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NETWORK / 30 / FEBRUARY 2018 NET WORK/UTILIT Y WEEK ENERGY SYSTEMS CATAPULT ROUNDTABLE T he UK will meet its next carbon budget, but don't even think of stoking the fire or turning up the heating in celebration, because the next target – to reduce 1990 carbon emission levels by 37 per cent by 2020 – is not such a dead cert, in fact it's looking all but unat - tainable. For that – and all future emissions targets therea‚er – to happen, something big must change, and sooner rather than later. In short, the heat is on… Meeting future carbon budg- ets and the UK's Climate Change Act 2050 target (to reduce emis- sions by at least 80 per cent of Home is where the heat is Network Magazine, in association with Utility Week and the Energy Systems Catapult recently hosted a roundtable event where the subject of new business models for the decarbonisation of heat was discussed. Alice Cooke reports. 1990 levels by 2050) will require reducing domestic emissions by at least three per cent a year. This means all existing progress must be supplemented by significantly more stringent measures. Namely, the UK must all but eliminate domestic heat - ing emissions – they currently account for around a startling 20 per cent of the nation's overall carbon emissions. Analysis of ways in which the energy system might be adapted to meet carbon targets shows the elimination of emis- sions from buildings to be more cost effective than deeper cuts in other energy sectors (such as transport). This effectively means new heat alternatives and business models need to be found for domestic natural gas heating systems, and this needs to happen as a matter of ur - gency. A Utility Week, Network and Energy Systems Catapult roundtable recently discussed what form these new business models might take, and what they could mean for the indus - try going forward. Delegates agreed that enhanced construction stand- ards ensure new buildings are increasingly energy efficient, but the legacy building stock, (of around 26 million homes), has relatively poor thermal per - formance – which is significant because over 90 per cent are still expected to be in use in 2050. Even if building replacement was a desirable option, the cost would be prohibitive, and the carbon emissions associated with the construction process would be considerable too, rendering the whole idea fairly futile. At a structural level, the building fabric and its condi - tion, available space and, vitally, consumer preferences are all critical factors, said The Catapult's John Batterbee. At the network level, the existing networks in place, the prefer- ences of communities, available energy resources and number of buildings in question all also play a part. Filling the void To further complicate matters, as Kelly Butler of BEAMA pointed out, there is no central author- ity; a complex web of product and service companies, infra- structure developers, and home owners must all be involved in each case. In short, it's not a one-size-fits-all scenario by a long stretch. As such, delegates agreed there is a vacancy for a lead contractor in the heat network space, and for energy services to work effectively and efficiently, this is a void that needs to be filled. But as to why this hadn't already happened, it was sug - gested neither energy suppli- ers nor technology providers currently see this as an oppor- tunity. In response to the immedi- ate need for carbon efficiency, The Catapult is developing its own business models for selling energy; which sell the services enabled by energy rather than the energy itself. One of the concepts they tested with con - sumers was the idea of buying a warm home; whereby consum- ers could keep the whole home warm for one price, and part of the home warm for another. Ian Rose, professional ser- vices director at Passiv Systems, was enthused by the idea but warned of the obstacles such an The Catapult's John Batterbee spoke at the event.