Self Sufficiency With Heat Pumps

Thursday, September 19, 2013

As you get older you slowly become more self-sufficient.  You work a job, pay taxes and bills and eventually become an adult who can completely take care of yourself. Well, almost. We actually rely on outside sources more than we realise - from supermarkets to provide us with food to the large companies to provide us with gas, oil or electricity for light and warmth. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as we certainly need these things to survive. But maybe we pay them a little too much for something that, if we did a little investigation on, we could quite easily supply for ourselves.

What is a heat pump?

There are a variety of heat pumps, the one I will be concentrating on today is the Air Source Heat Pump [ASHP], which comes in two varieties, air-to-water and air-to-air. The air-to-water type works on a radiator based central heating plan, heat is drawn in from the air outside [crazy as it may seem, this can be done in temperatures as low as –15C] and is converted into hot water through a heat pump before being sent around to your radiators. Air-to-air ASHPs work in almost the same way, the heat pump transfers the heat to higher heated air and using an air-con style system will distribute it through your property.

Getting pumped up

Air source heat pumps are best installed on a sunny wall on the outside of your property; this ensures you can have the maximum use from the ASHP. While the air heat pump will take care of your heating, it will still need a source of electricity, this can be supplied by your regular electricity, or in the case of self-sufficiency, it can be supplied by another renewable electricity resource such as solar or wind power. This would mean that you would be off the gas and electric grid and would, for all intents and purposes, be completely self-sufficient when it came to heat and light. Just think, no more worrying about bill estimations and making sure you call the oil company to fill your tank before the cold weather really sets in [I wish we'd had an air source pump in my old house, those few days waiting for the oil delivery were so cold!].

Self-sufficient and self-satisfied

There is one other added benefit to installing an air source heat pump in your house, the UK government has begun to push for renewable energy use in an attempt to go green and help cut costs, this means that in 2014 the Renewable Heat Incentive [RNI] will come in to play for domestic renewable energy. It's honestly worth checking out this page:

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generating-energy/Getting-money-back/Renewable-Heat-Incentive-RHI

The UK government may be able to give you a grant to change your heating system to a renewable one and may also begin paying you a small amount of income each month for using renewable energy.

Cutting costs from the energy companies and being paid to do it? Excellent!


Vari is eager to become self-sufficient, she's looking into all things off grid in case of a zombie apocalypse, be it solar energy or air source heat pumps.

You Might Also Like

0 kommentarer

Labels

4-Slice Toaster AC Accessories Air Air Conditioners Air Purifiers Air Quality Animals Animals - Horses Apartments Apartments - College Appliances Architecture Attic Auction - Home Australia Away from Home Babies Baby Furniture Baby Shower Backyard Activities Backyard Revamp Baking Baptismal Basements Bathroom Bathroom Pampering Tips Bathtubs Beat the Heat Bedroom Bedroom - Luxury Bedroom Ideas Bedroom Mistakes Beds Bidets Bills Blinds and Curtains Blogs Boilers Budget Style Buying a Home Cakes Canine Canopies Car Maintenance Care Homes Carpets Carpets and Rugs Cars Cars - Uses Cats Ceiling Fans Celebrations Children Chores Christening Ideas Christmas Christmas lighting ideas City Life Claims Cleaning Cleaning Services Coffee Tables Comfortable Living Commercial Lease Common Problems Community Spaces Concrete Condo Condominium Conservatories Cool Stuff Cooling Ideas Cost of Living Costumes Couch Credit Scores Curbs Curtains Curtains - Scalloped DA Dates Decking Dining Room Dining Table Dishwashers Display Racks DIY DIY - Carpet Cleaning DIY - Cleaning Products DIY - Soundproofing DIY Addiction DIY Schools Dog Breeds Dogs Dogs - Diet Dogs - Health Dogs - Hygiene Doors Dream Home Dreams and Hopes Earning Tips Eco Friendly Ideas Eco-Friendly Eco-Houses Electric Bills Energy Saving Tips Energy System Entertainment Room Entertainment Space Ethical Living European Inspired Expo Extra Rooms Family Family Room Fans Few Things in Between Filters Fireplace - Outdoor Fireproofing First Time Homeowners Flags Flooding Flooring Flooring - Bamboo Flooring - Tiles Florida France Furnace Furnished Properties Furniture Furniture - Dining Sets Furniture - Shopping Guide Gadgets Garage Garden Gardening Gardening - Allotments Germ-free Home Gift Ideas Gift Ideas - Babies Gift Ideas - Christmas Gift Ideas - Him Gift Ideas - Home Gift Ideas - House Warming Gift Ideas - Kids Gift Ideas - Parents Gift Ideas - Personalized Gift Ideas - Valentine's Day Gifts for collectors Gifts for her Go Green Living Grass Green Living Halloween Health and Home Health and Lifestyle Heater - Heat Pumps Heaters Heaters - Parts Heating Hen Parties Holiday Homes hom home Home - Building Home - Gadgets Home - Luxury Home - Technology Home Accessories Home Appliances Home Builders Home Buying Home Cooking Home Decorating Home Decorating - Christmas Home Designs Home Disasters Home Essentials Home Extensions Home Flooring Home Heating Home Hunting home imp Home Improvement Ideas Home Insurance Home Investing Home Maintenance Home Office Home Organizing Home Projects Home Reconstruction Home Redesigning Home Remodeling Home Renovation Home Repair Home Repair - Foundation Home Repair - Professional Home Restoration Home Safety Home Security Home Spas Home Tech Ideas Home Theater Home Upgrades House Problems House Warming Household Chores Housewarming Gifts Housewarming Party HVAC Hygiene IKEA Indonesia Indoor Designs Insulation Insurance Insurance - Car Insurance - House Insurance - Pets Interesting Architecture Interior Additions Interior Design Interior Design - Modern Interior Ideas Jewelry Jewelry Organizer Keeping Warm Kitchen Kitchen - Cabinets Kitchen - Spanish Inspired Kitchen Designs Kitchen Flooring Knives Landscaping Lawn Mowers LED Lights Lifestyle Lighting Lighting - Chandeliers Lighting - Garden Lighting - Lamps Lighting Options Lights Living Room Living Room - Designs Loans Loans - Home Loft London Luxury Home Luxury Houses Maintenance Malls Minimalist Mirrors Mitigation Mobile Apps Modern Home Designs Money Saving Tips Morphy Richards Mortgage Moving Moving Tips New Home Nursery Online Shopping Orangeries Organizer Organizing tips Outdoor Designs Outdoor Living Outdoor Living - Furniture Outdoor Living - Patio Outdoor Room Outdoor Spas Ovens and Cooktops Painting Paintings Parenting Parties Passion Patio Pest Control Pets Pets - Ailments Pets - Cats Pets - Dogs Pets - Health Pets - Sitters Pets - Toys Phones Pillows Plans and Visions Planting Ideas Plastering Plumbing Plumbing Issues Pool Accessories Pools Power Cut Quilts Quotes Rabbits Real Estate Recycling Relationships rent Renting a Home Retirement Reviews Rodent Problems Romantic Dates Roofing Roofing Contractors Safety tips Saving - for a Home Saving Tips Saving Tips - Water Security Self Improvement Selling Your Home Septic Tanks Shaving System Shaving System - for Men Shopping Shutters Sinks and Countertops Skincare Sleep Small Spaces Sofa Soft Furnishings Solar Energy Solar Panels Soundproofing Space Saving Ideas Spring Ideas SR Stains Steel Storage Ideas Student Life Study Room Summer Survival Tips Taps the UK the USA Toaster Toilet Toolbox Tools Travel Treehouses Trends Trimmer Trimmer - Cordless Trimmer Tubing TV Bench Urban Living Vacation Preparation Valentine's Day Ventilation Video Surveillance Vine Covered Homes Vineyard Vintage-Inspired Walk in Wardrobes Wall Decorations Wallpaper Wardrobes Washing - Clothes Water Water Damage Water Heaters Water Softeners Water Usage Weather Welding Windows Wine Racks Winter Tips Wish List Wood Work Area