Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1189322
NETWORK / 30 / DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 Pumping up affordable low carbon power Graham Wright, chairman of the Heat Pump Association, on the important role heat pumps could play in the low carbon heat mix, and the need to increase the rate of installations to meet net-zero. M omentum is gather- ing for the need to change the way we heat our buildings. The Future Homes Standard for housebuilders and developers, announced in the Conservative government's 2019 spring statement, will set minimum environmental stand - ards for all new build housing, including a commitment to removing traditional fossil fuel heating systems by 2025. The next five years will there - fore be a key period in which clear policy is needed on what exactly "low carbon" means, to ensure that housebuilders are clear as to what action they need to take. The government has indicated a strong desire to phase out fossil fuel heating, but how this is to be achieved needs to be decided on – and communicated now – if ambi - tions for 2025, 2035 and 2050 are to be met. Heat pumps are one of the few low carbon heating systems available right now, but cur - rently there is a lack of clear policy and a misguided belief that there will be other ultra low carbon sources, perhaps from biofuel mixes or hydrogen gas (which itself currently relies on fossil fuel energy and carbon capture to produce it). A major short-term shiˆ to solely adopt heat pumps would be neither practical nor sensible, but it should not be denied that heat pump systems, of all genres (see box, right) are capable of significantly reducing carbon emissions. The heat pump market In October 2016 the Commit- tee on Climate Change (CCC) released a report, Next steps for UK heat policy. This estimated that, to decarbonise heat sup- ply, heat pump installations would need to run at over 1 million per year from the mid 2030s. According to the European Heat Pump Association, in 2018 the European heat pump market achieved double-digit growth for the fourth year in a row, with France leading in terms of number of units sold per coun - try, followed by Italy and Spain. However, the UK heat pump market has plateaued at around 20,000 installations per year in recent years. In order to close this gap during the next decade, we need to see a steep rise in heat pump deployment in new homes, homes off the gas grid and in What is a heat pump? A heat pump takes energy from a (relatively) low temperature source and forces that heat to a higher temperature making it more useful. The low carbon heating system The question of how we are going to decarbonise the heating of buildings in the future is of interest to designers, occupiers and, in particular, government, who are committed to delivering binding carbon emission reductions. Momentum is now gathering for the need the way we heat our buildings. The HPA that there is a huge opportunity for the country embrace heat pump technology at this time, move towards significant reductions in emissions. Heat pumps are one of the few low carbon systems available right now. The machine that 'moves heat' Warm liquid Hot vapour Condenser Evaporator Cold vapour Cool liquid Electricity Heat Source Heat sink Compressor Expansion valve 1 2 3 4 00424 HPA leafletDL.indd 2 LOW CARBON HEAT commercial buildings. Deployment in these areas could also help to overcome issues of technology familiarity that currently constrain take-up. It would also provides an op - portunity to build a strong sup- ply chain capable of installing effective systems with minimal disruption. Performance and costs Heat pumps are a cost-effective solution when displacing oil heating or resistive electric heat- ing. In new builds from the mid- 2020s, heat pumps can be de- signed as part of an integrated system and can perform better in respect of C02 emissions and be sized for lower peak heat demand, with commensurately lower capital costs. At the moment, heat pump costs in new properties compare favourably with gas heating when the cost of connecting to the gas grid is included. This is about £350 to £1,080 per domes - tic connection, and higher for some commercial or industrial units. The lower the distribution temperature in the heating system (for instance, under - floor heating requires less heat than radiators), the higher the efficiency of the heat pump will be. Heat pumps therefore oper- ate at optimum efficiency when used in conjunction with low temperature heating systems. In most commercial applications, cooling is required as well as