Share this on social media
Don't throw money for heat decarbonisation out of the window
(Foresight Climate & Energy, 15 Apr 2019) A combination of low-carbon heating technologies and energy efficiency improvements is the obvious answer to decarbonise heating, says Jan Rosenow, Director of European programmes with the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP).
Experts agree that without energy efficiency, the total cost of decarbonising heating will skyrocket
Last winter, I visited friends in London, UK who live in an old Victorian house. When I arrived for dinner, they told me that we could not use the kitchen as it was too cold. The radiators were running at full capacity, but most of the heat they generated leaked directly out of the house. It was impossible to keep the temperature above 10°C, even though the outside temperature was only a few degrees below zero. We ended up eating our dinner in the living room in front of the fireplace, the only room in the house warm enough to be comfortable.
That evening made me think about the challenge of decarbonising heat. It is sometimes said that by electrifying everything or using green gases like hydrogen or biogas, we could solve the problem. In other words, if we change the supply, but not the nature of the demand. Also, in the case of my friends’ house, electrifying the heating system or switching to green gases would reduce the carbon emissions associated with heating.
But this myopic solution ignores a very basic problem in that it would be difficult and wasteful to heat the place to a comfortable indoor temperature by changing the heating system alone. Perhaps with an oversized heat pump or boiler and additional or significantly larger radiators it could be sufficiently warm. Compared to a house with a decent energy performance though, the investment cost would be considerably higher.
What is more, such an approach would also create costs for the energy system as a whole. An oversized heat pump would be a drag on the power system. Wasting valuable green gases and renewables, much needed for other purposes, would be foolish.
This is, of course, an extreme example. But it demonstrates that we need a combination of low-carbon heating technologies and energy efficiency improvements to decarbonise heat. It is the obvious answer.
Foresight Climate & Energy, 15 Apr 2019: Don't throw money for heat decarbonisation out of the window
