The world as a collective is evermore pushing itself towards a carbon neutral future, with many industry leaders using various avenues to reduce their emissions to create a ‘greener’ planet for all. However, those improvements are not all that is needed, and now scientists are looking at what can be done by the general public to reduce emissions from homes in Europe to zero. One of the ways in doing so is to to implement heat pumps across all properties.
Gabby Mallett of the National Energy Foundation (NEF) and Project Manager for Transition Zero stated “the overall goal is to develop a market for net zero-carbon homes.” Gabby expanded with; “Are they possible? Yes. Could we roll them out on a big enough scale? Yes, but we would absolutely need to invest in training of contractors. The technology is there to do it now. I think the technology of the future will make it much easier.” This shows promising signs in a sector that will only further aid the goal for more carbon neutral homes across Europe.
European households account for a fifth of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions whilst these households are responsible for just over a quarter of Europe’s total energy consumption. This means that with changes within this sector, energy consumption can see significant improvements should more households move towards becoming zero-carbon homes.
Scientists in Europe have looked at applying novel technologies such as Ground Source Heat Pumps and wall-insulating to reduce household’s carbon footprints in existing houses. Not only is this move within the market better for the environment, these methods can provide significant cost-saving opportunities for residents by cutting heating bills and improving health as a result of keeping residents warm.
Heat Pumps - Carbon Neutral Homes
In order to tackle UK emissions from heating and move towards carbon neutral homes, technologies such as Ground Source Heat Pumps and Air Source Heat Pumps are an absolute necessity.
NEW BUILD
Fossil fuels are to be banned in new build homes from 2025, but why wait till then? If you are building a new build property then reap the rewards of installing a heat pump, and take up low carbon heating technologies sooner.
RETROFIT
In addition to new build though, there will need to be a significant uptake of heat pumps in the existing housing stock. To do this, policies like the Government’s renewable heat incentive must continue to operate, offering encouragement to homeowners to adopt the technology.