Heat pump industry rises to meet Manchester’s low carbon challenge

Reducing or eliminating domestic carbon emissions will involve transforming the UK’s entire housing stock through a combination of improved insulation, behavioural change and a reduction in the use of carbon intensive heating. For Manchester and the wider city region, this equates to retrofitting up to 1.2 million properties, while ensuring that new homes are built to the highest possible standard.

Working with Manchester City Council, Manchester Climate Change Agency and wider stakeholders, Low Carbon Homes opens on the 14th November at Manchester’s Friends Meeting House to tackle the particular challenges of retrofit across the city region.

A major new feature of the free-to-attend event is Heat Pump Focus – an event within an event – in which heat pump associations, manufacturers, system designers and installers will demonstrate the role of heat pumps in helping Manchester meet its 2038 zero carbon ambition.

This week, the UK Government issued a consultation on their proposed Future Homes

Standard, involving a major review of Building Regulations, which affect how new homes are specified and constructed. A further consultation is anticipated soon to address the more complicated issue of existing homes. The current consultation proposes that widespread use of energy efficient technology is deployed to reduce the carbon impact of domestic heating, (which accounts for 17% of UK emissions) including heating system design suitable for heat pumps.

Although not a new technology, heat pumps (which can be up to four times more efficient than conventional electric or gas heating, emitting up to three times less carbon than gas combination boilers) have not been widely adopted in the UK for various historic reasons but are widely adopted in other North European Countries such as Sweden, Estonia, Finland and Norway.

With the industry assembled on 14th November, Heat Pump Focus provides a unique opportunity for housing professionals to explore and better understand the benefits of heat pumps – at all scales of development – from individual properties to heat networks, and how to utilise the natural thermal energy stored in ground, air and water.

Presentations and Q&A sessions will cover technology fit, current policy and longer-term direction of the heat pump industry in pursuit of net zero. Heat Pump Focus contributors include HPA, GSHPA, NIBE Energy Systems, Vaillant, Infinitas Design, Kensa Contracting, Star Renewable Energy, LG and Daikin.

More information can be found here