Homes in England are a bigger threat to the climate than cars because they produce more carbon emissions than all of the country’s vehicles, new research suggests.
It claims there are 25 million properties producing 58.5 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, compared to 27 million cars emitting 56 million tons.
Poor insulation and gas central heating systems are commonly to blame for heat loss in homes, according to the National Housing Federation.
Homes in England are a bigger threat to the climate than cars because they produce more carbon emissions than all of the country’s vehicles, new research suggests. Poor insulation and gas central heating systems are commonly to blame for heat loss in homes (stock image)
The National Housing Federation claims there are 25 million properties producing 58.5 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, compared to 27 million cars emitting 56 million tons (stock)
The trade body, which represents social landlords in England, compared the carbon emissions of homes and cars by analysing its data alongside Department for Transport figures.
It found that the average household in England produces more carbon dioxide every year in their home than they do by driving.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: ‘For too long the impact of housing on climate change has been overlooked.
‘While we’ve become more conscious of the vehicles we drive, the amount we recycle and what we eat, these shocking new figures must now force us to recognise the enormous role our draughty homes are having.
‘If we don’t start making serious progress on decarbonising and retrofitting our homes, we won’t achieve the government’s target of net-zero by 2050.’
The Heat and Buildings Strategy review, set to be published next month, is expected to suggest that homeowners with gas boilers face a levy to fund lower-carbon alternatives including heat pumps and hydrogen boilers.
It is part of the government’s target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
However, more than one in four homeowners (28 per cent) have no plans to make ‘eco-upgrades’ to their homes in the next ten years, the National Housing Federation said.
It also cited recent research suggesting 60 per cent of homeowners don’t think their home energy use has much of an impact on carbon emissions.
Earlier this month it was revealed that homeowners in the UK will be offered £7,000 grants to help replace their gas boilers as part of a new £400million scrappage scheme.
Plans have been put in place to improve the Clean Heat Grants scheme for relaunch in April next year.
Earlier reports about the future of the scheme suggested ministers were examining the idea of a £4,000 ‘clean heat grant’ that would help pay for new green boilers from next April for two years.
However, the Times reported that the plans have had another overhaul with hopes of quadrupling the budget, with grants starting from £7,000 and extending the scheme to three years.
In May it was reported that gas boilers would be banned within 14 years under the Government’s plans to tackle climate change.
Ministers had been discussing a cut-off date of 2035, after which the installation of conventional gas boilers was expected to be outlawed.
However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now thought to be considering a U-turn on the plan following a backlash from ministers and Conservative MPs over the cost.
If hydrogen is part of a zero-carbon future, it could have to be produced by electrolysis (as shown above), which sees electric currents passed through water. Another option is for the plants to capture the carbon emissions and pump them underground
The inside of a Worcester Bosch hydrogen boiler, a prototype of which is being developed. Hy4Heat has said the development of ‘hydrogen-ready’ appliances such as this one could have a huge effect on the cost and impact on the public of a potential conversion of the gas grid from 100 per cent methane to 100 per cent hydrogen
This graphic from the Government’s Hy4Heat innovation programme shows how hydrogen homes would be powered
Eco-friendly heat pumps, which extract warmth from the ground or air, can cost more than £10,000 to install. There are concerns that some may struggle to provide enough heat to keep the UK’s draughty housing stock warm.
Gas boilers are already due to be banned from new homes by 2025. But ministers fear the process of removing them from around 25million existing homes will take another decade.
Traditional boilers are seen as one of the biggest barriers to the UK’s target of achieving ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2050 – meaning greenhouse gas emissions would be dramatically slashed and any remaining emissions offset, slowing climate change.
The Committee on Climate Change, which advises the Government, last year said they should be banned from 2033.
How much will alternatives to gas boilers cost you to install at home?
GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMPS (£14,000 – £19,000)
Ground source heat pumps use pipes buried in the garden to extract heat from the ground, which can then heat radiators, warm air heating systems and hot water.
They circulate a mixture of water and antifreeze around a ground loop pipe. Heat from the ground is absorbed into the fluid and then passes through a heat exchanger.
Installation costs between £14,000 to £19,000 depending on the length of the loop, and running costs will depend on the size of the home and its insulation.
Users may be able to receive payments for the heat they generate through the Government’s renewable heat incentive. The systems normally come with a two or three year warranty – and work for at least 20 years, with a professional check every three to five years.
AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMPS (£11,000)
Air source heat pumps absorb heat from the outside air at low temperature into a fluid to heat your house and hot water. They can still extract heat when it is as cold as -15C (5F), with the fluid passing through a compressor which warms it up and transfers it into a heating circuit.
They extract renewable heat from the environment, meaning the heat output is greater than the electricity input – and they are therefore seen as energy efficient.
There are two types, which are air-to-water and air-to-air, and installing a system costs £9,000 to £11,000, depending on the size of your home and its insulation.
A typical three-bedroom home is said to be able to save £2,755 in ten years by using this instead of a gas boiler.
HYDROGEN BOILERS (£1,500 – £5,000)
Hydrogen boilers are still only at the prototype phase, but they are being developed so they can run on hydrogen gas or natural gas – so can therefore convert without a new heating system being required.
The main benefit of hydrogen is that produces no carbon dioxide at the point of use, and can be manufactured from either water using electricity as a renewable energy source, or from natural gas accompanied by carbon capture and storage.
A hydrogen-ready boiler is intended to be a like-for-like swap for an existing gas boiler, but the cost is unknown, with estimates ranging from £1,500 to £5,000.
The boiler is constructed and works in mostly the same way as an existing condensing boiler, with Worcester Bosch – which is producing a prototype – saying converting a hydrogen-ready boiler from natural gas to hydrogen will take a trained engineer around an hour.
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS (£4,800)
Solar photovoltaic panels generate renewable electricity by converting energy from the sun into electricity, with experts saying they will cut electricity bills.
Options include panels fitted on a sloping south-facing roof or flat roof, ground-standing panels or solar tiles – with each suitable for different settings. They are made from layers of semi-conducting material, normally silicon, and electrons are knocked loose when light shines on the material which creates an electricity flow.
The cells can work on a cloudy day but generate more electricity when the sunshine is stronger. The electricity generated is direct current (DC), while household appliances normally use alternating current (AC) – and an inverter is therefore installed with the system.
The average domestic solar PV system is 3.5 kilowatts peak (kWp) – the rate at which energy is generated at peak performance, such as on a sunny afternoon. A 1kWp set of panels will produce an average of 900kWh per year in optimal conditions, and the cost is £4,800.
SOLAR WATER HEATING (£5,000)
Solar water heating systems, or solar thermal systems, use heat from the sun to warm domestic hot water.
A conventional boiler or immersion heater can then be used to make the water hotter, or to provide hot water when solar energy is unavailable.
The system works by circulating a liquid through a panel on a roof, or on a wall or ground-mounted system.
The panels absorb heat from the sun, which is used to warm water kept in a cylinder, and those with the system will require a fair amount of roof space receiving direct sunlight for much of the day to make it effectively.
The cost of installing a typical system is between £4,000 and £5,000, but the savings are lower than other options because it is not as effective in the winter months.
BIOMASS BOILERS (£5,000 – £19,000)
The renewable energy source of biomass is generated from burning wood, plants and other organic matter such as manure or household waste. It releases carbon dioxide when burned, but much less than fossil fuels.
Biomass heating systems can burn wood pellets, chips or logs to heat a single room or power central heating and hot water boilers.
A stove can also be fitted with a back boiler to provide water heating, and experts say a wood-fuelled biomass boiler could save up to £700 a year compared to a standard electric heating system.
An automatically-fed pellet boiler for an average home costs between £11,000 and £19,000, including installation, flue and fuel store. Manually fed log boiler systems can be slightly cheaper, while a smaller domestic biomass boiler starts at £5,000.
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