INCREASING COMFORT REDUCING EMISSIONS Victorian terrace gets green upgrade with air source heat pump
Like many of its neighbours , Lucy Galvin ’ s Victorian terraced house in Norwich ’ s Nelson ward was chilly , expensive to heat and emitting unnecessarily high levels of CO2 .
Switching to renewables by replacing the old boiler with an air source heat pump , solar panels and battery storage has greatly improved comfort levels while slashing emissions by more than half .
Unsustainable Energy price rises saw the Galvin family ’ s gas and electricity bills double in two years from £ 1,895 in 2020 to an eye-watering £ 3,272 in 2022 . This combined with the looming threat of climate change prompted Lucy to look in depth at ways to save money and substantially reduce the household ’ s carbon emissions .
“ I ’ m very concerned about droughts , heatwaves , wildfires , freak weather events and crop failure happening right now ,” she explains . “ And the more carbon we burn , the less liveable our planet ’ s future will be . A whopping fifth of our national carbon emissions comes from our homes and buildings . So , I decided to make 2023 the year to get our house fixed up to use clean , cheaper , renewable energy .”
Despite having some of the highest house prices in Norwich , Nelson is the most fuel-poor ward in the city ; 16.7 per cent of homes there
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