What Makes UK Homes so Inefficient at Keeping Warm? Experts Were Consulted

Throughout the UK, temperatures have plunged to as low as -11c this week. This weekend Storm Bert is expected to bring 70mph winds, rain, and snow, continuing the low temperatures.

Because energy costs are skyrocketing, many of us are still reticent to turn up the thermostat.

It’s difficult to keep warm even when the heating is turned up, so many reach for extra jumpers or blankets.

Why is the heating system in the UK so unsatisfactory? Here’s what we know about why the UK has such a hard time heating its homes, and what we can do about it.

Houses That are Damp and Old

Europe’s oldest and least energy-efficient housing stock is found in the UK. UK homes were built before 1946, according to the Resolution Foundation, long before heating became commonplace.

Thus, we lose heat faster in our homes than Europeans. According to Dr Neil Simcock, energy expert and geography lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, our housing stock is relatively old compared to European countries.

Due to their less insulating nature, they lose heat more quickly, so you have to heat them up more, so you use more energy, and that costs more. Especially in private rentals, this problem is pronounced.

The landlord does not have a motivation, since energy bills are paid by someone else, said Dr Gareth Thomas. According to Dr Gareth Thomas, due to the housing crisis and the high demand for homes, renting properties isn’t affected.

Becky Lane, co-owner of retrofit start-up Furbnow, which reduces carbon emissions for homeowners, says leaky, inefficient boilers drain money quietly.

Millions of British households are silently losing money due to old boilers – what we call ‘zombie boilers’.” Older boilers typically operate at 70% or worse efficiency. Modern condensing boilers, by comparison, have 90% efficiency.”

Walls in poor condition

It’s also important to insulate our homes properly. UK houses are old and leaky as well. Approximately one in four homes in 2022 has poor walls.

Energy efficiency in our homes will be affected by this. English and Welsh houses are rated D on energy efficiency.

Edwardian homes with high ceilings aren’t the only ones with lower figures. Researchers from Greenpeace found that only 1.8% of new homes in England are eco-friendly.

Planned carbon neutrality for all new homes in the UK was scrapped in 2015, hindering the pace. Consequently, some of the newest houses still lag behind in efficiency.

We’ve been late to the energy efficiency party in the last decade,” Thomas said. “We had the government subsidies cut back massively for insulation in 2010-2015.”

Cameron’s first administration is when the Conservative party began to dwindle in the polls, leading government advisors to suggest cutting green crap to win over voters.

However, Thomas believes the cuts were short-sighted despite saving the government’s approval ratings.

During the recent energy price crisis, the policies to do this work were already in place, which was progress, even if it wasn’t perfect.

Purchasing Energy is very Expensive

UK electricity prices are four times higher than the average US bill, despite our struggle to heat our homes.

Taking into account the rising energy price cap, the average household’s energy bill will rise by 1.2% in January.

It’s not much better for gas prices. Thomas says we’re overreliant on natural gas. Homes in other countries use a larger variety of heating sources.

In the sixties and seventies, natural gas enabled us to afford relatively cheap home heating bills.

“But North Sea reserves are dwindling, and we’re relying more on international markets.” Conflicts like those in Ukraine hurt us.”

Households in the UK have been devastated by gas and electricity price increases.

In the U.S., 3 million people struggle to balance low incomes and energy-efficient housing, said Peter Smith, National Energy Action’s policy director.

As well as inefficient, old, and sometimes dangerous heating systems, these households lack insulation and basic energy efficiency measures, such as insulation.

According to Sim cock, a third of people are in arrears. Households in arrears owe about £1500 for electricity and £1300 for gas.

Mari Martiskainen, director of the Energy Demand Research Centre, has seen first-hand the devastating effects of the UK’s soaring energy prices.

A few people say they will heat just one room. According to Martiskainen, some parents give their children’s bedrooms, and themselves sleep in the living room, so they only heat one or two rooms.

Among the richest countries in the world, we belong to G7. What is the reason that six million households are fuel poor? ” she added.

How can Alternatives be Found?

Are there any alternatives to our current home heating system? Heating pumps are supported by most experts Yahoo News talked to.

The government increased the Boiler Upgrade Scheme’s heat pump grant to £7,500 for households installing air-source and ground-source heat pumps in October.

Prof. Aimee Ambrose of Sheffield Hallam University said heat pumps provide the most efficient way of heating most homes.

As compared to gas boilers, they produce much more heat per unit of energy. However, they can be a bit more expensive, but they last much longer.” she said.

Despite their progress, Thomas points out that not much reliable information is available about them.

“Gas shops existed in every town when we switched to gas heating. They were run by the national gas board and everyone kind of knew where to go for advice,” he said.