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The government’s 10point plan for a green economic recovery includes hugely ambious plans for expanding the heat pump market. This heralds a me of both opportunity and responsibility for the industry, says sales director Liam Elmore.


he rapid and widespread


technological change we are experiencing in the UK has already been dubbed ‘the fourth


industrial revolution’ – and the building services sector is right at the heart of it.


One of our key challenges is being able to innovate, invest in our workforce and ensure that our products and services are sustainable against the backdrop of what is shaping up to be a time of rapid social and economic change. In the case of building heating and ventilation systems, that means 20, 30, 40 years and more, which is why the industry needs to take a strategic approach because decisions we take now will have long lasting effects on running costs, carbon emissions, building safety and occupant comfort. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson also clearly sees heat pumps as hugely important to his vision of an economic recovery powered by ‘green’ projects and he wants the industry to be installing 600,000 a year by 2028.


The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) had already set a target of one million a year by the 2030’s towards an eventual total of 19 million to achieve the


government’s 2050 net zero target. However, according to the Heat Pump Association (HPA), just 30,000 will be installed this year rising to around 70,000 in 2021. Industry estimates suggest more than 17,000 new heat pump installers will be needed over the next decade if the government’s targets are to be met.


Boost


The Prime Minister’s faith in heat pump technology is a huge morale boost to the industry, but we are going to have to scale up very fast to turn his vision into reality. We are also going to have to look carefully at how projects are designed, installed and supported for the long- term.


Heat pumps can achieve CoP’s comfortably above four and five depending on the application and climatic conditions, but only if they are properly designed, installed, commissioned and maintained. There are particular challenges around designing heating systems that operate at low temperatures and this is not widely understood – even by many already in the industry.


Meeting future demand and ensuring installations continue to achieve high performance and reduced carbon emissions throughout their operating life will depend on the ability of our industry to innovate around four key areas in the value chain that support heat pump projects: • the quality of system design and its adaptation into both new and existing commercial buildings.


• the effectiveness of installation, • the service that underpins commissioning and maintenance, • and investment in staff training.


This will ensure that the installations will continue to operate and achieve high performance not for just years, but for a lifecycle of decades and towards the wider vision of net zero emissions by 2050. As an industry, we have talked about adopting a ’whole system’ approach for many years, but it has only been embraced piecemeal because it requires everyone to consider each part of the value chain – and look for long-term value rather than short-term capital cost savings.


It also depends on our ability to source and manufacture high quality components, develop a skilled and adaptable workforce, increase technical know-how and back-up, and the ability above all to explain and express the benefits of the product lifecycle to customers, clients, regulators, and the general public alike in terms of the green agenda.


However, the industry is well placed to embrace these challenges and adapt to the new post-Covid landscape. In the brave new world, it will be more important than ever to focus on the quality of work assured by ever-improving industry standards, tangible proof of competence, and the industry’s ability to meet its legislative and regulatory obligations.


If the industry can demonstrate this approach it could have significant and positive consequences for the ongoing high-level debate around the potential wider role for heat pumps. However, the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) believes there are several barriers to extending the roll out of the technology in both the residential and commercial building sectors. Not least is their cost compared with conventional heating technologies like gas boilers and the need to increase the capacity of


14 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER FEBRUARY 2021


the National Grid to accommodate the additional electricity that would be needed to support such a huge expansion in numbers.


Significant


“Heat pumps are playing an increasingly significant role in decarbonising heat in other countries. I look forward to the Committee examining why this has yet to take off across the UK,” commented the committee chair Philip Dunne.


The committee is calling for submissions on how uptake of the technology could be accelerated including raising public awareness; what can be done to reduce costs and how the government can help to tackle the ‘skills gap’ for designers, builders and installers. It is not enough to just call for massive growth across the sector; this needs to be backed up by concrete plans for developing a skilled workforce and putting enabling policies in place. Illustrating heat pumps ability to work as part of whole building – and even whole community – systems could be key to this debate and stimulate further political support. Heat pumps work very well in tandem with other energy efficient technologies like condensing boilers and water heaters to maximise energy and carbon savings – and are particularly effective where building owners are looking to upgrade their systems. As well as improving the


performance of individual buildings, heat pumps could play an even bigger part in reducing carbon emissions through their use in distributed heat networks for homes, public sector buildings, shops, offices, sport facilities, hospitals, and universities – so also delivering an important social welfare benefit.


BOILERS & HOT WATER Heat pumps can rise to government challenge


‘


The industry is


well placed to embrace these challenges and adapt to the new postCovid landscape.


’


There are estimated to be around 14,000 heat networks in the UK, providing heating, hot water and/or cooling to almost half a million consumers.


Since they aggregate heating and cooling supplies across a neighbourhood or entire district, these networks can unlock otherwise inaccessible large-scale renewable and recovered heat sources, such as waste heat and thermal energy from rivers – ideal for use by heat pumps.


This is one of a number of reasons why many in our sector consider heat pumps to have an exciting and potentially unlimited future as an enabling technology able to unlock major system savings across a range of buildings and facilities – while also helping to drive the government’s long-term low carbon ambitions and economic goals.


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