According to the latest advice from Government advisors, new build homes should be banned from connecting to the gas grid within as little as 6 years in order to tackle climate change. As reported in the Times and the BBC, The Committee on Climate Change report, titled “UK Housing: Fit for the Future”, suggests that all new-build homes in the countryside should be heated by heat pumps, rather than traditional fossil fuel boilers.
Background
Around 14% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions come from housing. Housing emissions mainly arise from heating and hot water - typically provided by boilers - and this is something that tends to get forgotten when discussing climate change. The Committee says that in order to meet our binding climate targets, all homes in the future will have to produce virtually zero carbon.
What Role Do Heat Pumps Play?
Heat pumps hold the key to the provision of zero carbon heating and hot water.
Heat pumps are powered exclusively by electricity, so straight away you lose the requirement for regular fuel deliveries or a gas connection. Also, this means that there are no on-site emissions, since all the emissions from electricity generation are produced at source.
Electricity is very much the power source of the future. Electricity has seen a huge drop in carbon intensity in recent years due to the large-scale uptake of wind and solar technology. In 2017, the average UK grid intensity was 292 grams per kWh (less than half the level of 10 years ago) and this will only get lower every year as more and more renewable electricity sources come online. Heat pumps offer the most efficient way to use electricity to heat homes.
Contact Alto Energy Today
Heat pumps are becoming increasingly popular amongst housebuilders. As we move into the next decade, increasing consumer demand combined with Government policy will see the demand for heat pumps increase amongst homebuyers, especially in rural, off-gas areas. Contact our team today to discuss how you could incorporate heat pumps into your next development – you might be surprised at how well the numbers stack up.