By Oliver Baker, CEO at Ambion Heating
Over the past few months, there has been a real focus on how to protect consumers and businesses against rising energy prices. For many households, the Energy Price Guarantee – which limits the amount you can be charged per unit of gas and electricity – will be a welcome relief, although the scheme will only run for six months, not for two years, as initially proposed.
That is why it is important that a longer-term approach – that focuses on helping households reduce the amount of energy they use – is needed. For public sector organisations and social housing providers, installing technologies to help them meet their low-carbon requirements without pushing residents and tenants into fuel poverty is therefore vital.
Indeed, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund – currently in wave 2.1 which will allocate up to £800 million of funding to support the installation of energy performance measures in social homes in England – has proven to be extremely popular. Its primary aim is to upgrade homes that have an EPC rating below C, and replacing inefficient heating systems is seen as a key priority for many landlords.
However, you would be forgiven for thinking that there is only one solution on offer – heat pumps. In fact, there are alternative options that are often better suited to many social housing properties – particularly smaller homes or accommodation blocks.
Here, we debunk some of the common misconceptions when it comes to installing low-carbon heating.
Myth one: Lack of space means lack of decarbonisation
As mentioned, there is one issue that doesn’t get a huge amount of attention when it comes to decarbonising the UK’s varied housing stock – space. There are millions of properties, including accommodation blocks, terraces and smaller houses, where installing a large low- carbon heating system just isn’t feasible. This means they are often relying on less efficient systems to heat their properties, and are therefore consuming more energy.
As a result, there is an increased demand for space-saving energy solutions. This is where systems such as low-carbon heat panels really come into their own – they can be easily fitted into a property and require no large outdoor space.
Myth two: Low-carbon heating is expensive, difficult and time consuming to install
Moving to a low-carbon heating system doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. For example, low-carbon heat panels can easily be fitted into a new home or building, used in modular properties, or retro-fitted to replace an existing gas or electric heating system. The installation cost is also much less than heat pumps.
In addition, the units are compact and easy to install, because they simply need wiring into the mains rather than plumbing in, as there is no central boiler, external unit, or water-based delivery system.
Myth three: Electricity = expensive
Without doubt, when it comes to low-carbon heating, super-efficient electric heating technologies are the way forward. However, electricity is often seen as the more expensive option when compared to gas.
Low carbon heat panels have a unique control system which uses dynamic pulsing – rather than a ‘zoning’ on/off approach used by other systems – to dramatically reduce energy usage and maintain a room’s temperature within 0.1oC of its target, 24 hours a day.
Discreet infrared heat panels are then used because building materials absorb and store infrared, releasing it between pulses, making it the perfect partner for the pulsing approach.
The results of using dynamic pulsing plus the infrared panels are significant – users can expect to use 63% less electricity when compared to conventional systems – which also equates to a 63% reduction in carbon emissions.
The system also reduces the unit cost of electricity because it works best across 24-hours. This flat demand profile – there are no morning or evening energy spikes in usage – means that if a homeowner is on a flexi tariff, the system can achieve around a 25% saving on the unit cost of your energy.
So, if you put those two things together – the 63% reduction in electricity usage with the 25% saving on unit cost – the running cost is very comparable with gas.
A future-proof solution for social housing
For us, the future of heating is electric – it is the only sensible choice for the low-carbon transition. However, we know that public sector organisations and social housing providers are under pressure to make every penny count. That is why it is important that a range of technologies are considered so they can meet decarbonisation objectives without risking fuel poverty among their tenants, ensuring the transition is accessible to all.
For more information, visit www.ambionheating.com
