Challenges and opportunities

The strategy for decarbonising heat in the UK is focused on switching away from individual gas-fired boiler based heating to the use of heat pumps and heat networks (often themselves using heat pumps). In existing buildings this presents two very serious challenges. The first is that heat pumps are unable to replicate the heating capacity of gas-fired boilers because they perform best when operating at lower heating temperatures. The second is that the UK has the highest electricity prices in the G7 group of most advanced world economies making the operating costs of heat pumps unattractive when switching from gas. This technical meeting will address these issues and consider possible remedies. The available heat pump technologies will be reviewed as will the potential for reducing heating demands in existing buildings as well as finding ways to reduce heat pump operating costs.

Speaker's name: Prof. Chris Underwood

Speaker's biographyChris Underwood is Professor Emeritus of Energy Modelling for the Built Environment at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne. He contributed to teaching and research at Northumbria for over 35 years delivering more than 100 publications including two books and numerous book chapters. He holds the CGLI Silver Medal and the CIBSE Dufton and Napier-Shaw medals. Chris is an honorary lifelong member of CIBSE.

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