Northumberland couple reap the benefits of greener heating with reduced household bills

Otterburn couple Claire and Stephen Riddell are embracing greener central heating and encouraging others to do the same.

They have an air source heating system installed in their bungalow, provided by Karbon Homes, which they claim has drastically reduced their heating and hot water bills and helped lower their carbon footprint.

Stephen said: “The air source heat pump is absolutely fantastic, I couldn’t speak more highly of it. I sometimes wonder how something so simple can be so effective, we swear by ours.

“At the flick of a switch we have heating and plenty of hot water. Turned on for just a few hours on an evening, the house is warmed up lovely and stays warm through the night.

“The system is also really environmentally friendly and if more people took up them up it would help ease the strain on the planet. Global warming is happening and I worry for the likes of my daughter and grandkids.”

Air source heat pumps work by absorbing heat from the outside air, boosting it to a higher temperature using a compressor, and transferring it to the heating system when needed.

Claire added: “When I see what some people are paying for gas energy, I think why are we paying so little?

"With this system we’ve never found ourselves having to decide whether to put the heating on or not because of the cost. It’s sad to think that other people are having to make that decision.”

Stephen and Claire’s air source heat pump is one of 273 that the housing association has fitted into rural, off-grid homes across Northumberland and County Durham.

Sarah Robson, director of development and regeneration at Karbon Homes, said: “A quarter of all carbon emissions produced in the north of England come from housing and as a landlord that owns and manages almost 30,000 homes, we have a big role to play in reducing them.

“In the last 12 months we’ve invested £2.4million in energy saving measures for our homes, modifications that are not only helping the environment, but benefiting our residents financially.”

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