Undoubtedly, the government’s plan to phase out 80% of heating oil boilers as part of its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 will impact the 1.7 million off-grid households in the UK that rely on heating oil to fuel their homes. Whilst homeowners currently running on oil-fired central heating systems will not be forced to replace their heating systems with a low-carbon alternative, the government continues to champion heat pumps. However, trade association, UKIFDA, the voice of the Liquid Fuels Distribution industry in the UK, stands steady in its belief that homeowners should have a choice and believes renewable liquid fuels such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) should be part of the solution for the future of off-grid homes.
With much uncertainty over future heating options for off-grid homes, in this blog we’re going to take a look at some of the key facts surrounding heat pumps and HVO.
Heat pumps – some important facts
It’s fair to say that heat pumps are not necessarily an attractive one-size-suits-all option for all off-grid homes, and quite simply, whilst an excellent solution for some properties, they are not they are not suitable for many others. For a start, the upfront cost of installing a heat pump is generally much higher than the cost of a new highly-efficient oil boiler, and then the additional and often unexpected costs of property improvements required to achieve the same level of heat output and comfort, especially in less-insulated older buildings, can be huge and run into many thousands of pounds. Plus, heat pumps run on electricity, so with electricity prices as high as they are, heat pumps will cost more to run than conventional domestic heating oil.
The trade association, UKIFDA, the voice of the Liquid Fuels Distribution Industry in the UK, believes renewable liquid fuels such as Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) should be part of the solution for off-grid households throughout the UK. With the government championing heat pumps, the trade association stands steady in the belief that homeowners should have a choice of whether to switch to a heat pump or alternatively, switch to a renewable liquid fuel such as HVO.
According to Future Ready Fuels, more than 45 key players which include leading household names such as Worcester Bosch, Aga Rangemaster, and Kingspan, have written to the UK government underlining their readiness to ‘deliver a cheaper, more practical solution to decarbonizing oil heated homes than the current options supported’.
Here we look at 4 key facts about HVO in the UK:
Renewable fuels are already in use in the UK
UKIFDA and OFTEC, have partnered together to run a demonstration project for three winters whereby 135 buildings across the UK from Scotland down to the South East of England were converted from traditional kerosene to HVO, including 17 in a rural coastal village in Cornwall.
Buildings included homes, pubs, village halls, and churches, with the aim of demonstrating how easy it is to switch to HVO, its feasibility, to demonstrate the savings in emissions, and also the fuel supply infrastructure to deliver the fuel.
The buildings were all converted and the great news is that there were no reports of reduced performance issues, and the resulting reduction in carbon emissions was 88%. Plus the conversion process can be completed within 2 hours, and comes in at a cost of around £500 or less.
Feedback from residents using the fuel as part of the project was positive. One resident from Kehelland, the Cornish village, who participated in the trial said ‘HVO is a great option for our home and we’re so pleased we made the switch – we’re saving nearly five metric tonnes of carbon every year as a result! We wanted to reduce our carbon emissions but the cost of installing a heat pump would have been very high for us. The simple switch in fuel was so easy’.
HVO – not just for homes but for businesses too
Renewable fuels are already in use in business sectors throughout the UK. HVO is a highly versatile fuel, and ideal for off-grid companies that use diesel to power their businesses. At Northern Energy, we already supply this renewable fuel which can reduce emissions by up to 90% and help businesses meet their environmental targets.
Switching is easy and reduces your carbon footprint too
Switching to HVO requires only a minor cost-effective modification to your boiler, which your OFTEC-registered heating oil engineer can do as part of your boiler service. The good news is that the option to switch from traditional kerosene to HVO means that replacement radiators or additional insulation required with heat pumps would not be necessary.
When it comes to your carbon footprint, as its made from fossil-free, certified sustainable waste materials, switching to HVO helps you tackle climate change without changing the way you heat your home by reducing emissions by almost 90% when compared with traditional heating oil.
Growing support for renewal fuel
There has been growing support for renewal liquid fuels amongst backbench rural MPs. Former Conservative Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Sir George Eustice, who took a pivotal role in delivering the Government’s Energy bill amendment which will consider incentivising the uptake of sustainable liquid fuels for domestic heating, has pledged his support and has said 'Finding a way to allow them (off-grid householders) to convert their boilers at reasonable cost to a fuel with a lower carbon footprint may well be part of the solution in the medium term.' In addition, the liquid fuel industry is working hard to make this a viable route forward.
We are still waiting to hear the new government’s plans for renewable energy, but hundreds of rural households and heating technicians have written to their local MP calling on the Labour government to keep a commitment made to explore the use of renewable liquid fuels for home heating as an alternative to kerosene. The Energy Act, which became an official act of parliament a year ago, gives the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband the power to help households that rely on oil heating to reduce their carbon emissions by introducing a Renewable Liquid Heating Fuel Obligation (RLHFO). Paul Rose, CEO of OFTEC, and Ken Cronin, CEO of UKIFDA, have commented 'We fully support Labour's decarbonisation agenda, but this can only be achieved through pragmatism and consumer choice. We will continue to work positively with the new Labour government to deliver a low carbon future. For the hardest to treat rural households, publishing the renewable liquid fuel consultation is an important first step'.
There's one thing for sure - the future of heating for off-grid homes looks bright!
Of course, here at Northern Energy, we recognise that households are keen to lower their heating bills, as well as their carbon footprint, and if you want to show your support for the option to switch to a renewable liquid fuel, you can support the Future Ready Fuel campaign by writing to your MP and signing up to their mailing list.
In the meantime, there are certainly some measures you can take to cut down on your fuel usage. For instance, turning down your heating thermostat by 1 degree can make a difference to your bills, and fitting a smart thermostat and radiator valves to control when your heating comes on and off and the temperatures in individual rooms can help too. Switching to Premium Heating Oil (PHO) makes a difference too. It’s a cleaner burning alternative, with an additive that has been specially formulated and proven to optimize the performance of heating oil boilers and improve efficiency by up to 15%, whilst reducing carbon emissions. And the good news is that Premium Heating Oil is one of the added benefits of our Premium Package* and is supplied at no additional cost to standard home heating oil.
A more expensive option to achieve substantial reductions in your heating costs is to upgrade to a new and highly efficient oil boiler. However, if you are considering a new boiler, it may be a good time to consider converting to LPG (liquid petroleum gas). It’s the closest alternative to mains gas, is highly efficient and versatile, and is environmentally friendly with virtually no particulate matter. Plus a new LPG boiler is generally significantly cheaper than a heating oil boiler.
If you’d like help and advice on choosing the best boiler for you and your family, we’re here to help. Just give us a call on 01423 770 666 and we’ll chat through the options with you.
*T's and C's apply