding advice and support in the UK.