50 percent of all renewable heating could be coming from heat pump systems by 2020

(21/08/2009)

The Government has acknowledged that heat pumps will play an important role in achieving its ambitious renewable energy targets for 2020. In its latest Renewable Energy Strategy document the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has outlined a plan to have 15% of the UK’s total energy requirements met using renewable sources by 2020.

Of this 15% almost a third is expected to come from renewable heating systems like heat pumps. This would mean that by 2020 12% of all heating in the UK was delivered from renewable sources, principally heat pumps and biomass boilers. That amounts to a total of 72tWhs of heating or the equivalent of heating over 4 million households.

The Government projects that between 40 and 50% of all renewable heating could be coming from heat pump systems by 2020 with the balance mostly coming from biomass systems and biogas. Both ground and air source systems are seen to have a role with a roughly 50-50 split between the two technologies being anticipated by 2020. DECC acknowledges that “heat pumps could also play a more important role than previously estimated.”

Murray Treece, Managing Director of Econic said “We welcome this endorsement of heap pump technology from the Government and hope to play a major role in helping these ambitious targets be delivered.”

Related categories:  Energy management   Heat pumps   Residential applications