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INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Off-grid heat and the need to decarbonise
OFTEC CEO Paul Rose discusses heat policy and the steps now needed for the UK’s 1.53 million oil-heated homes to make a successful transition to low carbon heat
and had "inappropriate" policies forced upon them. The cross-party committee of peers said policies suitable for urban and suburban areas had too often been foisted upon the countryside – a position OFTEC certainly supports when it comes to rural heating.
A Fresh thinking
Undoubtedly the biggest challenge facing the UK and the world at large, is climate change. The Committee on Climate Change has made it clear that efforts must now accelerate if the UK is to meet future carbon targets and all sectors of the economy need to act, including heat, which is widely recognised as one of the most difficult areas to decarbonise. Previous policy aimed at reducing emissions
from heat has failed to deliver on ambitions. The domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), targeted primarily but not exclusively at off-grid households, has proved regressive, with only a wealthy minority of consumers able to afford the high upfront costs of installing renewable heating technologies, even with the promise of incentive payments. And with a higher percentage of fuel poor living in rural areas, the scheme has left most off-grid households out in the cold. Whilst ECO3, the Affordable Warmth Scheme in Northern Ireland and Warmer Homes Scotland all provide welcome support for the fuel poor, the number of people who are unable to adequately heat their homes is still rising, so something is clearly wrong. For heat policy to succeed it needs to be fair,
practical and affordable, not penalise those who already pay the most for their heating. Up until now, decarbonisation efforts have largely
focused on changing the technology. But a fresh, consumer centric approach is now needed as without public support, policy measures will continue to fail and the end goal will move further out of reach.
Fabric first
Reducing emissions from rural heating presents its own unique challenges, largely due to the poor thermal efficiency of off-grid housing stock in the UK. An essential step towards any decarbonisation solution is to improve the fabric of buildings and cut heat demand where practically and financially possible. However, some 97% of oil heated households in Great Britain alone fall into the lowest
www.heatingandventilating.net
ccording to a recent report from the House of Lords Select Committee on the Rural Economy, rural communities have often been “ignored"
OFTEC CEO Paul Rose
EPC bands D-G (average rating of E) and almost half (46%) were built pre-1919. Bringing these properties up to standard will be a difficult, costly and in many cases unrealistic exercise without significant government support.
Consumers are key
Improved recognition of consumers’ needs and limitations is central to successful future policy. Climate change may be an urgent issue for our planet but as household budgets are squeezed and poverty levels rise, day-to-day living becomes a priority. The expense and upheaval associated with
retrofitting many renewable heating systems makes it difficult for us to see how the majority of consumers will be persuaded, or able to afford to give up low cost, reliable heating systems like oil. Most new heating systems are also purchased in distress situations and replaced with like for like appliances to ensure heating is restored quickly. To deliver effective decarbonisation solutions, we need to operate within this reality. Simple, low cost and practical options are required and government needs to embrace a range of solutions that deliver the required carbon reduction benefits, to provide consumers with choice of best fit for their personal circumstances. Accompanying policy to facilitate take up, especially for those on low incomes, is also essential.
Change the fuel, not the appliance
OFTEC is committed to the decarbonisation agenda and driving change in rural communities. Since the Clean Growth Strategy was published
in October 2017, we have drawn on over 25 years’ experience in the off-grid heating sector to work closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and wider industry to develop the best low carbon solution for oil heated homes. At the end of last year, OFTEC commissioned independent research into the use of biofuels to replace kerosene and decarbonise the sector in line with UK targets. The six-month in-depth study took a holistic approach, covering options for feedstocks, logistics, sustainability, social and land use, markets, policy and legislation, technology and economics to gain a full picture of the viability of this route. The results are compelling and show biofuels offer among the lowest cost of solutions for carbon savings when compared with all other options. Transitioning oil heated homes to a biofuel would
significantly reduce the need for costly appliance changes and the disruption this involves. Comparable heat performance also means that whilst fabric retrofits will significantly accelerate reaching net zero emissions and should be carried out wherever possible, they are not essential in terms of heat produced. Existing infrastructure or certainly the majority of
it, can still be used from production to delivery, reducing the need for high investment, whilst the existing workforce would be retained. Worldwide production of biofuels is rapidly
evolving, driven by demand from the transport sector, but there have been concerns over whether there would be enough of these low carbon liquid fuels available to also supply the heating market. Additionally, there are concerns over whether there will be sufficient truly sustainable feedstock and other raw materials to produce a ready supply of biofuels into the future. However, the research findings fully address and allay these concerns.
Next steps
Back in 2011, OFTEC successfully developed a biofuel blend of 30% FAME and 70% kerosene but at the time, government support for this innovation wasn’t forthcoming. Now, eight years on and with government having pushed a number of alternative solutions with limited results, it’s time to pick up the biofuel baton once again and run with it. Time to address climate change may not be on our side, but the knowledge, capability and will for change is. The missing piece of the jigsaw is policy decisions to help make this happen.
June 2019
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