www.heatingandventilating.net


terms of billing purposes. Visibility of usage just like smart meters and water meters encourages users to better manage consumption. For example, generally, people with water meters typically use 25% less water than unmetered accounts. Even in new buildings, it should be noted that many of the operating characteristics allow for margins from the calculated, expected energy use, and are thus ‘over specified’. To this end, retrofitting a pump can be considered a somewhat better solution, as specifiers can size and match pumps based on the building’s actual day-to-day requirements.


Making pumps work for those installing them


Picking circulator pumps based on their capabilities and functions is just one part of the equation. There must also be some consideration for making them fit into the spaces where they need to go. For instance, building services are more complex than ever, yet still need to go into tight airing cupboards, or service risers and plant rooms with limited access. Choosing a well-engineered product can make


all the difference here for the. For example, big, bulky and heavy pumps may not fit as required. Another area to be mindful of is commissioning. Too frequently, poorly designed pumps make this step more confusing than necessary, and, if too complicated, it means there’s the chance that installers may put the wrong settings in and negate any potential savings. Here, smart modern pumps can do away with this hassle for installers with its small footprint. It also has one-click commissioning and a settings assistant for pre-set applications, along with a large digital display and intuitive user-interface. Pumps can also come with Bluetooth connectivity, which is useful if they are located at a high level or in small plantrooms – and an added benefit is that with Bluetooth, settings can be copied to other pumps or retained for future use.


Pumping in more data for a better outcome


In commercial applications like hotels, restaurants and small office blocks, where there’s a real need and drive to tighten up on energy and water usage, heating and hot water circulator pumps play a crucial role. For building engineers and those with an active role in building management, a foremost consideration should be to understand a pump’s capabilities, as this will then determine how the pump can help offer insights into other building services. After that, there will be other factors such as the pump’s physical footprint, ease of installation, and maintenance, which will help contractors with fitting these products into existing spaces, ongoing preventative maintenance, and troubleshooting.


MAINTENANCE & SERVICING


boilingpoint W


hen it comes to changing the way we heat our homes and buildings we know it involves replacing our fossil fuel boilers


with renewable low carbon technologies. Hydrogen is one of a handful of low carbon solutions that has been discussed as a possibility to play a part in helping the UK’s decarbonisation plans, but to what extent will hydrogen be utilised? Mission Zero, a recent review of Net Zero,


recommended that natural gas boilers should be phased out in their entirety by 2033. Another recommendation was that a 10-year delivery programme for scaling up hydrogen production should be developed by the end of 2023. Currently, there are proposals that all new domestic gas boilers sold from 2026 must be capable of being powered by hydrogen with the view to transition. The hybrid approach consists of energy companies blending natural gas with 20% hydrogen gas, with the aim to reduce the UK’s reliance on fossil fuel imports. It has been reported that our country’s gas grids


could be ready to start delivering hydrogen around the country as early as this year but there are still questions on whether there will be enough hydrogen to meet the 20% quota. The UK Government has been asked to double its domestic 2030 hydrogen production target to ensure that as much hydrogen as possible is produced. We are already starting to see manufacturers


developing technology for households that are hydrogen ready. The idea is that a hydrogen ready boiler will at first run on natural gas, then once the gas network is switched to hydrogen, the boiler can be converted. Back in 2021 UK boiler manufacturers made a ‘price promise’ to ensure that these hydrogen ready appliances would cost the same as current natural boilers.


One of the big questions that remains is whether


green hydrogen fuel can be produced in an environmentally friendly way. Most of the world’s current hydrogen manufacturing (brown hydrogen) comes from methane, a major greenhouse gas, and leading experts identify that using more environmentally green alternatives to produce hydrogen (green hydrogen), like electrolysis, would result in electricity generation costs that are 6x times higher than power generated for heat pumps. In the UK we are seeing the first hydrogen homes


and villages being trialled to see how easy it will be to replace current boilers with hydrogen ready


Could Hydrogen be the future of home heating?


boilers, but concerns have been raised over plans by the local MP’S and councillors in areas where pilots have been planned. There is nowhere in the world supplying pure


hydrogen to homes, so it is currently an unproven technology and there are areas of uncertainty and unanswered questions of what hydrogen pilots could entail for residents, especially once the schemes end. Nevertheless, the Government has sent an open letter to Gas Distribution Network Operators to encourage the development of plans for a hydrogen heated town by 2025. We mentioned earlier on that there are plans that


all new domestic gas boilers sold from 2026 must be capable of being powered by hydrogen. The problem here is not necessarily our gas mains, as they are mostly already plastic and would be unaffected by hydrogen, rather our homes would need their boilers replaced or converted. Manufacturers are already selling hydrogen ready boilers, but many will not need to replace their boilers until way after 2026. The main reason for considering hydrogen more


seriously as a player in Net Zero is the fact that there are so many different uses of power across the UK that we cannot afford to make the mistake of pushing the same solution onto everybody, particularly when it comes to some areas of the housing stock which can’t readily accommodate a heat pump. There can be no one size fits all when it comes


to decarbonising the UK, so we’re keen to see Government push forward with its highly significant trials and feasibility studies in order to determine the viability of adding hydrogen to the mix of options available to the UK customer base. Most leading experts predict that hydrogen will


play a vital role in the UK’s Net Zero journey but that it may only be a viable option in heat generating processes that are harder to make electric, such as rail, aviation, steel production and shipping. The Government will be making big decisions on a new heating policy in 2026 and to what extent that will include wholesale hydrogen use to heat our homes won’t be clear until then. We wont know much until new policy decisions are


made, but it’s important to keep updated on hydrogen developments. The Hello Hydrogen campaign, established and launched by some of the biggest names, gas networks, boiler manufacturers and energy suppliers in the UK energy industry, is the go-to place to stay in the know. www.hellohydrogen.com


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