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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

Cutting energy usage with Behaviour Change: Covid and Russia’s war show it can happen fast

October 28, 2022 by IEA

Technology alone won’t meet our net zero targets. For the foreseeable future there will always be carbon-intensive assets and hard-to-abate sectors. Only “behaviour change” by citizens worldwide can bridge the gap that technology cannot. And the reduced energy use that it delivers will also lower the targets that the rapid growth of clean energy supply are now chasing. Here the IEA lays out the challenges in its Behavioural Changes tracking … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Policies Tagged With: BehaviourChange, commuting, cooling, Covid, heating, HVAC, IEA, Russia, transport, Ukraine

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

Grid Distribution Systems: access to usage data is uncovering the optimal design for future electrification

July 18, 2022 by Meredith Fowlie

The more efficient a distribution grid is, the less likely other potential supply bottlenecks (from lithium for batteries to trained electricians) will slow the transition to greater and greater electrification. State-of-the-art modelling of future grids is already happening, but the robust modelling of the distribution system is conspicuously missing because good data are notoriously hard to find, says Meredith Fowlie at UC Berkeley’s Energy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: buildings, charging, costs, data, Distribution, electrification, EVs, grids, HVAC, rooftop, SmartCharging, solar

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

Smart households in a high Renewables world: flexible, efficient, cheaper

March 10, 2022 by Marco Reiser and Karoline Steinbacher

Smart controls can enable household heating and EVs to interact flexibly with increasingly decentralised electricity generation. As renewables continue to be added to the energy mix, it will increase efficiency, reduce load, and save money. Marco Reiser and Karoline Steinbacher at Guidehouse summarise the challenges and opportunities, before looking at the SINTEG pilot in Germany. The main hurdles are technological (standardisation, interfaces, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Energy Tagged With: costs, DistrictHeating, efficiency, electricity, EVs, flexibility, Germany, heating, HeatPumps, HVAC, renewables, rooftopsolar, SINTEG, smart, standards

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

Grid-scale modelling of Distributed Energy Resources and dynamic pricing for all customers

February 7, 2022 by James Conca

Smart grids can solve multiple problems now and throughout the lifetime of the energy transition. The supply from hundreds (existing + new wind, solar, etc.) and ultimately millions (rooftop solar, EV batteries) of power sources can be matched in real time with demand from all major customer devices (air conditioners, water heaters, batteries, EVs). Dynamic pricing keeps the peaks low and the troughs high. It takes the pressure off total load, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: AI, batteries, dynamic, ERCOT, EVs, grids, HVAC, modelling, PNNL, pricing, rooftop, Shanghai, smart, solar, Spokane, Stem, storage, Texas, US, wind

District Heating: policies for cutting emissions need work says IEA

January 27, 2022 by Chiara Delmastro

District Heating policies need urgent attention according to the IEA so here in Europe it's a good moment to examine what the "Fit for 55" package means for the sector's future development. On February 10 Energy Post is hosting an online roundtable alongside MEP Pernille Weiss, MEP Morten Petersen, and MEP Grzegorz Tobiszowski - all (senior) members of the ITRE committee - to take in the viewpoints of key Member States and stakeholders (COGEN … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Debates, Energy Tagged With: bioenergy, buildings, coal, district, electricity, emissions, gas, geothermal, Green Deal, heating, HVAC, NZE2050, oil, Pernille Weiss, policy, renewables, roundtable, SolarThermal

New York City to stop new buildings connecting to the Gas network

January 25, 2022 by Yu Ann Tan, Amar Shah and Talor Gruenwald

New York City is the U.S.’s largest metropolis, over twice the size of second spot Los Angeles, and is still growing. It has just passed a bill that effectively stops new buildings from hooking up to the gas network. The significance is not simply because of NYC’s global prominence, but because it gets very cold in winter with average temperatures just above freezing point. The move is a major win for the electrification of buildings. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: buildings, electricity, gas, heating, HVAC, network, NYC, pollution, US

Buildings: France and Flanders lead on decarbonising new builds

January 20, 2022 by Clare Taylor

Buildings are responsible for 36% of total EU carbon emissions. So, since the start of 2021 European legislation requires all new buildings to be ‘nearly zero energy’. The frontrunners are France and Flanders in Belgium, according to a new report from the Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE), writes Clare Taylor. Both jurisdictions have plans for phasing out fossil fuels in new buildings within five years. Taylor explains how Flanders … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Energy Tagged With: Belgium, biogas, buildings, construction, DistrictHeating, efficiency, embodied, emissions, Flanders, France, Germany, HeatPumps, HVAC, Italy, JustTransition, Poland, renewables, solar, spain

Intelligent, flexible Sector Coupling in cities can double the potential for Wind and Solar

December 16, 2021 by Yong Chen and Dolf Gielen

This week the European Commission tabled the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which should accelerate the decarbonisation of buildings. Buildings and cities play a key role in the energy transition. And the target high shares of variable renewable power supply will be much more easily achieved if the sectors using them display demand flexibility. In essence, that means using or storing the excess wind and solar generation … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Energy, Renewables Tagged With: buildings, charging, China, Cities, coupling, demand, EC, epbd, EVs, flexibility, heating, HVAC, hydrogen, modelling, sector, smart, solar, storage, thermal, VRE, wind

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      Recent Posts

      Wind (and Solar) need their own Financial Transmission Rights to hedge their unique congestion risks

      The U.S. should support the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

      Utah: 140MW Geothermal bid can beat the cost and performance of the proposed Nuclear SMR

      Make Hydrogen in developing nations: share prosperity while meeting our climate goals

      Smart Glasses: experts can monitor and advise on power plant inspections anywhere in the world

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