Eco-friendly heating to be installed in 100 homes

Harrogate Borough Council is considering installing 100 eco-friendly heating schemes in bungalows which are in neighbourhoods not supplied by gas.

The project is due to be undertaken during the next two years, with the council providing 4,800 for fitting each property.

A report is also due to be published showing the results of a detailed evaluation of ground source heat pump installations, including research from Leeds Metropolitan University which is leading the Harrogate study.

Ground source heat pumps have already helped reduce energy consumption by between 52 per cent and 78 per cent in 93 council homes in the Harrogate district when compared with other forms of heating.

The systems have also saved tenants in the Harrogate district between 200 and 450 each year.

The technology uses buried pipes to extract heat from the ground to warm water for radiators or underfloor heating. It can also be used to pre-heat water before it goes into a conventional boiler.

Beneath the surface, the ground stays at a constant temperature, so a ground source heat pump can be used throughout the year – even in the middle of winter.

Harrogate Borough Council adopted a climate change strategy last year which involves reducing carbon dioxide emissions across the district by 40 per cent by 2020.

Trials saw eight properties installed with ground source heat pumps in the village of Copt Hewick in 2005, and a much wider scheme has since been introduced with 85 more properties fitted with the technology – 70 in 2007/08 and 15 in 2008/9.

In a survey of householders, up to 80 per cent were satisfied with the heating technology.