On Thursday 10 October 2019, the Centre for Energy Policy and ClimateXChange held ‘Decarbonising Residential Heat – How Can We Make the Transition to Low-Carbon Heat?’ part of the Energy Conversation series of events. Read the Centre for Energy Policy team's reflections on this popular event below.
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Dr Oluwafisayo Alabi Research Associate, Centre for Energy Policy oluwafisayo.alabi@strath.ac.uk |
Many consumers consider gas boilers as a proven, reliable and a less complex heating system. Switching will be no easy task and there remain many uncertainties around what a decarbonised heating system(s) will actually look like and what it will cost.
Other challenges are around how to ensure that the transition process is designed in a way that takes into account the different heating demands/needs, types of buildings and the income levels of each consumer.
On one hand, policy actors need to consider all of these when formulating policies and roadmaps around decarbonising the heating system. On the other hand, industry actors need to ensure that the required skills set and knowhow to support effective delivery and service provision is available to consumers, whichever lower carbon heating system(s) are adopted for domestic buildings.
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Dr Christian Calvillo Research Associate, Centre for Energy Policy christian.calvillo@strath.ac.uk |
Decarbonisation of heat is probably the biggest challenge in reaching the net zero target in Scotland. Not only due to the amount of emissions (which are quite important, however, the transport sector produces more), but because it will involve, as described by our panellist, 2.6 million individual journeys, each one representing a different household with its particular means and needs.
An unprecedented level of change will be needed, but I believe this change should go further than just replacing our gas boilers with heat pumps. Maybe we should seize this opportunity to rethink how we see and use housing in this country.
Moving away from the idea of housing as an investment, with landlords who doesn’t care about their tenants and don’t want to invest in energy efficiency measures they won’t benefit from; to housing as a service, controlled and regulated. This could open up the door to more just and cost-effective solutions, such as a citywide energy district (which is very difficult to implement currently as it is poorly regulated in the UK, and it’s difficult to deal with lots of individual owners).
There is lots we can learn from Vienna and many Scandinavian cities.
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Dr Gareth Johnson |
Most speakers (and the audience) agreed that cost was important, but, as ever when talking about new technology, many of the challenges are more behavioural and societal than they are technological impediments. For people on the gas grid (~80% of the population) there is a high level of satisfaction with the status quo, they understand how it works and it is relatively cheap. To convince someone to give this up for something that is perhaps more complicated and more expensive requires a new conversation about the value of the transition. However, it was also noted that much of the cost disparity between heat sources (e.g. gas and electricity) is a function of unequal government support/subsidy and/or levies. Thus there is space for government intervention to level this playing field and make the transition away from cheap fossil gas to clean alternatives. It was also drummed home that there is no silver bullet solution to heat decarbonisation and the journey to decarbonisation will vary. Journeys will depend on, to name but a few: existing and planned infrastructure availability, community engagement, building fabric and age, new build vs retrofit, land availability, seasonal storage options and the development of energy technologies outside the traditional heat system boundary (e.g. CCS to deliver ‘blue’ hydrogen). As one speaker put it: We have 2.6 million homes in Scotland and 2.6 million journeys to heat decarbonisation. The work is only just starting and we’ve got a long way to go.
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Dr Antonios Katris Research Associate, Centre for Energy Policy antonios.katris@strath.ac.uk |
There was consensus among the conversation panel members and attendees that one of the biggest challenges in decarbonising heat is the fact that currently we rely on an easy to operate and relatively cheap heat network.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to argue that clean heat will deliver better services compared to gas. However, we have observed in the past that people’s perceptions can change easily and fast, given the right incentives, so there could be lessons learnt from policies to switch to different fuels, such as in the case of promoting a switch to diesel cars.
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Evelyn Tonner Centre for Energy Policy evelyn.tonner@strath.ac.uk |
Another very successful and interesting Conversation and it was nice to be in a different venue/city for a change. The conversations which were had were very interesting it was good to see The Citizen Advice Bureau there as a voice for the consumer. Decarbonisation of heat is a lengthy subject as consumers are happy with how the heat their homes at the moment, if that was too increase a lot of people wouldn’t be happy and some people also wouldn’t be able to afford it. The discussion around young people campaigning for climate change is particularly interesting to me, as when I was younger this was a topic I was interested in. However nowadays I think that we listen to and take more notice of our young people, so I think it’s great that they are helping to change the world, these young people are our future leaders/future business people they are fighting to have a future for themselves and their families’, I remember doing the exact same when I was younger.
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Kusum Vishwakarma Researcher, Centre for Energy Policy kusum.a.vishwakarma@strath.ac.uk |
One of the important points made during the conversation was how it is important to focus on different pathways of how households use different types of fuel based on their energy demands. Because it is not just about the costs or the technology being installed but it is about public perception and their willingness to engage and the accompanying challenges when they are ready to make the shift from one type of fuel/technology to another. The impacts of that transformation can vary for different households and the decisions or choices the home-makers make certainly will define their journey from then on.
One of the panel members indicated the presence of huge number of old housing stocks in the UK and the opportunities & challenges that come along with it for both consumers and producers are not meagre. As we discuss about those buildings, it is important to note that we are in for some kind of technological lock-in. However, the question remains who is locked in, is it the consumer or the producer?
There are plans of a large scale conversion of the gas-grid from natural gas to hydrogen to heat UK homes and thus reduce carbon emissions. To which one of panel members said, the existing gas networks all over GB would need pipes repurposing to carry hydrogen which has its own significant challenges. This led to further discussion around previous UK policies like the Green deal and Zero carbon homes plan that had similar objectives were scrapped earlier, whether they were adept at meeting previous targets or not and if those policies should be reinstated?
As the discussion around net zero emissions carried on, one of the panel members indicated the need for decarbonisation of heat by developing local networks. Although this has been discussed and worked upon in Scotland mostly, it hasn’t gained much traction yet. Since they require a certain density of heat demand to be economic, they are best suited to new housing developments or urban areas which makes all the difference with the huge number of old housing stocks present in the UK.
Tags: Energy