While policymakers have rightly focused upon reducing the third of UK greenhouse gas emissions emitted by transport, we must not neglect the UK’s other big source of carbon: heating.
With another third of our emissions coming from heating our homes, workplaces and public spaces, the UK faces an uphill battle achieving the ambitious reduction targets set by the Committee on Climate Change. To reach net zero by 2050, it is vital that we mirror the same vision, coordination and public support currently displayed for decarbonising transport, to reduce the emissions from other sectors of the UK economy.
Heating is essential to our daily lives: from cooking to keeping our homes and workplaces warm, dry, and pleasant to live in. In addition, heat is also vital for industry, crucial to manufacturing chemicals and medicines, or fuelling the blast furnaces of a steel mill. However, with more than 80 per cent of the UK’s domestic heating provided by burning natural gas, it remains one of the largest single contributors towards our greenhouse gas emissions.
As heating is not optional, we must grasp the nettle and continue to champion both old and new solutions to decarbonising UK heat economically and swiftly.
Western Power Distribution, alongside partners from across the energy industry, is continuing to play a key role developing, road testing and implementing low carbon heating options.
A role for heat pumps
An estimated eight out of 10 UK homes are warmed by natural gas boilers, producing an estimated 65.2 million tonnes of carbon emissions in 2019. The average coal-fired power station generates around three million tonnes of CO2 a year, so natural gas heating in the UK is producing more carbon than 21 coal powerplants every year.
With numbers like these, there is no question that we can no longer heat our homes by burning natural gas – but which fuel can replace it in a way that is affordable and practical?
With the FREEDOM Project, WPD and the gas distribution network Wales and West Utilities tested the viability of a hybrid heating system, combining electric heat pumps with top-up gas boilers in 75 homes in South Wales. We found that this hybrid approach not only reduced our customers’ heating bills by switching from burning gas to cheaper electricity, it also reduced their carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent.
This programme suggests that hybrid solutions could be a good stepping-stone to greening UK heat, but they will not deliver the full net zero target alone.
Hot pursuits
Hydrogen has been highlighted as a potential zero-carbon fuel for UK heating, producing nothing but water when burned. Existing boiler systems can be retrofitted to use hydrogen, while the gas can be distributed through an upgraded version of the existing gas grid, making it a relatively low-cost alternative fuel.
We’ve always been keen to look across energy vectors, within Ofgem’s Low Carbon Networks Fund competition in 2013 we proposed a project in conjunction with Wales and West Utilities which would have taken energy from renewable generators when the electricity grid could not accommodate it. That energy would be turned into hydrogen and then either used to generate electricity at peak times or fed into the local gas grid. Whilst we were not funded for that project, we were pleased to be able work across electricity and gas with our FREEDOM project to explore the merits of joined-up working.
Electrically charged
The third option is 100 per cent electrification. Heat pumps, drawing heat from the ground or surrounding air, produce zero-carbon emissions. While they do increase overall electricity consumption, they can significantly reduce business and household heating bills by using cheaper energy.
However, the capital costs of installing a heat pump can be eyewatering. With the average gas boiler costing around £1,000, an air-source heat pump can be around eight times this with additional installation costs. The government’s latest proposed £4,000 grant to help install heat pumps should help to lessen the blow on homeowners.
While the cost of heat pumps is expected to fall as volumes increase, the Future Home Standard is consulting on banning the installation of all gas boilers in new homes from 2025; as with electric vehicles, the provision of funding or stimulus packages can ensure that going green is affordable to everyone.
Packin’ heat
But picking the right net-zero fuel is only half the challenge. We also need to do more to ensure that once homes and workplaces are heated, they stay warm.
With a large proportion of aging buildings, the UK continues to lag behind in building energy efficiency. The average UK home has an Energy Performance Certification and CO2 emission rating of around 60 – a D ranking. This falls well short of the European average, with Nordic buildings often reaching well into the high 80s and 90s. The low energy efficiency standards of UK homes not only leave customers with cold feet, but also cost them more on heating every year.
A load of hot air?
With so many different homes and businesses in the UK there will never be a one-size-fits-all solution to the UK’s low-carbon heat ambitions. But a combination of different fuels and heating systems for different situations, paired with an expanded rollout of energy efficiency measures, can pave the way to net-zero heat.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has caused countless tragedies across the world, it has also forced a reassessment of our priorities and caused a sharp decline in our national energy use. We should not squander this opportunity to rethink our approach to energy and heat.
Finally, while we grapple with the heating puzzle, we should take inspiration from the progress the UK has made in decarbonising transport. With government setting the direction of travel, while building political consensus and public support for decarbonisation, the UK energy industry will rise to the challenge of decarbonising UK heat.