Investing in biomass boiler heating for your home really is an investment in the future. However, while there is a lot of progress in renewable energy sources, it can be unclear to the end consumer how much of this is rhetoric and how our dependence on fossil fuel energy sources will come to an end.
However, the government has now floated one such plan, which looks to put an end to homes which are heated just by coal fires or oil burners. It may not seem like a widespread issue, but some 1.1 million homes are still heated by oil burners – usually large, country homes – while 170,000 homes rely on coal burning as the primary heat source.
Energies and Climate Change Minister Claire Perry unveiled the Call For Evidence with a stern message, according to Business Green. “It must be understood,” she says, “that we will not be heating our buildings in 2050 by setting fire to the same substances people burned in the Victorian era.”
The job is a large one, but nothing compared to changing habits from fossil fuel-powered heating systems, de-carbonising the energy usage of the majority of the UK – yet, the government plans to unveil another plan later in the year for this.
This primary plan, however, does present an opportunity for innovation and investment in fuel sources which produce less carbon, such as biomass, heat pumps and heat networks.
The plans reveal a limitation on oil and coal based systems being installed from the 2020s, starting with new build properties.