Electric Heating
52% believe that direct electric solutions are the right solution for modest properties and apartments, due to the fact they’re smaller, easy to install, and do not require external equipment that would be difficult to install on multi-storey buildings.
Prices are up, but so is demand ThermoSphere’s report reveals an increase in consumer interest in low-carbon heating alternatives. But current energy prices are high, and electricity is often unfairly seen to be a more expensive form of energy than oil or gas. 79% of respondents in the construction industry believe that high running costs have deterred customers from installing direct electric heating. What’s required is a change of image. Too many people have negative associations based on old, outmoded electric heating solutions like
“As renewables continue to replace fossil fuels, electricity is becoming a low-carbon source of energy.”
storage heaters. 71% of the construction industry believe these older electric heating methods have a negative impact on how consumers perceive modern, low-carbon direct electric alternatives.
This need not be the case. Modern direct electric heating solutions are much more efficient than older solutions, and direct electric is 100% efficient at the point of usage, compared to gas heating where energy is lost throughout the system. They also require lower installation and maintenance costs and won’t be phased about by the UK government over the next 15 years.
Growth and gaps
The construction industry is keen to use low-carbon direct electric heating solutions, particularly in retrofitting older, less spacious buildings, and in multi-storey buildings. But the industry also sees the challenge of retrofitting as an opportunity for growth. 64% of those surveyed believe decarbonisation is an opportunity.
But, as with many areas in the UK economy, there is a skills gap between the currently available talent, and the required talent. 69% of construction workers believe that while there’s an opportunity for growth, there isn’t sufficient workforce expertise to embrace that opportunity. What’s needed is a concerted effort to upskill the current workforce. If the industry can do this sooner rather than later, it won’t miss the chance for growth and it will more easily meet its own decarbonisation goals. As direct electric involves less paperwork and is significantly easier to instal, the upskilling requirement will be less onerous for the industry.
Over the coming decades, the construction industry is on track to transform. Heating solution providers that offer viable, low- carbon alternatives can help to usher in that transformation.
For more insights download ThermoSphere’s ‘Working towards Net Zero’ report
https://www.thermosphere.com/working- towards-net-zero-press
22 | electrical wholesaler October 2022
ewnews.co.uk
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