New Renewables
Everyone has heard of the major renewable sources of energy such as solar power and wind power, but there are a number of other options out there that can be worth looking into depending on your personal circumstances. They're not always that cheap, but like any other energy efficiency measure they pay for themselves sooner or later.
Biomass
To the average person biomass is another way of saying 'wood-burning' but it's slightly more complex than that. Specialist biomass boilers can be a really cost-effective way to heat a home. It has the advantage of being a carbon neutral fuel, as the carbon that is released during the burning is averaged out by the carbon that is used during the lifetime of the tree or plant. The savings can be anywhere between £200 and £400 and you could save as much as 8 tonnes of CO2 a year.
For those with open hearths, remember that they're not a very effective way of heating a house. A lot of heat is lost up the chimney and unless you have a significant supply of free wood, the cost of buying fire wood is more than the cost of fuel for most normal boilers.
Ground Heat Pumps
A ground source heat pump can be effective enough to cover all the heating needs of a house in certain situations. Loops of pipe are buried underground and transfer the natural heat from the earth into the home. The systems can be very expensive and are best used in certain parts of the country, but the savings range between £400 and £800 a year and will cut your CO2 emissions by as much as 8 tonnes.
Air Source Heat Pumps
An air source heat pump does the same a ground source heat pump just with the open air. Whilst it might seem incredible in the current climate, it is possible to heat a home through air-to-water or air-to air systems. However, they are very expensive (in the range of £6,000 to ££8,000 before you factor in VAT) and may not produce that much in the way of savings.
Of course, if these don't work for you, a most effective way to heat your house efficiently is to make sure that your boiler and heating system is up-to-date. The recent boiler scrappage scheme offers discounts to those who want to update their very old systems to modern ones, and some energy suppliers, for example British Gas*, are doubling the governments money to take nearly a thousand pounds off a new system and save around £200 a year on fuel bills. It's definitely worth considering.
*You can view their full range of boilers at britishgas.co.uk