Leeds Beckett linked to industry report on the future of heating in the nation's homes

As Head of Energy Efficiency and Policy at the LSI, I undertake research into improving the fabric efficiency of homes. From my research projects and my experience gained while seconded into the home energy team at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), I have come to appreciate just how intertwined the issues of the energy efficiency of homes and low carbon heat are, especially in the context of the UK’s 2050 net zero carbon target; indeed the former may be a prerequisite of the latter.

Recent industry and Government reports rightly identify heat pumps as a no regrets first step for UK homes, towards a much broader future low carbon heating landscape. In fact, policy already exists to support the transition to low carbon heat, for example, the Government have banned all new homes from being connected to the gas grid by 2025.  This legislation may be news to most of us, despite its imminent arrival, and is symptomatic that we do not necessarily comprehend exactly what low carbon heat means to our daily lives, nor what practical changes and choices we may face in our homes quite soon.

I am fascinated by the complexities in the low carbon heating debate, and this report is by no means perfect; for example, it perhaps underplays that many of the homes that are currently deemed “unsuitable” for heat pumps, could become “suitable” if they underwent deep retrofits. It also makes light of the logistical and political challenges of switching off gas for entire neighbourhoods at a time and requiring they switch to hydrogen, something that Dr Fylan’s research is particularly interested in. Plus, there is not a great deal of attention given to the lack of certainty on the future costs of delivering alternative fuels like hydrogen and biogas to homes in the future, which will surely make a difference to policy and consumer choice.

However, it is a useful report that makes a positive contribution to the debate, and should therefore be welcomed, as it manages to shine light on important issues in an accessible format. The future of low carbon heat is clearly not yet certain, and much is still to be decided upon by politicians, scientists, and industry, but most importantly, by us all in our homes trying to stay warm.