The Traditional Off-Gas Options
For the 15% of people in the UK that are not connected to the gas grid, heating the home can be expensive and options limited. Usually these are older properties with poor efficiency and many use expensive forms of heating, like bulk LPG or heating oil, which can make the cost of heating the home twice that of someone with a mains gas supply. With a growing range of options now available for off-grid homes, you really should take a look at your options if you currently spend too much on your fuel bills. In the following blog I want to show you the options available to you.
New LPG or Heating Oil Boilers
Switching from an old, inefficient LPG or oil boiler to a modern condensing one will offer you similar savings to a standard on-grid boiler, so it is certainly worth considering if your boiler is getting old. The higher cost of LPG and oil over gas means that even with a new boiler however, there are likely to be cheaper options for your home; we recommend you look at other heating options before opting for a straight switch.
Wood Burning Stoves and Coal Fires
It is perhaps surprising to some how many people still heat their home with wood or smokeless coal. In fact, using a wood burning stove can be a cheap and effective means of heating a home, but it does come with impracticalities. The home tends to be unevenly heated, and in the case of larger properties, some rooms may need additional electric or Calor gas heating, and the hot water will require another heating system – such as an immersion tank. We thoroughly recommend looking at biomass boilers, which can utilise the same fuel to evenly heat your home via a central heating system and heat your water.
Electric Options
There are several methods of heating your home with electricity, but do bear in mind that electricity is currently about 3-4 times the price of heating your home with gas. In the sections below we briefly discuss the different solutions, although for more information on any of them please click on the titles and you will be taken to the individual technology pages.
Infrared Heating Panels
If you can’t use gas and can’t install a heat pump or biomass boiler for whatever reason, then infrared heating panels are the cheapest way of heating your home. 
We have discussed infrared heating in more detail here and we also stock various infrared-heating panels here.
Electric Boilers
Electric boilers work by heating the water in a tank with an element. They can have similar efficiencies to gas boilers, but because the cost of electricity is around three times the price of gas, they tend to be much more expensive than equivalent gas boilers. However if you can install these along with solar PV (where you will produce free electricity from the sun), they are a solution worth considering.
Storage Heaters
You can look at our more detailed page on storage heaters here. Modern storage heaters tend to be a more cost effective means of heating than an electric boiler, because of the cheaper night rate electricity that these heaters utilise. Plus they are much cheaper to install and maintain compared to gas central heating. On the downside, they do not allow the same level of control over your heating when compared to a central heating system and they will still suffer with spiralling energy prices.
Renewable options
With the renewable heat incentive for off grid heat pumps and biomass boilers, and energy prices sky high, it is a great time to think about renewable energy for your property. You can read up on the RHI here.
Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are a very reliable means of self generation. Utilising heat differentials which exist all year round, they offer an excellent option for off-grid homes. Although the initial cost of installation is high, when combined with the heat incentive payments and spiralling energy costs, they begin to look a lot more attractive. You will need to make a considerable upfront payment however, so they aren’t for everyone.
Biomass
Biomass boilers, although initially a little pricey, really do pay back and then some, with the RHI. Based on the ‘heat demand’ on your Energy Performance Certificate, some homes could see very favourable returns over the seven year payment period. I carried out a Green Deal assessment a couple of weeks ago and the home will make £7,000 per year for 7 years based on installing a biomass boiler – the biomass boiler needed though would cost £20,000 to install, however the returns could well justify the initial expenditure.
Solar Thermal
Although Solar thermal does not have to be installed off grid to qualify for the RHI, it is an option to help complement your existing heating – it can be used to heat your hot water, reducing the strain on your wallet when the energy bill turns up at the door. As with any renewable, you are likely going to have to pay money up front and see returns over the seven years of the RHI.
Solar PV
Solar PV produces electricity directly from sunlight – therefore by itself it isn’t going to be able to heat your home, however used in conjunction with either infrared heating panels, electric boilers, storage heaters or air source heat pumps, the free electricity you produce will obviously mean that heating your home with electricity suddenly becomes affordable. You will also benefit from the Feed-in tariff, which will pay you for every kWh of electricity you produce (currently £0.1292 / kWh).
What’s right for my home?
So there are plenty of options available to you even if you are not connected to the gas grid. We thoroughly recommend getting a personalised Green Deal assessment, so that you can find out exactly what is right for you. Plus an assessment is a prerequisite for various forms of funding, including the RHI – so book yours here now.
Installing heat pumps
Are you thinking about getting a heat pump? We have scoured the country for the best tradespeople, so that we can make sure we only recommend those we really trust.
If you would like us to find you a local heat pump installer, just fill in the form below and we will be in touch shortly!
We have a wood-burning stove with water cylinder that heats hot water 7 radiators. Most of our wood comes from building sites where it would be burnt as waste and costs us nothing other than a little time and fuel to collect and cut. Biomass costs, has bigger delivery impact and can displace food production. Why would I change?
Plain old air source heat pumps (ASHPs) now work well in most climates, they work in my northern US climate (Cleveland). Since ASHPs are 200-500% efficient, they overcome the cost difference with natural gas in many instances. If gas is not an option they are by far the best one, and I am even switching clients off gas to heat pumps.
The other big benefit of electric options is that you can make your own with solar panels or windmills. At that point you have limited your utility cost for the 30 life of panels or windmill. My 2 cents/pence.
Hi Nate,
Thanks for your comment. I agree with what you are saying, although if funds allow we would always go for a ground source heat pump over an air source, mainly because the efficiency stays consistent throughout the year. When the temperature invariably falls over the winter months in the UK an air source heat pump will be less efficient, because the ambient temperature of the air is cooler so the compressor needs to work harder to drive the temperature of the water up. Conversely with a ground source, the ground temperature is relatively consistent all year round – so the efficiency that the heat pump works at will be maintained even on the coldest of days.
In the UK, you also benefit from the renewable heat incentive which pays the owner of such a system for every unit of hot water produced. In most cases this covers the cost of install (although it is paid over 7 years, so you would need the initial investment capital).
Hi James
I’ve heard mixed reviews of ground source heat pumps in UK – though interested myself. Is it a viable alternative for the ordinary 3-bed terrace house? Have you got evidence that it has a good track record of delivering against projections?
Hi John,
It is certainly viable, but you will be paying a lot for it, so that is the first thing to consider. The Government RHI payments are all based on the deemed heat usage on the bottom of the EPC, so the first thing to do is calculate your estimated RHI return. Use a COP of 4 in your calculations as that is about accurate for the GSHP.
In terms of delivery against projections, the key difference between the ground source heat pumps and the air source heat pumps (aside from price) are the COP for the GSHP is consistent over the course of the year because the temperature under the ground doesn’t really vary, while for the ASHP the COP varies hugely over the year because air temperature fluctuates so much. The COP of an ASHP during winter might be less than 1.5, but a GSHP should be in excess of 4 even during the coldest days, therefore the projections for ground source heat pumps tend to be more accurate and as such we are pretty confident suggesting them.
Can you say that in English please without the three letter Acronyms. Apart from ASHP and GSHP which were defined in the initial message I haven’t a clue (I’m sure there will be others too) what your post is saying. I’m aware of the need to reduce our carbon footprint, and we currently have a gas boiler that is probably less than 10 years old, So cost of changing and running is quite important.
could I have an opinion on Fischer heating?
Hi Kay, we hear very mixed things on Fisher heating. They are storage heaters, so charge and then release the heat as required – which certainly isn’t for everyone! I think the thing we hear most about them is the price though – the quotes that people are getting are ridiculous to be honest. I haven’t seen them in the flesh though, but they seem to have got their marketing spot on because a lot of people have heard about them! We will maybe get one in the office to try and then we can give a bit more useful feedback!
Hi, I have a property rented out just on the outskirts of Hereford, our oil boiler is now 12 years old and breaking down more and more often and bring rather expensive bills.
A new boiler is £4500 which is extremely pricey.. And unlike gas there does not tend to be any monthly payment plans (that I can find)..
I am now considering all my options but finding any information on alternatives proving difficult.. Can any body help
Hi Sam, that seems rather expensive (£4500) to install a new like for like oil boiler. Are they able to keep the boiler in the same location? And I assume you are keeping the hot water tank as is rather than moving to a pressurised system (making a few assumptions here!). I would firstly get more quotes, as it is likely you will be able to find something more competitive. Remember that anyone you use needs to be gas safe, and ideally go with a recommendation! .
In terms of renewable heating systems like heat pumps, biomass boilers and so forth, they all have their merits, but they do tend to be expensive. An air source heat pump will cost approximately 9k to install. A ground source nearer 20k. A biomass will cost about 10-12k. The benefit of these solutions is that they are all eligible for the renewable heat incentive so you get paid to produce hot water – however you get paid over 7 years and still need to find the money up front. If you want more information on any of these techs just have a look through this site (we have a widget on the top right of this page) and you can learn all about them and whether or not they would be right for you.
I am building an indoor pool and summer house and need help to develop the most effecient heating system with renewable technology to supplement a gas fired boiler.
Hi Richard,
If initial capital is no object go for a ground source heat pump (will cost about 20k) – provided this is installed by a MCS installer you will recover much of the money through the renewable heat incentive scheme. A ground source heat pump produces hot water through electricity in a ratio of approximately 4 or 5 units of useful heat for every one unit of electricity (a traditional electric heater is 1 to 1). You can supplement this through solar panels that will provide much of the electricity to power the heat pump provided you have a south (ish) facing roof. The more panels you can fit on the roof the better.
That would be my suggestion!
I am thinking about buying a new home in Austin Texas. Probably about 2,700 sq ft with HERS efficiency rating of 60. With the backside roof facing due South, would buying/building a new home as all electric consumption with a grid tied solar panel system and no gas piping/hookup. It seems not paying for any gas hook-up/piping would be a good offset to help with the solar cost. What is needed aside from the solar system…electric boiler or is there an electric version of a tankless water heater? US federal rebate is 30%, there may be some Texas rebates up to 10%? Are there things which should be coordinated with or installed by the builder vs the solar installer (conduit, breakers, panels, etc)?
One side of my roof is covered in solar panels to allow for the electric heating in the house, but because its an old house there is still a workable chimney on the other side of the house. My question is,will the heat from my chimney damage the solar panels on the other side of the peak on the roof, if i fit and light a woodburner to use in the lounge of the house, the chimney is about 2 metres away from the solar panels?
How does a heat pump system work
I am considering buying a small flat in North Wales. It has no gas therefore I need to have an electric system installed. Can you advise what is the most economical system?
I have tried 3 times to complete the form wanting more info on heat pumps, each time it goes back to the original empty form. Very frustrating
We have an ancient back boiler and immersion heater. We are a rural cottage and not on mains gas. I want to replace the back boiler for the most energy efficient and green option. The cottage has a small back garden and a pitched roof. I’m thinking a new combi boiler with some sort of solar arrangement to supplement the hot water…is this the best solution? I’m a bit lost and looking for advice. I can’t afford £20,000 for a heat pump.
Just moved into a 3 bed detached that has an LPG boiler for hot water & Heating (rads not underfloor). How much space is needed for a GSHP and whats the rough cost to install vs an ASHP? For either options I think am looking at a retrofit of underfloor heating.
Hi, I am looking into electric infra red heaters. Would they be cheaper to run than electric storage heaters? I have an economy 10 meter (a variation on economy 7 with a 7 hour night time rate and 3 additional cheaper hours during the day). Additionally do you know which provides better heating, storage or infr red? Thanks for any help you can offer.