12 January 2012

Radical changes in home heating needed to meet carbon targets, says Academy

There is no possibility that the UK can meet its 2050 target for CO₂ emissions without a fundamental change to the way our homes are heated, according to a report published today (12 January) by the Royal Academy of Engineering. Even with the most modern gas boilers and state-of-the art insulation, we cannot continue to heat so many homes by natural gas and still achieve an 80% cut in emissions as laid down in the Climate Change Act 2008.

The Academy's report, Heat: degrees of comfort, looks at the challenges of matching our demand for domestic heating with the binding requirement to reduce our overall carbon emissions. The report looks at new technologies including heat pumps, considers options such as district heating and combined heat and power schemes and looks at incentives and drivers for the creation of new markets.

Many sources of renewable energy are, by their nature, difficult or impossible to schedule. They are available only when the wind blows or when the sun shines. To switch a large part of the domestic heating load to electric heating would greatly increase the demand on the grid and increase the challenge of meeting peaks in demand. To attempt to meet the whole of such a load by renewables based on wind, tides or sun would require a level of installed capacity that would be almost impossible to build and that would be standing idle for most of the summer months, thus making energy very expensive. Storage, whether of natural gas, biomass, large scale thermal storage, or an intermediate vector such as hydrogen, electricity or heat, will be essential.

"Managing the UK's energy systems in a way that reduces CO₂, avoids expensive imports, ensures energy security, does not exacerbate fuel poverty, supports job creation and works with, rather than against, the competitive market will be hugely difficult," says Professor Roger Kemp FREng of Lancaster University, who chairs the Academy's Heat working group. "Government is only just coming to terms with the complexity of these multiple demands on policy."

Most of the houses that will exist in 2050 have already been built. New houses should be built to the highest standard of energy efficiency but that, by itself, will not be enough. If we are to meet the 2050 targets, says the report, major improvements will have to be made to the existing housing stock. This will be disruptive to householders and expensive. There are various options for funding this but it will undoubtedly add to householders' bills (only partially mitigated by lower energy costs). Other than basic insulation and draft-proofing, households are likely to need a financial incentive (such as substantially increased carbon taxes and/or subsidies of energy saving technology) to persuade them to act.

The provision of heat cannot be analysed in isolation. The type of renewable energy best suited to a particular application and how it is used - even whether to install insulation inside or outside of the building's 'thermal mass' - can only be decided in the context of a national energy policy that provides a coherent framework for decision-making. At present, this framework does not exist.

There are a number of technologies, such as micro-CHP, that could make a significant contribution to carbon reduction but are incompatible with the 80% target. This raises the important question about how to pursue targets without closing off technologies that would be helpful even if they are not the complete answer.

ends

Notes for editors

1. The Academy's report, Heat: degrees of comfort, will be available at www.raeng.org.uk/heat from 12 January.
   
   
2. The report was drafted by Professor Roger Kemp FREng from Lancaster University, supported by Richard Ploszek from the Academy and Jenny Roberts of Sprocket Design Consultancy, based on inputs from very many individuals and companies, in particular:
   
   Dr Peter Boait - De Montfort University
   Bill Bordass - Usable Buildings Trust
   Professor Roland Clift CBE FREng - University of Surrey
   Professor David Fisk CB FREng - Imperial College London
   Andrew Frew - Northern Ireland Housing Executive
   Doug King King - Shaw Associates
   Ian Manders - Combined Heat & Power Association
   Brian Mark - Mott MacDonald
   Richard Maudslay FREng
   Graham Meeks - Combined Heat & Power Association
   Kevin Ray - Honeywell Controls
   Prof Dennis Loveday - Loughborough University
   Jayne Stephens - Welsh Government
   Martyn Thomas FREng - Martyn Thomas Associates
   Martin Widden - Lancaster University
   Dr Andrew J Wright - De Montfort University
   
   
3. Founded in 1976, The Royal Academy of Engineering promotes the engineering and technological welfare of the country. Our fellowship - comprising the UK's most eminent engineers - provides the leadership and expertise for our activities, which focus on the relationships between engineering, technology, and the quality of life. As a national academy, we provide independent and impartial advice to Government; work to secure the next generation of engineers; and provide a voice for Britain's engineering community.

For more information please contact:

Jane Sutton at The Royal Academy of Engineering
Tel. 020 7766 0636; email: Jane Sutton

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