Is Renewable Energy The Long Term Solution To The Fossil Fuel Crisis?
Fossil fuels have always had an expiry date. Aside from the fact that they’re non-renewable, the detrimental effects of fossil fuels on the environment are now well known – when fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, which traps heat in the atmosphere causing global warming.
Aside from the damaging impact on the planet, the recent fossil fuel energy crisis has further highlighted and enhanced anxieties surrounding fossil fuels. The sharp increase in the price of gas and oil has been caused by a variety of factors. The lingering effect of Covid 19, coupled with reduced gas supply from Russia, alongside other factors including extreme weather and low storage levels have all contributed to the significant increase in costs. The cost of living crisis in Ireland and across the UK has been a symptom of the volatile market of fossil fuels, and highlighted more urgently than ever the need to look for alternatives.
Is Renewable Energy The Solution?
The sustainable solution to the issues surrounding fossil fuels is to increase the use of renewable energy. The nature of renewable energy being, well, renewable is that unlike fossil fuels the supply won’t eventually run out. They don’t release harmful emissions like fossil fuels do. In fact, most renewable energy sources produce little to no emissions – that’s why you’ll often hear it referred to as ‘clean energy’. The energy comes from inexhaustible natural sources like strong winds, the sun, and fast moving water.
As the recent energy crisis has demonstrated, the price of fossil fuels can vary significantly, with the market being prone to unpredictable price swings. The price of renewable energy on the other hand is relatively stable. Renewable energy facilities provide an initial upfront investment to build, however once built they can operate at very low costs – this is because the “fuel” is free i.e. comes from natural sources. Boosting renewable energy sources where possible will help to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, providing more reliable energy sources that offer cheaper bills to consumers.
How Can You Switch To Renewable Energy In The Home?
Switching to renewable energy frees you from the volatile fossil fuel market, enabling you to escape soaring prices whilst making your home greener and more energy efficient in the process. These are just a few of the options that are available for powering your home with renewable energy sources:
- Solar panels
- Air source heat pumps
- Smaller wind turbines
- Biomass boilers
With 50 years of proud Irish manufacturing under our belts, the Pipelife Eco team are experienced in installing air to water heat pumps in a variety of homes, helping to cut household emissions by more than half. Heat pumps extract heat from the outside air and convert it into usable heat for the home via a vapour compression cycle. If you’d like to hear more about the benefits of installing an air to water heat pump in your home, including details on the installation process, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.