What is the best renewable energy source for your home in the UK?

What is the best renewable energy source for your home in the UK?

The choices we make as homeowners can significantly impact our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and combat climate change. 

Did you know that in the UK, the built environment accounts for approximately 40% of our total carbon emissions? 

This staggering figure highlights the importance of taking action to make our homes more sustainable.

While newer homes are often equipped with better insulation and utilise greener energy sources, the real challenge lies in decarbonising existing homes. 

This should be a major priority for all of us. Fortunately, you don’t need to undertake a complete rebuild or renovation to make a difference. 

There are many simple, cost-effective changes you can implement that not only benefit the environment but also bring financial savings.

In this article, we will explore five key ways to make your home more environmentally friendly. 

Even small adjustments can have a big impact. 

We will start with the simplest and easiest steps, making it manageable for everyone to contribute to a greener future.

So, let’s get started on this journey towards a more sustainable home. Each step we take, no matter how small, brings us closer to reducing our carbon footprint and creating a healthier planet for future generations.

1. Switch to a green renewable energy provider 

The UK generates much of its electricity from burning fossil fuels like gas and coal, as well as importing electricity from countries such as Norway and Russia. This process releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that causes global warming and climate change.

Generating electricity from renewable sources doesn’t release these harmful gases. So switching to 100% renewable electricity providers makes your home much more environmentally friendly.

There are dozens of affordable green energy suppliers you can choose from such as Bulb, Octopus Energy and Green Energy UK – all offering 100% renewable energy. Switching over to a green energy tariff is easily done. As well as the environmental benefits, green energy is set to become cheaper, more sustainable and more resilient to fluctuations in global markets than carbon-intensive sources.

2. Energy-efficient features

There are plenty of everyday eco-friendly features you can install without a big price tag. Switching to energy-efficient lighting helps lower electricity bills and carbon dioxide emissions, all without reducing the quality of light in our homes.

If you replace all the bulbs in your home with LED lights, you could reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by up to 40kg a year. This is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted by driving your car around 140 miles. Lighting makes up 15% of the average UK household electricity consumption, so small switches such as this can add-up fast.

You could also consider installing a smart meter. This is usually a free service offered by your energy provider, which will track your usage and let you know exactly what it’s costing you. Technology such as smart meters encourages homeowners to think about their energy use and allows the national grid to respond to demand more efficiently – cutting both carbon and costs.

3. Insulate your home

Improving the insulation of your home is a great way to become more environmentally friendly. Better insulation reduces heat loss, decreasing the overall amount of energy needed to heat your home – and thus reducing bills and ecological impact.

You can insulate your home by installing cavity wall insulation throughout the structure of the building. All new-builds already should have cavity wall insulation as standard but if you live in an older property, it may be worth checking what options are available. There are various grants and government incentives to help with improving your insulation.

Around 25% of heat lost in UK homes is through attic and loft spaces – so don’t forget the roof! As heat rises, poorly insulated attics allow heat to escape, meaning you’ll spend more energy heating your home. You can also keep the heat in by investing in double, or even triple-glazed windows that vastly improve your energy-efficiency.

If you’re undertaking an extension or new build project, talk to your architect about ways to make your building more environmentally friendly – they’ll be able to provide further advice on windows, insulation and integration of renewable energy sources.

4. Invest in renewable energy

Homeowners who invest and install renewable energy systems can expect to receive numerous benefits: lower electric bills, lower carbon footprints, and even a higher-value property!

Solar-powered home installations are becoming increasingly affordable as demand grows and homeowners are becoming more aware of the economic and environmental benefits of generating their own electricity.

At present, just over 1.5 million UK homes have some form of solar powered panels – but this number is expected to soar in the coming years. Technologies such as solar generate clean and sustainable electricity to power homes, with any excess sold back to the National Grid.

Despite the initial costs, investing in renewable energy means you can begin generating your own electricity for free, reducing your energy bills and carbon emissions in the long run. By signing up to the government’s feed-in tariff scheme, your energy provider will actually pay you for each unit of electricity you produce as well. It’s a win, win.

5. Use sustainable raw materials for best renewable energy

Using sustainable and recycled raw materials is a fantastic way to reduce your carbon footprint and ensure your home is eco-friendly.

In the design and building process, make sure your architect is aware of your sustainability goals from the start, and that your builders use raw materials meeting high environmental standards. For example, you can use FSC certified wood from well-managed forests, natural earth clay and plaster for brickwork, low VOC sustainable paint, biodegradable bamboo, bio-plastics, recycled glass… the list goes on.

Also where do your fixtures and fittings come from? The UK or China?

Buying local as well as sustainable is also worth considering. If you’re looking for an environmentally-friendly build, think twice about importing Western Red Cedar from Vancouver or Brazilian Walnut from São Paulo (for instance!). The transportation industry is a massive contributor of carbon emissions, so bear this in mind when assessing your own supply chain.

Homeowners across the UK have the power to create more sustainable living spaces by making smart and environmentally-conscious decisions. Often, these changes hardly affect our current lifestyles or living standards, but they do have a huge impact on the environment and financial savings.

If you’re embarking on a renovation project or new build, talk to your architect about ways to make your home more environmentally friendly. From the position of the building (taking into account natural light and ventilation) to green roofs, natural materials and renewable energy sources – they’ll have a wealth of experience in creating sustainable, energy efficient homes.

How Yoop Architects Can Help

At Yoop Architects, we design houses that are splendid in conception and also sustainable, energy-efficient, and eco-friendly. It comprises the addition of space into the home or actually going to a full renovation or designing a house from scratch; everything can now be done along the lines of sustainable renewable energies integrated throughout the whole work.

Assessing Your Home’s Renewable Energy Potential 

Every home is unique, and determining the right renewable energy system starts with a detailed assessment. Our expert team will evaluate:

Location & Climate: The amount of sunlight, wind exposure, and temperature fluctuations in your area should determine which kind of renewable energy systems are best for use.

Property Orientation & Roof Space: An energy site will be set up in areas that favour south-orientation roofs and other shading and space conditions for solar panels.

Ground Space Availability: Ground source heat pumps become beneficial with a garden or large outdoor area. 

Energy Consumption Needs: To find the ideal system for you, we assess the physics of energy consumption within a household. 

We conduct an action-wise feasibility study to help you choose the right renewable energy source that provides you the best efficiency and savings.

Like Solar Panel and Heat Pump Integration with a variety of Green Techniques

Yoop Architects’ services for renewable energy integrate with homes in a wholesome manner. Such architectural designs will include:

Solar Panel: The designs are built to capture as many rays of sunlight and generate as much solar energy usage as possible for the benefit of your home. We also provide consultation services on battery storage solutions to ensure independence from the energy grid.

Air Source & Ground Source Heat Pumps: With your design, we provide the entire heating system layout. Our designs ensure heat pumps’ optimal placement for function with underfloor heating or radiators.

Wind Turbines: Wind energy potential will be evaluated during our site visits-in rural home assessments. During analysis, we will make recommendations for proper placement of small-size, domestic wind turbines.

Therefore, the building will already be appropriate for installation without having it seem like more of an add-on to necessarily active sustainable thinking.

Compliance with UK Building Regulations and Planning Permission

• Renewable energy system installation requires compliance with strict building codes and planning permissions. Our architects on the staff:
• Handle planning applications for renewable energy installations and take care of compliance issues with local authority regulations.
• Deliver an aspect of Part L of the UK Building Regulations dealing with energy efficiency and carbon emissions for new dwellings and houses in general.
• Managing approvals for all types of listed buildings and conservation areas so that heritage properties can enjoy modern sustainable upgrades, preserving their original character.

We handle all the essential paperwork and legal formalities so you can spend your time enjoying your home-sweet-home in a greener, cost-effective way. 

Maximize Energy Savings via Intelligent Design & Insulation Strategies 

The truly energy-efficient house has to go beyond solar panels and heat pumps. At Yoop Architects, we adopt advanced architectural methods toward minimising energy loss and maximising efficiency, including:

High-Performance Insulation: We prescribe and further integrate airtight, thermally efficient materials that help minimise energy loss such that heating demands will be reduced.

Triple-Glazed Windows & Doors: Properly situated, these ones cut energy leakages during winter while admitting passive solar heat.

Smart Home Integration: We provide the use of energy management systems by which you can monitor and use power efficiently in your home.

Instead of relying on energy-hungry air conditioners, it designs homes with intelligently located windows, cross-ventilation methods, and heat recovery systems to improve the comfort of the interior environment.

These strategies will bring your home reliance not only on renewable energy but also on minimising the energy consumed. Hence, making your investment more cost-effective.

Final Takeaways

Several elements will guide you in selecting the renewable energy source suitable for your household: type of property, location, budget, and energy requirements.

Generally, solar panels and air source heat pumps are your best bets for most UK homes, offering costs to provide long-term savings.

Ground-source heat pumps and wind turbines are preferable for larger, rural homes with sufficient open space.

Biomass boilers provide an eco-gas option for heating residences with available sustainable fuel types.

Incorporating renewable energy solutions into building design will lower carbon emissions and energy costs for your house, ultimately future-proofing against rising prices for fuel and stricter energy efficiency standards. 

Planning any renewable incorporation into your home? Call Yoop Architects today to discuss sustainable design options for your requirements.