26 THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE
require in older UK homes. Heat pumps normally output between 40°C-60°C, says the firm, but its new EH ono HT Quiet (pictured on page 24) has been designed to “consistently provide up to 70°C for domestic heating purposes,” thereby providing a way forward for the retrofit challenge in particular. As well as higher temperature, the quieter (as low as 35 dB), and sleeker new arrival is being championed by the manufacturer’s ambassador, architect Charlie Luxton. Its slimline dark grey chassis should turn architects’ – and enlightened housebuilders’ – heads, as a low carbon option with its own aesthetic selling points.
“I THINK THE WHOLE CONVERSATION AROUND INSTALLATION COSTS IS GOING TO BE A VERY DIFFERENT ONE IN TWO YEARS’ TIME. I THINK PEOPLE WILL BE MORE OPEN” – CHARLIE LUXTON
Another compelling claim for the unit is that in the company’s own lab tests (despite one of their caveats being that “results may vary depending on the actual usage conditions”), it “reliably provided 100% heating performance even in weather as low as -25°C.” Less controversial is that it’s technologically as well as physically smart – the unit can be remotely controlled from a phone, allowing people to monitor energy usage daily, weekly and monthly at a glance.
PUMPING UP THE EFFICIENCY Housebuilder and Developer spoke to Charlie uxton at amsung Eco Heating Systems’ London launch of its new quieter, high temperature heat pump HT Quiet. He told us that he believed that the move to heat pumps was driven by a wider set of forces than just the Future Homes Standard, and was simply a no brainer: “It’s the reality of global warming; it will make gas a thing of the past, until we get a viable, green hydrogen, and even hydrogen is a gas.” The architect commented that in the short to medium term, heat pumps are “likely to do the vast majority of the heavy lifting,” because we won’t be able to insulate all of the UK’s 27 million existing homes, particularly with the UK having one of the “oldest, leakiest housing stocks in Europe.
Luxton says that a decade ago, options like biomass were considered for mainstream housing upgrades and new builds, however they have proved “complicated.” He adds that at that point, heat pumps hadn’t seen the refinement which the market is now producing, and there were “quite a lot of installation issues, certainly with some ground source installations.” He says that the COP which air source heat pumps can now achieve year-round is now approaching that of their more expensive and complex ground source counterparts.
He believes that there is “an enormous amount to do” to encourage and drive developers, but that “strict legislation
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enforcement is definitely coming to that end. He added that, with the Building Regulations bringing a “step change” on insulation and overheating, we “are definitely moving in the right direction. When it comes to the cost of heat pumps (albeit they are cheaper than solutions like ground source), Luxton says that “we need to look more holistically at cost of upgrades – because if homeowners are actually investing a little bit more on the insulation, the heat demand will be significantly lower. This will make the overall costbenefit ratio more appealing, and he adds that energy prices are “not going back down to 14 pence per kilowatt hour; that age has gone.” “I think the whole conversation around installation costs is going to be a very different one in two years’ time. I think people will be more open [to the investment].” Luxton says that the way consumers have begun to really interrogate their cars’ performance will, thanks to the energy crisis, cross over to their homes. “By the end of this winter, people will know what their bills are.”
FEELING THE HEAT
Achieving the numbers needed (and the Government’s hoped-for target of 600,000 heat pump installations by 2028 seems incredibly daunting), means not just manufacturers having the right product, but installers able and willing to cover the ground. Luxton says that heat pump technology is not the problem – achieving the efficiencies needed comes down to correct specification, installation, and consumer use. “It’s about educating people; you can’t just whack on a heat pump and turn it off; you will lose efficiency the best thing is slightly lower ow temperatures; it’s like ying a plane gently rather than erratically.” He adds: “There has to be an education process of the consumers.
Luxton believes that “there are good installers, but we need to roll that out.” And by that he means installations on a “national, industrialised scale.” This is not something we have seen in retrofit, never mind new build, on this scale, and it will require a much more concerted effort from government, working alongside housebuilders, installers, and manufacturers.
The mythical national retrofit strategy needs to happen now. Charlie Luxton suggests that direct intervention is needed to up the industry’s game now to tackle the scope of the energy efficiency improvements needed in a timeframe of unprecedented shortness. He concludes; Everyone is moving in the right direction, we just need to stick a rocket up everyone’s behind. Because this problem is vast, and needs a lot of work.”
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