How climate scientist reduced his home’s CO2 while increasing its heating

When your you’re as passionate about climate change as Met Office scientist Jeff Ridley, reducing your carbon emissions is extremely important.  So, how has the global-warming specialist taken measures to reduce his own CO2?

After having solar PV and solar thermal systems installed at his home in Exeter, Jeff’s next step was to ensure that all of his winter heating and hot water came from renewable energy sources.

Jeff had been involved with the Met Office Energy Centre’s solar PV system, which was carried out by Devon experts SunGift Energy, and was so impressed with the work that the company carried out that he asked them to design and install a bespoke biomass system.

“I wanted a heating system that is not only carbon neutral,” said Jeff, “but also provides all of the heat and hot water that my house needs throughout the winter, and SunGift provided the ideal solution.  It’s clean, simple to operate, and connected to my existing heating system.”

Jeff’s previous heating system was fuelled by gas, but his Windhager biomass boiler uses wood pellets, which reduce his C02 emissions by 1,420 kg per year.

“Wood pellets are locally-sourced, clean, low in moisture, and sourced from sustainably-managed forestry,” said Mark Howard, SunGift’s biomass specialist, “so they are very efficient and have no carbon footprint.

Government payments
“They also benefit from the government’s renewable heat incentive (RHI), so Jeff receives a payment of 10.98 pence for every unit of heat his boiler generates.  Perhaps more importantly, as gas and electricity prices continue to be volatile, the price of Jeff’s wood pellets will remain steady and are not likely to rise unexpectedly.”

So, while many people continue to rely on the ‘big six’ energy companies for their energy, Jeff can look forward to a future where his is in control of his own energy needs. “I’m already seeing huge benefits from my renewable energy technologies,” added Jeff.  “In addition to my biomass boiler, my solar panels generate more electricity than I use and my solar thermal panels provide me with free hot water in the summer months.”

Choosing a company that would provide a high-quality installation and proven after-sales service was also extremely important to Jeff, so he chose SunGift after witnessing the quality of their work at the Met Office.  “SunGift have an excellent reputation and well-informed staff who are experts in their field,” added Jeff.  “I chose SunGift to design and install my biomass system because I knew I could trust them to do a first-rate job and provide me with a high-quality heating solution.”

SunGift designed and installed a ‘Windhager 10kW BioWIN 2 pellet boiler’ with a manual feed, which provides 100% of Jeff’s space heating and hot water requirements. The system has a 100kg capacity fuel hopper and took five days to install.

Quick stats
Total income from RHI (after 7 years): £6,435
Carbon savings per year: 1,420 kg
Boiler: Windhager 10kW BioWIN 2 pellet boiler
Annual fuel requirement: 2,026 kg of wood pellet