Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Select Committee, which has urged the government to invest more heavily in the decarbonisation of heating. Many of the recommendations in the report would also have a positive impact on long-term energy consumption in buildings and help to lower bills, the Association said. The committee is calling for a replacement for the ill-fated Green Homes


Grant, which would be delivered by regional and local government to try and avoid the bureaucratic problems that undermined the last scheme. It said this should be accompanied by a national consumer awareness campaign that would also explain the importance of energy effi ciency measures to make low carbon heating technologies, like heat pumps, achieve their full potential. “Any new low carbon heating incentives would be launching into a much


more receptive marketplace now because of the growing alarm over rising energy bills,” said Fox. Funding could also be aimed at the lowest income homes and those that


are most diffi cult to retrofi t to directly support those most likely to suff er most from rising energy costs, the report added. The committee also advised the government to bring forward the Future Homes Standard by two years to 2023, which would help to speed up energy saving improvements. BESA also urged the government to consult with the industries directly


involved in the decarbonisation of heat, such as building services, to fully understand the implications of its policy proposals not least on the need for investment in training and skills. “We must work together to develop a national low carbon heating training


programme to ensure we have the skills to deliver solutions on a scale that can both help tackle climate change and give consumers protection from rising bills,” said Fox. High profi le support for the renovation and refurbishment plan came from


TV personality and architect George Clarke. He urged the government to help power “a global retrofi t revolution” by abolishing VAT on the restoration and conversion of existing buildings during his keynote address at last year’s BESA National Conference. He said the construction and building engineering sectors could play a key


role in addressing the climate crisis, but fi nancial incentives would be needed to encourage investment and new approaches from building owners.


Scandal


Clarke described current government measures to address the carbon impact of housing as “a drop in the ocean” and said the fact that 10% of all UK households were suff ering from fuel poverty was a “national scandal”. “We wasted six years when the government dropped its Zero Carbon Homes plan and the Green Home Grants scheme only lasted six months…we need to think much, much bigger…and show everyone why improving their homes is to their benefi t and how it can help them save money.” He also said there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic and urged the industry to reinvent itself by inspiring young people to work with the wide range of new technologies being used to build greener and more sustainable structures. Clarke said there was a big future for “factory-built housing”, which could


be prefabricated off -site to the highest standards and rigorously checked in a clean and safe environment. He also urged the industry to carry out more R&D to support other similar innovations. www.theBESA.com


ViewPoint T


The hidden technology to reach Net Zero


by Neil Hope, head of technical services at NIBE Energy Systems


here has been much talk over the last few years on the role that heat pumps, biomass boilers, solar thermal technology and similar sources of low carbon


heat will play in reaching our Net Zero aspirations. Less has been said on the role that the more inconspicuous hot water cylinder plays in supporting the effi cient operation of such renewable heating technologies. With their huge potential to act as thermal storage and domestic batteries, they are a necessity to the decarbonisation of the UK housing stock that is often overlooked and hidden away. Despite once being a staple of English homes, the rise of the combination boiler has seen a coinciding drop in the number of installed hot water cylinders. Recent data shows less than 45% of our homes contain a hot water cylinder – a signifi cant drop from 77% of homes in 2001. But, despite hot water cylinders twinning with heat pump technologies in


many installs, the government has only made targets to deploy heat pumps. Indeed, 600,000 heat pumps are to be installed annually by 2028. If such a target is to materialise into a reality where heat pumps are the UK’s primary heating technology, the installation of hot-water cylinders must also become part of the conversation. More specifi cally, the re-installation of millions of hot water cylinders must be encouraged by the government. In doing so, the issue of space requirements for cylinders must also be addressed. With many households choosing to renovate areas previously allocated to cylinders into bathrooms and additional storage, asking for a reversion of such domestic transformations will be a challenge. Fortunately, new space-saving solutions are being developed which will allow cylinders to be stored in less commonly used areas, including lofts and garages. This is where new build regulations could help. We have called on the


government to ensure that new homes are heat pump ready. This means, among other things, providing space for a hot water tank to be installed later, if not at the point of development. This provision will make it easier and more cost eff ective to deploy heat pumps in homes built before 2025, when the Future Homes Standard comes into force. At NIBE, we understand the importance of having high quality hot water


cylinders which off er both safety and optimal performance. Our highly effi cient cylinders are specifi cally designed to work alongside our heat pump range to minimise heat loss. They can also be paired with solar panels or other heating solutions to provide a holistic solution. As an added benefi t, they are stylish and modern in appearance, meaning that they do not need to be hidden from view. As part of our NIBE Pro Installer programme, we off er technical support


and training when it comes to the sizing and selection of hot water cylinders. Many other industry bodies have also developed training courses in preparation for the necessary resurgence in hot water cylinder installations. Two notable examples are the Heat Pump Association and the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineers. Such courses build upon your awareness of heating design to support the installation of systems that are effi cient and best suited to your customers’ needs. The humble hot water tank will be an integral part of our domestic heating


set up. Playing an important role in our future energy system, hot water cylinders will off er system balancing and allow consumers to use energy when it is cheapest and most sustainable.


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