HEATING SYSTEMS


www.heatingandventilating.net


Hydrogen-ready boilers vs heat pumps


Worcester Bosch has been working with the rest of the industry to look at the most practical solutions in the drive to the Government’s net zero carbon target by 2050. Here Martyn Bridges, director of technical communication and product management focuses on the differences between to key solutions hydrogen-ready boilers and heat pumps


I


t is no secret that there are strong voices advising government about heat pumps as a solution for the race to reduce carbon in the


heating industry. While many in the industry have strong opinions on the role hydrogen can play. From our perspective, it’s important to give


an honest, impartial and technology agnostic view on the benefits, advantages and suitable applications for the UK’s future domestic heating requirements.


Hydrogen boilers


The advantage of hydrogen gas once its connected to the home is that the appliances that will run from it are more or less the same when performing as today’s appliances. Hydrogen is a carbon-free energy source and combustion of hydrogen produces no carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide. Its only real by-product is water vapour. Hydrogen can be generated from direct hydrolysis of water or obtained from the breakdown of fossil fuels with carbon capture. A hydrogen-ready boiler is similar to its natural


gas predecessors. It is constructed and functions in much the same way as an existing condensing boiler. One or two components are distinct, such as the burner and flame detection system, most


are identical to those used in natural gas boilers. A hydrogen-ready boiler can connect to the existing heating system with very few changes being needed and can connect to the current Natural Gas supply. The boiler can quite happily run on Natural Gas for all of its life if needed but should hydrogen come along, be converted to run on hydrogen in less than an hour. The cost of a hydrogen-ready boiler installation


will be very similar to that for a current boiler and significantly less than the cost of a heat pump. Components, accessories and controls are largely identical to natural gas boilers. Most boilers since the early 2000s are also


hydrogen ready to a certain degree, and could initially run on 20% hydrogen blend. This is a quite likely transition that will take place as injecting 20% hydrogen into the grid could result in a reduction in C02 emissions of 7% to 8%.


Heat pumps


In comparison, a heat pump is a relatively new technology in the UK although they are widely used in Scandinavia and parts of Europe where there is an abundance of renewably sourced electricity. Differing to a hydrogen-boiler, a heat pump takes energy from outside and transfers it


Martyn Bridges, director of technical


communication and product management at Worcester Bosch


into heat to be circulated around a heating and hot water system. A heat pump uses electricity to run its components, principally a fan, compressor and circulating pumps that transfer the energy from the heat source into the system. There are two options: ground source or air


source. An air source heat pump is reliant on the outside air temperature which can be a lot cooler than the ground temperature which by comparison is relatively stable. A ground source heat pump tends to be more efficient in all outside temperature situations but are more expensive to install and this may make them less popular than air source. A heat pump is at its best circulating low


temperature water around the heating system in a “steady state” mode. The heat pump is generally run by a weather compensation system and the operating temperature is generally dictated by the external weather temperature and the internal room temperature. Because of the low temperature of the heating


system it is not best suited to be operated intermittently like a boiler. A boiler is typically turned on for a couple of hours in the morning, switched off all day and then turned back on at night for 5 or 6 hours. The high temperatures that a boiler can generate will heat the house more


24 June 2021


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