Heat pumps, which create on average four units of heat energy from one unit of electricity, have stepped in as a low carbon solution for new builds.
But if you consider existing homes, the cost of energy upgrades that will make a house ‘heat pump ready’ can be prohibitive – in the tens of thousands, even after the government grants.
The home heating industry argues that homeowners who can’t afford the long payback periods of a full retrofit should be given supports to keep their boiler and adapting it to take biofuels. Examples of biofuels include BioLPG, bioethanol, and Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO).
“We firmly believe that HVO can serve as a practical and cost-effective alternative, offering an impressive 90 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional fuels, all with minimal adjustments required to existing heating systems,” said Mark Doyle, Firebird Ireland’s General Manager.
“Firebird argues that a mixed technology approach is the best method in tackling decarbonisation in rural Ireland. By facilitating the consumer adoption of biofuel enabled boilers, over 700k homeowners with existing oil fired boilers homes will have access to financially viable technology choices that meet their unique needs and allow them to positively support Ireland achieve its climate action targets.”
Leading the charge in innovation, Firebird has trialled and tested low carbon fuel, HVO in Ireland and the UK to prove that it can be implemented almost immediately. The conversion requires little or no modification to existing home heating systems – no significant investment beyond a small conversion cost (approx. €400) to upgrade to a Firebird by Elco HVO burner.
Some say that even in new builds, where space heating demand is very low, a biofuel boiler combined with photovoltaics (PV) can be a cost effective alternative to a heat pump.
Biofuels are burned like fossil fuels, making them a low carbon solution for existing combustion technology (e.g. in boilers, cars and even planes). Biofuels are made from biomass, most of which comes from waste products such as used cooking oil.
For more information visit www.firebird.ie
