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Low carbon is the latest buzz-phrase and the words ‘zero carbon’ are even being bandied about. Realistically, this means that environmentally friendly heating methods have moved up the agenda. The ravages of climate change are being felt, the prices of fossil fuels are rising dramatically and the government’s dedication to cutting carbon emissions is as strong as ever.

The newest government energy review reinforces and takes further the goals expressed in the 2003 energy white paper. Targets of 10% renewable electricity sources by 2010, 20% by 2020 and 60% by 2050 may seem over-ambitious, but the drive to achieve them is evidently still programmed, regardless of how little or how much is done by other countries.

These percentages are, to a degree, arbitrary and afford little explanation of the complexities involved. It is not only a question of generating power by using renewable technologies. Diversity is crucial and includes energy saving as well as environmentally-friendly alternatives to electricity generation. These already include heating water as well as living and working space by using such energy sources as the sun, air, the ground or carbon-neutral fuels.

While the government concerns itself primarily with electricity sources, the heating industry can make its contributions in many additional ways and has incentives to do so. Customers, for example, are now much less hooked than they were on payback times, not only because of climate change but also because fuel prices are rising so strikingly and annual running-cost savings can be made by going ‘green’.

A further incentive is the much maligned Home Information Pack. Although the government has decided to postpone compulsory inclusion in the pack of a home condition report, an energy efficiency certificate is still required and the pack remains due for implementation by next year, when home sellers will surely gain ‘brownie points’ if anti-global-warming heating systems have been installed.

But which alternative approaches should the trade adopt? The choice is growing, the prices vary considerably, and timing is important. There is much loose talk about ground-source heat pumps, solar panels for power generation, domestic or micro combined heat and power appliances (MCHP), wind turbines on houses and so on.

Several of these will have their day in due course, and some are already with us, but there are obstacles to be overcome. The new energy review, for instance, gives much wordage to removing barriers to the sale of small amounts of surplus electricity back to power companies, and this could continue to be a problem when boiler-replacing MCHP units reach the market in larger volumes.

Ground-source heat pumps are   another favourite of the armchair theorists, but their cost and land requirements are rarely mentioned. In practice, many customers, however ‘green’ their outlook, would balk at the price, and many would lack the extensive garden required for a ‘slinky’ type of installation, or any garden at all for the even more expensive borehole method.

Heat pump coefficients of performance (COP) are attractive, however, so it is worth considering a COP of three for an air-source type. Mounted in a loft, or above a restaurant or food preparation area, this can convert unwanted warm air which rises from within the building, plus otherwise wasted solar radiation impinging on the roof, into useful energy for water or space heating.

Solar water-heating panels, which have long been available and seen more take-up, are also very useful, and here the choice can be very significant. For example, one-man lifting is good for installation, and well-insulated collectors which track the sun have proved more effective than flat-plate models. As with air-source heat pumps, competitive pricing can be a clincher with these.

Biomass is another emerging technology worth considering. While sources of wood pellets and boilers are being expanded, another form of biomass is being developed. This entails the mixing of oils from vegetation with heating oils to provide heating fuel, and the government’s energy review supports biomass crops as well as other renewable technologies.

Consider this: It is not only energy review coverage that is important to the heating industry. Equally vital are ways of increasing energy efficiency and using low-carbon or carbon-neutral methods.