Heat Pumps Today

www.acrjournal.uk/heat-pumps 21 D I S T R I C T H E A T I N G boilers, which heat more than 85% of UK homes. Much more needs to be done and o ering interest free loans would also help drive adoption. Honeywell supports ambitious investment and incentive programmes to grow the number of district heating networks which will go a long way to helping Britain achieve its net-zero ambitions. This is particularly as high-e ciency electric heat pumps can achieve e ciencies of 500% or more. By comparison, a new gas boiler only operates at around 90% e ciency, thereby producing less than 1kW of heat per kilowatt of electricity. Proof is in the pudding District heating systems are nothing new, they have been around for 150 years and there are many great examples of how they’re working around the country, yet they account for roughly 8.5% of global heat consumption. For example, there are more than 17,000 networks in the UK with nearly 500,000 connections. Together they meet approximately 2% of the UK space heating requirements, but that number could increase to 15–18% by 2050. Today’s high-e ciency heat pumps are also even more environmentally-friendly, thanks in part to the use of low-global- warming-potential (GWP) refrigerants, such as Honeywell’s Solstice® ze (R-1234ze). Therefore, adding heat pumps as part of the mix in terms of heating must be a solution that dominates the heating market going forward. Critical for the average householder though is that district-level heat pumps can be set up so that the consumer pays only for the heat they have purchased from the pump and not for the initial setup and installation costs, which is proving a barrier to many households. The beauty of heat pumps is that they can easily be scaled and can be applied in a modular approach. There are no limits to how district heating schemes can be applied. For example, you could have a very large heat pump, which could be providing heat to homes, commercial o ce blocks and even multiple municipal buildings and hospitals in an e ective way. The UK has some great examples of district heating schemes that are working well. For example, the Council opened the Gateshead Energy Centre in 2017 to provide heat and power to the district energy network in the town centre and Gateshead Quays area. Initially, the scheme supplied public buildings and homes managed by the local council. However, the scheme has now grown, connecting more council buildings, depots and even leisure centres. In 2020, the first new build o ce was connected to the heat and power network and by 2023 the scheme will see further expansion. In addition, the Borough of Southwark in London has applied a very e ective district heating scheme and Sterling in Scotland is already seeing significant cost savings for consumers. Honeywell has invested more than one billion dollars in research, development and new capacity for its Solstice technology, having anticipated the need for lower-GWP solutions to combat climate change more than a decade ago. Our refrigerants were used in both the innovative Southwark and Sterling schemes and there are more planned. They are two fantastic examples of how creative thinking can be applied to generate more cost-e ective heating schemes. Time to challenge conventional thinking As we reflect on the past year, it’s clear that we need to challenge conventional thinking when it comes to heating our buildings and homes. District heating and electric heat pumps have a significant role to play in reinventing the home and building heating system that we have relied on for generations. We must continue innovating in this area if we want to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, achieve our ambitious carbon reduction targets, and provide everyone with access to space heating that is dependable, a ordable and sustainable. Initial capital outlays will need government support while education will be key to making infrastructure changes to enable large segments of the population to realise the advantages of district heating networks using electric heat pumps.