30 ASK THE MANUFACTURER THE FUTURE OF HEATING
Russell Dean, residential product group director at Mitsubishi Electric, speaks to Housebuilder & Developer’s Jack Wooler on the Government’s net zero target – exploring the challenges in reaching it, and arguing why heat pumps are the future.
M
ost housebuilders now recognise the challenges of reaching net zero, already aiming to
design and build their homes to reduce carbon emissions and future-proof their properties.
Proactively making their own commitment to building net zero homes and designing ambitious projects that reach beyond the Government’s Future Homes Standard, leading builders are increasingly specifying solar panels, electric car chargers and now – as Russell Dean of Mitsubishi Electric argues – installing heat pumps as standard. He believes that builders, both large and small, already have a “strong appetite” for heat pumps, but that moving forwards – if all goes as hoped – they will become standard practice, with the biggest challenge left being effective collaboration between all parties. “There is no one silver bullet that will make a home ultra-effi cient,” says Dean. “It’s the effective collaboration between the build fabric, low carbon technologies, controls, smart use of energy and the consumer interface that will ensure that high level of effi ciency.” “Although this is a challenge, it’s well within our gift to solve,” he continues. “We certainly see strong signs that manufacturers are working together so that their technologies are working in synergy.”
HEAT PUMPS EXPLAINED
There are likely few builders who are unaware of air source heat pumps at this stage, but some may still question what makes them a ‘green’ technology. As Russell Dean explains it, air source heat pumps are classifi ed as a renewable energy source because they capture free energy from the air, “making them a great solution for gas and old boiler replacements.”
He uses the analogy of a fridge to explain the workings: “The technology inside an air source heat pump is very similar to that of a domestic fridge –
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transferring heat from one place to another. The back of your fridge is warm because it is removing heat from the food inside the fridge and out into your kitchen.” He continues: “An air source heat pump sits outside your home and extracts warmth from the outdoor air. It upgrades this renewable heat energy and transfers it inside the home to provide hot water and heating for radiators and/or under oor heating.”
Like your fridge, it will do this “quietly and reliably,” as Russell puts it, all year round, with leading products working even in sub-zero temperatures, down to -25ºC.
Still, some builders may question why this green technology in particular should be adopted, especially if it involves a change in their supply chain. According to Russell, heat pumps – along with technologies such as solar panels – are simply “the way forward to reach net zero.”
“The UK Government has led the way in making a legally binding commitment to reaching net zero,” says Russell. “That means moving unequivocally away from the use of fossil fuels such as oil and gas to heat our homes.”
Because of this, he argues that sustainability must become a “cornerstone” of all business right now, with a number of challenges likely to be shared by the whole sector as the Government and the country itself pushes towards a sustainable future.
Three such main ‘recognised challenges’
Russell lists that he believes will affect all builders are: carbon neutrality – achieving a decarbonised society to
curb climate change by reducing CO2 emissions from the company and society, a circular economy – achieving a society in which resources are effectively used and sustainably circulated, and security – achieving a resilient society that can cope with various environmental changes as well as risks.
Where heat pumps come into play
here, according to Russell, is in effectively tackling all three of these issues, with heat pumps not only helping the UK reach its net zero target, but able to provide jobs and opportunities to grow the green economy, reduce the UK’s reliance on imported gas and oil. By reducing the use of energy in heating homes – they also therefore reduce the cost of heating.
THE TRANSITION
Despite the above benefi ts, the transition to such technologies is a concern to many in the industry, particularly those working on older properties – not just concerned about retrofi tting older homes to offer the insulation necessary for the technologies to function optimally, but of creating the spaces and infrastructure for the technology itself, and training people to install heat pumps. As to the latter, Russell tells us that Mitsubishi Electric is ahead of the game. He reports that the company has already invested heavily in training to address this concern, currently training 400 installers a month, with the capacity to train up to 4000 a month as the demand for the technology grows.
“From our perspective we do not see a challenge fi nding the installer base; there are hundreds of installers in every town; they are just currently installing gas boilers.”
As to the ageing stock, while Russell notes that the UK has “some of the oldest and least effi cient housing in Europe,” he argues that this doesn’t change the facts – the switch to low carbon heating systems for our homes “is critical” in order to ensure the UK achieves its 2050 net zero carbon emissions target. No matter the obstacles, this cannot be ignored. “From small ats to large detached houses, heat pumps are the renewable, low carbon alternative to traditional high carbon heating systems,” he says, adding that whichever way you look at it, “that means retrofi tting old properties.” “Our challenge as a manufacturer is to make the transition from fossil fuel,
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