Home heating systems Options for heating your home
Getting a modern boiler will save you £200 a year
With high oil, gas and electricity prices looking like they’re here to stay, it’s more important than ever that we heat our homes in the most efficient way. Using less energy is the best way to cut your bills (see our guide to using less electricity for tips), but this doesn't mean having to live in a cold, dark home.
Central heating
If your house is connected to the national gas grid, you could get a gas-fired central heating system, and this is usually the cheapest option. Our gas boilers review reveals which models come from Which? recommended boiler brands - and which we think you should avoid.
However, 3.6 million households in the UK are not connected to the gas grid and rely on other forms of fuel to heat their homes: electricity, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), heating oil and/or renewable technologies. See the related pages in this guide for more information on each individual heating option.
Renewable energy
There are a number of ways you can generate your own energy at home from low or zero carbon ‘microgeneration’ technology, such as solar water heating systems, heat pumps and biomass boilers.
Making your own energy instead of using mains gas and electricity reduces your carbon footprint. It also means you’re less dependent on sources of energy that are increasingly subject to global demand and are likely to have high and volatile prices in future.
Cost of renewable energy systems
If you're considering installing an microgeneration technology in your home, it’s important to take a long-term view. Renewable energy may look more expensive, but as the cost of oil, gas and electricity continues to rise, the time taken to get your money back on an investment in microgeneration should come down.
In addition, the government will soon announce details of a financial incentive, the Renewable Heat Incentive, which will pay you to generate renewable heat, meaning these technologies will become more cost-effective. It's important, however, to ensure your property is suitable for the technology you choose, as not all properties have a suitable south-facing roof or a garden.
Our table below shows how much you can expect to save each year when installing different renewable technologies in your home, including microgeneration technologies that produce electricity.
For solar photovoltaics (PV) panels generate electricity, while solar thermal panels heat water. You can now get cashback on solar PV panels thanks to the Feed-in Tariff. Cashback applies to other electricity-generating technologies such as wind and hydropower but not to technologies generating heat, such as solar thermal panels. However, these will soon qualify for the Renewable Heat Incentive.
| Cost of alternative energy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative energy | Installation cost | Annual energy bill savings for gas-heated homes | Annual energy bill savings for electric-heated homes |
| Solar PV | £8,000 - £14,000 | £110 + FIT | £110 + FIT |
| Solar thermal | £3,000 - £5,000 | £60 | £90 |
| Ground source heat pump | £9,000 - £17,000 | £-40 - £70 | £420 - £530 |
| Air source heat pump | £6,000 - £10,000 | £-130 - £70 | £330 - £530 |
| Wood-fuelled heating | £2,000 - £11,500 | about £100 | about £580 |
Using the table
Savings are based on a three-bed semi-detached house and are based on data from the Energy Saving Trust. Installation costs: Indicative cost of equipment and installation. Annual savings: Estimated for homes currently heated by gas or electricity. Savings for heat pumps are based on EST's field trials and are given as a range depending on the performance of the heat pump.
- Find out about gas central heating, electric central heating and LPG central heating
- Looking for cheaper bills? Join The Big Switch by 31 March 2012 to get the best energy deal
- See how much you could save with an energy-efficient boiler
