46 HEATING VENTILATION & SERVICES
NO MAGIC BULLET In their consultation response, Ministers explicitly say that “low carbon heating systems will be integral to the specification of the Future Homes Standard”. However, they then go on to say that “we anticipate that heat pumps will become the primary heating technology for new homes.” Arguably, however, the industry is
likely to draw on a variety of different technologies to help heat homes both sustainably and efficiently. While air-source and ground-source heat pumps have their place – they come with their
own issues, such as expensive annual maintenance visits and the likely need to replace them within 30 years. The Government is therefore being very short-sighted by presenting this one heating technology as the solution to a complex problem – a problem likely to need all sorts of different systems to properly address.
FAR-INFRARED So far in any of its documentation relating to the Future Homes Standard, the Government is yet to mention the huge potential of far-infrared. Infrared refers to a division of the
electromagnetic spectrum. Within that division, there are three types of infra-red radiation: near infrared, mid infrared and far-infrared – and it’s far-infrared that’s by far the most beneficial for heating homes, as well as for their occupants. Far-infrared is in fact the exact same
frequency of light generated by the sun, invisible to the naked eye, but capable of warming us directly. Far-infrared radiation warms all the surfaces and objects in a room, rather than the air – and those surfaces and objects then go on to radiate heat themselves. The embodied heat gathered in these
areas is slowly released back into the room, letting occupants turn down the thermostat. This in turn allows for a very fast reaction time to perfectly control the room temperature. The fast reaction times mean occupiers feel the benefits within minutes of the thermostat switching back on – saving energy, and cutting carbon emissions. Systems using the technology can
make a major contribution to the collective effort to reach zero carbon by 2050 – and as such the Government should seriously consider promoting its use as part of the Future Homes Standard.
Nick Gander and Rod Davies are co- founders of Energy Carbon
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK
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