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Find out more about how Energy Systems Catapult can help you and your teams
There is huge potential for heat pumps to help decarbonise domestic heating within the UK. One way is to use renewable energy provided through smart local energy systems, but consumers will need to feel confident that heat pumps can deliver the comfort they desire, before they are willing to remove their gas boilers.
This report documents an approach taken by Energy Systems Catapult to encourage adoption of a low carbon heating system and proposals for how the barriers to wider scale adoption could be overcome.
The work was carried out by the Consumer Insight team in the Living Lab for the Energy Revolution Integration Service as part of the Prospering from the Energy Revolution programme. It builds on work delivered in the Smart Systems and Heat programme.
The UK has one of the largest and most valuable gas boiler markets in the world, with more than 24 million homes, businesses and industrial users being reliant on natural gas for heating. This equates to around 84% of all UK households, showing how strongly consumers have favoured gas boilers over other heating options.
Air source heat pumps offer one of the more viable low carbon alternatives to gas central heating. This is because they can be run on low carbon electricity, are generally more efficient than gas boilers, can connect to the existing home plumbing, and can even result in lower energy bills if a home is insulated sufficiently.
As of October 2018, there are approximately 46,000 heat pumps installed across the UK, with experts predicting the heat pump market will double by 2025. This uptake will need to increase significantly if the UK is to accomplish its carbon emissions target, with the Committee on Climate Change highlighting that 17 million heat pumps would be needed by 2050 to meet this target in their core scenario.
Step 1: Gas boiler to a hybrid heating system
We recruited five participants willing to install a heat pump at their property. The heat pump was paired with their existing gas boiler to create a hybrid heating system. Participants were given smart heating controls, which enabled them to individually control the heat in different rooms.
Step 2: Hybrid heating system to solely heat pump
After one year, participants were given the option to trial heating their home using just their heat pump for a six-week period. All five indicated they were keen to take part. None had experienced heating with only their heat pump previously. Participants were also given cost information to help estimate how their energy costs could change.
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Find out moreFind out more about how Energy Systems Catapult can help you and your teams
Find out more about how Energy Systems Catapult can help you and your teams