Sweet Greens

The eco-minded are always on the hunt for ways to reduce consumption. Hybrid heating systems are a really interesting way to lower consumption and your home heating bill at the same time. It’s an interesting concept, particularly the way that the automation does the eco watching for you.

Most of us choose either an electric heat pump or a gas boiler to heat our homes. However, the new hybrid systems are an intriguing fresh option. A Hybrid heat system reacts to changing temperatures and automatically adjusts to the most efficient energy saving method available to heat (or cool) a home. It combines a furnace with a heat pump, rather than an air conditioner and it’s very much a fuel-saving alternative to traditional heating and cooling systems.

Electric and gas each have some benefits, but there are drawbacks that make it difficult to ensure you have a truly energy-efficient heating system in your home. At lower temperatures, gas boilers are more efficient than electric heat pumps. However, when you only need a small boost in heat, the electric heat pump uses less energy than firing up the entire boiler for just a short period of time. The new hybrid solution gives you the best of both the gas and the electric worlds.

An example of a hybrid solution is the Daikin Altherma hybrid heat pump. It has new technology that automatically selects the most energy efficient method for heating your home. It automatically evaluates the outdoor temperature and your heating demands and switches between either the electric heat pump or your gas boiler.

Unlike the human brain, which is easily distracted and forgetful, these new solutions do the thinking for you, and these hybrids provide options for you that you wouldn’t have in a normal system. They make the shift between electric and gas to optimize for the most eco – and economical – settings for your home.

When the temperature is mild, the heat pump is more than sufficient to heat your home without the need to fire up the boiler. Once the outside temperature drops to a chillier season, the boiler begins to provide additional heating. When the outside temperature gets very low, the boiler operates alone. The system always conserves energy by providing the most efficient heat for the current conditions.

It’s gratifying to see that in some parts of the world, governments are recognizing and rewarding the environmental benefits of innovations like these new hybrid heating systems. In the UK, there’s a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) that pays residents who switch to hybrid systems 7.3p/kWh for each unit of renewable heat that they produce. (But UK residents, take note: you’re only eligible if you have your Daikin Altherma hybrid heat pump or another similar hybrid system installed by an MCS accredited installer such as Calor.)

I hope that we’ll continue to hear about new environmentally-conscious technology like these hybrid heating systems from lpg suppliers. It reminds me of cars that use both a conventional internal combustion engine and also a high voltage electric motor.

Have you got a hybrid system in your home? How do you like the system? I’d love to hear about it!