BOILERS & HOT WATER M
Martyn Bridges from Worcester Bosch outlines why hydrogen could be the heating fuel of the future, and what the heating systems could look like
omentum is growing around our
government’s plans to make our country
‘net-zero’ on carbon emissions by 2050. Companies are continuing to join the commitment by the day, with oil giant BP the latest to commit to reinventing itself with the 2050 goal in mind.
The bold targets are ones that require new technology and industry changes across a number of sectors in order to become a reality. Steps are already being taken, for example in transport, where electric and hybrid cars have become more common and accessible.
However, the existing infrastructure in our industry poses a more significant challenge, with the majority of UK homes using natural gas for heating. Yet, with a third of UK greenhouse gases coming from our homes, it is quite clear that the UK will not meet its climate change targets without a change in home heating technology and fuel.
The Options
It is an obvious decision to find an effective solution as quick as possible. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has been consulting with a number of different industry experts and interested parties trying to find a solution to heating and hot water. However, this is no simple task.
Some believe that electric heat pumps are the answer. Now, although they are a fine technology, if we fit one in every home on the gas grid, there is one or more basic issues to contend with: the amount of electricity we would need to generate to run them would be astronomical. Some experts state we would need another 30 nuclear power plants to meet the need, which seems impossible with only last month construction on the Wyfla Newydd was put on hold.
On top of that, we would need to build completely new infrastructure
in order to increase carrying capacity to get the power to the homes. We’d need more pylons, more underground and over ground electricity cables and grid networks just as a start. Let’s not mention that we’d be going into people’s private homes and forcing them to make these big changes to their home, which most might not be happy with.
Luckily, BEIS now believe that there isn’t any one singular option to suit every home, but you can argue that the majority of existing domestic properties are most suitable for a high-temperature heating system which they currently have installed run by natural gas. So why not replace that fuel with a zero-carbon alternative? Why not replace it with hydrogen gas?
A hydrogenready future
At Worcester, with these targets in mind, we’ve developed a prototype boiler that is ‘hydrogen- ready’. This means it is designed to run on pure hydrogen when a gas grid switchover to Hydrogen from Methane can take place. They will look and run almost identically to the natural gas-fired systems we use today. This means the boiler can be installed on natural gas and then easily changed to run on hydrogen when the gas network is converted, therefore decarbonising domestic heat without having to change the way we live.
A hydrogen boiler can fit into a current boiler’s physical space in the home without much disruption to the homeowner. With a similar build to existing boilers, installers will already have most skills necessary to fit these products too and only a few simple parts would be required to ‘switch’ it over. There is likely to be an additional ACS element covering Hydrogen, rather like there is today with LPG, Cookers etc. Given that any answer to the nation’s heating problems will require the majority of homes to changeover a system, we believe that ‘hydrogen-ready’ could be the simplest solution.
BSEE The boiler of the future The next steps
Crucially, we now need to work as an industry to inform decision makers and prove that hydrogen can be a solution to decarbonising the UK. If we don’t achieve this, then net zero 2050 will become a pipe dream. Here at Worcester, along with the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC), we’re suggesting to BEIS that it would be a “no regrets” policy move to mandate that only hydrogen ready boilers can be installed from 2025. Even if hydrogen was to never actually come into place, our ‘hydrogen-ready’ boiler will work perfectly fine for its lifespan running on natural gas.
We are currently involved with a hydrogen trial at Keele University where a 20% blend is being used and we will then participate in trials run by the Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), for which locations are yet to be decided on, as well as the SGN trial which is planned to take place in Fife in 2021. The SGN trial in Scotland will involve 300 homes which will be heated purely using 100% hydrogen. We expect these trials to show the government and other decision makers that they can put their faith into hydrogen, like we have at Worcester.
In summary
A technology roadmap will be published this year by BEIS, which will
reveal the favoured solutions to help us reach our targets.
We hope this will help to answer many of the questions the industry has and provide a clear direction towards creating a feasible solution for decarbonising heating and hot water in the UK.
About the author
Martyn Bridges is the director of technical communication and product management at Worcester Bosch. He has been working at the company for over 30 years, having first joined as a technical service engineer in 1986.
Bridges represents Worcester Bosch on a number of industry panels including the Society of British Gas Industries, OFTEC, the HHIC, the Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineers and the Institute of Domestic Heating Engineers.
‘
They will look and run almost idencally to the natural gasfired systems we use today
’ 9
9
9
9
9
9
Read the latest at:
www.bsee.co.uk
COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL
BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER APRIL 2020 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50
