The cold winter months are coming. A good time to think about heating your home. The heat pump is regularly seen as a sustainable alternative to, for example, a central heating system, but in my opinion it can be more sustainable. In this article I will tell you how climate control works in an energy-efficient home, without a conventional heat pump.

From central heating with gas to a heat pump

About 85 percent of houses in the Netherlands are still heated with gas, but the central heating boiler has had its day in the Netherlands. In the coming years we will switch to gasless forms of heating. New-build homes no longer have a gas connection. The heat pump is seen as a possible, sustainable replacement. In Scandinavian countries, for example, it has been the norm for years.

A heat pump is actually a refrigerator in reverse: it extracts heat from the air, the soil or groundwater, and heats it further with some electrical energy. Frequently mentioned advantages are lower CO2 emissions and the fact that you do not need gas.₂-uitstoot en het feit dat je geen gas nodig hebt.

The downside of the heat pump

However, a heat pump also has three important disadvantages.

First of all, it is not suitable for all homes, especially older homes. For example, a home must be well insulated and radiators must be suitable for low-temperature heating. The homes I design naturally meet those sustainability requirements. Yet I am not in favor of the heat pump.

A heat pump still uses electricity. You can say that the gas from a central heating boiler is more harmful to the environment than the electricity from a heat pump. However, as long as we generate the majority of the electricity in the Netherlands with coal, gas and biomass, this form of heating is actually even more harmful to the environment than gas. Even if you generate all your energy needs with solar panels. The problem with this is that we mainly want to heat our house when the sun does not shine (or shines little), being in winter.

The third disadvantage of a heat pump is that it uses a coolant to efficiently bring heat (or cold, depending on the season) into the building. However, depending on the type of coolant, the environmental impact is large or very large. The 'global warming potential' can be up to several hundred times that of CO2. And no matter how well we handle it, every heat pump leaks refrigerant during its lifespan.  

Heat without heating?

A heat pump is therefore not the most ideal solution, nor is a gas installation. Saving is what it's all about. After all, you don't have to generate energy that you don't use. Did you know that approximately 60 percent of the energy use in a home is in heating or cooling it? Saving on heating (and possibly cooling) then yields a relatively large profit. So why not build a home in such a way that you hardly have to heat it, even with a heat pump?

And this can be done, for example, by thinking of your house as being a good winter coat. This jacket ensures that your body stays warm, without you having to take an (electric) heater with you. There are various techniques you can use for this, both in a jacket and in a home. It comes down to extremely good insulation, smart ventilation, airtight construction and using the power of nature.

A few examples that I use:

Minimalise heat losses

First of all, it is important to lose as little heat as possible, because as I said: you don't have to generate what you don't use (or lose). You can prevent heat loss, for example, by insulating very well, making your home airtight and recovering heat from the ventilation air.

The next step is effective and efficient heating. This can be done with the following techniques, among others:  

Smart windows

Windows are a perfect way to heat your home, but they are also a risk for heat loss. By using the right window frames and glass and placing them smartly (especially oriented to east, south and west) in rooms that you also want to be warm (such as the living room), you can let the sun do its heating work. It works exactly the same way the other way around: don't place too many windows where you don't get much sunlight, because that's where you lose heat. 

Solar shading

Smart sun blinds also contribute to a warmer home. For example, you can place sun blinds that open and close automatically, depending on the temperature and the position of the sun. By building an overhang at south-facing windows, you also ensure that the low sun shines in in winter and heats your house. In the summer, when the sun is higher in the sky and you want to keep the heat outside, it remains nice and cool inside. 

Body heat and electrical appliances

Finally, there are also heat sources in the home. What do you think, for example, of our body, which produces almost 100 watts of heat when at rest (as much as a light bulb). You notice this, for example, at a birthday party, when there are many people in the house. And electrical appliances such as the refrigerator, oven and television emit heat. By not blowing it outside but using it inside the home, you keep the heat in the house.

Living without heating: is it possible?

Is living without heating (other than the sun) in the Netherlands an illusion? I am convinced that with a well designed and built house it is certainly possible. If it does get cold in a home, there are always ways to heat it up, for example with an electric heater.

Or of course just put a warm blanket on the couch, have visitors at home or exercise in the living room.

Are you curious whether your dream home can stay pleasantly warm without heating? Please feel free to contact me.