tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/home-heating-66503/articles
Home heating – The Conversation
2024-03-06T19:14:53Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/224741
2024-03-06T19:14:53Z
2024-03-06T19:14:53Z
Australian homes are getting bigger and bigger, and it’s wiping out gains in energy efficiency
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579779/original/file-20240305-24-fyf43w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C14%2C4824%2C3180&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Australian homes are being designed bigger and so require more energy for heating and cooling, wiping out potential gains in energy efficiency, according to our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2023.2301574">new research</a>. The increasing energy demand is inconsistent with global efforts to tackle climate change and suggests Australia’s housing energy policy requires a radical rethink.</p>
<p>For more than 20 years, Australia’s building energy regulations have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-015-9336-4">focused on</a> energy efficiency. This reflects policy trends <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.01.007">around the world</a>. </p>
<p>In building regulations, energy efficiency is measured as the energy required to heat or cool one square metre of floorspace. Energy efficiency can be improved with features such as good orientation, insulation and double-glazing on windows. Homes designed to a higher energy efficiency standard do indeed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2013.11.031">require less energy</a> for heating and cooling. </p>
<p>But what happens if we build a bigger house, or more houses: does energy efficiency policy still encourage less energy use in homes? Our research shows in Australia, the answer is no. A policy focus on energy efficiency has not led to falls in the predicted energy requirements for heating and cooling – either for individual homes or the new home sector as a whole. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="interior of large home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579780/original/file-20240305-30-eq3g2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579780/original/file-20240305-30-eq3g2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579780/original/file-20240305-30-eq3g2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579780/original/file-20240305-30-eq3g2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579780/original/file-20240305-30-eq3g2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579780/original/file-20240305-30-eq3g2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579780/original/file-20240305-30-eq3g2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Energy efficiency is measured according to the energy required to heat or cool one square metre of floorspace.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Increasing floor areas</h2>
<p>Around the world, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2019.1709625">apartment living</a> is becoming more common. But detached homes remain the dominant housing type in many developed nations, including <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/latest-release">Australia</a>, the <a href="https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP1Y2022.DP04">United States</a> and <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810004101">Canada</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-019-0512-1">House size</a> differs markedly around the world, ranging from 9m² per person in India, to about 84m² per person in Australia. Globally, floor area per person is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-019-0512-1">increasing</a>. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2023.2301574">study</a> set out to examine the significance of this increase when it comes to home heating and cooling energy requirements in Australia. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/future-home-havens-australians-likely-to-use-more-energy-to-stay-in-and-save-money-199672">Future home havens: Australians likely to use more energy to stay in and save money</a>
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<img alt="large double story home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579781/original/file-20240305-18-fyf43w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579781/original/file-20240305-18-fyf43w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579781/original/file-20240305-18-fyf43w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579781/original/file-20240305-18-fyf43w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579781/original/file-20240305-18-fyf43w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579781/original/file-20240305-18-fyf43w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579781/original/file-20240305-18-fyf43w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Detached homes remain the dominant housing type in many developed nations, including Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Our study involved more than 580,000 new homes in Australia designed between 2018 and 2022. </p>
<p>First, we looked at official dwelling <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/building-and-construction/building-approvals-australia/latest-release#data-downloads">approval data</a>. We then examined <a href="https://ahd.csiro.au/dashboards/energy-rating/states">certificates</a> issued under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme or NatHERS. This gave us the thermal performance star-ratings of the new homes, their energy efficiency for heating and cooling and their conditioned floor areas – that is, floor areas typically heated and cooled, excluding spaces such as laundries and garages. </p>
<p>From this, we calculated the predicted energy each home would require each year for heating and cooling. </p>
<p>We found a home designed in 2022 had a 7.6% larger conditioned floor area than a home designed in 2018. And a home designed in 2022 was predicted to require 10% more energy for heating and cooling than a home designed four years earlier. </p>
<p>This differed between jurisdictions. For example, predicted energy requirements for a new home in Western Australia fell by 11% over the period, while in Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory it increased by 17%.</p>
<p><iframe id="Ad88d" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Ad88d/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Collectively, we found the predicted energy requirement for heating and cooling of all new homes in Australia was 5.6% more in 2022 than in 2018. This figure ranged from a fall of 21% in the Northern Territory to an increase of 34% in South Australia. </p>
<p>These increases occurred despite 97.5% of new homes meeting the state-based minimum energy efficiency regulations.</p>
<p><iframe id="n4YpN" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/n4YpN/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Understanding the star-rating system</h2>
<p>Between 2018 and 2022, new homes had to be designed to a minimum 6-star energy rating under the NatHERs scheme. However, the policy is implemented by state-based regulations, which in some jurisdictions allows homes to be designed below 6-stars. </p>
<p>In the study period, 18% of new homes in Australia were designed to a 5-5.9 star rating, as permitted within the jurisdictions of Queensland, the Northern Territory and New South Wales. In all other states and territories, the majority of new homes were designed at 6-star or above. </p>
<p>Nationally, just 11% of new homes were designed at a higher standard of 7-10 stars. This ranged from 35% in the Australian Capital Territory to just 5% of new homes in Victoria.</p>
<p>Improvements to Australia’s housing energy efficiency policy came into effect <a href="https://abcb.gov.au/ncc-2022-state-and-territory-adoption-dates">in 2023</a>. However these do not directly address the impact of floor area on heating and cooling energy requirements, and state-based regulations remain inconsistent.</p>
<h2>Aussie homes are getting bigger</h2>
<p>Our analysis showed new Australian homes continue to get bigger. New homes in Victoria and NSW had the largest conditioned floor areas, while Tasmania had the smallest. </p>
<p>New homes with lower a star-rating tended to be bigger: the average 5-star home in NSW had more than double the conditioned floor area of the average 7-star home in Tasmania. </p>
<p>Larger homes also inherently require more materials to build than smaller homes – and these materials require energy to produce. However this concept, known as <a href="https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/embodied-energy">embodied energy</a>, was beyond the scope of our study.</p>
<p><iframe id="Rbt6l" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Rbt6l/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Time for a rethink</h2>
<p>Our research showed at a household, state and national scale, the emission reduction benefits of improving a home’s energy efficiency may be undermined if policy does not consider floor area. </p>
<p>Demand for new housing in Australia will continue to rise as the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/content/World-Population-Prospects-2022">population grows</a>. So it’s even more important to ensure we get the settings right on home energy policy. Such an overhaul will be complex, involving building regulations, urban planning and social policies. </p>
<p>Renewable energy can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy used by new homes. However, to make our <a href="https://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/the-energy-hierarchy-a-powerful-tool-for-sustainability">net-zero goals feasible</a>, achieving reductions in the energy required by each home is a crucial first step. </p>
<p>Work is also needed on how to encourage people to build smaller homes – a home <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2021.1926684">sufficient</a> for their needs, but no larger. Unless Australia <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/EOR-05-2023-0002">re-examines the scale</a> of its new homes, energy efficiency policy will fail to deliver genuine reductions in energy use.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/all-electric-homes-are-better-for-your-hip-pocket-and-the-planet-heres-how-governments-can-help-us-get-off-gas-207409">All-electric homes are better for your hip pocket and the planet. Here's how governments can help us get off gas</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224741/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Australia’s increasing energy demand is inconsistent with global efforts to tackle climate change and suggests our housing energy policy requires a radical rethink.
Kate Wingrove, PhD Candidate at the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre, University of Wollongong
Emma Heffernan, Associate Professor in Architecture, University of Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/220146
2023-12-22T15:47:33Z
2023-12-22T15:47:33Z
UK ban on boilers in new homes rules out hydrogen as a heating source
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567110/original/file-20231221-23-d9yco4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7304%2C4902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/professional-engineer-doing-boiler-inspection-home-2159556831">Stock-Asso/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Boilers will be banned in new-build homes in the UK from 2025, according to a long-awaited government consultation on energy efficiency standards in the housebuilding industry. The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-homes-and-buildings-standards-2023-consultation/the-future-homes-and-buildings-standards-2023-consultation#performance-requirements-for-new-buildings">report</a> said that there is “no practical way” that installing boilers of any type will “deliver significant carbon savings and ‘zero-carbon ready’ homes”. </p>
<p>What’s more surprising is that hydrogen has also been ruled out as a potential heating source. Previously, hydrogen had been touted by both the government and the energy industry as a logical replacement for the natural gas (a fossil fuel and contributor to climate change) that is pumped through the national grid and burned in boilers throughout the UK.</p>
<p>Provided it is made without emitting carbon, typically by using renewable electricity to separate water molecules, hydrogen is a “clean” fuel. But the vast majority of the hydrogen used worldwide is produced <a href="https://www.iea.org/energy-system/low-emission-fuels/hydrogen">using fossil fuels</a>, making it a dubious green alternative. </p>
<p>A report in March 2023 by <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1144529/hydrogen-champion-report.pdf">a UK government advisor</a> recommended blending up to 20% hydrogen into the gas grid. Some of the biggest boiler manufacturers <a href="https://www.boilerguide.co.uk/gas-boiler/hydrogen-ready/manufacturers#:%7E:text=Hydrogen%20boiler%20manufacturers%20Worcester%20Bosch,gas%20network%20would%20be%202026">called for</a> “all boilers to be hydrogen-compatible as of 2025”. And, as recently as December 2022, the government considered making all gas boilers sold to homes from 2026 capable of one day <a href="https://www.hvnplus.co.uk/news/government-proposes-mandatory-sale-of-hydrogen-ready-boilers-from-2026-14-12-2022/">burning hydrogen instead</a>. </p>
<p>Three towns, <a href="https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/uks-first-hydrogen-village-project-24929882">Whitby in Cheshire</a>, <a href="https://www.redcarhydrogencommunity.co.uk/">Redcar in North Yorkshire</a> and <a href="https://www.fife.gov.uk/kb/docs/articles/environment2/climate-change,-carbon-and-energy/h100-fife-hydrogen-heating-network">Levenmouth in Fife</a>, were even chosen to host trials where several homes would be heated with hydrogen.</p>
<p>Outside of the bubble inflated by the government and industry figures, few thought that using hydrogen for home heating was a good idea. Hydrogen won’t solve either of the two biggest energy challenges: cost and carbon emissions. The process of making hydrogen is significantly more expensive than pumping natural gas and there simply is not enough “clean” hydrogen available.</p>
<p>A 2022 report by Dr Jan Rosenow from the University of Oxford reviewed 32 international studies on the use of hydrogen for heating and concluded that <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363913282_Is_heating_homes_with_hydrogen_all_but_a_pipe_dream_An_evidence_review">its widespread use was not justifiable</a>. “Hydrogen use for domestic heating is less economic, less efficient, more resource intensive, and associated with larger environmental impacts” than alternatives such as heat pumps, it said. </p>
<p>Heat pumps are rapidly becoming the default choice for heating (and cooling) globally. Using the same technology as a refrigerator or air conditioner, heat pumps powered by electricity extract and transfer heat <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-heat-pumps/how-a-heat-pump-works">to where it is needed</a>.</p>
<h2>Did COP28 burst hydrogen’s bubble?</h2>
<p>The timing of the consultation is intriguing. It was originally scheduled to be published <a href="https://www.edie.net/opted-for-the-least-ambitious-option-government-lambasted-over-future-homes-consultation/">in late 2020</a> but was postponed several times. It was finally released on December 13 2023, on the same day that nearly 200 countries agreed to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/countries-push-cop28-deal-fossil-fuels-talks-spill-into-overtime-2023-12-12/%23:%7E:text=DUBAI,%2520Dec%252013%2520(Reuters),end%2520of%2520the%2520oil%2520age.">“transition” away from fossil fuels</a> at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. </p>
<p>A few days prior to this on December 8, a broad range of government, industry and voluntary organisations launched a joint declaration at COP28 on the <a href="https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/policy/cop28-new-declaration-calls-for-green-hydrogen-to-be-prioritised-for-fossil-fuel-replacement-not-heating-or-power/2-1-1567713">Responsible Deployment of Renewables-Based Hydrogen</a>. </p>
<p>The declaration includes a pledge to prioritise clean hydrogen for “displacing the current use of fossil-based hydrogen” where a lot is already needed, or for “hard-to-abate sectors” such as heavy industry where a lot more will be needed. It went on to state that its use for heating would be “potentially cannibalising renewable electricity”. This is because you end up with only <a href="https://www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2021/6/11/some-rules-of-thumb-of-the-hydrogen-economy#:%7E:text=A%20survey%20of%20the%20major,kWh%2C%20or%2067%25%20efficiency.">two-thirds of the energy in the hydrogen</a> that you started with from the electricity.</p>
<p>As for the three trial projects, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/hydrogen-may-never-heat-british-homes-after-redcar-trial-cancelled-13030237">two have already been cancelled</a> due to protests and a lack of uptake by residents. It is hard to see how the one remaining in Fife could sensibly proceed – especially as the Scottish government signed the Responsible Hydrogen declaration.</p>
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<img alt="Port Talbot Steelworks at sunset." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567099/original/file-20231221-15-fig82u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567099/original/file-20231221-15-fig82u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567099/original/file-20231221-15-fig82u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567099/original/file-20231221-15-fig82u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567099/original/file-20231221-15-fig82u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567099/original/file-20231221-15-fig82u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567099/original/file-20231221-15-fig82u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Port Talbot Steelworks in south Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tata-steel-plant-port-talbot-south-402633844">Chris Goddard/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>What the future holds</h2>
<p>This is just a consultation. In other words, a government policy document submitted for <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/consultation-paper/">public feedback</a>. There is no guarantee that the ban on hydrogen boilers will be implemented by parliament. It is probable that energy industry groups will lobby for changes through the consultation process, and ultimately it will be the politicians who decide.</p>
<p>But the direction of travel has been set. This is “<a href="https://unfccc.int/news/cop28-agreement-signals-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-fossil-fuel-era">the beginning of the end</a>” of the fossil fuel era according to the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in his closing speech at COP28. </p>
<p>Germany’s climate envoy Jennifer Morgan <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/15/fossil-fuels-how-a-huge-gamble-sealed-cop28-deal">said</a>: “Now the signals are clear. If you’re an investor, the future is renewable. Fossil fuels are stranded assets.” Clean hydrogen will be a part of that transition but only where no viable alternatives exist.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether the recommendations of the Future Homes consultation become law, we can safely say a few things:</p>
<ul>
<li>Hydrogen will not be used for home heating in any meaningful way. Even if the government ignores the consultation, there is neither scientific nor public support for its use and it will not reduce energy costs.</li>
<li>Assume that all new-build homes will be fitted with heat pumps starting within the next few years. The reality is they are cost-effective to install and operate, especially as insulation levels are increased such that the need for space heating becomes minimal.</li>
<li>The only real alternative to heat pumps, especially for apartments, are district heat networks where hot water gets pumped around a whole neighbourhood from a central source. These are commonplace in many cold countries, so we should expect to see a lot more of them in the UK.</li>
</ul>
<p>The other certainty is that home boilers will very soon move into the realm of nostalgia.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ran Boydell receives funding from the UK and Scottish governments for research projects on the built environment. He is affiliated with the Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA).</span></em></p>
Hydrogen will not be used to heat UK homes in the future in any meaningful way.
Ran Boydell, Associate Professor in Sustainable Development, Heriot-Watt University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/213542
2023-10-01T19:16:25Z
2023-10-01T19:16:25Z
Replacing gas heating with reverse-cycle aircon leaves some people feeling cold. Why? And what’s the solution?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550473/original/file-20230927-23-eo085s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C0%2C6600%2C4406&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/all-electric-homes-are-better-for-your-hip-pocket-and-the-planet-heres-how-governments-can-help-us-get-off-gas-207409">Researchers</a> and <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-victorian-homes-go-all-electric-2024">policymakers</a> are advocating all-electric housing to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-cheapest-way-to-heat-your-home-with-renewable-energy-just-flick-a-switch-47087">reduce energy bills and emissions</a>. Using energy-efficient <a href="https://austclimate.com.au/how-does-reverse-cycle-air-conditioning-work/">reverse-cycle air conditioners</a> is a core element of the shift from gas.</p>
<p>However, not everyone is happy with the change. “I just don’t feel warm,” said some people we <a href="https://cur.org.au/project/housing-energy-efficiency-transitions/">interviewed</a> after they switched to reverse-cycle air conditioning. </p>
<p>Others are very happy with the comfort, <a href="https://renew.org.au/">hundreds of dollars in savings</a> and <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/getting-off-gas/%20CAP_Gas_Research_Final_Report_251114_v2.0.pdf">low lifetime carbon emissions</a>. </p>
<p>How can different people have such varied experiences with the same technology? Our computer modelling of air flows in the home offers an answer: the quality of the building’s insulation makes a big difference to how people feel with reverse-cycle heating.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1403164529408704512"}"></div></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/all-electric-homes-are-better-for-your-hip-pocket-and-the-planet-heres-how-governments-can-help-us-get-off-gas-207409">All-electric homes are better for your hip pocket and the planet. Here's how governments can help us get off gas</a>
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<h2>What’s different about this heating?</h2>
<p>Reverse-cycle air conditioners are different from traditional gas or electric heaters. They produce warm, not hot, air, and the unit is usually mounted high on a wall. This is a suitable position for cooling but not so effective for heating. </p>
<p>When cooling, output air cools the hot air near the ceiling and the air movement provides a complementary cool breeze.</p>
<p>In heating mode, the warm outlet air cools down as it flows along surfaces such as the ceiling, external walls, windows and floor and mixes with cool air. It is then drawn back to the air conditioner where it is reheated.</p>
<p>If the building is poorly insulated and has single-glazed windows, the surface temperatures in the home are low and heat losses and temperature drops are high. The cooled air flowing close to the floor creates a “wind chill” effect – it feels like a cold draught. </p>
<p>Also, our warm bodies radiate heat to the cold surfaces of the walls and windows. This means we tend to feel even colder when we are near them.</p>
<p>In contrast, the surfaces of insulated walls, ceilings, floors and windows stay warmer and allow much less heat loss. When the heated air touches them, it stays relatively warm as it flows back to the air conditioner to be reheated. The air circulating in the room is warmer, which reduces the “wind chill” effect. </p>
<p>Because the surfaces of insulated walls and windows are much warmer, our bodies also radiate much less heat to them, so we feel warmer. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cooking-and-heating-without-gas-what-are-the-impacts-of-shifting-to-all-electric-homes-210649">Cooking (and heating) without gas: what are the impacts of shifting to all-electric homes?</a>
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<h2>Our modelling shows these effects</h2>
<p>We modelled the heating energy and temperature distributions in a living room of a 1960s home. It had large areas of glazing on two side walls, an internal end wall and a reverse-cycle air conditioner mounted high on the external end wall. </p>
<p>Case 1 was uninsulated with single glazing. Case 2 had insulated walls, ceiling and floor and double glazing. </p>
<p>The temperature distributions are shown below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550796/original/file-20230928-15-lvyemd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing temperature distributions in a poorly insulated room heated by a reverse-cycle air conditioner" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550796/original/file-20230928-15-lvyemd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550796/original/file-20230928-15-lvyemd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550796/original/file-20230928-15-lvyemd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550796/original/file-20230928-15-lvyemd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550796/original/file-20230928-15-lvyemd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550796/original/file-20230928-15-lvyemd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550796/original/file-20230928-15-lvyemd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Case 1: temperature distribution in uninsulated room with single glazing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550797/original/file-20230928-21-jx07r1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Heat map graphic showing temperature distributions in an insulated room with double glazing heated by a reverse-cycle air conditioner" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550797/original/file-20230928-21-jx07r1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550797/original/file-20230928-21-jx07r1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550797/original/file-20230928-21-jx07r1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550797/original/file-20230928-21-jx07r1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550797/original/file-20230928-21-jx07r1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550797/original/file-20230928-21-jx07r1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550797/original/file-20230928-21-jx07r1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Case 2: temperature distribution in insulated room with double glazing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-an-easy-400-a-year-ditch-the-gas-heater-in-your-home-for-an-electric-split-system-201941">Want an easy $400 a year? Ditch the gas heater in your home for an electric split system</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For both scenarios, the outdoor temperature was 10°C. The air conditioner delivered 287 litres of heated air per second at a constant 30°C. This meant average room air temperatures were higher than if the thermostat was set at a typical 20–22°C with heat output varying. </p>
<p>This simplification showed how different the temperatures were in the two cases for the same amount of heat supply.</p>
<p>In case 1, as the heated output air contacted the cold, uninsulated surfaces, its temperature dropped so the average room temperature was 23.5°C. Air returning to the air conditioner was 24.7°C, 5.3°C lower than the outlet air.</p>
<p>Case 2 had a higher average room temperature of 26.5°C with a return air temperature of 26.4°C. The surfaces of the walls, ceiling and floor were warmer, which increased comfort by reducing radiant heat loss from occupants. Since the return air was warmer, about 30% less energy was used to reheat it to the 30°C outlet temperature.</p>
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<h2>What does this mean for home heating?</h2>
<p>These modelling results seem to explain people’s experiences of discomfort. The policy and technology implications are significant.</p>
<p>If reverse-cycle air conditioning is to deliver improved comfort, it should be combined with upgrading the building’s <a href="https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/insulation">thermal performance</a>. Programs that subsidise reverse-cycle air conditioners and <a href="https://theconversation.com/heat-pumps-can-cut-your-energy-costs-by-up-to-90-its-not-magic-just-a-smart-use-of-the-laws-of-physics-185711">heat pumps</a> should be linked to retrofitting adequate insulation and draught sealing. </p>
<p>Occupants will not only be more comfortable, but the air conditioner can be smaller and cheaper. Carbon emissions and energy costs will be lower too. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heat-pumps-can-cut-your-energy-costs-by-up-to-90-its-not-magic-just-a-smart-use-of-the-laws-of-physics-185711">Heat pumps can cut your energy costs by up to 90%. It’s not magic, just a smart use of the laws of physics</a>
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<p>Further research is needed to explore a wider range of situations. There can be different combinations of insulation, varying areas of glazing and window coverings, and other appliance-related options such as floor-mounted reverse-cycle air conditioners and ceiling fans.</p>
<p>If we want people to embrace heat pumps and reverse-cycle air conditioners as the new normal, we must ensure they provide the comfortable temperatures people want and need. Push-back due to feelings of discomfort may undermine progress towards a zero-emission future. </p>
<p>We need to understand the interactions between heating and cooling technologies and real-world buildings much better. We also need to make sure policy does not lock in certain technologies without fully understanding their impacts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213542/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Pears consults to industry organisations such as the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity and energy efficiency industry groups. He has received funding from the RACE for 2030 CRC and government agencies. He is affiliated with several community organisations including Renew and Climate Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola Willand receives or has received funding for research from various organisations, including the Australian Research Council, the Victorian State Government, the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, the Future Fuels Collaborative Research Centre, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Centre and the British Academy. She is affiliated with the Australian Institute of Architects.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trivess Moore has received funding from various organisations including the Australian Research Council, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Victorian Government and various industry partners. He is a trustee of the Fuel Poverty Research Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Vahaji does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
People who switch from gas to reverse-cycle air conditioning to heat their homes still want to feel comfortable. Some don’t. Home electrification programs must tackle the causes of the problem.
Alan Pears, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University
Nicola Willand, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
Sara Vahaji, Lecturer, School of Engineering, RMIT University
Trivess Moore, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/207411
2023-06-15T20:05:10Z
2023-06-15T20:05:10Z
Imagine the outcry if factories killed as many people as wood heaters
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531902/original/file-20230614-31-hjm88m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3988%2C2658&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine a fleet of ageing factories operating in neighbourhoods across Australia.</p>
<p>On most days the smoke from their stacks is hardly noticed. But on cold days when the smog settles in the densely populated valleys and towns, doctors notice unusually high numbers of people suffering from a range of problems, especially asthma. </p>
<p>Air-quality researchers are called in to study the problem in more detail. They confirm that neighbourhoods with these old factories have higher concentrations of fine particles, which are <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/factsheets/Pages/wood-smoke.aspx">toxic air pollutants</a>. </p>
<p>Invisible to the naked eye, particles are inhaled deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream and cause a range of harms throughout the body. This air pollution is linked to higher rates of heart and lung diseases, strokes, dementia and some cancers. It also increases the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and poorer learning outcomes in children. </p>
<p>The researchers calculate that each year pollution from the factories causes 269 premature deaths in <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/-/media/OEH/Corporate-Site/Documents/Air/sydney-air-quality-study-stage-2-program-report-220644.pdf">Sydney</a>, 69 in <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/9/3264">Tasmania</a> and 14 in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.5694/mja2.51199">Armidale</a>, New South Wales. </p>
<p>While the factories are supposed to be built, maintained and operated to certain standards, the regulations are rarely if ever enforced. There isn’t even a central register to tell authorities how many of these factories exist, how old they are, and where they are located.</p>
<p>As news of this research is made public, how would the affected communities react? What might they demand of government? </p>
<p>Would it matter if they knew we were not talking about factories, but wood heaters? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Haze from wood smoke hangs over suburban houses" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532110/original/file-20230615-23-2eowb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532110/original/file-20230615-23-2eowb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532110/original/file-20230615-23-2eowb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532110/original/file-20230615-23-2eowb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532110/original/file-20230615-23-2eowb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532110/original/file-20230615-23-2eowb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532110/original/file-20230615-23-2eowb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On a cold winter’s day, the haze from wood heaters hangs over Hobart, Tasmania.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Todd</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/blame-wood-burning-stoves-for-winter-air-pollution-and-health-threats-110662">Blame wood-burning stoves for winter air pollution and health threats</a>
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<h2>Heaters produce much of our air pollution</h2>
<p>Every sentence of this story is true if you replace the word “factory” with “wood heater”. </p>
<p>Less than <a href="https://theconversation.com/like-having-a-truck-idling-in-your-living-room-the-toxic-cost-of-wood-fired-heaters-140737">10% of households</a> own a wood heater, but burning wood for heating is the largest source of air pollution in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.105429">many Australian cities</a> and <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2021/215/6/effects-mortality-and-associated-financial-costs-wood-heater-pollution-regional">towns</a>. While vehicle manufacturers and industry have greatly reduced emissions following tightened government regulations, domestic heating technology has not kept pace. </p>
<p>Today you would have to drive a diesel truck 500 kilometres to <a href="https://theconversation.com/like-having-a-truck-idling-in-your-living-room-the-toxic-cost-of-wood-fired-heaters-140737">emit as much air pollution</a> as a wood heater does in a single day. And that figure is for a wood heater that meets the current regulatory standards in Australia. Most do not. </p>
<p>Furthermore, wood heater pollution can be many times more severe when owners leave logs to smoulder overnight, burn poorly seasoned wood, or close down the air intake immediately after loading more wood.</p>
<p>Of course, particulate pollution is not all that wood heaters emit. When firewood is sourced from land clearing and illegal wood hooking, wood heaters add to net carbon dioxide and methane emissions in much the same as burning coal does because the carbon is no longer locked away in forests. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/pub?list=BRO&pid=procite:ae6e5fe6-edfb-4f15-9e8e-7221653c1da1">best estimates</a> are that less than a quarter of firewood is sourced from sustainable plantation suppliers. Even from those sources, the carbon emissions take <a href="https://www.cell.com/chem/pdf/S2451-9294(22)00091-2.pdf">many years to be sequestered</a> into growing trees.</p>
<p>One study estimated that, if we stopped burning wood and clearing forest for heating, Australia would reduce its annual greenhouse gas emissions by <a href="https://doi.org/10.5094/APR.2011.033">8.7 million tonnes</a>. That’s about <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FactSheet-Transport.pdf">one-fifth</a> of Australia’s car emissions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Smoke drifts from a rooftop chimney across a forested background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531567/original/file-20230613-27-4rtpbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531567/original/file-20230613-27-4rtpbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531567/original/file-20230613-27-4rtpbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531567/original/file-20230613-27-4rtpbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531567/original/file-20230613-27-4rtpbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531567/original/file-20230613-27-4rtpbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531567/original/file-20230613-27-4rtpbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If we stopped clearing forest and burning wood for heating, the reduction in emissions would be equal to about one-fifth of Australia’s car emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smoke_from_a_small_chimney_in_fog.jpg">W. Carter/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/like-having-a-truck-idling-in-your-living-room-the-toxic-cost-of-wood-fired-heaters-140737">'Like having a truck idling in your living room': the toxic cost of wood-fired heaters</a>
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<h2>The benefits of electrification</h2>
<p>Inevitably, as Australia moves towards a zero-carbon future, the electrification of domestic heating will bring widespread health and economic benefits. It will prevent hundreds of premature deaths each year. </p>
<p>Hospitals will benefit from a reprieve in the cooler months, enabling doctors and nurses to better cope with seasonal pneumonia and COVID-19 outbreaks. And even those outbreaks will be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/resp.14140">less severe with reduced air pollution</a>.</p>
<p>Besides being healthier, Australians will enjoy much lower heating costs as a result of using technologies such as reverse-cycle air conditioners (heat pumps). Remarkably, heat pumps are up to <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/households/heating-and-cooling">600% efficient</a>. That means, for every unit of energy they consume, they generate up to six units of heating energy. </p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/air-pollution-can-increase-the-risk-of-covid-infection-and-severe-disease-a-roundup-of-what-we-know-201813">Air pollution can increase the risk of COVID infection and severe disease – a roundup of what we know</a>
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<h2>Making the switch</h2>
<p>As people learn about the impacts of wood heaters on their neighbours, friends and relatives — on pregnant women, young children and the elderly — many will make the switch. </p>
<p>Governments need to ensure safe and affordable heating technology is available to everyone regardless of their income. </p>
<p>Already, governments in the <a href="https://www.climatechoices.act.gov.au/policy-programs/wood-heater-replacement-program">Australian Capital Territory</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-06-26/claims-heater-buyback-doing-its-job/81160">Tasmania</a> and <a href="https://www.eeca.govt.nz/co-funding/insulation-and-heater-grants/warmer-kiwi-homes-programme/">New Zealand</a> have programs that reimburse households for the cost of replacing their wood heaters. </p>
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<p>Buy-back schemes, home efficiency subsidies, regulation and enforcement, including property market regulation (ensuring wood heaters are removed prior to sale), and restrictions on new installations all have a role to play. </p>
<p>We are conducting economic modelling to determine the most cost-effective policy settings for maximising the benefits of policies to manage the problem of wood heaters. </p>
<p>Fire and smoke will remain important experiences for Australians. They can be savoured primarily outside the city, under bright stars, in open deserts and rugged coastlines, in beach shacks and farm cottages, and as part of Indigenous cultural practices.</p>
<p>One day we will look back in amazement that we once tolerated wood heaters in our cities, right next to schools, homes and hospitals. We’ll regard them in much the same way that we think of polluting factories today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bin Jalaludin receives funding from the NHMRC and the ARC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fay Johnston is a Director of AirHealth Pty Ltd that supports the AirRater and Melbourne Pollen apps and other pollen prediction services. She receives funding from NHMRC and is the lead Investigator of the Centre for Safe Air, a NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence. She also receives funding from Asthma Australia, The Tasmanian, ACT and NT Departments of Health, the National Environment Research Program, and the NHMRC Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bill Dodd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
One day we’ll look back in amazement that wood heaters were once tolerated in cities right next to houses, schools and hospitals.
Bill Dodd, Knowledge Broker, Centre for Safe Air (NHMRC CRE), University of Tasmania
Bin Jalaludin, Conjoint Professor, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney
Fay Johnston, Professor, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204672
2023-05-01T06:42:41Z
2023-05-01T06:42:41Z
1 in 4 households struggle to pay power bills. Here are 5 ways to tackle hidden energy poverty
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523558/original/file-20230501-14-l8bw6m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=592%2C0%2C5398%2C3583&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://energyconsumersaustralia.com.au/news/how-increases-in-energy-prices-are-impacting-consumers#:%7E:text=Energy%2520affordability%2520is%2520not%2520just,in%2520the%2520past%252012%2520months.">One in four Australian households</a> are finding it hard to pay their gas and electricity bills. As winter looms, <a href="https://www.aer.gov.au/news-release/default-market-offer-2023%25E2%2580%259324-draft-determination">energy price rises</a> will make it even harder. Cold homes and disconnections resulting from energy poverty threaten people’s health and wellbeing. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ACOSS-cost-of-living-report2-March-2023_web_FINAL.pdf">Income support for welfare recipients</a> and retrofitting homes to make them more thermally efficient – by adding insulation, for example – can ease the burden. And when homes are not too cold or hot, <a href="https://theconversation.com/fuel-poverty-makes-you-sick-so-why-has-nothing-changed-since-i-was-a-child-living-in-a-cold-home-201787">people’s health benefits</a>. This in turn <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/319556">eases pressure on the public health system</a>. </p>
<p>However, many people are missing out on assistance as programs often do not recognise their difficulties. Their energy vulnerability is hidden.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1557264492932714496"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-youre-renting-chances-are-your-home-is-cold-with-power-prices-soaring-heres-what-you-can-do-to-keep-warm-184472">If you're renting, chances are your home is cold. With power prices soaring, here's what you can do to keep warm</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What forms does hidden energy poverty take?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629623000737">Our newly published study</a> has revealed six aspects of hidden energy vulnerability. These are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>underconsumption – households limit or turn off cooling, heating and/or lights to avoid disconnections</p></li>
<li><p>incidental masking – other welfare support, such as rent relief, masks difficulties in paying energy bills</p></li>
<li><p>some households disguise energy poverty by using public facilities such as showers or pooling money for bills between families </p></li>
<li><p>some people conceal their hardship due to pride or fear of legal consequences, such as losing custody of children if food cannot be refrigerated because the power has been cut off</p></li>
<li><p>poor understanding of energy efficiency and the health risks of cold or hot homes adds to the problem</p></li>
<li><p>eligibility criteria for energy assistance programs may exclude some vulnerable households. For example, people with income just above the welfare threshold are missing out on energy concessions. Energy retailer hardship programs also ignore people who have voluntarily disconnected due to financial hardship. </p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/die-of-cold-or-die-of-stress-social-housing-is-frequently-colder-than-global-health-guidelines-164598">'Die of cold or die of stress?': Social housing is frequently colder than global health guidelines</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>5 ways to help these households</h2>
<p>Our studies suggest trusted intermediaries such as people working in health, energy and social services can play a vital role in identifying and supporting such households.</p>
<p>First, energy efficiency and hardship initiatives may be <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/schools-colleges/property-construction-and-project-management/research/research-centres-and-groups/sustainable-building-innovation-laboratory/projects/care-at-home-system-improvements">integrated into the My Aged Care in-home care system</a>. Energy poverty risk identification, response and referral could be built into the national service’s assessment form. This could leverage existing client screening processes.</p>
<p>The system’s front-line staff could connect at-risk householders with energy counsellors. These counsellors could help people access better energy contracts, concessions, home retrofits and appliance upgrade programs. </p>
<p>A new Commonwealth “energy supplement” could help pay for essential energy-related home modifications. This would help avoid My Aged Care funds being diverted from immediate healthcare needs. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1649229071644241921"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-a-lemon-law-to-make-all-the-homes-we-buy-and-rent-more-energy-efficient-204369">We need a 'lemon law' to make all the homes we buy and rent more energy-efficient</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Second, general practitioners and other health professionals could help identify energy vulnerability among patients with medical conditions of concern. They could also provide letters of support emphasising renters’ health-based need for air conditioners or heaters.</p>
<p>Third, energy providers could use household energy data to identify those that seem to be under-consuming or are often disconnected. They could also identify those that are not on “best offer” deals. They could be proactive in checking struggling householders’ eligibility for ongoing energy concessions and one-off debt relief grants offered by states and territories.</p>
<p>Energy providers could also make it easier for social housing providers to ensure concessions for tenants renew automatically.</p>
<p>Fourth, local councils could use their data to identify at-risk householders. They might include those with a disability parking permit, discounted council rates or in arrears, on the social housing waiting list, Meals on Wheels clients and social housing tenants. Maternal and child health nurses and home and community care workers making home visits could call attention to cold or hot homes. </p>
<p>Councils could employ in-house energy counsellors to provide assistance and energy literacy training. Council home maintenance teams could develop bulk-buying, insulation and neighbourhood retrofit programs. </p>
<p>Strategies to reduce vulnerability to energy poverty should be part of municipal public health and wellbeing plans. Under these strategies, net-zero-carbon funds set up by states and local councils to reduce emissions could finance targeted housing retrofits.</p>
<p>We also suggest setting up a central helpline to improve access to energy assistance via local referrals. </p>
<p>Fifth, residential energy-efficiency programs could become more person-centric. For example, we already have <a href="https://www.homescorecard.gov.au/">Residential Efficiency Scorecard</a> audits to assess the thermal quality of a home. These audits could also explore whether concessions and better energy deals are available to the household.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1652822755384102913"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-need-energy-to-survive-here-are-3-ways-to-ensure-australias-crazy-power-prices-leave-no-one-behind-193459">We all need energy to survive. Here are 3 ways to ensure Australia's crazy power prices leave no-one behind</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Building capacity at all levels</h2>
<p><a href="https://cur.org.au/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/tackling-hidden-energy-final.pdf">Capacity-building strategies</a> are needed at all levels – individual, community and government – to overcome the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629623000737">challenges</a> of reducing energy poverty. Current obstacles include the competing priorities of service providers, lack of time and resources, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629622003553">poor co-ordination between siloed</a> programs and services.</p>
<p>Access to essential energy services should be part of state and local governments’ strategic health plans. Housing, energy and health departments could work together to include housing retrofits in preventive health programs. </p>
<p>A comprehensive approach is needed to overcome hidden energy poverty. It must include public education, integrated services and well-funded energy-efficiency programs. Regulatory reforms and ongoing funding are both needed to improve the availability of energy-efficient, affordable homes for tenants.</p>
<p>Our suggested strategies start with improving the skills and knowledge of trusted intermediaries. Doctors, social workers, housing officers, community nurses and volunteers can play a central role. Using these front-line professionals to help identify and act on energy poverty offers a novel, cost-effective and targeted solution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204672/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola Willand receives or has received funding for research from various organisations, including the Australian Research Council, the Victorian State Government, the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, the Future Fuels Collaborative Research Centre and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Centre. She is affiliated with the Australian Institute of Architects. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nooshin Torabi receives or has received funding for research from various organisations, including the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation,</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ralph Horne receives or has received funding for research from various organisations, including the Australian Research Council, the Victorian State Government, the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.</span></em></p>
Energy poverty puts people’s health and wellbeing at risk, but many vulnerable households go undetected. Trusted intermediaries, such as doctors and community workers, can help solve this problem.
Nicola Willand, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
Nooshin Torabi, Lecturer, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
Ralph Horne, Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation, College of Design & Social Context, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204369
2023-04-26T20:03:37Z
2023-04-26T20:03:37Z
We need a ‘lemon law’ to make all the homes we buy and rent more energy-efficient
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522912/original/file-20230426-195-isrm2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4883%2C3260&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A long-awaited increase in energy-efficiency requirements for new homes is part of revised Australian construction standards <a href="https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/suppliers/knauf-insulation/building-energy-efficient-homes-to-meet-ncc-2022">taking effect on May 1</a>. All new homes must achieve a <a href="https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/editions-national-construction-code">minimum 7-star whole-of-home energy rating</a> from October, following a six-month transition period. </p>
<p>It’s a crucial step in responding to the climate crisis and decarbonising Australian society. It will also make our homes more <a href="https://theconversation.com/low-energy-homes-dont-just-save-money-they-improve-lives-81084">affordable and comfortable to live in</a>, and improve our <a href="https://theconversation.com/cold-homes-increase-the-risk-of-severe-mental-health-problems-new-study-193125">health and wellbeing</a>. </p>
<p>These regulations affect the roughly 150,000 new homes built each year across Australia. But what about the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/building-and-construction/estimated-dwelling-stock/jun-quarter-2022">other 10.8 million homes</a> we’re already living in?</p>
<p>Any transition towards a low-carbon future must include big improvements to existing housing. Housing accounts for around <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/government-priorities/buildings/residential-buildings">24% of overall electricity use</a> and 12% of carbon emissions in Australia. </p>
<p>As a nation we spend at least as much on renovations and retrofits as on building new housing. <a href="https://theconversation.com/7-star-housing-is-a-step-towards-zero-carbon-but-theres-much-more-to-do-starting-with-existing-homes-189542">Upgrading the energy performance</a> of existing homes should get at least as much attention as new homes to help make the transition to low-carbon living.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1648462283914489858"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/7-star-housing-is-a-step-towards-zero-carbon-but-theres-much-more-to-do-starting-with-existing-homes-189542">7-star housing is a step towards zero carbon – but there's much more to do, starting with existing homes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How do you know if a home’s a lemon?</h2>
<p>Australians can access lots of information about the performance of <a href="https://www.energyrating.gov.au/">appliances</a> and <a href="https://www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au/">vehicles</a>, but almost nothing about the quality and performance of our housing. </p>
<p>When buying an appliance or a car we can see how much energy it will use and how much it will cost to run. We can then compare options and improve our decision-making. </p>
<p>We also have rights if our purchase doesn’t perform as described. Australia doesn’t have a specific “<a href="https://www.consumeraffairs.com/lemon-law/">lemon law</a>” like the United States. Nonetheless, a raft of laws protect buyers of both new and used vehicles. </p>
<p>Yet when it comes to our biggest and most important buying decision – buying or renting a home – we have a right to precisely nothing in terms of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111370">information on its energy efficiency</a> and readiness for a sustainable future. What little information is provided is <a href="https://theconversation.com/spruiking-the-stars-some-home-builders-are-misleading-consumers-about-energy-ratings-136402">often misleading</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ive-never-actually-met-them-what-will-motivate-landlords-to-fix-cold-and-costly-homes-for-renters-188827">'I've never actually met them': what will motivate landlords to fix cold and costly homes for renters?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Energy performance must be disclosed in other countries</h2>
<p>Housing energy rating schemes are used <a href="https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficient-buildings/energy-performance-buildings-directive_en">worldwide</a>. These schemes rate and compare the energy use of housing to help people decide what they will rent and buy. </p>
<p>Energy ratings are important. They tell us how much we are likely to spend on essential activities such as heating and cooling our homes. Amid a cost-of-living crisis, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/energy-bills-why-yours-is-now-so-expensive-and-where-all-the-money-goes-176443">soaring energy prices</a>, this matters to all Australians, particularly those doing it tough. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522900/original/file-20230426-152-s8qq58.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Screenshot of a section of a UK Energy Performance Certificate" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522900/original/file-20230426-152-s8qq58.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522900/original/file-20230426-152-s8qq58.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=207&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522900/original/file-20230426-152-s8qq58.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=207&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522900/original/file-20230426-152-s8qq58.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=207&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522900/original/file-20230426-152-s8qq58.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522900/original/file-20230426-152-s8qq58.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522900/original/file-20230426-152-s8qq58.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The UK’s Energy Performance Certificate tells prospective buyers and renters about a home’s energy rating, its energy costs and potential to be improved.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5996/2116821.pdf">Source: Energy Performance Certificate, GOV.UK</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Australia had a world-leading housing energy rating scheme <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frsc.2022.801460">when it was adopted in the ACT</a> in 2003. Since then progress has stalled on a national scheme similar to those established globally in recent decades. </p>
<p>Energy ratings also reveal the underlying condition of our housing. Housing in Australia built before the early 2000s typically has only a <a href="https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/research-data-and-insights/research/research-reports/household-retrofit-trials">1-3 star energy rating</a>. That level of performance more than doubles its energy bills and emissions compared to a new home. </p>
<p>People looking to buy or rent could avoid the housing equivalent of a lemon if we had a national scheme that requires a standard, independently verified energy performance assessment be made available to them. This would create an incentive for sellers and landlords to improve the energy performance of housing. It would also give policymakers a national picture of where retrofit schemes could best be targeted to meet our emission-reduction commitments.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homes-with-higher-energy-ratings-sell-for-more-heres-how-australian-owners-could-cash-in-128548">Homes with higher energy ratings sell for more. Here's how Australian owners could cash in</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are the prospects for such a scheme?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/government-priorities/buildings/residential-buildings">Discussions</a> are taking place in Australia about introducing a requirement for households to obtain some sort of energy or sustainability rating on their dwelling, potentially at point of sale or lease. A similar requirement is in place in other locations like <a href="https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficient-buildings/energy-performance-buildings-directive_en">Europe</a>, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/buy-sell-your-home/energy-performance-certificates">United Kingdom</a> and even the ACT. </p>
<p>We have the resources and knowledge to establish a robust system that is: accurate and holistic, robust and consistent, applied and clear, transparent and adaptive. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1649986459955494913"}"></div></p>
<p>The benefits of such a scheme include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>encouraging energy-efficient retrofits of existing homes for the health and comfort of Australians</p></li>
<li><p>supporting social equity between people living in older homes and those in newer homes, and particularly for renters and low-income households</p></li>
<li><p>giving Australians a better understanding of the houses they rent or buy, in the same way they choose their appliances</p></li>
<li><p>reducing emissions from housing to help achieve the target of net-zero emissions</p></li>
<li><p>providing information to inform and develop policies for existing homes that then align with policies for new homes.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-7-star-housing-really-cost-more-it-depends-but-you-can-keep-costs-down-in-a-few-simple-ways-189627">Will 7-star housing really cost more? It depends, but you can keep costs down in a few simple ways</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The key is not to do a cheap job on this. That would waste the effort, time and money we put into retrofitting homes, and risk us missing our climate commitments. It would also mean our most vulnerable households would find it even more difficult to access decent, energy-efficient housing. </p>
<p>Doing a proper job means we will all have access to independent verified information. It will help fix market failures and provide peace of mind about the places we live, with the potential to upgrade them reliably and cost-effectively.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204369/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trivess Moore has received funding from various organisations including the Australian Research Council, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Victorian Government and various industry partners. He is a trustee of the Fuel Poverty Research Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa de Kleyn is a Research Fellow on projects that receive funding from various organisations including the Australian Research Council, Victorian Government, and various industry partners.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ralph Horne has received funding from various organisations including the Australian Research Council, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Victorian Government and various industry partners. </span></em></p>
Improving the performance of nearly 11 million existing homes will make a much bigger difference to housing energy costs and emissions than an incoming 7-star energy standard for new homes.
Trivess Moore, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
Lisa de Kleyn, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
Ralph Horne, Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation, College of Design & Social Context, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/203781
2023-04-26T14:23:51Z
2023-04-26T14:23:51Z
Replacing methane with hydrogen to heat homes is a bad idea – here’s why
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522747/original/file-20230425-16-tr4yt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5888%2C3923&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/worker-set-central-gas-heating-boiler-707026189">Ronstik/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hydrogen is an energy-rich gas, which releases no carbon emissions when burned. It can be used in most equipment where fossil fuels such as natural gas (methane) or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) are currently used. In your home, that might mean a gas boiler, heater, cooker or all three. </p>
<p>It can also power combustion-engine vehicles which might otherwise run on petrol. And it can generate enough heat for heavy industry processes such as <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/fortescue-lab-succeeds-in-green-iron-experiment-20230323-p5cuol">steelmaking</a>, which is overwhelmingly done by burning coal at present. </p>
<p>These qualities make hydrogen gas an attractive replacement for the fossil fuels driving climate change. But could (and should) it heat your home? </p>
<h2>How is hydrogen produced?</h2>
<p>Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on Earth but because it reacts so readily with other elements, there is very little pure hydrogen available (it’s only <a href="https://energies.airliquide.com/resources/planet-hydrogen-hydrogen#:%7E:text=Hydrogen%20is%20found%20in%20great,%2C%20which%20contains%20just%200.00005%25">0.00005% of the atmosphere)</a>. Instead, hydrogen must be extracted and stored.</p>
<p>If renewable electricity generated by wind, solar and other sources is used to separate hydrogen from water, it could create an entirely sustainable energy cycle. This is called “green” hydrogen but, at the moment, it accounts for only <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-hydrogen">0.1% of global hydrogen production</a>. The infrastructure necessary to produce green hydrogen at scale hasn’t been built yet as there is <a href="https://theconversation.com/green-hydrogen-why-low-carbon-fuels-are-not-benefiting-from-high-fossil-fuel-prices-195774">insufficient incentive</a> to do that while it’s cheap and simple to make hydrogen using fossil fuels.</p>
<p>Most hydrogen currently made worldwide is extracted from fossil fuels, about half of it from methane and the rest from oil or coal. Extracting hydrogen from fossil fuels releases carbon. Only about <a href="https://www.globalccsinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Circular-Carbon-Economy-series-Blue-Hydrogen.pdf">1% of global hydrogen production</a> is subject to an industrial process known as carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), which filters out most of the carbon <a href="https://h2sciencecoalition.com/blog/hydrogen-for-heating-a-comparison-with-heat-pumps-part-1/">(the current best capture rate is about 90%)</a> to create “blue” hydrogen. </p>
<p>The vast majority of hydrogen is labelled “grey”, where the carbon is simply emitted to the atmosphere. So while it may be clean at the point of use, hydrogen’s production is contributing to global heating.</p>
<h2>Should we use hydrogen in homes?</h2>
<p>While hydrogen has the potential to be a green substitute for fossil fuels, this is still very much a future prospect.</p>
<p>To decarbonise home heating and hot water, the UK’s recent <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-security-bill-factsheets/energy-security-bill-factsheet-low-carbon-heat-scheme#:%7E:text=The%20Chancellor's%202021%20Spring%20Statement">energy security bill</a> promoted heat pumps as a replacement for gas boilers. Most countries in Europe and North America have done the same. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An engineer adjusts wires in an open panel on the side of a large fan unit outside a house." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522750/original/file-20230425-2111-kun9w7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522750/original/file-20230425-2111-kun9w7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522750/original/file-20230425-2111-kun9w7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522750/original/file-20230425-2111-kun9w7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522750/original/file-20230425-2111-kun9w7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522750/original/file-20230425-2111-kun9w7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522750/original/file-20230425-2111-kun9w7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Heat pumps can run on renewable electricity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-technician-hand-using-measuring-equipment-1925378171">Eakrin Rasadonyindee/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Heat pumps work like a refrigerator in reverse, pushing heat into rather than out of a space. The reason heat pumps are so useful is that they can convert one unit of electricity into <a href="https://clade-es.com/blog/what-is-the-coefficient-of-performance-of-a-heat-pump/">two or more units of heat</a>, referred to as a coefficient of performance or COP of 2. By comparison, gas boilers have a COP of about 0.9. It’s even lower if they burn hydrogen, <a href="https://h2sciencecoalition.com/blog/hydrogen-for-heating-a-comparison-with-heat-pumps-part-1/">perhaps less than 0.5</a>.</p>
<p>The bill set a target of fitting <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/27/little-progress-made-on-energy-efficiency-in-uk-homes-report-finds">600,000 homes</a> with heat pumps each year by 2028. The UK Climate Change Committee (UKCCC), an independent body that advises the government, <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmbeis/1038/report.html#:%7E:text=The%20CCC%20projects%2C%20in%20the,is%20new%20direct%20electric%20heating.">projects</a> that 52% of home heating will come from heat pumps by 2050. All of those homes will be progressively disconnected from the gas grid.</p>
<p>At the same time, households are being encouraged to become more energy-efficient by installing insulation in windows, walls and lofts. This could reduce the average energy demand for space heating by <a href="https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/UserFiles/File/Policy%20papers/2021.09.24%20PHT%20Retrofit%20Position%20Paper%20v1.4.pdf">as much as 75%</a> if retrofitted to <a href="https://passivhaustrust.org.uk/certification.php">Passivhaus standard</a> (an international benchmark for very low-energy construction).</p>
<p>Even tougher rules apply to new build homes. In Scotland, building regulations will prohibit the installation of gas boilers in homes <a href="https://www.eca.co.uk/news-and-events/news/2022/aug/scotland-to-ban-fossil-fuel-boilers">built after 2024</a> and legislation was recently passed to introduce a <a href="https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/government-to-consult-over-scottish-equivalent-of-passivhaus-standard#:%7E:text=Passivhaus%20standards%20include%20eliminating%20thermal,two%20years%20of%20December%202022.">Scottish Passivhaus-equivalent standard</a>.</p>
<p>With fewer homes connecting to the gas grid and much lower energy demand for those that are connected in future, maintaining the national gas grid for domestic use seems wasteful. Maybe it’s time to think about turning off the gas for good.</p>
<h2>The gas grid</h2>
<p>A recent report by a government advisor known as the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1144529/hydrogen-champion-report.pdf">Hydrogen Champion</a> recommended blending up to 20% hydrogen into the gas grid, similar to how most petrol now has 10% ethanol blended in. This is listed in the report under the heading “Stimulate Demand” and it seems clear the aim is to encourage hydrogen production rather than reduce carbon emissions.</p>
<p>The report states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Hydrogen blending alone could support up to approximately 5GW of hydrogen production near term and has the lowest risk profile of off-takers [potential buyers]. This significantly helps to make CCUS-enabled hydrogen projects investible during scale-up.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Domestic gas use is considered “low risk” because most householders simply don’t have an alternative. </p>
<p>In the short term, using any hydrogen for home heating would almost certainly increase carbon emissions because, as noted above, hydrogen has a lower COP than methane and the vast majority is produced from fossil fuels without CCUS.</p>
<p>In the longer term, hydrogen is much more likely to be used in transport and heavy industry than in houses. The report states that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has “strongly emphasised the need to prioritise industrial consumers”. The UKCCC projects that only 5% of domestic heating will come from hydrogen and that will be predominantly as a <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Full-Report-Development-of-trajectories-for-residential-heat-decarbonisation-to-inform-the-Sixth-Carbon-Budget-Element-Energy.pdf">secondary supply for hybrid heat pumps</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A lorry with white cabin and blue wagon." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522749/original/file-20230425-22-v5rdtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522749/original/file-20230425-22-v5rdtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522749/original/file-20230425-22-v5rdtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522749/original/file-20230425-22-v5rdtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522749/original/file-20230425-22-v5rdtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522749/original/file-20230425-22-v5rdtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522749/original/file-20230425-22-v5rdtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hydrogen could fuel heavy goods vehicles which would otherwise need cumbersome batteries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/large-blue-truck-on-swedish-motorway-1670418880">SwedishStockPhotos/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://hydrogen-central.com/uk-hydrogen-added-britains-gas-supply-2025/#:%7E:text=Hydrogen%20is%20to%20be%20pumped,Gas%2C%20which%20owns%20the%20pipelines.">message</a> from UK gas network operators is that they are transitioning the gas grid to hydrogen, with work already underway planning the upgrades to regional pipelines that will be required and for <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-65119400">pilot projects</a> with small groups of houses. Boiler manufacturers are also promoting hydrogen-ready boilers that can be installed now in anticipation of 100% hydrogen supply. </p>
<p>But transitioning the entire gas grid to hydrogen would be an enormous task. More likely is that some hydrogen hubs develop in places with surplus renewable energy generation to produce green hydrogen, alongside high industrial demand and a high density of buildings where heat pumps and retrofitting will be difficult.</p>
<h2>What should households do?</h2>
<p>You have no control over what sort of gas gets delivered through the pipes to your house. If an 80:20 blend is introduced, it will be to stimulate business investment in the production of hydrogen, and it will have to first be deemed safe for all existing household uses such that no modifications are required. In the longer term heavy industry and transport will suck up the vast majority of hydrogen produced.</p>
<p>What you can do, if you can afford it or are <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/find-energy-grants-for-you-home-help-to-heat">eligible</a> for government support, is insulate your home and install a heat pump, which will immediately reduce your household carbon emissions as well as save you money. </p>
<p>As for hydrogen, forget about it.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 10,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ran Boydell has received funding from the UK and Scottish governments for research on sustainable buildings and is a director of the Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA).</span></em></p>
The government is considering blending hydrogen into the UK gas network.
Ran Boydell, Associate Professor in Sustainable Development, Heriot-Watt University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/201090
2023-03-07T19:05:46Z
2023-03-07T19:05:46Z
Solar power can cut living costs, but it’s not an option for many people – they need better support
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513859/original/file-20230307-14-atzhip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C12%2C8118%2C5444&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the cost of living soars, many Australian households are turning to rooftop solar to cut their energy costs. A <a href="https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/to-address-rising-energy-costs-australians-want-long-term-solutions-from-the-government-rather-than-temporary-reliefs">Pulse of the Nation</a> survey last month showed about 29% of Australians have installed or are considering installing solar panels on their homes. </p>
<p>The same survey shows one in five Australians can’t afford to adequately heat or cool their homes. Many are also unable to install energy-saving options such as solar panels or insulation because of the upfront costs or because they are renters who cannot make changes to the dwelling. Among those who are financially stressed, earn less than A$50,000 or are between the ages of 18 and 34, a large majority do not intend to install energy-saving options, largely because they cannot afford them.</p>
<p>Renewable energy is not just critical for saving on energy bills, but also for <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2022/217/9/2022-report-mja-lancet-countdown-health-and-climate-change-australia-unprepared">mitigating climate change and fostering sustainable development</a>. However, the reality is access to solar power is not equitable for all Australians. Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800923000174?via%3Dihub">new research</a> shows without better government support, many people will miss out on its benefits.</p>
<iframe title="Investments made or considered to lower energy costs" aria-label="Grouped Column Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-wDERd" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/wDERd/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400" data-external="1"></iframe>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-maximise-savings-from-your-home-solar-system-and-slash-your-power-bills-197415">How to maximise savings from your home solar system and slash your power bills</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What does equity in rooftop solar uptake look like?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800923000174?via%3Dihub">Our research</a> focuses on how to make access to rooftop solar more equitable. </p>
<p>It is important to distinguish between equity and equality. Equality means every household will be given the <a href="https://onlinepublichealth.gwu.edu/resources/equity-vs-equality/">same resources or opportunities</a>. For example, every household would receive the same subsidy to install solar panels. </p>
<p>Equity refers to fairness. The idea of equity recognises not all households start from the same place. Instead, adjustments to imbalances might be required. </p>
<p>In the context of solar adoption, equity would mean every Australian can benefit from solar power. Any subsidies or other support would be adjusted based on individual circumstances. </p>
<p>To better understand how it affects the adoption of solar panels, we looked at several aspects of inequity. These include financial situation, renting status, gender, education and ethnicity. </p>
<p>For our study, we collected 167 studies worldwide on household solar panel adoption to determine what we know about how it’s affected by these aspects of inequity. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-need-energy-to-survive-here-are-3-ways-to-ensure-australias-crazy-power-prices-leave-no-one-behind-193459">We all need energy to survive. Here are 3 ways to ensure Australia's crazy power prices leave no-one behind</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1486909044132806661"}"></div></p>
<h2>Solar power equity has been neglected</h2>
<p>Our findings show there is very limited in-depth data and research on this issue in Australia. Australian studies on residential solar uptake account for 20 (12%) of the 167 studies. </p>
<p>Research in Australia tends to focus on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988322002833">equity related to income</a>. Of the 20 Australian studies, six find a positive link between income and solar panel adoption, four find a negative link, five show inconclusive results and five omit income altogether. </p>
<p>These mixed results can be explained, in part, by the fact that a range of factors impact whether a household can afford solar power. For example, a somewhat higher household income does not automatically mean that a household has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988322002833">less bill stress and enough accumulated wealth</a> to afford the upfront cost of installing solar power. </p>
<p>Few studies offer a deeper analysis of variables such as education or ethnicity. For Australia, only five studies looked at education and only one at ethnicity. There is a lack of data on solar uptake among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. </p>
<p>This limited research does not allow for definite conclusions about how these variables impact rooftop solar uptake.</p>
<p>Energy-saving installations in investment properties have also received limited attention. Many Australian renters report their dwellings have extremely poor insulation. This leads to hot indoor temperatures in summer and <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-youre-renting-chances-are-your-home-is-cold-with-power-prices-soaring-heres-what-you-can-do-to-keep-warm-184472">cold conditions in winter</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-youre-renting-chances-are-your-home-is-cold-with-power-prices-soaring-heres-what-you-can-do-to-keep-warm-184472">If you're renting, chances are your home is cold. With power prices soaring, here's what you can do to keep warm</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Renters typically have <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-youre-renting-chances-are-your-home-is-cold-with-power-prices-soaring-heres-what-you-can-do-to-keep-warm-184472">limited ways to fix these problems</a>. The only available options for many renters are air conditioning and portable heaters powered by traditional energy sources, which increases electricity bills.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1525959210432745472"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heat-pumps-can-cut-your-energy-costs-by-up-to-90-its-not-magic-just-a-smart-use-of-the-laws-of-physics-185711">Heat pumps can cut your energy costs by up to 90%. It’s not magic, just a smart use of the laws of physics</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What policies can improve solar equity?</h2>
<p>Policies that could improve equity in rooftop solar access include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>direct financial support for low-income households that otherwise could not afford solar power</p></li>
<li><p>a variety of other financial incentives such as solar rebates</p></li>
<li><p>community solar programs that allow households to share the benefits. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Some programs are in place to help home owners on low incomes to install solar systems. For example, New South Wales has a “<a href="https://www.energy.nsw.gov.au/households/rebates-grants-and-schemes/rebate-swap-solar">Solar for low-income households</a>” program. Eligible individuals can get a free 3-kilowatt solar system in return for giving up the <a href="https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-for-the-low-income-household-rebate-on-supply-customers">Low-Income Household Rebate</a> for ten years. South Australia had a “<a href="https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/care-and-support/concessions/household-concessions/solar-offer">Switch for Solar</a>” trial, for which applications closed on August 31 2022. </p>
<p>However, to access these schemes Australians must first overcome one difficult hurdle: home ownership. </p>
<p>In addition, a focus on income alone can be problematic. Directing subsidies to low-income households alone <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988322002833">misses households with low wealth that are above an income threshold</a>.</p>
<p>The Australian government has promised new policy approaches. Its <a href="https://www.alp.org.au/policies/powering-australia">Powering Australia Plan</a> pledged $102.2 million for community solar banks. These are community-owned projects to improve access for those currently locked out of solar power. Households can lease or buy a plot in these solar banks, instead of using their own rooftops. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Mother and son stand next to rows of solar panels" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513547/original/file-20230306-4646-h5a5e1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513547/original/file-20230306-4646-h5a5e1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513547/original/file-20230306-4646-h5a5e1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513547/original/file-20230306-4646-h5a5e1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513547/original/file-20230306-4646-h5a5e1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513547/original/file-20230306-4646-h5a5e1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513547/original/file-20230306-4646-h5a5e1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Households can lease or buy a plot in a community solar bank, instead of using their own rooftops.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-ways-the-albanese-government-can-turn-australia-into-a-renewable-energy-superpower-without-leaving-anyone-behind-183640">3 ways the Albanese government can turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower – without leaving anyone behind</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The success of such projects will depend on whether they are accessible to and affordable for everyone.</p>
<p>More data collection is needed to identify priorities for policy action on energy equity. This can include a new <a href="https://near.csiro.au/assets/a673168c-7b33-4c87-ac7f-02baf700a2e4">Household Energy Consumption Survey</a> (the Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted such a survey until a decade ago), broader analysis by researchers to consider equity dimensions, and collaboration between researchers and policymakers to trial new policies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martina Linnenluecke receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rohan Best has received past funding from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mauricio Marrone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The very people most in need of the cost savings from installing solar panels are missing out. Better policies are needed to make home solar systems accessible to all Australians.
Martina Linnenluecke, Professor of Environmental Finance at UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney
Mauricio Marrone, Associate Professor, Department of Actuarial Studies and Business Analytics, Macquarie University
Rohan Best, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, Macquarie University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/197866
2023-01-18T13:39:49Z
2023-01-18T13:39:49Z
Why gas stoves matter to the climate – and the gas industry: Keeping them means homes will use gas for heating too
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505000/original/file-20230117-14-6rhwh5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5066%2C3433&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Industry wants to keep people cooking with gas.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/new-jersey-jersey-city-close-up-of-gas-stove-burner-royalty-free-image/150973307">Jamie Grill, Tetra Images via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Gas stoves are a leading source of hazardous indoor <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-gas-stoves-bad-for-your-health-heres-why-the-federal-government-is-considering-new-safety-regulations-186454">air pollution</a>, but they emit only a tiny share of the greenhouse gases that warm the climate. Why, then, have they assumed such a heated role in climate politics? </p>
<p>This debate reignited on Jan. 9, 2023, when Richard Trumka Jr., a member of the <a href="https://www.cpsc.gov/">U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission</a>, told <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-09/us-safety-agency-to-consider-ban-on-gas-stoves-amid-health-fears">Bloomberg News</a> that the agency planned to consider regulating gas stoves due to concerns about their health effects. “Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” he noted.</p>
<p>Politicians reacted with overheated <a href="https://time.com/6247293/gas-stoves-right-wing-memes/">outrage</a>, putting gas stove ownership on a par with <a href="https://twitter.com/RonnyJacksonTX/status/1612839703018934274?s=20&t=ptxUxaAhqE1ax8FwY15cyA">the right to bear arms</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Jim_Jordan/status/1613617882004443138">religious freedom</a>. CPSC Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric tried to douse the uproar, stating that he was “<a href="https://www.cpsc.gov/About-CPSC/Chairman/Alexander-Hoehn-Saric/Statement/Statement-of-Chair-Alexander-Hoehn-Saric-Regarding-Gas-Stoves">not looking to ban gas stoves</a>” and that his agency “has no proceeding to do so.” Neither does the Biden administration support a ban, a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2023/01/11/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-january-11-2023/">White House spokesperson said</a>.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, congressional Republicans raced to the barricades, introducing bills with titles like the <a href="https://issa.house.gov/media/press-releases/issa-introduces-gas-act-prevent-biden-administration-ban-gas-stoves">Guard America’s Stoves (GAS) Act</a> and the <a href="https://huizenga.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=401521">Stop Trying to Obsessively Vilify Energy (STOVE) Act</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1613556347488079872"}"></div></p>
<p>This skirmish may seem like a tempest in a teapot, but it reveals important contours of the battlefield on which climate politics are waged. As I explain in my book, “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300251678/confronting-climate-gridlock/">Confronting Climate Gridlock: How Diplomacy, Technology, and Policy Can Unlock a Clean Energy Future</a>,” gas stoves matter to climate and to the gas industry because they serve as <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/10/07/1015460605/gas-stove-emissions-climate-change-health-effects">gateway appliances</a> to the dominant residential uses of natural gas: heating and hot water. </p>
<h2>Serious health effects</h2>
<p>Direct impacts from gas stoves are a much more urgent concern for <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-gas-stoves-bad-for-your-health-heres-why-the-federal-government-is-considering-new-safety-regulations-186454">human health</a> than for Earth’s climate. Gas stoves are a leading indoor source of <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-gas-stoves-bad-for-your-health-heres-why-the-federal-government-is-considering-new-safety-regulations-186454">nitrogen dioxide</a>, or NO₂, which can cause or worsen respiratory illnesses in people who are exposed to it.</p>
<p>For example, scientific studies show that living in a home with a gas stove increases children’s risk of asthma by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyt150">nearly one-third</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201909-1744OC">contributes to pulmonary disease in adults</a>.</p>
<p>The climate doesn’t care what fuel we use to cook. Gas stoves account for just 0.1% of <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks">U.S. greenhouse gas emissions</a>, even accounting for recent findings of larger than expected <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04707">household methane leaks</a>. They aren’t a big share of fuel sales either, burning just <a href="https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2015/index.php?view=consumption#undefined">3% of the natural gas consumed in homes</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_6cXiqrIueo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Some experts say health risks from gas stoves could be comparable to living with a smoker.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Impeding home electrification</h2>
<p>The significance of gas stoves for the climate becomes clearer in the context of the Biden administration’s goal of <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/US-Long-Term-Strategy.pdf">achieving net-zero U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2050</a>. This target can only be achieved by curbing fossil fuel use across the economy, including in homes. </p>
<p>Installing more-efficient <a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/furnaces-and-boilers">furnaces</a>, better insulation and <a href="https://www.energystar.gov/products/smart_thermostats">smart thermostats</a> are helpful first steps, but getting close to zero will require switching to electricity for space heating and water heating. In the U.S., 46% of homes use natural gas as their <a href="https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/index.php?view=characteristics#sh">main source of heat</a>, 40% use electricity, 10% use other fuels such as heating oil or propane, and 4% are unheated. For water heating, the percentages are 47% gas, 47% electricity and 6% other fuels.</p>
<p>Today, electric and gas heating <a href="https://wcec.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/GHG-Emissions-from-Residential-Heating-Technologies-091520.pdf">have similar carbon footprints</a>, since roughly <a href="https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/">60%</a> of U.S. electricity is generated from fossil fuels and many homes use inefficient electric resistance heaters. But the emissions intensity of electricity is rapidly <a href="https://emissionsindex.org">declining</a> as <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=54559">coal plants close</a> and <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=50818">solar and wind power expands</a>. </p>
<p>President Joe Biden has set a goal of 100% clean electricity nationally by <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/22/fact-sheet-president-biden-sets-2030-greenhouse-gas-pollution-reduction-target-aimed-at-creating-good-paying-union-jobs-and-securing-u-s-leadership-on-clean-energy-technologies/">2035</a>. Although current federal policies fall short of that target, a growing number of <a href="https://www.cesa.org/projects/100-clean-energy-collaborative/guide/table-of-100-clean-energy-states/">states</a> have committed to 100% clean electricity by 2050 or sooner.</p>
<p><iframe id="mh2AF" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/mh2AF/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Natural gas is far harder to decarbonize than electricity. Lower-carbon fuels such as <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/outlook-for-biogas-and-biomethane-prospects-for-organic-growth/the-outlook-for-biogas-and-biomethane-to-2040">biogas</a> and <a href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/hydrogen/experts-say-blending-hydrogen-into-gas-pipelines-wont-work">hydrogen</a> that could be blended in with natural gas are likely to remain scarce and <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/cost-curve-of-potential-global-biogas-supply-by-feedstock-2040">costly</a>.</p>
<p>Furthermore, advanced technologies enable electric <a href="https://theconversation.com/electric-heat-pumps-use-much-less-energy-than-furnaces-and-can-cool-houses-too-heres-how-they-work-154779">heat pumps</a> to heat both air and water far more efficiently than traditional electric or gas furnaces and water heaters. That’s why <a href="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/be6d1d56/files/uploaded/zero-carbon-action-plan.pdf">various</a> <a href="https://netzeroamerica.princeton.edu/?explorer=year&state=national&table=2020&limit=200">scenarios</a> for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2020AV000284">decarbonizing</a> <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/US-Long-Term-Strategy.pdf">energy</a> all envision a major shift to electric heat pumps. This transition is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/world/europe/germany-heat-pumps.html">well underway in Europe</a> and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23301515/heat-pump-faq-guide-heating-cooling">starting in the U.S.</a></p>
<p>Replacing existing gas furnaces and water heaters with electric heat pumps can be costly and complicated, though <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-new-incentives-for-clean-energy-arent-enough-the-inflation-reduction-act-was-just-the-first-step-now-the-hard-work-begins-188693">incentives</a> from the Inflation Reduction Act can help. But if <a href="https://rmi.org/all-electric-new-homes-a-win-for-the-climate-and-the-economy/">new homes</a> are built fully electric from the start, they avoid the cost of installing natural gas hookups, and emit far less air pollution and fewer greenhouse gases throughout the homes’ lifetime. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505027/original/file-20230117-14-byvv2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing house with features including solar power, heat pumps and high-quality insulation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505027/original/file-20230117-14-byvv2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505027/original/file-20230117-14-byvv2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505027/original/file-20230117-14-byvv2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505027/original/file-20230117-14-byvv2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505027/original/file-20230117-14-byvv2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505027/original/file-20230117-14-byvv2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505027/original/file-20230117-14-byvv2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This schematic shows key components of a net-zero house that generates as much electricity as it consumes, using renewable energy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.efficiencyvermont.com/blog/how-to/how-to-make-your-home-net-zero">Efficiency Vermont</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>New York City and more than 50 California towns, cities and counties have already <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/states-that-outlaw-gas-bans-account-for-31-of-us-residential-commercial-gas-use-70749584">banned gas hookups in new buildings</a>. Elsewhere, 20 states have <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/states-that-outlaw-gas-bans-account-for-31-of-us-residential-commercial-gas-use-70749584">barred the enactment of natural gas bans</a>. </p>
<p>Gas stoves are a big reason why.</p>
<h2>The power of a slogan</h2>
<p>“Most people don’t care how their water is heated or how their heater works, but the Viking stove in the kitchen, people have this visceral emotional attachment,” Michael Colvin of the <a href="https://www.edf.org/">Environmental Defense Fund</a> told me in an interview for my book, “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300251678/confronting-climate-gridlock/">Confronting Climate Gridlock</a>.”</p>
<p>That emotional attachment makes stoves a flashpoint in battles over climate policy.</p>
<p>“Cooking is the hill that the gas industry wants to fight on,” Bruce Nilles of <a href="https://climateimperative.org/">Climate Imperative</a> told me in a 2020 <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300251678/confronting-climate-gridlock/">interview</a> that foreshadowed the current skirmish. “They’ll say, ‘Do you want the government to take away your gas stove that makes you a great chef?’”</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aga.org/">American Gas Association</a> has promoted the notion that gas stoves make skilled cooks since the 1930s, when it introduced the advertising slogan “<a href="https://www.waltongas.com/how-deke-and-bob-started-cooking-with-gas/">Now you’re cooking with gas</a>.” An AGA executive <a href="https://www.wytv.com/news/daybreak/nugget-of-knowledge-cooking-with-gas/">planted the phrase</a> with writers for comedian Bob Hope. Soon it was picked up by <a href="https://www.wytv.com/news/daybreak/nugget-of-knowledge-cooking-with-gas/">comedian Jack Benny, and even by Daffy Duck</a>. The phrase has also <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/10/07/1015460605/gas-stove-emissions-climate-change-health-effects">appeared over time</a> in social media endorsements and hashtags.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FJRQo5aawho?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Cookin’ with Gas,‘ a 1988 commercial produced by National Fuel Gas.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Gas burners do provide more control than many stoves with electric coils, especially older models, which can be slow to heat up and cool down. Today, however, many <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/dining/induction-cooking.html">chefs</a>, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/how-a-shiny-new-induction-cooktop-melted-her-heart-and-why-gas-is-so-passe/">consumers</a> and experts say gas is no longer the obvious choice. <a href="https://theconversation.com/magnetic-induction-cooking-can-cut-your-kitchens-carbon-footprint-151422">Magnetic induction cooktops</a>, which cook using electricity to generate a magnetic field, heat faster, control temperatures more precisely and use less energy than other stoves.</p>
<p>“There’s this big misconception that electric ranges don’t cook as well as gas,” Shanika Whitehurst, a member of Consumer Reports’ research and testing team, <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/inflation-reduction-act-and-new-electric-appliance-rebates-a3460144904/">said in a recent article</a>. “But the technology has improved to the point where electric and especially induction ranges and cooktops cook every bit as well, if not better than gas.” Consumer Reports ranks induction and some traditional electric stoves among its <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/ranges/best-ranges-of-the-year-a1010644947/">top-rated models</a>. </p>
<p>Homes built today will endure far beyond Biden’s 2050 net-zero target. And the longer the gas-is-better myth persists, the harder it will be to fully electrify new homes from the start. As I see it, if “cooking with gas” keeps us tethering new homes to natural gas grids for decades to come, our health, climate and wallets will pay the price.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197866/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Cohan receives funding from Project Innerspace, the Carbon Hub, and the Energy Foundation. </span></em></p>
Energy companies have marketed natural gas as cooks’ favorite for years because homes with gas hookups will also use it for space and water heating.
Daniel Cohan, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/196259
2022-12-09T16:49:02Z
2022-12-09T16:49:02Z
How to keep your home warm during very cold weather (on a budget) – and avoid dangerous heating ‘hacks’
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500034/original/file-20221209-25423-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5991%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jevanto Productions / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A cold snap of Arctic weather dubbed the “<a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-met-office-issues-yellow-28663986">Troll from Trondheim</a>” has hit the UK. The combination of an energy price crisis and very cold weather has left many people worrying about how to keep their homes warm and manage energy bills that have already gone through the roof this winter. The government has provided <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support/energy-bills-support-factsheet-8-september-2022">some</a> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/getting-the-energy-bills-support-scheme-discount">support</a>, but it simply won’t be enough to cover rising costs for many people.</p>
<p>What can we do at home to try and keep warm during a cold snap? Beyond simply putting the heating on 24/7, there are some things that can help. And many of the measures are easy to do. As people are considering different ways to keep warm at home, it is also important to do so safely.</p>
<h2>Fix draughts</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500045/original/file-20221209-34322-49ta4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman stands by window with tape" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500045/original/file-20221209-34322-49ta4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500045/original/file-20221209-34322-49ta4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500045/original/file-20221209-34322-49ta4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500045/original/file-20221209-34322-49ta4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500045/original/file-20221209-34322-49ta4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500045/original/file-20221209-34322-49ta4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500045/original/file-20221209-34322-49ta4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sealing draughty windows and doors makes a big difference.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daisy Daisy / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Keeping draughty air out is a simple and inexpensive way to avoid heat loss and keep your home warmer. Measures include thicker thermal curtains, draught-proofing tape around doors and windows, brush panels on letterboxes and insulating panels behind radiators. The Energy Saving Trust has provided a <a href="https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/draught-proofing/">handy guide</a> for tips on how to prevent draughts while still ensuring good ventilation. </p>
<p>Many years ago, I studied a community group in London which organised monthly <a href="https://grassrootsinnovations.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/hyde-farm-innovation-history_final.pdf">neighbourhood draught-proofing sessions</a> in which neighbours got together and helped each other out to install draught-proofing measures – could this be an option on your street too?</p>
<h2>Check boiler flow temperature</h2>
<p>Heating is the biggest energy user in most homes. If you have central heating, one option often mentioned to save on heating is adjusting the boiler flow temperature, which is the temperature at which water leaves the boiler to reach radiators. Many boilers have this set at 75°C-80°C by default, and people have been advised to set this lower, depending on what boiler type you have (no lower than 65°C for a conventional boiler with a hot water cylinder to avoid the risk of <a href="https://www.ongo.co.uk/your-home/tenant-handbook/health-and-safety/legionella-risks">developing the bacteria</a> that causes Legionnaire’s disease, and between 50°C and 60°C for a combi boiler). </p>
<p>Lowering this temperature can help to save on your energy bills. However, during a cold snap a boiler with a lower flow temperature may have to work harder to heat your home, especially if your home is not energy efficient. So in very cold weather, you may have to temporarily adjust the boiler flow temperature upwards. </p>
<p>Advice on how to adjust the boiler flow temperature is provided by <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/one-simple-way-to-adjust-your-boiler-to-lower-your-heating-bill-atXmR3z2RY92">Which?</a> magazine. It is always advisable to have your boiler, and its flow temperature, checked by a boiler engineer as each home is different. Servicing your boiler annually will also ensure that it works efficiently. If you rent your home, your landlord is responsible for any boiler repairs.</p>
<h2>Heating the human and room temperature</h2>
<p>Keeping warm at home is key to avoiding ill health and just this week, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cold-weather-alert-issued-by-ukhsa">UK Health Security Agency</a> advised people to keep their room temperature at least at 18°C and keep bedroom windows shut at night during the cold snap. While you can <a href="https://theconversation.com/energy-bills-how-much-money-does-turning-down-the-thermostat-actually-save-194756">save on your energy bill by lowering your thermostat</a> and thus room temperature, during a cold snap your home may feel colder if it is not well-insulated. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500056/original/file-20221209-38480-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="cat peeking out of pile of wooly jumpers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500056/original/file-20221209-38480-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500056/original/file-20221209-38480-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500056/original/file-20221209-38480-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500056/original/file-20221209-38480-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500056/original/file-20221209-38480-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500056/original/file-20221209-38480-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500056/original/file-20221209-38480-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wear lots of layers, like this cat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Koldunov Alexey / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are extra ways you can “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-stay-warm-when-youre-working-from-home-without-turning-the-heating-on-195250">heat the human</a>”. These include layering warm clothing and using electric blankets which can keep your body warm and are relatively cheap to run. </p>
<h2>Beware of unsafe heating hacks</h2>
<p>The internet is full of all kinds of hacks for people to try to keep their homes warm, but it is always advisable to check these with experts and authorities first. For example, there’s lots of hype about so-called “terracotta heaters”, where a plant pot is placed above candles to supposedly turn it into a DIY extra radiator. But they are <a href="https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/plant-pot-candle-heater-tiktok-safe-do-they-work/">not effective as heaters and are a serious fire risk</a>. Similarly, putting <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/woman-goes-extreme-lengths-keep-28210384">bricks in the oven</a> and then using them as radiators is not a good idea. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500058/original/file-20221209-22427-dz0faq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Google search results for 'terracotta heater tiktok'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500058/original/file-20221209-22427-dz0faq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500058/original/file-20221209-22427-dz0faq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500058/original/file-20221209-22427-dz0faq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500058/original/file-20221209-22427-dz0faq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500058/original/file-20221209-22427-dz0faq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500058/original/file-20221209-22427-dz0faq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500058/original/file-20221209-22427-dz0faq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unsafe heating hacks are big on TikTok.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=tiktok+terracotta+heater">Google</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many of us love candles and the ambience they bring, but equally they are one of the <a href="https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/plant-pot-candle-heater-tiktok-safe-do-they-work/">most common causes of fire at homes</a>. So if you use candles, ensure that those are used safely and not left unattended. Fireplaces and wood burning stoves need careful use as the way we burn wood affects both indoor and outdoor air quality. There is a valuable guide from the government on how to <a href="https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/reports/cat09/1901291307_Ready_to_Burn_Web.pdf">burn wood the right way</a>.</p>
<h2>Ask for further help</h2>
<p>Many more homes are facing higher energy bills this winter, yet some people still find it hard to ask for help. There are several organisations that you can go to, starting for example with your local <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/">Citizens Advice</a>. They can help check that people are getting all the government help that they are eligible for this winter and how to deal with potential energy bill debt. They can also talk through any grants that may be available for energy efficiency improvements. Speaking to a local MP is an option too. Colleagues and I have produced a <a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/192853/1/PolicyLeeds-Note7_Fuel-poverty-in-the-cost-of-living-crisis3.pdf">briefing</a> aimed at MPs on the importance of fixing fuel poverty. </p>
<p>Finally, more than 3,000 organisations have set up <a href="https://www.warmwelcome.uk/">Welcome Warm Spaces</a> across the UK, for example in local churches, community centres and village halls, to provide a warm and friendly space this winter. It is vital that anyone struggling to keep warm, or to pay their energy bill, seeks help early to avoid long-term impacts on wellbeing. We can also all help to check that our colleagues, neighbours, family and friends are managing too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196259/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prof Mari Martiskainen receives funding from UK Research and Innovation through the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions, grant reference number EP/R035288/1 and European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 814945. </span></em></p>
Cranking the heating up 24/7 isn’t an option for most people.
Mari Martiskainen, Professor of Energy and Society, SPRU, University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/193997
2022-11-22T16:52:23Z
2022-11-22T16:52:23Z
Smart meters show your energy use but here’s how you can actually save money
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495895/original/file-20221117-19-2zesyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C8155%2C5444&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are gaps in UK households' understanding of their energy usage</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smart-energy-meter-kitchen-measuring-electricity-2116196165">Daisy Daisy/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Soaring energy prices are squeezing homes and businesses across the UK and Europe, prompting leaders to implement support measures such as the UK’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support/energy-bills-support-factsheet-8-september-2022">Energy Price Guarantee</a>. Yet it is often unclear to a consumer how much they are spending on energy. For those not on prepayment meters, there is no direct fee each time a light is switched on or a cup of tea is made. </p>
<p>Energy bills also tend to be paid in average monthly sums spread across a year. This protects households from winter price rises when energy use increases. But it also means that the amount households pay for energy is not directly linked to their daily or monthly energy consumption. This separates households from their energy use and the bills they pay. </p>
<p>Smart electricity meters could change how households use energy. They track a household’s energy use and express the cost on an in-home display. </p>
<p>There are now <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1099629/Q2_2022_Smart_Meters_Statistics_Report.pdf">25.6 million</a> smart meters installed in homes and businesses across the UK. Though the number of installations varies, an additional one million smart meters are installed on average each year. </p>
<p>The UK government believe that smart meters could cut household energy bills by 2–3% on average based on trials from their nationwide <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/831716/smart-meter-roll-out-cost-benefit-analysis-2019.pdf">smart meter roll-out programme</a>. But research <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277045/key_findings_summary_quantitative_sm_public_attitudes_research_wave_4.pdf">cautions</a> against the benefits of smart meters for households. </p>
<h2>Not so smart meters</h2>
<p>A smart meter can reveal which of a household’s appliances use the most energy. Their proponents argue that they <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421516300039#bib13">support</a> behavioural change and incite discipline over energy use by raising household energy consciousness. But the effectiveness of a smart meter depends on the decision of an individual not to consume or waste energy. </p>
<p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/657766/Leeds_Core_Cities_Green_Deal_Final_Report.pdf">Research</a> that I co-authored found evidence that there are gaps in UK households’ understanding of their energy usage. In other words, many households exhibit what we call a low level of “energy literacy”. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A technician servicing his boiler." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many households do not understand their heating control systems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/technician-servicing-gas-boiler-hot-water-182175488">Alexander Raths/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Heating control systems can be complex, often involving timers and zonal controls that regulate the temperature across different rooms. We found that it was common for people to misunderstand these systems. </p>
<p>Some of the households interviewed admitted that they did not know how their boiler worked or how to adjust its controls. Others had their heating on continuously and simply turned the boiler on and off at the wall. This can lead to over or under heating parts of a house, resulting in wasted energy. It is therefore likely that those who respond to the prompts offered by smart meters will already be conscientious energy users. </p>
<p>However, the move away from physical heating controls may exacerbate the problem. Not all people will be able and willing to engage with smart meters. While there is a lack of research into the extent of energy literacy across different social groups in the UK, digital exclusion may leave some households still unable to control their own heating. </p>
<p>Understanding fuel bills is also a part of energy literacy. Research shows that many households have a limited understanding of their energy bills. In a 2021 survey, <a href="https://cdn.literacytrust.org.uk/media/documents/Energy_bills_and_literacy_report_-_final_002.pdf">just 46.6%</a> of the 2,520 UK adult bill payers questioned were able to identify the correct definitions of six terms commonly used on their energy bills. Without guidance, many households will be unable to use the information provided by their smart meter effectively. </p>
<p>Energy suppliers instead accrue considerable benefits from smart meters. A smart meter delivers <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988314001649">information</a> about a home’s energy use to suppliers remotely and reduces the necessity for routine door-to-door meter reads. </p>
<h2>Finding a place for smart meters</h2>
<p>Smart meters may prove valuable for households on variable fuel tariffs, where the per unit price of energy they pay varies at the discretion of their energy supplier. The cost of energy rises during the hours where energy demand is at its highest and falls during periods of lower total energy use.</p>
<p>If smart meters are able to convey instant and future unit energy prices then consumers can shift energy intensive activities, such as washing clothing, towards cheaper periods including overnight. The National Grid is trialling a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63483668">scheme</a> which will compensate energy suppliers for offering households discounts on their electricity bills for reducing their energy use during peak times. The scheme applies to homes with smart meters, who receive an alert 24 hours before the test session. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two Tesla Powerwalls, the company's household energy storage system, mounted on a wall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Battery storage can save homeowners money on their energy bills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/austin-texas-usa-july-19th-2021-2015851994">Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Energy can also be stored in house batteries and in electric cars. Variable tariffs would allow them to be recharged when energy is cheap and used during periods of peak energy use. Initial trials conducted by renewable energy company Octopus Energy revealed that charging batteries using variably priced energy could save households up to <a href="https://octopus.energy/blog/agile-powervault-trial/">£580 per year</a>. </p>
<p>This would also accelerate the transition towards electrified household heating. If enough homes use variably priced energy to recharge storage batteries and use them to satisfy their peak energy demand, the requirement for backup energy sources to bolster electricity generation during periods of high demand is reduced. </p>
<p>Smart meters may be ineffective at encouraging greater energy consciousness. But in the future they may allow households to take advantage of a flexible energy grid built around variable pricing and energy storage. But given the current energy crisis, there is limited opportunity to switch energy tariffs. When the situation changes in the future, it is likely that smart meters will play a larger role in household energy consumption.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193997/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Glew does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The government is rolling out smart meters across the UK, but at present they are providing households with little benefit.
David Glew, Head of Energy Efficiency and Policy, Leeds Beckett University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/185711
2022-09-07T20:08:20Z
2022-09-07T20:08:20Z
Heat pumps can cut your energy costs by up to 90%. It’s not magic, just a smart use of the laws of physics
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482251/original/file-20220901-19-myzx7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C7360%2C4891&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Heat pumps are becoming all the rage around a world that has to slash carbon emissions rapidly while cutting energy costs. In buildings, they replace space heating and water heating – and provide cooling as a bonus. </p>
<p>A heat pump extracts heat from outside, concentrates it (using an electric compressor) to raise the temperature, and pumps the heat to where it is needed. Indeed, millions of Australian homes already have heat pumps in the form of refrigerators and reverse-cycle air conditioners bought for cooling. They can heat as well, and save a lot of money compared with other forms of heating! </p>
<p>Even before the restrictions on Russian gas supply, <a href="https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/heat-pumps/top-countries">many European countries</a> were rolling out heat pumps – even in cold climates. Now, <a href="https://rmi.org/eu-looks-to-cut-reliance-on-russian-gas-with-new-investment-in-heat-pumps/">government policies are accelerating change</a>. The United States, which has had very cheap gas in recent years, has joined the rush: President Joe Biden has <a href="https://theconversation.com/biden-just-declared-heat-pumps-and-solar-panels-essential-to-national-defense-heres-why-and-the-challenges-ahead-184632">declared</a> heat pumps are “essential to the national defence” and ordered production be ramped up. </p>
<p>The ACT government is encouraging electrification of buildings using heat pumps, and is <a href="https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/parliamentary-business/in-committees/committees/eccb/inquiry-into-climate-change-and-greenhouse-gas-reduction-natural-gas-transition-amendment-bill-2022">considering legislation</a> to mandate this in new housing developments. The Victorian government recently launched a <a href="https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/gas/victorias-gas-substitution-roadmap">Gas Substitution Roadmap</a> and is reframing its incentives programs towards heat pumps. Other states and territories are also reviewing policies.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1533844491819487232"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/biden-just-declared-heat-pumps-and-solar-panels-essential-to-national-defense-heres-why-and-the-challenges-ahead-184632">Biden just declared heat pumps and solar panels essential to national defense – here's why and the challenges ahead</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Just how big are the energy cost savings?</h2>
<p>Relative to an electric fan heater or traditional electric hot water service, I calculate a heat pump can save 60-85% on energy costs, which is a similar range to <a href="https://www.climatechoices.act.gov.au/energy/energy-efficiency/heating-for-your-home">ACT government estimates</a>.</p>
<p>Comparisons with gas are tricky, as efficiencies and energy prices vary a lot. Typically, though, a heat pump costs around half as much for heating as gas. If, instead of exporting your excess rooftop solar output, you use it to run a heat pump, I calculate it will be up to 90% cheaper than gas. </p>
<p>Heat pumps are also good for the climate. My calculations show a typical heat pump using average Australian electricity from the grid will cut emissions by about a quarter relative to gas, and three-quarters relative to an electric fan or panel heater. </p>
<p>If a high-efficiency heat pump replaces inefficient gas heating or runs mainly on solar, reductions can be much bigger. The gap is widening as zero-emission renewable electricity replaces coal and gas generation, and heat pumps become even more efficient.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482431/original/file-20220902-23-rtcxln.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Horizontal bar chart showing cost savings for a typical home using electric and split systems for heating compared to gas heating" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482431/original/file-20220902-23-rtcxln.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482431/original/file-20220902-23-rtcxln.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482431/original/file-20220902-23-rtcxln.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482431/original/file-20220902-23-rtcxln.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482431/original/file-20220902-23-rtcxln.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482431/original/file-20220902-23-rtcxln.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482431/original/file-20220902-23-rtcxln.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0037/579907/Victorias-Gas-Substitution-Roadmap.pdf">Data: State of Victoria Gas Substitution Roadmap 2022</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/good-news-theres-a-clean-energy-gold-rush-under-way-well-need-it-to-tackle-energy-price-turbulence-and-coals-exodus-188804">Good news – there's a clean energy gold rush under way. We'll need it to tackle energy price turbulence and coal's exodus</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How do heat pumps work?</h2>
<p>Heat pumps available today achieve 300-600% efficiency - that is, for each unit of electricity consumed, they produce three to six units of heat. Heat pumps can operate in freezing conditions too. </p>
<p>How is this possible, when the maximum efficiency of traditional electric and gas heaters is 100%, and cold air is cold?</p>
<p>It’s not magic. Think about your fridge, which is a small heat pump. Inside the fridge is a cold panel called an evaporator. It absorbs heat from the warm food and other sources, because heat flows naturally from a warmer object to a cooler object. The electric motor under the fridge drives a compressor that concentrates the heat to a higher temperature, which it dumps into your kitchen. The sides and back of a typical fridge get warm as this happens. So your fridge cools the food while heating the kitchen a bit.</p>
<p>A heat pump obeys the laws of thermodynamics, which allow it to operate at efficiencies from 200% to over 1,000% in theory. But the bigger the temperature difference, the less efficient the heat pump is. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1419295134496210949"}"></div></p>
<p>If a heat pump needs to draw heat from the environment, how can it work in cold weather? Remember your fridge keeps the freezer compartment cold while pumping heat into your kitchen. The laws of physics are at play. What we experience as a cold temperature is actually quite hot: it’s all relative.</p>
<p>Outer space is close to a temperature known as absolute zero, zero degrees Kelvin, or –273°C. So a temperature of 0°C (at which water freezes), or even the recommended freezer temperature of -18°C, is actually quite hot relative to outer space. </p>
<p>The main problem for a heat pump in “cold” weather is that ice can form on its heat exchanger, as water vapour in the air cools and condenses, then freezes. This ice blocks the air flow that normally provides the “hot” air to the heat pump. Heat pumps can be designed to minimise this problem.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heat-pumps-uk-to-install-600-000-a-year-by-2028-but-electrical-grid-will-need-massive-investment-to-cope-168221">Heat pumps: UK to install 600,000 a year by 2028 but electrical grid will need massive investment to cope</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How do you choose the right heat pump for your home?</h2>
<p>Selecting a suitable heat pump (more commonly known as a reverse-cycle air conditioner) can be tricky, as most advisers are used to discussing gas options. Resources such as <a href="https://www.yourhome.gov.au/">yourhome.gov.au</a>, <a href="https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/heating/home-heating/buying-guide/your-guide-to-home-heating">choice.com.au</a> and the popular Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MyEfficientElectricHome/">My Efficient Electric Home</a> can help. </p>
<p>All household units must carry energy labels (see <a href="https://www.energyrating.gov.au/">energyrating.gov.au</a>): the more stars the better. The independent <a href="https://fairair.com.au/">FairAir</a> web calculator allows you to estimate heating and cooling requirements of a home and the size needed to maintain comfort.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482250/original/file-20220901-13-pgqjye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Energy rating label for reverse-cycle air conditioner showing performance for different climate zones" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482250/original/file-20220901-13-pgqjye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482250/original/file-20220901-13-pgqjye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482250/original/file-20220901-13-pgqjye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482250/original/file-20220901-13-pgqjye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482250/original/file-20220901-13-pgqjye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482250/original/file-20220901-13-pgqjye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482250/original/file-20220901-13-pgqjye.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The government is phasing in this climate zone label to replace the old star rating label on reverse-cycle air conditioners. Unfortunately, the phase-in is slow, so many products still do not show climate-related performance differences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bigger heat pumps are more expensive, so unnecessary oversizing can cost a lot more. Also, insulating, sealing drafts and other building efficiency measures allow you to buy a smaller, cheaper heat pump that will use even less energy and provide better comfort.</p>
<p>When using a heat pump, it is very important to clean its filter every few months. A blocked filter reduces efficiency and the heating and cooling output. If you have an older heat pump that no longer delivers as much heat (or cooling), it may have lost some refrigerant and need a top-up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Pears provides advice and consults to the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity and Energy Efficiency Council as well as governments and community groups such as Renew on issues related to heat pumps. </span></em></p>
Heat pumps use a fraction of the energy of traditional electric or gas heaters, which means they slash both energy costs and emissions.
Alan Pears, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/185587
2022-07-14T04:39:52Z
2022-07-14T04:39:52Z
Heat yourself, not your house: how to survive winter with a 15°C indoor temperature
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472220/original/file-20220704-36074-8ghc1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>How high should you put the heating up over winter? If you don’t mind the bills and ecological impact, you have the encouragement of the World Health Organization to keep the house warm. They recommend an indoor temperature of <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/275839/WHO-CED-PHE-18.03-eng.pdf">at least 18°</a>, declaring that you face health risks at lower temperatures. This advice is echoed by the <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/households/household-guides/seasonal-advice/winter">Australian government</a>. The tone of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535294">some reports</a> is monitory and severe. </p>
<p>Based on these instructions, anyone would feel a reflex to bump up the thermostat. But before you brace for the bill-shock amid soaring energy prices, consider a different approach. Some people cope positively with the freeze and others face deep winter with panic. Given the range of psychological responses, I can only imagine there would be a difference in how people’s health would fare. If I’m full of dread at the prospect of feeling chilly, this stress could aggravate existing health issues.</p>
<p>It is entirely possible to avoid heating your entire house to 18°C to stay warm. If you view your cold house as a project, you can take pleasure in the power of staying warm in your modern cave, while remembering that we evolved to withstand the cold with fewer options than we have today.</p>
<h2>Staying warm in a cold house</h2>
<p>Over the last couple of winters, I’ve discovered many strategies for comfortable living at lower room temperatures. To add to traditional methods such as multiple layers of clothing and physical activity, there are now excellent appliances to fend off the chill. Personal heating devices have become rightly popular, such as electrical heated throw rugs to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/90022948">warm your clothing</a> rather than ambient air.</p>
<p>These new devices – think a more flexible electric blanket – are extremely efficient. Canberra energy efficiency enthusiast David Southgate found using these devices rather than heating the air <a href="https://southgateaviation.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/2019-annual-report-v2.pdf">cut his heating bill</a> by 95%.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472222/original/file-20220704-18-sz6rcn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="electric throw" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472222/original/file-20220704-18-sz6rcn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472222/original/file-20220704-18-sz6rcn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472222/original/file-20220704-18-sz6rcn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472222/original/file-20220704-18-sz6rcn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472222/original/file-20220704-18-sz6rcn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472222/original/file-20220704-18-sz6rcn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472222/original/file-20220704-18-sz6rcn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electric throw rugs and other personal heating devices are gaining popularity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Personally, I have found adequate clothing makes a temperature of 15°C acceptable. In fact, dressing warmly poses more risk of overheating with low levels of activity. It’s satisfying to create your own warmth rather than rely on artificially supplied warmth. You start to notice thermodynamic properties of clothing that you’d never appreciate by relying on a thermostat.</p>
<p>If you wear a hooded gown, you’ll find not only that your ears are warm from being covered, but your uncovered face becomes flushed. That’s because warmth generated by your body wafts upward to escape through the aperture of the hood. As a result, the air that you breathe is also warm.</p>
<p>When it comes to clothing, we can equate warmth simply with insulation. In turn, we assess the insulating qualities of textiles with their thickness or <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/warmest-materials-fabrics-winter-clothing/101155486">air-trapping abilities</a>. We often tend to overlook the design of the clothing, which plays a key role in funnelling body warmth to exposed skin. The archetype of the hood was known two millennia before thermostats in both Greece (the garments μαφόρτης and κάλυμμα) and Rome (the garments <em>cucullus</em>, <em>lacerna</em> and <em>tunica palliolata</em>). They’re just as effective today. </p>
<p>Wearing a cowl won’t warm up your hands; but if the rest of you is warm – especially your feet – your exposed hands will benefit by the circulation. For anyone unconvinced by this assurance, fingerless gloves are a backstop.</p>
<p>The way medical science has catastrophised indoor temperatures lower than 18°C wouldn’t be so bad if it were only incurious and unimaginative. Alas, there are alarming ecological consequences of a population believing that they’ll automatically get sick in the cold.</p>
<p>Carbon emissions from domestic heating are significant. You get a picture from gas bills in Queensland, which go up 1.4 times from summer to winter. In colder states, the figure is <a href="https://www.energycouncil.com.au/analysis/winter-energy-bills-avoid-a-shock">much higher</a>: 3.5 times in Victoria and 5.2 times in nippy Tasmania. We have to scrutinise if we really need our thermostats pegged at 18°C.</p>
<p>Before we accept recommendations on indoor temperatures by medical authorities, we need to know if the science has grappled with different experiences of cold.</p>
<p>Future research must distinguish between people in a cool room who feel cold and miserable or feel protected against cold by a range of practical measures.</p>
<p>Understanding the effect of these variables is urgent, because current authoritative guidance pushes us into heating our houses more than we have to. For most of the world, that means burning fossil fuel.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185587/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Nelson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Official advice suggests warming your house to 18°C. But it’s perfectly possible to live in an unheated house with personal warming devices and better clothing.
Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/172559
2021-11-29T15:40:55Z
2021-11-29T15:40:55Z
Why people in some parts of England pay far more than others to heat their homes
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433924/original/file-20211125-23-1mxxmjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3557%2C1600&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bradford has less energy efficient homes than equivalent towns in southern England.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rodney Hutchinson / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The energy used to heat and light our homes doesn’t get as much attention as aviation, coal power or steel production, yet it contributes to <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector">more than 10%</a> of emissions worldwide. Improving the energy efficiency of homes and reducing the carbon used to heat them is essential.</p>
<p>In the UK, the government recently announced a £5,000 subsidy for households to install <a href="https://theconversation.com/heat-and-buildings-strategy-the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-the-uks-plan-to-replace-gas-boilers-170227">heat pumps</a>. The measure is part of a policy which aims to phase out installation of gas boilers by 2035, with a view to making building stock net zero by 2050. However, this assumes that heating demand is relatively even across the country and doesn’t consider the impact of regional inequality in energy efficiency.</p>
<p>Preliminary results from our <a href="https://eeci.github.io/home/docs/projects/energyplanning/Conversation_Viz/">ongoing research</a> suggest that the energy efficiency of homes built in the past 20 years varies considerably depending on where you are. We modelled this in England using census and spatial data alongside energy performance certificates. Our model focused on homes built in the past 20 years, as these are very likely to still be in use in 2050 and therefore achieving net zero emissions targets will require a reduction in emissions from heating these very homes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434166/original/file-20211126-13-xiaveg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434166/original/file-20211126-13-xiaveg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434166/original/file-20211126-13-xiaveg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434166/original/file-20211126-13-xiaveg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434166/original/file-20211126-13-xiaveg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434166/original/file-20211126-13-xiaveg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434166/original/file-20211126-13-xiaveg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of Energy Intensity of homes built after 2000 for Local Authorities in England.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">André Neto-Bradley</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The modelled energy intensity – that’s how much energy is used to heat a certain floor area – is distinctly unequal. Although we would expect some variation across the country, the regional patterns are striking. Major cities across England and all local authorities across the south and south-east have below average energy intensity. This means that in those areas, houses on average are expected to need much less energy relative to their size. On the other hand, homes in northern local authorities and less built-up urban areas have above average energy intensities.</p>
<h2>£200 difference every year</h2>
<p>For instance, the energy required to heat the average home built since the year 2000 in a northern local authority such as Bradford is nearly 30% greater than in the southern local authority of Wokingham. Bradford and Wokingham are by no means unique, and similar differences can be seen between many northern and southern local authorities. </p>
<p>This has a direct impact on individual household finances. For a family in a three-bedroom house with a gas boiler, it could translate to a difference of nearly £200 in annual energy bills. Heating the less efficient home would also use more carbon. In the above example, the family in Bradford could be responsible for emitting almost a tonne of extra CO₂ each year just to keep their home warm.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434171/original/file-20211126-27-fy9qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434171/original/file-20211126-27-fy9qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434171/original/file-20211126-27-fy9qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434171/original/file-20211126-27-fy9qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434171/original/file-20211126-27-fy9qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434171/original/file-20211126-27-fy9qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434171/original/file-20211126-27-fy9qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434171/original/file-20211126-27-fy9qx1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New builds in Wokingham, one of England’s wealthiest areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Drone Motion Stock/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A home in Bradford isn’t less efficient just because it is in Bradford. Differences in local temperature can have an impact on energy consumption, but the average difference between Bradford and Wokingham is only about 1°C. Instead, this difference primarily relates to the type of housing being built and crucially the quality of said housing in each of these areas. This in turn also reflects differences in the wealth of people homes are being built for.</p>
<h2>Energy efficiency is linked to wealth</h2>
<p>Several underlying factors explain this pattern. Homes in areas with higher energy intensity tend to have poorer quality insulation. They are also likely to have secondary heating systems like electric heaters alongside a gas heating system. This corresponds to patterns in socio-economic indicators. Low household earnings, low life expectancy at birth and high levels of fuel poverty are all correlated with above average energy intensity of homes. In the examples above, Bradford is <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/dvc1371/#/E08000032">one of the most income-deprived</a> of England’s local authorities, while Wokingham has <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/dvc1371/#/E06000041">second lowest level</a> of income deprivation.</p>
<p>What is clear is that the inequality between areas in the energy performance of homes built post-2000 is not simply indiscriminate. The new heat pump policy, like many previous policies that promoted residential energy efficiency, does not account for regional inequalities in the quality of homes. Policies can only be more effective if they recognise these large variations. This would mean targeting both subsidies and incentives to areas with less energy efficient homes, but also matching technologies appropriately to the specific characteristics of homes.</p>
<p>For example, air source heat-pumps <a href="https://theconversation.com/electric-boilers-a-green-alternative-to-heat-pumps-that-no-one-is-talking-about-170479">need space</a> indoors and outdoors that some homes don’t have. In any case, they would not reduce the energy used to heat a poorly-insulated house. Furthermore, heat-pumps use electricity as opposed to the gas in a boiler to heat a home, and around 40% of the UK’s electricity is generated using gas. This means that targeting support to improve and refurbish inefficient homes could have a <a href="https://theconversation.com/refurbishing-old-buildings-reduces-emissions-but-outdated-tax-rates-make-it-expensive-125892">more immediate impact on carbon emissions</a> while also reducing financial burden on households.</p>
<p>Previous research has pointed to the potential economic benefits of making homes more energy efficient, not only for the household but for <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-making-homes-energy-efficient-could-boost-the-economy-and-create-jobs-167414">local businesses too</a>. Locally targeted programmes to improve energy efficiency could have the positive side-effect of supporting local economies in more deprived areas.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172559/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>André Neto-Bradley receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Malleson receives funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 757455)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruchi Choudhary receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), from the Alan Turing Institute (ATI), and from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation Program.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patricia Ternes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
People in some areas are paying hundreds of pounds more to heat their homes every year.
André Neto-Bradley, Research associate, University of Cambridge
Nick Malleson, Associate Professor of Geographical Information Systems, University of Leeds
Patricia Ternes, Researcher in Simulating Urban Systems, University of Leeds
Ruchi Choudhary, Professor of Architectural Engineering, University of Cambridge
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/168221
2021-09-30T15:47:21Z
2021-09-30T15:47:21Z
Heat pumps: UK to install 600,000 a year by 2028 but electrical grid will need massive investment to cope
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423890/original/file-20210929-2257-1uis2fu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Power cuts could happen more regularly if the grid is not updated.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Riccev/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In its bid to massively reduce household use of greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050, the UK government aims to encourage the installation of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-ten-point-plan-for-a-green-industrial-revolution/title#point-7-greener-buildings">600,000 heat pumps</a> a year by 2028. </p>
<p>Heat pumps are a <a href="https://www.renewableenergyhub.co.uk/main/heat-pumps-information/">relatively new technology</a> that take heat from the air outside, or the ground, to be circulated around a central heating and hot water system, using electricity. They are far more clean and energy efficient than gas. </p>
<p>The increased electricity demand caused by heat pumps if millions more people switch to this form of heating could place an “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037877882100061X">unmanageable burden</a>” on the electrical grid, increasing the risk of power cuts, according to recent research using data from 6,600 gas-heated homes and 600 homes with heat pumps.</p>
<p>Without <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261918304781">additional investments</a> in electricity networks and additional innovations, such power cuts will be more likely. There are ways to reduce this risk but these mean major investment, financial incentives and public acceptance. The government has <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-white-paper-powering-our-net-zero-future">acknowledged</a> the need to upgrade the grid.</p>
<p><strong>British demand for electricity to heat homes by year</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graph of demand for electricity in British homes" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423898/original/file-20210929-18-10qcmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423898/original/file-20210929-18-10qcmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=245&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423898/original/file-20210929-18-10qcmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=245&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423898/original/file-20210929-18-10qcmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=245&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423898/original/file-20210929-18-10qcmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423898/original/file-20210929-18-10qcmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423898/original/file-20210929-18-10qcmsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Currently, more than <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421518307249">80% of British domestic heating</a> is supplied by gas boilers. This is not compatible with the target <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-becomes-first-major-economy-to-pass-net-zero-emissions-law">set in law</a> by the UK government of net zero by 2050. The International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental energy organisation, have called for global action to ban gas <a href="https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/beceb956-0dcf-4d73-89fe-1310e3046d68/NetZeroby2050-ARoadmapfortheGlobalEnergySector_CORR.pdf">boilers from 2025</a>, driving a switch to heat pumps.</p>
<p>Electrification will only result in decarbonisation if the electricity is more environmentally friendly. Fortunately, the UK’s national grid is moving towards this with more wind and solar generation, and the closure of fossil fuel power plants.</p>
<h2>The challenges</h2>
<p>The first challenge for the electrical grid – the network of overhead lines and cables that gets the electricity from generators to consumers – will be handling the extra demand as 21 million domestic gas users shift to electricity.</p>
<p>There’s only so much power you can get through a line or cable before it overheats and fails – leaving consumers without power. For instance, 6.30pm is the daily electricity demand peak on account of many people arriving home and turning on their appliances. If everyone were to use their heat pumps at the same time, large parts of the grid would not be able to handle the power demand.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-you-get-a-heat-pump-heres-how-they-compare-to-a-gas-boiler-151493">Should you get a heat pump? Here's how they compare to a gas boiler</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The grid is built on the basis that we don’t all do the same thing at the same time. We put the kettle on at different times. We use our electric showers at different times. But we build electrical networks that can cope with the busiest peak-time demand. Adding in lots of synchronised heating demand will result in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626191400378X">lots of network bottlenecks</a>. So it will be vital to upgrade the electricity network. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CCC-Accelerated-Electrification-Vivid-Economics-Imperial-1.pdf">One study</a> estimates that 5.7 million heat pumps installed by 2035 would require reinforcement of 42% of the distribution network at a cost of £40.7 billion. That’s quite a hefty £1,500 per electricity consumer and it currently falls on electricity customers to foot the bill for network investments.</p>
<p>Getting electricity to where it’s needed is challenging enough. But this assumes that there’s enough generation to provide the power needed at the right times. This isn’t guaranteed. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/texas-blackouts-show-why-energy-should-be-a-universal-right-155786">Texas blackouts show why energy should be a universal right</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The second major challenge is combining increased electricity demand with inflexible generation. Heat usage fluctuates depending on the time of day and year, and so heat pumps will not only increase electricity demand but will also make it rise and fall more dramatically.</p>
<p>Wind turbines can only generate if it’s windy, and nuclear power stations typically don’t vary their output very much. This is already making it more costly to maintain the balance between demand and supply of electricity – <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/2021/01/ofgem_-_review_of_gb_energy_system_operation_0.pdf">the balancing costs</a> (the amount paid to generators to adjust their power outputs to keep the system stable) during 2019-20 reached almost £1.3 billion, a 50% increase from 2015-16 (£867 million).</p>
<h2>The solutions</h2>
<p>We will need to use electricity when it is available, and when the network has the spare capacity. This can be achieved by shifting electricity usage from peak periods to the times when there is more electricity available across the country: encouraging people to heat their homes when it’s cheap to do so and not just when they want the heating on.</p>
<p>We will need better insulation and building materials to make buildings more energy efficient, along with smart devices to optimise electricity usage. For example, smart charging points ensure that electric vehicles are charged overnight when electricity is cheapest.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A household smart meter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424040/original/file-20210930-14-up1w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424040/original/file-20210930-14-up1w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424040/original/file-20210930-14-up1w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424040/original/file-20210930-14-up1w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424040/original/file-20210930-14-up1w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424040/original/file-20210930-14-up1w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424040/original/file-20210930-14-up1w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smart meters can be used to keep an eye on energy use.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">R Moore/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Heat pumps could be optimised by smart thermostats to save money and energy. We already see <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162520313342">smart thermostats</a> creating automatic temperature settings based on their daily routines and heating needs with sensors and artificial intelligence. </p>
<p>The alternative would be to rely on gas power plants for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544218322771?via%3Dihub">spikes in electricity</a>, when there is not enough renewable energy and demand for heat is high. But that would mean that we would still be using gas to heat homes, defeating the purpose of using heat pumps in the first place.</p>
<p>Heat pumps are a key step in our transition to net zero. But we must invest in our electricity network and become more flexible in how we use energy to keep the lights (and the heating) on.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Preece works for The University of Manchester. He receives funding from EPSRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ali Ehsan works for The University of Manchester. He receives funding from EPSRC through the Supergen Energy Networks Hub.</span></em></p>
A shift to heating our homes by heat pumps would put massive pressure on the electricity grid.
Robin Preece, Senior Lecturer in Future Power Systems, University of Manchester
Ali Ehsan, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Future Energy Networks, University of Manchester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/154779
2021-06-14T12:26:34Z
2021-06-14T12:26:34Z
Electric heat pumps use much less energy than furnaces, and can cool houses too – here’s how they work
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404365/original/file-20210603-17-oo48xp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C9%2C3244%2C1822&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Heating or cooling? I do both.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/2kKjBWT">FanFan61618/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>To help curb climate change, President Biden has set a goal of lowering U.S. greenhouse gas emissions <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/22/fact-sheet-president-biden-sets-2030-greenhouse-gas-pollution-reduction-target-aimed-at-creating-good-paying-union-jobs-and-securing-u-s-leadership-on-clean-energy-technologies/">50%-52% below 2005 levels by 2030</a>. Meeting this target will require rapidly converting as many fossil fuel-powered activities to electricity as possible, and then generating that electricity from low-carbon and carbon-free sources such as wind, solar, hydropower and nuclear energy. </p>
<p>The buildings that people <a href="https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/">live</a> and <a href="https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/">work</a> in consume substantial amounts of energy. In 2019, commercial and residential buildings accounted for <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions">more than one-seventh</a> of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. New heating and cooling strategies are an important piece of the puzzle. </p>
<p>Fortunately, there’s an existing technology that can do this: electric heat pumps that are three to four times more efficient than furnaces. These devices heat homes in winter and cool them in summer by moving heat in and out of buildings, rather than by burning fossil fuel.</p>
<p>As a scientist focusing on <a href="https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=kc0ETzIAAAAJ&hl=en">renewable and clean energy</a>, I study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-014-9291-5">energy use in housing</a> and what slowing climate change means for <a href="https://climateanalytics.org/publications/2020/decarbonization-of-australias-energy-system-integrated-modeling-of-the-transformation-of-electricity-transportation-and-industrial-sectors/">industrialized</a> and <a href="https://climateanalytics.org/publications/2019/threshold-electricity-consumption-enables-multiple-sustainable-development-goals/">developing countries</a>. I see powering buildings with clean, renewable electricity as an essential strategy that also will save consumers money. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-vU9x3dFMrU?wmode=transparent&start=440" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Heat pumps draw in air from the outside and use the difference in temperature between indoor and outdoor air to heat buildings. Many also provide cooling, using nearly the same mechanism.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Heat pumps work by moving heat, not air</h2>
<p>Most heating systems in the U.S. use forced-air furnaces that run on natural gas or electricity, or in some cases <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/heating-oil/use-of-heating-oil.php">heating oil</a>. To heat the building, the systems burn fuel or use electricity to heat up air, and then blow the warm air through ducts into individual rooms. </p>
<p>A heat pump <a href="https://www.brighthubengineering.com/machine-design/15932-difference-between-heat-pumps-and-refrigerators/">works more like a refrigerator</a>, which extracts energy from the air inside the fridge and dumps that energy into the room, leaving the inside cooler. To heat a building, a heat pump extracts energy from <a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-and-cool/heat-pump-systems/air-source-heat-pumps">outdoor air</a> or <a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-and-cool/heat-pump-systems/geothermal-heat-pumps">from the ground</a> and converts it to heat for the house. </p>
<p>Here’s how it works: Extremely cold fluid circulates through coils of tubing in the heat pump’s outdoor unit. That fluid absorbs energy in the form of heat from the surrounding air, which is warmer than the fluid. The fluid vaporizes and then circulates into a compressor. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qe1Ueifekg">Compressing any gas heats it up</a>, so this process generates heat. Then the vapor moves through coils of tubing in the indoor unit of the heat pump, heating the building. </p>
<p>In summer, the heat pump runs in reverse and takes energy from the room and moves that heat outdoors, even though it’s hotter outside – basically, functioning like a bigger version of a refrigerator.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1400082235345285120"}"></div></p>
<h2>More efficient than furnaces</h2>
<p>Heat pumps require some electricity to run, but it’s a relatively small amount. Modern heat pump systems can transfer three or four times more thermal energy in the form of heat than they consume in electrical energy to do this work – and that the homeowner pays for. </p>
<p>In contrast, converting energy from one form to another, as conventional heating systems do, <a href="https://www.livescience.com/50941-second-law-thermodynamics.html">always wastes some of it</a>. That’s true for burning oil or gas to heat air in a furnace, or using electric heaters to heat air – although in that case, the waste occurs when the electricity is generated. About two-thirds of the energy used to produce electricity at a power plant is <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/">lost in the process</a>. </p>
<p>Retrofitting <a href="https://www.aceee.org/sites/default/files/publications/researchreports/a1602.pdf">residences</a> and <a href="https://www.aceee.org/research-report/b2004">commercial buildings</a> with heat pumps increases heating efficiency. When combined with a switch from fossil fuels to renewables, it further lowers energy use and carbon emissions.</p>
<h2>Going electric</h2>
<p>Growing <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063674561">restrictions on fossil fuel use</a> and <a href="https://www.aceee.org/blog-post/2020/06/these-states-are-showing-how-encourage-lowest-carbon-hvac">proactive policies</a> are <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/heat-pumps">driving sales of heat pumps</a> in the U.S. and internationally. Heat pumps are currently used in 5% of heating systems worldwide, a share that will need to increase to one-third by 2030 and much higher after to reach <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2020/achieving-net-zero-emissions-by-2050">net-zero emissions by 2050</a>. </p>
<p>In warmer areas with relatively low heating demands, heat pumps are cheaper to run than furnaces. Tax credits, utility rebates or other subsidies may also provide incentives to help with up-front costs, including federal incentives <a href="https://www.energystar.gov/about/federal_tax_credits/non_business_energy_property_tax_credits">reinstated by the Biden administration</a>. </p>
<p>In extremely cold climates, these systems have an extra internal heater to help out. This unit is not as efficient, and can significantly run up electric bills. People who live in cold locations may want to consider <a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-and-cool/heat-pump-systems/geothermal-heat-pumps">geothermal heat pumps</a> as an alternative. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404369/original/file-20210603-27-1r5bu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Infographic advertising rebates for installing geothermal heat pumps in New Jersey." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404369/original/file-20210603-27-1r5bu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404369/original/file-20210603-27-1r5bu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1500&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404369/original/file-20210603-27-1r5bu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404369/original/file-20210603-27-1r5bu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1500&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404369/original/file-20210603-27-1r5bu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1885&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404369/original/file-20210603-27-1r5bu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1885&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404369/original/file-20210603-27-1r5bu0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1885&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Geothermal heat pumps may be a better option than air-source versions in colder climates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nj.gov/dep/aqes/images/infographics/Geothermal%20Heat%20Pump.jpg">NJDEP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These systems leverage the fact that ground temperature is warmer than the air in winter. Geothermal systems collect warmth from the earth and use the same fluid and compressor technology as air source heat pumps to transfer heat into buildings. They cost more, since installing them involves excavation to bury tubing below ground, but they also <a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-pump-systems">reduce electricity use</a>.</p>
<p>New, smaller “<a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-pump-systems/ductless-mini-split-heat-pumps">mini-split” heat pump systems</a> work well in all but the coldest climates. Instead of requiring ducts to move air through buildings, these systems connect to wall-mounted units that heat or cool individual rooms. They are easy to install and can be selectively used in individual apartments, which makes retrofitting large buildings easier. </p>
<p>Even with the best heating and cooling systems, <a href="https://www.energystar.gov/campaign/seal_insulate/why_seal_and_insulate">installing proper insulation and sealing building leaks</a> are key to reducing energy use. You can also experiment with your thermostat to see how little you can heat or cool your home while keeping everyone in it comfortable.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398194/original/file-20210430-15-dv68ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Mini split heat pump indoor unit mounted over a fireplace." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398194/original/file-20210430-15-dv68ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398194/original/file-20210430-15-dv68ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398194/original/file-20210430-15-dv68ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398194/original/file-20210430-15-dv68ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398194/original/file-20210430-15-dv68ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398194/original/file-20210430-15-dv68ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398194/original/file-20210430-15-dv68ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A new mini split heat pump system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robert Brecha</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For help figuring out whether a heat pump can work for you, one good source of information is your electricity provider. Many utilities offer home energy audits that can identify cost-effective ways to make your home more energy-efficient. Other good sources include the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-and-cool/heat-pumps">U.S. Department of Energy</a> and the <a href="https://www.aceee.org/">American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy</a>. As the push to electrify society gains speed, heat pumps are ready to play a central role.</p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s science, health and technology editors pick their favorite stories.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-favorite">Weekly on Wednesdays</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154779/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Brecha does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Heat pumps are the technology of choice for heating and cooling buildings more efficiently and with fewer carbon emissions than furnaces and air conditioning.
Robert Brecha, Professor of Sustainability, University of Dayton
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/151493
2020-12-08T16:09:53Z
2020-12-08T16:09:53Z
Should you get a heat pump? Here’s how they compare to a gas boiler
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373391/original/file-20201207-15-7u5va5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C82%2C5000%2C3241&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Felix says yes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-cat-lying-down-on-radiator-1038038812">InesBazdar/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/UK-housing-Fit-for-the-future-CCC-2019.pdf">Home energy use</a> accounts for 14% of all the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and much of that comes from gas boilers. Each time you turn up the thermostat, the burning natural gas generates heat through the radiators – and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Some of that heat escapes the building and is wasted. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50573338">Two-thirds of homes</a> in the UK don’t meet energy efficiency standards, and decarbonising the UK’s leaky housing stock is one of the toughest tasks the government faces in its bid to make the country carbon-neutral by 2050. Heat pumps are <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Imperial-College-2018-Analysis-of-Alternative-UK-Heat-Decarbonisation-Pathways.pdf">widely seen as a solution</a>, and the UK government has announced its aim <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-ten-point-plan-for-a-green-industrial-revolution/title">to install 600,000 per year</a> by 2028.</p>
<p>There are two types of heat pumps you need to know about for heating. One extracts heat from the air, known as an air source heat pump. These are the most commonly installed varieties and resemble an air conditioning unit on the outside of your house. There are also ground source heat pumps that extract heat from the ground. Both types essentially transfer heat from one place to another by using a liquid refrigerant and a compressor in a process powered by electricity.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large air compressor unit with fan is attached to a house with cables." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Air source heat pumps extract warm air from outside to heat the house.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/air-compressors-unit-outside-office-building-642237817">I MAKE PHOTO 17/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As it’s powered by electricity, the amount of CO₂ emitted by a heat pump depends on how that electricity is generated. Fortunately, the UK’s national grid is increasingly green: during the first quarter of 2020, renewable energy provided <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/25/renewable-energy-breaks-uk-record-in-first-quarter-of-2020#:%7E:text=The%20government's%20official%20data%20has,of%2039%25%20set%20last%20year.">47% of the country’s electricity</a>. But deploying heat pumps en masse will add to the peak electricity demand the national grid needs to cope with, and strain local transmission <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261917308954">cables and transformers</a>. This would be concerning on its own, but the government also plans to replace much of the UK’s fossil fuel vehicles with battery-powered alternatives – adding another load to the national grid.</p>
<p>So making housing more energy efficient would drastically reduce the overall electricity demand used for heating. This would benefit each household in turn, as heat pumps <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0143624420975707">operate more efficiently</a> in energy-efficient buildings.</p>
<p>With all that in mind, should you swap your boiler for a heat pump?</p>
<h2>How to know if a heat pump is right for you</h2>
<p>The performance of heat pumps and how much electricity they use <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120305621">depends</a> on the heating system design. At times, this performance can be dramatically better in laboratory settings than in real homes as users are not necessarily using them in the most effective way, and the heating systems to which they’re hooked up aren’t always ideal. For example, a study of retrofitted homes in Northern Ireland showed that efficient gas boilers were actually <a href="https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/en/publications/techno-economic-assessment-of-cascade-air-to-water-heat-pump-retr">more cost-effective</a> than heat pumps. </p>
<p>Heat pumps are a lot more efficient when they run in combination with systems like underfloor heating or very large, specially designed oversized radiators that produce enough heat to warm the space without needing to run at hot temperatures. Where a heat pump is installed to replace a gas boiler, the heat pump will not work at optimum efficiency with the existing radiators, so you may need to change your radiators. For households that aren’t connected to mains gas, heat pumps are often an excellent solution, certainly better than an oil boiler, which produces high CO₂ emissions.</p>
<p>Heat pumps are also not suited to providing big boosts of heat as gas-fired boilers are. Heat pumps are like marathon runners – they like running at a moderate, continuous pace. Gas boilers are like sprinters – they operate best at high loads. Unlike with a gas boiler, it’s best to let a heat pump run throughout the night rather than switching the heating off at night and on again in the morning. </p>
<p>When turning up the temperature of heating in a heat pump system, it’s best to use small increments. This prevents the heat pump from having to run at high power, which would reduce its efficiency. If it’s your first time living with a heat pump, you’ll probably need to change your longstanding habits for controlling the heating. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12053-012-9146-x">Research shows</a> that new users who read up on heat pumps first got the most out of their new heating system.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman's hand turning the dial on a thermostat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How to break the habit of a lifetime?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-female-hand-on-central-heating-1007322052">Daisy Daisy/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Installers must be also be trained to fit these systems. The location of an air source heat pump is important, as some residents complain about <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12053-012-9146-x">noise</a> from fans near the windows of living spaces. In cold areas, air source heat pumps should be placed in reliably sunny spots to reduce the risk of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120305621">frost damage</a>. </p>
<p>Installed and run properly with an energy efficient home, heat pumps can offer great comfort – and reduce heating costs. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that replacing an old gas boiler with an air source heat pump in a four-bedroom detached home would save <a href="https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/air-source-heat-pumps/">£395-£425 per year on heating bills</a>, but may at times, compare poorly to brand new, very efficient gas boilers. Yet in most cases, heat pumps can help save a huge amount of carbon.</p>
<p>So while heat pumps are a vital part of a low-carbon strategy, they are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each household must be considered individually. And making homes more energy efficient is as critical to the UK’s decarbonisation strategy as replacing gas boilers and investing in renewable energy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aurore Julien is research manager for the Eastern New Energy Project, which receives funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. Eastern New Energy is working to build a low-carbon economy reliant on locally generated energy in the East of England.</span></em></p>
Heat pumps use electricity to transfer warmth from outside to inside a house.
Aurore Julien, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Design, University of East London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/150358
2020-11-18T18:55:39Z
2020-11-18T18:55:39Z
Renters in Victoria soon won’t have to deal with dodgy heaters and insulation. Now other states must get energy-efficient
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369984/original/file-20201118-17-8tgn5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5435%2C3612&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Renters will no longer have to contend with poorly insulated homes and Victoria will move closer towards 7-star home efficiency standards under a A$797 million plan <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/helping-victorians-pay-their-power-bills">announced</a> this week. It’s purportedly the biggest energy efficiency scheme in any Australian state’s history.</p>
<p>Energy efficiency essentially means using <a href="https://www.eesi.org/topics/energy-efficiency/description">less energy</a> to perform the same job. It’s often the quickest and cheapest way to reduce emissions from energy use, yet state and federal governments in Australia have traditionally done little to seize the opportunity.</p>
<p>Australia’s <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/government-priorities/energy-productivity-and-energy-efficiency/national-energy-productivity-plan">national energy productivity plan</a>, agreed by the nation’s energy ministers in 2015, <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-failed-miserably-on-energy-efficiency-and-government-figures-hide-the-truth-123176">has stalled</a>. It aims for a 40% improvement in energy productivity by 2030, but has so far achieved only a fraction of that.</p>
<p>It’s clearly time to kickstart the energy efficiency revolution in Australia – to reduce energy bills, make homes more comfortable and meet our climate goals. So let’s examine Victoria’s plan, and how other states might follow.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="$50 note in socket" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369989/original/file-20201118-13-1lrckoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369989/original/file-20201118-13-1lrckoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369989/original/file-20201118-13-1lrckoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369989/original/file-20201118-13-1lrckoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369989/original/file-20201118-13-1lrckoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369989/original/file-20201118-13-1lrckoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369989/original/file-20201118-13-1lrckoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Energy efficiency saves consumers money on power bills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julian Smith/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Better homes, lower bills</h2>
<p>The Victorian package is strongly focused on helping renters and low-income households in existing homes, and forms part of the state’s 2020-21 budget.</p>
<p>The measures include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>A$335 million to replace old wood, electric or gas-fired heaters with more efficient systems. The program will be open to low-income earners</p></li>
<li><p>A$112 million to seal windows and doors, and upgrade heating, cooling and hot water in 35,000 social housing properties</p></li>
<li><p>minimum efficiency standards for rental properties, expected to benefit renters living in around 320,000 homes with poor heating and insulation</p></li>
<li><p>funding to help Victoria move to 7-star efficiency standards for new homes</p></li>
<li><p>a A$250 payment for those struggle to pay their bills</p></li>
<li><p>A$14 million to expand the Victorian Energy Upgrades program, including rebates for “smart” appliances.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The package follows a <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/victorias-big-housing-build">A$5.3 billion announcement</a> earlier this month to build 12,000 new social and community housing units over four years. These new homes will meet a 7-star energy rating, rather than the mandatory 6 stars.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Person applies seal to window" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369986/original/file-20201118-19-1yco449.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369986/original/file-20201118-19-1yco449.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369986/original/file-20201118-19-1yco449.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369986/original/file-20201118-19-1yco449.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369986/original/file-20201118-19-1yco449.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369986/original/file-20201118-19-1yco449.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369986/original/file-20201118-19-1yco449.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Window seals help make homes more energy efficient.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A new approach</h2>
<p>To date, energy efficiency policies and programs in Australia have mostly focused on new and owner-occupied homes. These homes are easy targets, because they’re on separate titles and don’t involve negotiations with owners’ corporations or landlords. </p>
<p>So Victoria’s program helps to fill a big gap. Currently, the <a href="https://www.victorianenergysaver.vic.gov.au/save-energy-and-money/get-a-home-energy-assessment/getting-an-assessment">average</a> Victorian home has a 3-star energy rating, so there is plenty of room for improvement in existing homes. The approach will ensure renters, and those in homes already built, see the benefits of energy efficiency. And it means emissions reductions are realised across the residential sector.</p>
<p>In the past, policy in this area has largely been debated on narrow economic assessments of “cost effectiveness”. And in my experience, powerful <a href="https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/columns/spinifex/building-energy-regulation-red-tape-or-green-bounty/">industry groups</a> and political agendas seek to slow progress behind closed doors, while consumers often lack a <a href="https://energyconsumersaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/HS-S3-Alan-Pears-RMIT.pdf">voice</a> in decision-making.</p>
<p>Both the Victorian government announcement, and progress at the COAG level, follow advocacy from social justice groups and <a href="https://energyconsumersaustralia.com.au/news/housing-summit-2018-publications-resources">Energy Consumers Australia</a> (ECA) building on academic research (eg https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/338 ). These groups have helped highlight how poor housing affects vulnerable people, causing high energy bills and health problems. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-failed-miserably-on-energy-efficiency-and-government-figures-hide-the-truth-123176">Australia has failed miserably on energy efficiency – and government figures hide the truth</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In February 2019, COAG agreed to a national plan towards zero-net-energy new buildings for Australia. In November that year it <a href="http://coagenergycouncil.gov.au/publications/trajectory-low-energy-buildings">resolved to</a> extend the plan to existing homes. Proposed measures include national frameworks for use by states and territories, covering energy disclosure at the time of a home’s sale or lease, and minimum energy efficiency requirements for rental properties. </p>
<p>Victoria’s commitment this week to introduce minimum energy standards for rental properties puts it at the forefront of this process. </p>
<p>The Victorian government had earlier developed a Residential Efficiency Scorecard suitable for rating homes under an energy disclosure scheme <a href="https://www.victorianenergysaver.vic.gov.au/save-energy-and-money/get-a-home-energy-assessment/getting-an-assessment">assessment tool</a>. So far it’s been rolled out as a voluntary scheme and been trialled in other states. </p>
<p>In Melbourne, a 7 star building would require around 25% less heating and cooling energy than a 6 star home.</p>
<p>Of course, the devil is in the detail. When will energy disclosure and rental energy standards be introduced? How stringent will the standards be? Will there be sufficient focus on improving summer performance to cope with climate change? Will old gas appliances be replaced by alternatives that use renewable electricity? How much of the package will be implemented before Victoria’s next election in late 2022? Time will tell.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Tenants talking to agent" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369991/original/file-20201118-19-3q3t8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369991/original/file-20201118-19-3q3t8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369991/original/file-20201118-19-3q3t8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369991/original/file-20201118-19-3q3t8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369991/original/file-20201118-19-3q3t8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369991/original/file-20201118-19-3q3t8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369991/original/file-20201118-19-3q3t8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Renters would be told upfront about the energy rating of the property under the new plans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Time to get on board</h2>
<p>Other Australian states and territories, including <a href="https://energysaver.nsw.gov.au/">NSW</a>, the <a href="https://www.environment.act.gov.au/energy/smarter-use-of-energy/energy-efficiency-improvement-scheme">ACT</a> and <a href="https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/energy-and-environment/using-saving-energy/retailer-energy-efficiency-scheme#:%7E:text=The%20Retailer%20Energy%20Efficiency%20Scheme%20%28REES%29%20is%20a,and%20costs%2C%20and%20lower%20their%20greenhouse%20gas%20emissions">South Australia</a>, have introduced impressive energy efficiency measures. The ACT, in particular, has had a mandatory <a href="https://www.environment.act.gov.au/energy/smarter-use-of-energy/energy-efficiency-improvement-scheme">energy disclosure scheme</a> at time of sale for many years. And NSW is <a href="https://energy.nsw.gov.au/government-and-regulation/consultation/energy-security-target-safeguard">introducing a scheme</a> to encourage a reduction in peak electricity demand.</p>
<p>Action by individual states and territories may encourage other jurisdictions to follow. However different energy efficiency approaches across states may dilute benefits while increasing confusion among households and complicating life for industry. This must be guarded against. </p>
<p>In June, the International Energy Agency released a global “green recovery” <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/iea-offers-world-governments-a-sustainable-recovery-plan-to-boost-economic-growth-create-millions-of-jobs-and-put-emissions-into-structural-decline">plan</a> to help economies recover from the pandemic. Many of the millions of new jobs created through the plan would be in retrofitting buildings to improve energy efficiency. Increasing energy efficiency would also improve electricity security, lowering the risk of outages.</p>
<p>But globally, improvements in energy efficiency have <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/why-energy-efficiency-is-so-important">slowed</a> in recent years, making it harder to curb climate changes. The federal government, so far fixated on a “gas-led” path out of recession, must also get on board the energy efficiency wagon. </p>
<p><hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/house-hunters-are-rarely-told-the-home-energy-rating-little-wonder-the-average-is-as-low-as-1-8-stars-144873">House hunters are rarely told the home energy rating – little wonder the average is as low as 1.8 stars</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150358/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Pears consults, provides strategic advice and participates in public education activities for governments (including Victoria and NSW), industry associations (including the Energy Efficiency Council and Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity), and community groups (eg Renew, Beyond Zero Emissions). </span></em></p>
Victoria’s $800 million energy efficiency plan promises to lower power bills, make homes more comfortable and help meet our climate goals. It’s high time other states picked this low-hanging fruit.
Alan Pears, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/144039
2020-09-10T09:56:50Z
2020-09-10T09:56:50Z
Five cost-effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint at home
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356562/original/file-20200904-14-jwdifc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=268%2C79%2C6239%2C3403&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/eco-friendly-house-concept-moss-covered-675099481">Shutterstock/Stockcreations</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Conversation made a correction in this article in the section on home heating after an error was noticed in the calculations comparing air source heat pumps and gas boilers.</em></p>
<p>Since the pandemic struck, most people have been spending the majority of their time in the house. Those working from home have become ever more reliant on electricity for running office essentials, including computers, printers, phones and broadband. </p>
<p>Others may be furloughed from work (or out of work entirely) and find themselves using domestic home appliances more heavily than usual. Hoovers, cookers, washing machines, kettles and televisions are constantly on and guzzling power. Whichever way you look at it, this adds up and contributes to both our carbon footprint and rising domestic energy bills.</p>
<p>Our new research project developed the <a href="https://act4eco.eu/">Act4Eco learning platform</a>. The aim of the platform is to help consumers use energy more efficiently and to save money. So here are five quick tips on how this can be achieved.</p>
<h2>1. Reading the electricity bill</h2>
<p>Not enough people understand all of the details on their electricity bill. For example, it is important to know if and when your tariff changes. In a fixed-rate deal the price you pay is locked for a set period. When you reach the end of this period, electricity charges can roll into a <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/key-term-explained/standard-variable-tariff-0">standard variable rate</a>, which will be more expensive. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3662969">Research shows</a> that changing electricity suppliers on an annual basis is a good way to get the best deal. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d15TWD2anUA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>2. Energy intensive appliances</h2>
<p>Most people understand that the largest home appliances consume the greatest amount of electricity. The Energy Saving Trust, for example, <a href="https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/reports/PoweringthenationreportCO332.pdf">estimates that</a> electric cookers consume 317kWh and cost £46 per year to run. But many people don’t realise that smaller appliances can guzzle a disproportionate amount of energy – kettles consume 167kWh per year, for instance. That means people are spending 7.5p on electricity for every 10 minutes spent boiling the kettle.</p>
<p>Charging cables for the likes of phones and laptops can also continue to siphon electricity even after they have been disconnected from a device. Left idle in a plug socket, a charger can consume between <a href="https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/reports/PoweringthenationreportCO332.pdf">343kWh and 591kWh</a> per year and cost £50 to £85 annually. </p>
<h2>3. Home heating and thermostats</h2>
<p>People tend to inherit heating systems after moving into a new home. Unfortunately, these systems are not always the most efficient or carbon-friendly. To tick these boxes, householders might want to consider switching to a modern <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/ground-and-air-source-heat-pumps/article/air-source-heat-pumps-explained#How">air source heat pump</a>.</p>
<p>These pumps look like an air conditioning unit. They take heat from the air and boost it to a higher temperature using the heat pump. The electricity used to run the pump is less than the heat produced. An air source heat pump consumes 4,000kWh a year. Based on average <a href="https://www.ukpower.co.uk/home_energy/tariffs-per-unit-kwh">electricity prices</a> of 14p per kWh, that comes out at about £560. </p>
<p>This is still around £100 more expensive than gas central heating, however, and air source heat pumps can also be expensive to install. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that installation ranges from £6,000 to £8,000. But the big advantage is that the carbon emissions of air source heat pumps are at least <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:hkMeXFX3st0J:researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PN-0523/POST-PN-0523.pdf+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk">a third lower</a> than a gas boiler, and will keep falling as the electricity network gets greener. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A thermostat set at 19C" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Turning down home heating by just 1°C can make a big difference to bills and energy usage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hand-turning-home-thermostat-knob-set-519476797">Shutterstock/OlivierLeMoal</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All the same, not everyone can afford to buy such a pricey item. Luckily, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/128720/6923-how-much-energy-could-be-saved-by-making-small-cha.pdf">studies show</a> that doing something as simple as turning down the thermostat from 20°C to 18°C can save as much as 3,090kWh a year. Even turning down a thermostat by just 1°C can significantly cut your bill. </p>
<h2>4. Draught-proofing</h2>
<p>Now that we are coming into autumn, draughts will be on our minds and round our ankles. However, notwithstanding the advantages of insulating roofs and lofts or investing in external wall insulation, the initial outlay to improve home insulation can prove very expensive.</p>
<p>Fortunately, cheaper options exist. Foam, brush or wiper strips fixed around internal doors can <a href="https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-insulation/draught-proofing">cut draughts significantly</a> and self-adhesive foam strips for windows can also reduce air pushing through the gaps. Doing this could save around £20 a year.</p>
<h2>5. Make small changes and stick to them</h2>
<p>Okay, so you’ve read your bill, checked your appliance use, reduced your thermostat settings and insulated against draughts. What next? Unfortunately, <a href="https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/digital-behaviour-change-interventions-to-break-and-form-habits(765f57ae-bde7-4aee-a0a3-9b283a0a7491).html">research shows</a> that people tend to fall into repeating habits unless they make a conscious decision to change and sustain the effort.</p>
<p>People can make a much larger impact on their lives if they change one small habit at a time over the duration of a year. And <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14786451.2014.936867">studies show</a> that these small changes can make a difference. The cumulative effect of our efforts could see a substantial reduction in our carbon footprint. </p>
<p>So for some, “going green” may seem unattainable right now due to economic concerns. But free and cheap actions that reduce our carbon footprint <a href="https://act4eco.eu/">do exist</a> and do make a difference – to our pockets and the planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>ACT4ECO is funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme - one of the biggest EU funding programmes for research and innovation.
Nine European partners are involved in this project:
The Danish Board of Technology Foundation, Arnold Nielsens Boulevard 68E, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark.
Business Information Systems, Cork University Business School, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Deco Proteste, Lisbon, Portugal.
Hebes Intelligence, Athens, Greece.
Knowledge Economy Forum, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Sinergie Formazione e Innovazione, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Strategic Design Scenarios, Brussels, Belgium.
The Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund), Sofia, Bulgaria.
The University of Helsinki, Centre for Consumer Society Research, Helsinki, Finland.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Lynch and Stephen McCarthy do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
As the UK heads into a recession, here are some simple - and cheap - tips to reduce utility bills and make less of an impact on the planet.
Wendy Rowan, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Business Information Systems, University College Cork
Laura Lynch, Research Support Officer, Project Manager, University College Cork
Stephen McCarthy, Lecturer and researcher in the Department of Business Information Systems, University College Cork
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/136402
2020-05-07T19:52:38Z
2020-05-07T19:52:38Z
Spruiking the stars: some home builders are misleading consumers about energy ratings
<p>Australia’s competitive volume housing construction sector is busy spruiking various upgrades and packages to sell the appealing notions of <a href="http://www.prres.net/papers/Bartak_Exploring_the_energy_efficiency_conversation.pdf">lifestyle and luxury on a budget</a>. Along with sparkling stone benchtops and alfresco dining areas, some builders use sustainability and energy-efficiency features to entice customers. However, our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111370">recent study</a> found the ways some volume builders promote energy efficiency and sustainability could mislead consumers and breach the <a href="https://consumerlaw.gov.au/australian-consumer-law/legislation">Australian Consumer Law</a>. </p>
<h2>Understanding the stars</h2>
<p>Stars are a simple shorthand or “measuring tape” to help consumers to quickly and easily identify the energy efficiency of each home, and to compare one house to another. Under the <a href="https://www.nathers.gov.au/governance/national-construction-code-and-state-and-territory-regulations">Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)</a> the best rating is ten stars. Six stars is the regulatory <em>minimum</em> required of most new homes in Australia. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-still-building-4-in-every-5-new-houses-to-no-more-than-the-minimum-energy-standard-118820">Australia's still building 4 in every 5 new houses to no more than the minimum energy standard</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A <a href="https://ahd.csiro.au/dashboards/energy-rating/">NatHERS rating is the most common method</a> of demonstrating compliance with <a href="https://www.abcb.gov.au/Resources/Publications/Education-Training/energy-efficiency-ncc-volume-two">energy-efficiency</a> standards. The ten-star NatHERS scale differs from many other commonly used star rating schemes, such as <a href="https://new.gbca.org.au/green-star/rating-system/">Green Star</a>, where five or six stars indicate best, not minimum, performance. This is where the <a href="https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/rating-tools/issue-no-368-on-why-too-many-stars-are-causing-confusion-and-greenwash/">potential for consumers to be misled</a> begins. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333011/original/file-20200506-49565-1yvfrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333011/original/file-20200506-49565-1yvfrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333011/original/file-20200506-49565-1yvfrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333011/original/file-20200506-49565-1yvfrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333011/original/file-20200506-49565-1yvfrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333011/original/file-20200506-49565-1yvfrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333011/original/file-20200506-49565-1yvfrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333011/original/file-20200506-49565-1yvfrnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NatHERS (on the left) uses a ten-star scale, on which six stars is the minimum standard for most new homes built in Australia. Other six-star energy rating systems, such as for home appliances (right), add to the potential for confusion about the use of NatHERS stars.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NatHERS, Energy Rating/Commonwealth of Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most new home buyers are not well versed in building design or energy efficiency regulations. They tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.5130/AJCEB.v17i2.5245">rely on industry experts such as builders</a> when making such decisions about their new home. </p>
<p>We wanted to find out how Australia’s volume home builders communicated to consumers about energy ratings. Were they meeting their obligations under the Australian Consumer Law?</p>
<h2>What does the law say?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/advertising-selling/advertising-and-selling-guide/avoid-misleading-or-deceptive-claims-or-conduct/misleading-or-deceptive-conduct">Section 18(1) of the Australian Consumer Law</a> states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A person must not, in trade or commerce, engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/green-marketing-and-the-australian-consumer-law">guide on green marketing</a> points out, when making statements about green initiatives the <em>overall impression</em> to a typical audience is most important. It cautions businesses:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You should be careful that the overall impression you create about the goods or services you sell is not misleading. In other words, it is not enough for each representation to be technically or narrowly correct. It is just as important to look at the overall impression created in the minds of average consumers in the target audience. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111370">Our study</a> examined the websites of <a href="https://hia.com.au/housing/in-focus/2018/HIA-Housing-100-unveiled">Australia’s largest volume home builders</a> to see how they explained the energy efficiency of their homes to potential buyers. We found logos and language that could mislead consumers about the energy-efficiency performance of those homes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/low-energy-homes-dont-just-save-money-they-improve-lives-81084">Low-energy homes don't just save money, they improve lives</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>No websites we examined actually used the official NatHERS logo. Instead, some builders had created their own version of a six-star logo. Each example we found showed a grouping of six stars only, suggesting a rating of six out of six was the best rating. </p>
<p>Buyers are likely to interpret these logos as meaning six stars is superior or excellent performance, rather than the <em>minimum</em> performance benchmark that applies to all new homes. One logo went further, claiming six-star “sustainability” – when a <a href="https://www.nathers.gov.au/about">NatHERS rating only measures thermal energy efficiency</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332917/original/file-20200505-49579-lw967r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332917/original/file-20200505-49579-lw967r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332917/original/file-20200505-49579-lw967r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332917/original/file-20200505-49579-lw967r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332917/original/file-20200505-49579-lw967r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332917/original/file-20200505-49579-lw967r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332917/original/file-20200505-49579-lw967r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332917/original/file-20200505-49579-lw967r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Logos the study found show a grouping of six stars only, suggesting six is the best rating, claiming six-star ‘sustainability’ and even offering this minimum standard ‘at no extra cost’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421520301269?via%3Dihub">Source: Observing energy rating stars through the Australian Consumer Law lens</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also found statements on websites that inaccurately equated a six-star rating with a high energy performance. The website of one builder suggested six stars was a “superior” measure of service or quality. Another linked six stars with broader sustainability performance and commitment (<a href="https://www.nathers.gov.au/about">not just thermal energy efficiency</a>). One volume builder even described a six-star rating as an “award”! </p>
<p>In each case these statements could easily be misinterpreted as meaning the home was an exceptional product offering, rather than meeting the basic industry standard. </p>
<p>These volume home builder websites use logos and language that imply a high level of energy efficiency or a superior product offering, rather than simply indicating compliance with the minimum regulatory standard that applies to all new homes. As a result, home buyers are likely to be misled about the energy efficiency of these new homes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homes-with-higher-energy-ratings-sell-for-more-heres-how-australian-owners-could-cash-in-128548">Homes with higher energy ratings sell for more. Here's how Australian owners could cash in</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Effect matters, regardless of intent</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111370">Our research</a> does not seek to suggest volume home builders have deliberately set out to mislead potential buyers. However, Section 18(1) is concerned with <em>effect</em> rather than <em>intent</em>. While builders may not intend to mislead buyers, this may be an outcome of current advertising practices. </p>
<p>Therefore, as we point out to both volume home builders and new home buyers, any information about house energy ratings needs to be clear and accurate. It should reinforce that six stars is the <em>minimum</em> standard that applies, not the <em>best</em>. </p>
<p>Energy-efficiency measures such as star ratings for new homes are an important part of efforts to <a href="https://theconversation.com/making-every-building-count-in-meeting-australias-emission-targets-126930">reduce Australia’s energy demand and minimise contributions to climate change</a>. Misleading statements about house energy ratings not only risk breaching the Australian Consumer Law, but also weaken community trust in star ratings and in the information the home-building industry provides. It’s time to review the spruiking.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/making-every-building-count-in-meeting-australias-emission-targets-126930">Making every building count in meeting Australia's emission targets</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136402/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georgia Warren-Myers is a member of the Thrive Research Hub at the University of Melbourne which has supported this research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erika Bartak is a member of the Thrive Research Hub at the University of Melbourne which has supported this research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy Cradduck does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Builders compete for customers by touting the features of their homes. Some builders promote ‘six-star’ home energy ratings in ways that could mislead consumers and breach Australian Consumer Law.
Georgia Warren-Myers, Senior Lecturer in Property, The University of Melbourne
Erika Bartak, PhD Candidate (Sustainable housing), The University of Melbourne
Lucy Cradduck, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/128976
2020-01-08T17:34:38Z
2020-01-08T17:34:38Z
What if storing CO₂ would also allow us to heat our homes?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307227/original/file-20191216-123998-kehqii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C135%2C5332%2C3408&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Industrial activity is a major emitter of CO₂. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recognized by the scientific community as the main cause of global warming, CO<sub>2</sub> levels in the atmosphere continue to soar, as confirmed by the <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/greenhouse-gas-concentrations-atmosphere-reach-yet-another-high">November 2019 report</a> of the World Meteorological Organization.</p>
<p>The main cause of this increase is human-induced industrial and economic activity, emitting approximately <a href="https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/19/files/GCP_CarbonBudget_2019.pdf">35 billion tonnes</a> (35 Gt) of CO<sub>2</sub> per year worldwide, to which we must add the effects of deforestation and land urbanization (<a href="https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/19/files/GCP_CarbonBudget_2019.pdf">6 Gt per year</a>).</p>
<p>Vegetation and oceans do play their role as natural sinks by absorbing <a href="https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/19/files/GCP_CarbonBudget_2019.pdf">more than half these quantities</a>, but the surplus continues to accumulate in the atmosphere year after year and is causing a relentless increase in CO<sub>2</sub> levels.</p>
<h2>Geological storage of CO₂</h2>
<p>The obvious and obligatory solution is to lower our CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. This means a drastic reduction in our use of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal), in parallel with the development of alternative energy sources and vectors (solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydroelectricity, hydrogen, etc.).</p>
<p>However, this change will not happen overnight and requires accompanying measures, one of which is to capture the atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> and store it deep underground, from where the carbon originally came. This technology is known as CO<sub>2</sub> capture and storage (CCS).</p>
<p>CCS consists in capturing the CO<sub>2</sub> contained in the flue gas of industrial plants, then injecting it deep underground (1,000 metres or more) via a dedicated well. The gaseous CO<sub>2</sub> is compressed before injection into a denser state (but still lighter than water), thus enabling its injection in large quantities. The storage site is carefully selected so that the CO<sub>2</sub> remains permanently trapped and typically consists of a porous reservoir rock with spaces between the grains (pores) containing salt water (not potable). It is overlain by an impermeable cap rock preventing any rise toward the surface of the portion of CO<sub>2</sub> not trapped in the rock pores or dissolved in the salt water.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EKsDMJUlXY8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Carbon-dioxide storage: How does it work? (Club CO₂ CSCV, 2015).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The CCS technology is proven and ready-to-deploy at large scale. To date, <a href="https://www.globalccsinstitute.com/resources/global-status-report/">19 large-scale CCS facilities are operational around the world</a>, preventing the emission of approximately 40 million tonnes (40 Mt) of CO<sub>2</sub> per year. Nonetheless, CCS is proving too slow to get off the ground at the level needed to meet global emission-reduction targets, and this despite over 40 years of operational experience and the alarming fact that climate-modelling experts count on CCS to contribute 14% to the overall climate-solution package (<a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/822/Energy_Technology_Perspectives_2017.pdf?1576655138">© OECD/IEA ETP 2017, p. 31</a>). The cost of operations and the relatively heavy infrastructure to install partly explain this situation, as well as a lack of political backing, but we need to find ways of releasing this deadlock.</p>
<p>BRGM has been involved in several research projects on CCS over the past 25 years. Since 2013 however, BRGM and its partners have been working on a new CCS option that is simpler to implement, less expensive and suited to downscaling so it can be applied locally to reduce CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from “small” industrial facilities.</p>
<h2>Bringing a solution to “small” industrial polluters</h2>
<p>To meet the Paris Agreement targets, we need the whole range of emission-reduction actions, and this regardless of the scale. In France, CO<sub>2</sub> emissions today represent slightly less than 1% of global emissions (i.e., <a href="http://www.globalcarbonatlas.org/en/CO2-emissions">338 Mt of CO₂ per year</a>), <a href="https://www.hautconseilclimat.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/hcc_rapport_annuel_grand_public_2019.pdf">broken down</a> into 31% for industry, energy transformation and waste (the sources that can be tackled by CCS), 31% for transportation, 19% for agriculture and 19% for housing.</p>
<p>However, nearly 84% of the French industrial emitters are “small”, i.e. emitting less than 150,000 tonnes (150 kt) of CO<sub>2</sub> per year, the average being 38 kt of CO<sub>2</sub> per year. Nonetheless, when all added up, these small or very small emitters weigh in collectively at almost 32 Mt of CO<sub>2</sub> per year, which is nothing to shrug at.</p>
<p>However, these sites are dispersed throughout the country, making the conventional CCS solution inaccessible to them; it is impossible to pool several small and expensive capture units in order to transport significant quantities of CO<sub>2</sub> to a single and necessarily remote storage site. CCS, as deployed in the world today, stores quantities of the order of one million tonnes of CO<sub>2</sub> per year and per site, which is at least 25 times more than the average emissions from small installations like those in France.</p>
<h2>CO₂ storage combined with heating: a missing link</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://co2-dissolved.brgm.fr/">CO₂-Dissolved</a> solution, developed by BRGM, proposes a new approach to CCS that is perfectly adapted to these small industrial emitters. One main difference is that the CO<sub>2</sub> is stored entirely dissolved in the salt water of a deep aquifer, as opposed to the conventional approach where CO<sub>2</sub> is compressed into a dense state.</p>
<p>To do this, water is pumped from the deep reservoir via a production well before being reinjected back underground via a second injection well, after dissolution of the CO<sub>2</sub> captured at the industrial plant. Together these two wells constitute what is called a “doublet”, identical to the doublets used in deep geothermal exploitation. This similarity of infrastructure makes it possible to extract simultaneously the heat contained in the water pumped from the reservoir.</p>
<p>This subsurface synergy – storing CO<sub>2</sub> and extracting heat – enhances the economics of the CO<sub>2</sub>-Dissolved operation compared to conventional CCS, provided that the recovered energy can be exploited locally. Supplying a heating network to buildings, whether collective or individual housing, service or corporate buildings, is a good example of using the heat produced. In this way, we could store industrial CO<sub>2</sub> while heating our homes, and all thanks to an almost carbon-free energy source that replaces more conventional and less environmentally friendly forms of heating (heating accounts for almost 20% of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in France).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307633/original/file-20191218-11900-gzukna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307633/original/file-20191218-11900-gzukna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307633/original/file-20191218-11900-gzukna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307633/original/file-20191218-11900-gzukna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307633/original/file-20191218-11900-gzukna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307633/original/file-20191218-11900-gzukna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307633/original/file-20191218-11900-gzukna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307633/original/file-20191218-11900-gzukna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">3D representation of a CO₂-Dissolved site.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BRGM</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How CO₂-Dissolved works</h2>
<p>The CO<sub>2</sub>-Dissolved concept initially emerged because of the advantages it offers for managing a storage site. Indeed, with the conventional CCS approach, the increase in reservoir pressure induced by the massive injection of CO<sub>2</sub> requires continuous monitoring of the site to ensure that it does not exceed certain limits. The CO<sub>2</sub>-Dissolved approach avoids any pressure increase by extracting and reinjecting the same amount of water from/into the reservoir.</p>
<p>Similarly, with injection in the reservoir of the CO<sub>2</sub> in a dissolved rather than gaseous state, we avoid any tendency of the CO<sub>2</sub> to rise naturally, and therefore any potential risk of leakage of CO<sub>2</sub> toward the surface and contamination of shallow aquifers used for drinking water supply. The water containing the dissolved CO<sub>2</sub> is in fact slightly denser than the reservoir water and tends to sink to the bottom of the reservoir. This in turn reduces the need for the rigorous control of potential preferential escape routes, namely the wells and the impermeable rock cover.</p>
<p>A further advantage, compared to conventional CCS, lies in the simplified infrastructure and its suitability for local application, thus avoiding the need to build pipeline networks to transport the CO<sub>2</sub> from the emitting industrial sites to the storage site.</p>
<h2>Case study: true potential in France</h2>
<p>In order for the CO<sub>2</sub>-Dissolved technology to be applied to a plant, two basic conditions must be met.</p>
<p>Firstly, the subsurface beneath the industrial plant must have the necessary hydrogeological and thermal characteristics to allow geothermal exploitation; typically, pumping/injection flow rates of the order of 200 to 350 m<sup>3</sup>/h and water temperature between 40 and 90°C.</p>
<p>Secondly, the solubility limit of dissolved CO<sub>2</sub> concentration (of the order of 50 kg CO<sub>2</sub>/m<sup>3</sup> of water) must not be exceeded, to ensure that the CO<sub>2</sub> remains stored in fully dissolved form (i.e. without gas bubbles). These technical constraints mean that the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> injected must be maintained below 10 to 17 tonnes per hour, with water flow rate values as those mentioned above, which corresponds to a maximum storage capacity of about 150 kt CO<sub>2</sub> per year. This explains why this technology is adapted to small emitters, as mentioned above, and thus offers a low-carbon prospect to an industrial sector that currently has few or no other alternatives.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307949/original/file-20191219-11896-u8pfso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307949/original/file-20191219-11896-u8pfso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307949/original/file-20191219-11896-u8pfso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307949/original/file-20191219-11896-u8pfso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307949/original/file-20191219-11896-u8pfso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=670&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307949/original/file-20191219-11896-u8pfso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=842&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307949/original/file-20191219-11896-u8pfso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=842&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307949/original/file-20191219-11896-u8pfso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=842&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Location of the low-CO₂-emitting industrial sites superimposed with the most favourable geothermal areas (in blue) in France.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BRGM</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To better understand the potential of deploying the CO<sub>2</sub>-Dissolved technology across France, industrial sites with low CO<sub>2</sub> emissions (less than <a href="http://www.georisques.gouv.fr/dossiers/irep/form-polluant/resultats?annee=2017&rejet=/1&polluant=131">150 kt per year</a>) were mapped and superimposed with zones of deep reservoirs having geothermal potential (in blue, see map). Among these sites, widely distributed across France, 437 are located in the blue zones and are therefore potentially compatible with the CO<sub>2</sub>-Dissolved approach. Together these sites emit some 17 Mt of CO<sub>2</sub> annually, which is more than 12% of French industrial emissions. Small actions when joined together can give significant results.</p>
<p>Not only would the storage of these emissions substantially improve the carbon footprint of these industries, but the added advantage of using geothermal energy as a means of heating and thus replacing fossil-fuel energies would further reduce the environmental bill.</p>
<p>Ongoing work is aimed at preparing the first CO<sub>2</sub> injection tests in an existing geothermal doublet. This will validate the essence of the CO<sub>2</sub>-Dissolved concept, by testing in particular the injection device and the methods of continuous monitoring of the CO<sub>2</sub> dissolution in the water of the injection well. The next step will be to implement, on an industrial site, a first demonstrator of the full technology.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128976/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The projects that have enabled the development of the CO2-Dissolved approach have received the following successive public funding: Agence Nationale de la Recherche (2013-2016); GIS "Geodenergies" (2016-2018 and 2018-2020); Région Centre-Val de Loire (2018-2020).</span></em></p>
An innovative method of carbon capture and storage could substantially reduce the emission of small industries while using geothermal energy to heat homes and thus replacing fossil-fuel energies.
Christophe Kervevan, Ingénieur, chef de projet, BRGM
Rowena Stead, Project Manager (CO2 geological storage), BRGM
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/112100
2019-03-01T11:40:19Z
2019-03-01T11:40:19Z
What makes natural gas bottlenecks happen during extreme cold snaps
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261272/original/file-20190227-150712-1yhlvqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chicago's Lake Michigan waterfront froze during the 2019 polar vortex.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Winter-Weather/487dea11af994f39ad6b1db8e829a6f7/2/0">AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When temperatures in <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/polar-vortex-2019-01-30-winter-storm-jayden-latest-snow-storm-weather-live-updates/">Minneapolis fell to 27 below zero</a> during the January 2019 polar vortex, the Xcel Energy utility urged all Minnesota customers to lower their thermostats to conserve natural gas needed for power generation. In Michigan, where it was also <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/yes-chicago-will-be-colder-than-antarctica-alaska-and-the-north-pole-on-wednesday/ar-BBSVfxx">colder than the North Pole</a>, <a href="http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/01/polar-vortex-suspends-operations-at-various-gm-plants/">General Motors</a> even shut several factories as a precaution against outages. </p>
<p>This might seem like a paradox. U.S. gas production is at an <a href="https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/weekly/archivenew_ngwu/2019/01_31/">all-time high</a>, and electricity generation from renewable sources is growing at a <a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2019/02/20/bps-energy-outlook-undermines-its-own-good-news/">record pace</a>.</p>
<p>As an engineering economist who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pEaHhtAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">studies electricity markets and fuel supply chains</a>, I look for ways to maintain energy delivery despite increasingly uncertain and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2017-04-19/the-coming-storm-of-climate-change-video">extreme weather</a>. I also <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=editorialBoard&journalCode=utee20">edit an academic journal</a> devoted to analyzing the costs, benefits and risks of capital investment. Based on what I’ve seen, making electrical generation more flexible while increasing access to stored gas would be the best way to help keep the lights on without sacrificing warmth when <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=38472">cold snaps strike</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1090741909381877761"}"></div></p>
<h2>More power from gas</h2>
<p>The 2019 gas shortfall was only the most recent in a string of similar situations. Earlier <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-natgas-pipelines-chill-analysis/analysis-arctic-chill-exposes-weakness-of-u-s-natural-gas-system-idUSBREA0700H20140108">polar vortexes</a> in 2013 and 2014 hit New England especially hard. The “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-weather-energy/bomb-cyclone-hits-u-s-east-coast-energy-power-supply-idUSKBN1ET1GS">bomb cyclone</a>” that struck the East Coast in the winter of 2018 strained supplies, making gas prices soar. </p>
<p>It’s not just that bouts of <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-and-weather-extremes-both-heat-and-cold-can-kill-77449">extreme weather are becoming worse</a> and more common, even though they are. The electricity grid is increasingly relying on natural gas.</p>
<p>Many of the older <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/02/14/694769097/trump-tweet-fails-to-save-kentucky-coal-fired-power-plant">coal-fired generators</a> being retired are being replaced by gas-fired ones and renewable sources like wind and solar energy. The share of <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3">electricity powered by natural gas rose to 32 percent</a> in 2017 from <a href="https://www.eia.gov/analysis/studies/fuelelasticities/">18 percent in 1990</a>, as the share from coal fell to 30 percent from 76 percent in the same time period. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdm.htm">Natural gas costs much less</a> than it used to, and gas-fired generators are more flexible. It is far easier to <a href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/a-users-guide-to-natural-gas-power-plants/259104/">turn gas-fired power plants on and off</a>, for example, than nuclear reactors. What’s more, natural gas plants can ramp production up or down quickly to smooth out the inevitable variability in electricity generation from wind turbines and solar panels – when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.</p>
<p>As renewable energy <a href="https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/">accounts for bigger shares</a> of electricity generation, <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O2NAEUHGQ0oRgS8SU0tiL3nGGQ0CUdc5iNT9GAI2cK4/edit?usp=sharing">power production from gas is projected to keep growing</a>, too.</p>
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<h2>No easy substitute</h2>
<p>Most gas heats homes and commercial properties and fuels the manufacturing of everything from <a href="http://naturalgas.org/overview/uses-industrial/">newsprint to aluminum and canned tuna</a>. Following years of growth, electricity generation still consumes <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=natural_gas_use">only about a third of all gas usage</a> in the United States.</p>
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<p>And, while utilities have different choices they can make, there is no easy or immediate way to find a substitute for its other uses – especially if they want a <a href="https://theconversation.com/energy-wonks-have-a-meltdown-over-the-us-going-100-percent-renewable-why-79834">relatively clean source</a>. Heating systems take a long time and a lot of money <a href="https://www.angieslist.com/articles/how-much-does-solar-water-heater-cost.htm">to convert</a> for <a href="https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/heating-and-cooling/install-a-geothermal-heating-or-cooling-system/">homeowners</a>, and it’s even harder for <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy03osti/33516.pdf">manufacturers</a>. </p>
<p>To avoid service disruptions, most large industrial and commercial users, as well as local gas companies, establish firm contracts that guarantee delivery of the gas they anticipate needing.</p>
<p>The contracts for gas used to generate electricity are different. Many power companies, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, have “<a href="https://www.scanaenergymarketing.com/faqs/whats-the-difference-between-firm-service-and-interruptible-service">interruptible contracts</a>” with gas suppliers. These arrangements let them pay lower prices that allow them to compete in wholesale electricity markets, but have a downside. They make those companies a lower priority than other customers for gas delivery. </p>
<p>The electric power industry and its regulators can see that customers don’t want to have to set their thermostats to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/01/31/polar-vortex-2019-deadly-storm-temperatures-thursday/2729218002/">65 degrees or less</a> during bitter cold weather. And indeed, they have taken steps to reduce the grid’s vulnerability to gas bottlenecks, such as by adjusting the timing of the wholesale electricity markets to <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1109/MPE.2014.2366062">help power plants buy additional gas</a> when they need it. And better communication is improving forecasts regarding demand and making it easier for power plants learn about supply disruptions earlier on.</p>
<h2>Long-term investments</h2>
<p>Cold snaps increase the need for both electricity <a href="https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/weekly/archivenew_ngwu/2019/02_07/">and natural gas</a> to heat homes and businesses at the same time, making wholesale <a href="https://www.misoenergy.org/markets-and-operations/market-reports/#nt=%2FMarketReportType%3AHistorical%20LMP%2FMarketReportName%3AReal-Time%20Final%20Market%20LMPs%20(csv)&t=10&p=0&s=MarketReportPublished&sd=desc">electricity prices spike</a> as electricity market operators scramble to keep the grid operating smoothly.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.02.118">Demand for electricity fluctuates</a> by the hour, day and season, magnified only occasionally by severe weather events, and the variability in renewable generation compounds swings in demands on gas-fired power plants. Rather than <a href="https://pipeline101.org/Where-Are-Pipelines-Located">building pipelines</a> that will only rarely be used at full capacity, it makes sense to invest in flexibility for the generation system to adjust more easily to changes in electricity demand and fuel supply.</p>
<p>While they won’t raise retail electricity prices immediately, these short-term price spikes signal the need, and provide the justification, for longer-term investments to avoid rate hikes or <a href="https://www.comed.com/News/Pages/NewsReleases/2019_01_31.aspx">even outages</a>.</p>
<p>One such strategy is to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2172/1415774">retrofit gas generators for dual-fuel capability</a>. Practically, this means constructing a storage tank for another fuel, like oil, along with the pipes and other equipment to inject it into the chamber where the fuel is burned. It’s a significant investment but, that way, when extreme weather causes the demand for gas to outstrip the capacity of the pipelines available, power plants can switch to an alternative fuel temporarily.</p>
<p>Just as any kind of inventory, whether it’s paper cups or hubcaps, will help avert supply chain disruptions, stored gas can also keep the power flowing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/PESGM.2017.8274496">Research I conducted</a> with <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hml1HVAAAAAJ&hl=en">George Gross</a> showed that investments to expand the capacity of gas storage facilities lowered the risk of high electricity prices more effectively than dual-fuel retrofits.</p>
<p>Storing large amounts of natural gas is not without risk, as residents of Southern California learned in 2015. Leaks from the <a href="https://theconversation.com/californias-aliso-canyon-methane-leak-climate-disaster-or-opportunity-53198">Aliso Canyon</a> storage facility in Los Angeles made nearby residents sick and gushed greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>But I still believe that a snowy-day reserve of gas may be the best way to keep the lights on when temperatures sink to extreme lows.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112100/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Ryan has received funding from the Power Systems Engineering Research Center and the Department of Energy in the ARPA-E Green Electricity Network Integration (GENI) program. </span></em></p>
Natural gas supplies are growing, but so are other markets for it besides power generation.
Sarah Ryan, Professor of Industrial Engineering , Iowa State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/110842
2019-02-21T22:19:59Z
2019-02-21T22:19:59Z
Why the carbon tax will cost some Maritimes families more than others
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259816/original/file-20190219-43281-lbvky1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In some provinces, families that heat with wood will pay no carbon tax but still get a refund.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year, Canadian households will be <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadas-carbon-tax-a-guide/">paying for their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions</a>. How much each household pays will depend not only on the amount of energy they consume, but also on where they live. </p>
<p>The different carbon pricing systems used across the country have led to inconsistent pricing that can be unfair to some low- and middle-income households. </p>
<p>The root of this problem is the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/themes/environment/documents/weather1/20170125-en.pdf">Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change</a>, which requires all Canadians to pay for their emissions. In order to gain widespread provincial and territorial acceptability, it avoids defining a single, national carbon pricing system. </p>
<p>Instead, the Framework gives provinces and territories flexibility in their choice of carbon pricing systems, as long as it meets <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/pan-canadian-framework/guidance-carbon-pollution-pricing-benchmark.html">a common standard</a>: a carbon tax (like British Columbia’s), a cap-and-trade system (like Quebec’s) or a hybrid system (like Alberta’s). Those that do not implement an approved carbon pricing system must adopt <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/pan-canadian-framework/guidance-carbon-pollution-pricing-benchmark.html">the federal “backstop” program, Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS), and a carbon levy</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/taxpayers-will-back-a-carbon-tax-if-they-get-a-cheque-in-the-mail-99825">Taxpayers will back a carbon tax if they get a cheque in the mail</a>
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<p>The result is a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/pricing-pollution-how-it-will-work.html">patchwork of provincial or territorial systems</a>, with the carbon price on energy products paid by households varying from province to province.</p>
<p>The carbon pricing systems used in the Maritime provinces are an interesting example for at least three reasons. First, unlike the rest of Canada, the region <a href="http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/menus/trends/comprehensive_tables/list.cfm">relies heavily on fuel oil for household heating</a>. Second, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have had <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610022201">the weakest GDP growth of any province over the past decade</a>. And third, the region <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/170913/t001a-eng.htm">has three of the four</a> lowest median household incomes in Canada.</p>
<p>Consequently, the provincial governments in the Maritimes wanted to minimize the impact of carbon pricing on their provinces. Each proposed a provincially designed carbon pricing system to the federal government — as permitted by the Pan-Canadian Framework. </p>
<p>The resulting carbon pricing systems implemented in these three provinces reveals some of the inconsistencies. To understand the impact of the different provincial carbon pricing systems on individuals and families, we simulated the annual cost of carbon emissions for a typical household with the same energy consumption in each of the three Maritime provinces. </p>
<h2>Prince Edward Island</h2>
<p>The federal government rejected P.E.I’s original carbon pricing plan. Negotiations led to a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/pricing-pollution-how-it-will-work/prince-edward-island.html">two-year agreement</a> that will have to be reworked in 2020. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260218/original/file-20190221-195886-r5ew0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260218/original/file-20190221-195886-r5ew0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260218/original/file-20190221-195886-r5ew0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260218/original/file-20190221-195886-r5ew0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260218/original/file-20190221-195886-r5ew0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260218/original/file-20190221-195886-r5ew0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260218/original/file-20190221-195886-r5ew0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The federal government has raised taxes on gasoline in Prince Edward Island, but Premier Wade MacLauchlan has said the province will offset the increase by reducing other taxes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The current agreement applies a carbon price to transportation fuels but not home heating fuel or electricity. The government has further buffered the impact by reducing an existing gasoline tax. Islanders <a href="https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/news/response-federal-governments-decision-regarding-its-climate-change-plan">will only pay an additional one cent per litre</a> on gasoline and other transportation fuels in 2019, rising to two cents in 2020.</p>
<h2>Nova Scotia</h2>
<p>The federal government approved <a href="https://climatechange.novascotia.ca/nova-scotias-cap-trade-program">Nova Scotia’s cap-and-trade system</a>. It covers emissions from electrical generation, industries that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of CO2e per year and distributors of liquid fuels and natural gas. The cost of emissions exceeding the cap starts at $20 per tonne in 2019, rising by five per cent per year, and can be passed to consumers.</p>
<p>Gasoline will cost Nova Scotians an extra one cent per litre in 2019 and rising to 1.2 cents in 2022. Home heating fuel will also cost more, starting at 1.3 cents per litre and rising to 1.6 cents. Electricity rates will rise too, increasing 0.10 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) this year to 0.19 cents per kWh in 2022.</p>
<h2>New Brunswick</h2>
<p>New Brunswick proposed a climate fund, but the federal government <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/pricing-pollution-how-it-will-work/new-brunswick.html">rejected the proposal</a> and applied the federal backstop.</p>
<p>Normally, the backstop consists of a carbon levy on liquid fuels (gasoline and fuel oil), natural gas and the energy used to produce electricity, starting at $20 per tonne of CO2e (carbon-dioxide equivalent) in 2019 and increasing by $10 a year until 2022, when it will be $50 per tonne. But consumers in New Brunswick will not pay the backstop price for electricity. The federal government <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/coal-fired-power-plants-carbon-tax-1.4882669">effectively lowered cost of emissions released from coal-burning plants from $20 per tonne to $1 per tonne</a>, largely viewed as a politically motivated effort to help former Premier Brian Gallant.</p>
<p>The province’s carbon price on gasoline will start at 4.42 cents per litre and reach 11 cents per litre in 2022. Home heating oil is subject to a carbon price of 5.48 cents per litre in 2019, increasing to 13.69 cents per litre in 2022.</p>
<h2>Comparing household costs</h2>
<p>In our scenario, the household uses <a href="http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/showTable.cfm?type=CP&sector=tran&juris=atl&rn=21&page=0">2,800 litres of gasoline to fuel two vehicles</a>, <a href="http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/menus/trends/comprehensive/trends_res_atl.cfm">10,000 kWh of electricity</a> and <a href="https://www.efficiencyns.ca/guide/heating-comparisons/">2,000 litres of light-fuel oil for home heating</a>.</p>
<p>Household GHG emissions in P.E.I. and New Brunswick are 14.6 tonnes, while in Nova Scotia they are 18.5 tonnes. The difference lies in the way electricity is generated: fossil fuels generate about 40 per cent of the electricity in <a href="https://apps.neb-one.gc.ca/ftrppndc/dflt.aspx?GoCTemplateCulture=en-CA">P.E.I. and New Brunswick, and 75 per cent of the electricity in Nova Scotia</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259849/original/file-20190219-43258-10lldj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259849/original/file-20190219-43258-10lldj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259849/original/file-20190219-43258-10lldj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259849/original/file-20190219-43258-10lldj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259849/original/file-20190219-43258-10lldj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259849/original/file-20190219-43258-10lldj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259849/original/file-20190219-43258-10lldj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259849/original/file-20190219-43258-10lldj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Carbon costs for a typical household in the Maritimes.</span>
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<p>In P.E.I., the household cost of carbon emissions, which only includes gasoline, begins at $28 in 2019 and rises to $56 in 2020. <a href="https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/news/response-federal-governments-decision-regarding-its-climate-change-plan">The province says it will return “every cent collected to Islanders.”</a></p>
<p>The costs for a household in Nova Scotia start at $64 in 2019 and rise to $85 in 2022, but the household does not receive rebates.</p>
<p>New Brunswick residents pay the backstop carbon price for gasoline and heating oil, but not for electricity. The annual cost is $245 in 2019 and almost $610 in 2022. They can <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2018/12/minister-of-finance-confirms-amounts-of-climate-action-incentive-payments-for-2019.html">claim a “Climate Action Incentive” rebate on their taxes</a> and receive $256 in 2019 (rural residents receive an additional 10 per cent).</p>
<h2>The problem with rebates</h2>
<p>While rebates may appear to be an equitable solution, they are paid once a year, forcing low- and middle-income households to carry the additional costs of the carbon price on energy products throughout the year.</p>
<p>In addition, the refund is based on family size, not consumption. This means that someone heating with wood (and paying no carbon tax) receives the same refund as someone with the same income but heats with oil. On the other hand, households with carbon-tax expenditures exceeding the refund must absorb the difference.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rethinking-canadas-climate-policy-from-the-ground-up-108456">Rethinking Canada's climate policy from the ground up</a>
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<p>Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is central to the Pan-Canadian Framework. However, if carbon pricing is to make a meaningful contribution to emissions reduction in Canada, it must be:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Consistent: The cost of emissions and the associated carbon pricing system should be independent of where someone lives.</p></li>
<li><p>Fair: Rebates to low- and middle-income households should be designed to minimize the impact of rising carbon prices, by making rebates available throughout the year <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/climate-carbon-pricing.aspx">as is done in Alberta</a>, for example.</p></li>
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<p>Without addressing issues such as these, opposition to carbon pricing can only be expected to grow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110842/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Larry Hughes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Canadians will start paying for their carbon emissions this year, but the cost will depend on where they live.
Larry Hughes, Professor and Founding Fellow at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance, Dalhousie University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.