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Green District Heating: can the energy crisis + new carbon targets drive new investment?

May 9, 2023 by Rebecca Pool

Rebecca Pool, writing for ESCI, describes green district heating projects where the operator is a “middle man” between new energy generators (waste heat, renewables, etc.) and end users. The energy crisis has created an opportunity, as unpredictable gas prices combined with new carbon targets have made the long-term investment more attractive. But district heating is in direct competition from heat pumps and natural gas, so it needs to be price … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: CIMPOR, Climaespaço, district, EMB3Rs, gas, green, heating, HeatPumps, HVAC, investment, Portugal, prices, WasteHeat

Heating Households and Buildings: Heat Pumps will be up to three times cheaper than Green Hydrogen

March 3, 2023 by Josh Gabbatiss

A new study concludes that heating from 100% green-hydrogen would be up to three times more expensive than one based on 100% electrification of buildings with heat pumps. Josh Gabbatiss at Carbon Brief summarises the findings, who says it’s yet more evidence to push back against the voices of politicians and fossil-fuel companies wanting to see hydrogen in the household and buildings heating mix (for example, the UK is planning a “hydrogen … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: boilers, buildings, EC, electrification, EU, heating, HeatPumps, households, HVAC, hydrogen, residential, UK

How to sell Heat Pumps to the public in Europe

January 19, 2023 by Helena Uhde

In EU households, 62.8% of energy consumption is for space heating, and another 15.1% for water heating, mostly powered by fossil fuels. Heating and cooling is responsible for 52% of final energy demand in Europe. So, with REPowerEU, the EU has once again strengthened support for heat pumps to achieve energy independence and climate goals. Heat pump sales in Europe grew by an unprecedented 34% in 2021, thanks to a total 2.18m heat pump units … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: cooling, costs, decarbonisation, efficiency, electrification, EU, Hallstatt, heating, HeatPumps, HVAC, REPowerEU, sales, subsidies

30+ nations now subsidise Heat Pumps because lifetime cost is cheaper than fossil boilers

January 10, 2023 by Josh Gabbatiss

The global growth in heat pumps can deliver almost 40% of all possible emissions cuts from heating by 2030 (with most of the rest coming from efficiency, mainly insulation), says the IEA. This is according to their “Announced Pledges Scenario” (APS) which assumes that governments carry out all of the climate commitments they have made. Keeping buildings warm produces one-tenth of global energy-related CO2 emissions. So the APS’s heat pump growth … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: buildings, China, efficiency, emissions, EU, heating, HeatPumps, HVAC, IEA, Italy, LCOE, Poland, subsidies, US

Evaporation and Radiation cooling: no power required (but the aerogel must get cheaper)

September 28, 2022 by David Chandler

It is well known that evaporation and radiation are two ways of keeping something cool. David Chandler at MIT explains how researchers there have created an experimental 3-layered cell that combines evaporation and radiation with an insulator to deliver cooling that needs no power. It can provide around 9°C of cooling from the ambient temperature, enough to permit safe food storage for about 40% longer under very humid conditions, and could … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: aerogel, cooling, evaporation, grids, HVAC, hydrogel, insulation, radiation

EU Heat Pumps: warnings against “one size fits all” policies

May 31, 2022 by Helen Farrell

The EU is aiming for the installation of 50 million heat pumps by 2030, equating to annual growth of 16%, reaching one third of the total 150 million boiler installations in the bloc. Helen Farrell reviews these ambitious targets and the policies that are driving them, and turns to a report by RAP to identify the weaknesses in the plan and how it can be improved. The main danger is a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Different countries have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Energy, HVAC Tagged With: buildings, electrification, EU, Germany, heating, HeatPumps, HVAC, newbuilds, retrofits, UK

Netherlands and China co-operate on Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage for heating and cooling

May 19, 2022 by Daisy Chi

Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) accesses the stable temperature of groundwater to warm buildings in winter and cool them in summer. The solution uses much less power than conventional heating and cooling systems. As Daisy Chi at ECECP explains, ATES first took off in China in the 1960s but ran into problems with the required circulation of the groundwater. However, the technology has been developed and optimised in the Netherlands: of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: buildings, China, cooling, heating, HeatPumps, HVAC, Netherlands

How a street can share a Ground Source Heat Pump

May 11, 2022 by David Barns

Ground and air source heat pumps are expected to play a major role in cutting the use of gas for heating. But one major problem with them is that they need a lot of space. For those living in dense housing it’s just not practical. District heat networks are the usual alternative, but the dense urban areas they serve need to be near a large source of waste heat like power stations or other industrial units. David Barns at the University of Leeds … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: air, buildings, district, heat, HVAC, local, pumps, residential, urban

Will turning down Europe’s thermostats ease the Gas supply crisis?

March 28, 2022 by Aurore Julien

To counter the extremely high gas prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine crisis the IEA has proposed turning thermostats down in households to use less gas. The IEA estimated lowering the heating by just 1°C would reduce gas demand by around 10 bn cubic metres a year, or 7% of Europe’s annual imports from Russia. Aurore Julien at the University of East London looks at quantifiable past attempts around the world to get citizens to cut their energy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: Alaska, Colombia, demand, Europe, Fukushima, gas, households, IEA, Japan, prices, Russia, thermostats, Ukraine

District Heating Roundtable: Policy across RED, EED and EPBD “must take account of conditions in all Member States”

February 17, 2022 by Sara Stefanini

Sara Stefanini provides a written summary of our panel discussion held on 10th February: District Heating under the "Fit for 55" package: challenges and opportunities. Under the “Fit for 55” package, the EC proposed several regulatory changes that, combined, are meant to decarbonise district heating in Europe. But are these options workable for all? The participants raise questions over the support for district heating, whether the multiple … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Climate policy, Debates, Energy, Energy efficiency, EU Policy, Expert Panel, HVAC Tagged With: biomass, buildings, CHP, coal, cogeneration, Digitalisation, district, efficiency, electricity, FitFor55, gas, heating, HVAC, NZE2050, policy, renewables

Redesigning UK electricity taxes to boost Heat Pump sales

October 14, 2021 by Jan Rosenow and Richard Lowes

In the UK, consumer prices for electricity are five times more expensive than for gas. It is a disincentive to adopt electric heat pumps. To make things harder, 23% of the electricity price comes from climate and social levies. It’s just 2% for gas. No wonder the UK continues to install about 1.7 million gas boilers a year. Jan Rosenow and Richard Lowes at RAP call for changes that will incentivise customers to buy heat pumps while having a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: Denmark, electricity, electrification, gas, Germany, heat, HeatPumps, HVAC, levies, Netherlands, Sweden, taxes, UK

Super-efficient space cooling can mitigate 0.5°C of warming by 2100

July 7, 2021 by John Matson

Space cooling eats up 10% of global electricity use, and by 2050 total energy consumed could triple as ownership takes off in developing countries. It’s why the Global Cooling Prize was launched to find AC designs that will have an 80% lower climate impact, explains John Matson at RMI. The two main design goals were to reduce electricity demand, and use refrigerants with lower global warming potential (GWP) than traditional refrigerant gases. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: China, cooling, Daikin, electricity, Gree, HVAC, India, standards

EU Recovery funds: where is the support for District Heating?

March 1, 2021 by Selīna Vancāne

District Heating is an efficient way to heat homes, particularly in a country like Latvia where 58% of its primary energy consumption is used for heating. But SelÄ«na Vancāne at Riga City Council is very concerned that the draft EU Recovery plans do not include any support under the climate goals for district heating projects. Perhaps it’s because of a blind spot: most of Europe is prioritising individual heating units powered by electricity. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: biomass, buildings, DistrictHeating, efficiency, EU, gas, heating, HVAC, Latvia, recovery, solar

Cooling: up-front costs are the barrier to new solutions that cut energy use by two-thirds

September 10, 2020 by Sneha Sachar and Iain Campbell

Existing, latest technology could be delivering the world’s current air conditioning needs with just a third of the energy use, say Sneha Sachar at the AEEE (India) and Iain Campbell at RMI. The main barrier is the up-front costs. And that’s for everything from improving the thermal efficiency of buildings to accelerating the deployment of the most efficient cutting edge ACs (at present, legal minimums lag behind the best ACs, and the best ACs … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: AC, buildings, cooling, emissions, humidity, HVAC, innovation

UK heating plan still means 120 gas boilers installed for every low-carbon system

June 12, 2020 by Jan Rosenow and Samuel Thomas

Though the UK is a leader in grid electrification it is a poor performer when it comes to the electrification of heating. In May the UK government proposed a clean heat policy to support the switch away from gas heating for 12,500 homes a year for two years. Jan Rosenow and Samuel Thomas at RAP say that looks like business as usual: for every one new low-carbon heating system, more than 120 gas boilers will be installed as normal. In 2019, 1.7m … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Energy, HVAC Tagged With: buildings, efficiency, electrification, EU, gas, grids, heating, HVAC, UK

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      U.S. EPA: new rules proposed for cutting Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plant emissions

      Financing Renewable Hydrogen globally: ramp up to 2030 only needs $150bn/year

      Five charts on the Energy Transition: the 2020s is the decade of maximum disruption. By 2030 the endgame will be clear

      Making Hydrogen direct from seawater using double-membrane electrolysis

      The history of evidence of CO2-driven climate change starts in the mid-1800s

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