Low carbon buildings
www.heatingandventilating.net
What will be the net zero hero?
The Government’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 has sparked a debate within the energy-intensive heating sector about how to go about achieving this goal. Heat pumps and hydrogen to replace gas, or a combination of the two, have gained traction as likely solutions but there is much to consider. Here HVR canvassed the opinions of some of the industry’s main players
Ideal Commercial Boilers C
hris Caton, head of commercial product management says the government is expected to publish a heat roadmap later this year setting out their exact commitments and outlining which products are the best alternatives to heat the country. “In this roadmap, we hope that the government establishes the best route for the industry to follow, taking into account the broad range of factors that must be considered.” The two main routes the industry has earmarked on to achieve this target are heat pumps and/or hydrogen to replace gas. Starting with heat pumps, these already exist within the market and within our parent company Groupe Atlantic’s product range. However, with at least 20,000 heat pumps installed in the UK annually, more awareness is needed across the industry and end users. Training and qualifications are also a concern, as products and systems will be different and new areas, such as refrigerants, are involved. Adoption of heat pumps would lead to electricity production being key to achieving a carbon neutral approach to heating in the UK. While there have been many developments over the years to ensure that more of our electricity
is generated by low carbon methods, with the target relying heavily on electricity there will be the need for it to be produced entirely by these methods.
Additionally, with the price per kWh unit for electricity estimated to be three times higher than that of gas, fuel poverty is another critical consumer aspect that requires careful consideration when relying on electricity. The other alternative that the industry is moving towards is the use of hydrogen to replace natural gas. Hydrogen ticks a lot of the boxes as a green fuel as it is low carbon and can be used to generate heat leaving behind only water vapour as a by-product. Additionally, the existing gas network could potentially be used for distribution. The key question is how hydrogen is produced. Most hydrogen today is generated by burning coal and natural gas, voiding its carbon-free benefits. There are other methods in producing hydrogen that do not require using fossil fuels such as electrolysis; however this relies on low carbon electricity production.
We are committed to ensuring all our products provide heating solutions with the highest possible efficiency. Whether this is in the direction of heat pumps or hydrogen, the industry needs to evolve and adapt to tackle this challenge.
Hamworthy Heating A !" February 2020
ndrew Dabin, product manager for Hamworthy Heating, says: “We can feel the energy and passion for change in the heating industry.” He contends that heat pumps have been in the spotlight, especially after the Government announced natural gas boilers should not be installed in new builds after 2025. Hydrogen also has a great buzz and is gaining momentum within the industry to become a viable alternative in the future. Naturally, we need to find ways to decarbonise our heating systems. One of the obvious solutions is looking at assets we already have, such as our gas network, and see what we can do to reduce the carbon emissions that are being produced when gas is burnt. One of the options to replace natural gas in our gas network is hydrogen. The only by- product of the combustion process is water, which would therefore be delivering decarbonised energy. What we need to work on is finding a cost-effective way to produce hydrogen while capturing carbon which is a by- product of the process.
There are currently works underway to replace pipes in the gas network to make it ready for hydrogen use. For us as manufacturers, it is about developing appliances that can deal with both natural gas and hydrogen. The challenge is to make all new appliances hydrogen compatible, so we can switch them from natural gas to hydrogen at a later point. We’re working with industry bodies on hydrogen feasibility.
www.heatingandventilating.net
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