The United Nations climate change conference commences in Glasgow this month, this summit will bring different parties together to accelerate action towards our climate change targets. This year the UK Government set ambitious climate change targets into law to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. The heat and building strategy set out by the Government plans to significantly reduce carbon emissions from the 30 million homes and workplaces in the UK, in a simple, low cost and green way.
One such way to cut emissions and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels is switching to eco-friendly HVO as a drop-in replacement for Kerosene in existing domestic boilers. This would cost homeowners a one-off conversion cost of less than £400 and help the UK reach its 2035 climate goals.
According to Mark Doyle, General Manager of Firebird, the leading player in the home heating market, there are approx. 1.5million liquid fuel-burning boilers in UK homes. If these homes switched to HVO, up to 90% of greenhouse gas emissions would be eliminated and emissions such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) would be dramatically reduced, literally overnight.
“Firebird does not sell liquid fuels. Firebird has no vested interest, so this fuel is not a commercial opportunity for Firebird – homeowners and the environment are those who would benefit,” explained Mark Doyle of Firebird.
“Thankfully, the new homes that are being built in the UK now have a high energy rating but it’s the 1.5 million older homes that must adapt and improve in efficiency. Implementing a simple HVO strategy could see the UK converting these domestic boilers with a low-cost solution to achieve huge environmental savings overnight.”
The switch to HVO for a Kerosene boiler is achieved through a simple change of the burner to the Firebird by Elco HVO burner. A boiler, burning on HVO would instantly reduce its CO2 emissions to 0.036kg per kWh – far lower than gas or electricity. With a growing drive and responsibility to tackle the root causes of climate change and to reduce our environmental impact both at a national and micro level, fossil-free HVO offers the most simple and straightforward solution for both homeowners and the Government.
Adapting to HVO for domestic heating is not a radical move, in fact the UK would only be following a trend that is becoming increasingly common and popular for domestic and commercial heating solutions across the globe. France and Germany are among those who use HVO in various sectors, including transport and domestic heating.
Leading the charge in innovation, Firebird has trialled and tested HVO in the UK and Ireland to prove that it can be implemented almost immediately, requiring little or no modification to existing home heating systems – no significant investment beyond a small conversion cost, simply the introduction of the Firebird by Elco HVO burner delivering instant savings for homeowners and the environment.
Firebird’s trials proved in just one month how greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced from five tonnes to just 500kg per year for an average four-bedroom house. Its trials proved how household greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 90% decreasing by up to six tonnes annually.
Confident that HVO is not just the future but the “now”, Firebird’s manufacturing sites in Cork, Northern Ireland and England have been running on HVO for the last 12 months.
“We’re passionate about providing sustainable alternatives and we believe a switch to HVO is the most simple, obvious and logical solution for both homeowners and the Government.
“A move to a renewable, 100% fossil fuel free and a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel for domestic boilers shouldn’t be seen as an option, but a necessity.”
This innovative approach to problem solving is just one of the reasons why Firebird is a market leader in home heating; always adapting, always developing practical world class solutions with a mission to set new standards of sustainability for the home heating market.