Survey of 2,500 UK Households With Heat Pumps Showed 81% Satisfaction Level

Because of their higher fossil fuel costs, other countries are far ahead of the United States in the adoption of home electrification, including for heating. The United Kingdom is one of them, and The Guardian recently reported on a survey of 2,500 households which have made that switch. I’m not aware of a similar survey here, where there may not be enough heat pump households to survey.

HVAC contractors in America have been slow to offer or recommend the replacement of gas forced air and gas boiler heating systems with heat pumps, mostly because they are unfamiliar with them. When a homeowner needs to replace their current HVAC system, the vendor who has been servicing that system is most likely to recommend replacing it with a “newer, more efficient” model. So far, I have found only one company which installs and services both traditional gas-fueled heating systems and electric heat pump systems — always recommending the latter. That company, which I have mentioned previously, is Sensible Heating & Cooling, 720-876-7166.

Here are some key excerpts from The

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Guardian’s article, a link to which I’ll post on www.GoldenREblog.com:

The survey of more than 2,500 domestic heat pump owners and more than 1,000 domestic gas boiler owners in England, Scotland and Wales over the last winter is thought to be the largest investigation into how households have responded to heat pumps to date….

Households have been slow to take up government vouchers worth £5,000 to help cover the cost of replacing a gas boiler with a new heat pump. Slightly more than a third of the scheme’s grants were taken up in the last financial year.

However, the survey, which was undertaken by Eunomia Research and Consulting, found that 81% of households were as satisfied or more satisfied with heat pumps compared with previous heating systems, including gas boilers, electric heating, or oil and LPG boilers….

On running costs, which is another key area of concern for households considering a heat pump, the survey found that two-thirds of heat pump owners and 59% of gas boiler owners were satisfied even without extensive energy efficiency upgrades….

“The government should now have the confidence to move forward quickly with its proposal to.… streamline outof-date planning rules to make it easier and cheaper for everyone to make the switch to cleaner, safer and more efficient heating with a heat pump,” [said Clem Cowton, director of external affairs for Octopus Energy, a local energy supplier.]

Littleton Ranch Just Listed by Chuck Brown

Renewables Surpassed Coal & Nuclear for First Time in 2022

Since 2007, the use of coal for electricity generation has generally been in decline, while the use of renewables has been on the rise. Electricity generation from nuclear had remained relatively flat over the last two decades but has experienced a slight decline in recent years. In 2022, net generation of electricity from renewables reached 0.91 billion megawatt-hours, topping both coal and nuclear (0.83 and 0.77 billion megawatt-hours, respectively). In 2022, renewables accounted for about 21% of all net generation of electricity.

Notes:

Renewable sources of power include wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal energy. “Other” category includes petroleum liquids, petroleum coke, batteries, chemicals, hydrogen, pitch, purchased steam, sulfur, miscellaneous technologies, and electricity gen- erated from non-renewable waste.

Electricity net generation is the amount of gross electricity a generator produces minus the electricity used to operate the power plant.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

Are You Interested in or Curious About Cohousing?

Cohousing is an intentional, collaborative neighborhood that combines private homes with shared indoor and outdoor spaces designed to support an active and interdependent community life.

Here in Jefferson County and Denver, we have several successful cohousing communities, including Harmony Village, a 27-unit townhome community in Golden, and Hearthstone Cohousing, a 33-townhome community built on the former Elitch Gardens site in northwest Denver. Both communities have common houses for group meals and other community activities. The common houses also have guest apartments that members can rent for visiting guests.

tainability and CohoUS at Hearthstone Cohousing, 4700 E. 37th Ave., Denver, on June 14, 5 to 8 pm, for a “discussion and networking event.” Attendees can take a tour of the complex from 5:00 to 5:45pm. At 6:30pm, there will be a short talk from CohoUS executive director Trish BeckerHafnor, followed by a discussion of what it means to live in a cohousing space, the myths about cohousing, and how cohousing benefits the environment.

I wrote about cohousing in metro Denver in my Dec. 29th column, which you can read at www.JimSmithColumns.com

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Cohousing communities like these are self-managed with volunteer officers, and members pitch in to help with community chores. Needless to say, everyone knows each other by name, too! It’s all about being in community.

That won’t interest most people, but if it interests you, you can join Women in Sus- brie y coached at the school afterward. e Hayes siblings and other attendees emphasized how all the di erent generations of Demons returning for the sesquicentennial celebration was a testament to that community feel.

“Golden High School has been our whole lives,” he said.

Michelle Henriksen née Ellis and her husband Nils Henriksen, Class of 1992 graduates who live in the Arvada West area, said they plan to choice-enroll their daughter Annalise at GHS because of that unique environment.

Annalise, who was sporting a “Class of 2032” sticker at the sesquicentennial celebration, said she was very excited to be a future Demon. She enjoyed the June 4 event, saying she had fun seeing old photos of her parents and uncle in the GHS yearbooks.

Michelle and her brother Brian Ellis, a Class of 1994 graduate, moved to Golden from Indiana, where their education was a “sit-and-get” format. But, GHS was di erent: it was more engaging and immersive.

Brian Ellis added how, at that time, felt more like a college campus with students coming and going at all hours of the day. at environment, the siblings said, allowed them to ourish at GHS. Now, the Henriksens hoped that’d be the case for Annalise and other future Demons.

Decades of Maroon & White e 20-minute documentary recapping the school’s history was a highlight of the June 4 event, showing how GHS history intersected with Golden, Colorado and United States history.

It honored those Demons who fought and died in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War; it showed the passage of time along Washington Avenue and the various school buildings and campus sites; and highlighted those GHS teams who won state championships. e video also brought back memories for the alumni, like the payphone outside the gym, various fashion trends, and traditional GHS events like prom, junior raft trips and senior seminars. e two alumni initially learned the hand jive at a camp and brought back to GHS, but did it to a variety of songs. It caught on enough that the Class of 1988 performed the hand jive at graduation.

Class of 1988 graduates Cora Rice and Jennifer Chaet also later expounded on how they helped develop the now-iconic GHS hand jive.

Rice and Chaet theorized how the Class of 1989 must’ve solidi ed the routine and eternally paired it with Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough.” However it came to be, the pair just appreciated how the Demons have kept it going, noting that it’s “become a staple of the school now.”

For several alumni, this was their rst time back at GHS in decades.

Class of 1968 graduate Doug Doing noted how his children went to GHS as well, but he hadn’t seen the new campus since it was nished in 2008.

Judy Foley née Becwar said she toured the campus ve years ago for her 50th class reunion. But, she appreciated returning with her children, who graduated in the ‘90s, for the sesquicentennial.

Class of 1988 graduate Jon Olsen said he probably hadn’t been back since graduation, but his brother and another friend from GHS encouraged him to go with them on June 4.

For Golden High School to last 150 years is a true accomplishment, he said, adding how both the anniversary itself and the June 4 celebration show how enduring and resilient the Golden Demons are, have been and always will be.