Warmth from the earth and air: could heat pumps replace our gas boilers?

The fuels we use to warm our homes create a carbon burden. Systems that capture ambient heat could offer a solution

One of the greatest contributors to pollution is such a part of everyday life it is easily overlooked: the fossil fuels used in our homes for heating, hot water and cooking make up more than a fifth of the UK's carbon emissions.

This is why the government plans to ban gas boilers in new-build homes from 2025, a policy which could extend to all new gas boilers in homes from the mid-2030s. Beyond this date, newly installed heating systems would need to be low-carbon or able to be converted to use clean-burning fuel such as hydrogen.