Decarbonisation of heat: How SLES can contribute
Author(s)
Type
Report
Abstract
Decarbonisation of heat is an immense challenge.
Despite accounting for over a third of the UK’s
carbon emissions, little progress has been made in
decarbonising heat. This is particularly in the case
of space and hot water heating for buildings, which
account for 75% of those emissions. Stop-start
policies and delays to key decisions have resulted in a
thermally inefficient building stock and just 8% of heat
coming from renewable sources. There remain deep
uncertainties about the technology mix that will make
up the heat system in 2050.
A smart local energy systems (SLES) approach could
facilitate a transition to a zero-carbon heat sector
that is faster, fairer, and more cost effective than
current trajectories. However, the current policy and
regulatory landscape means that SLES struggle to
deliver their potential environmental, societal, and
energy system benefits.
The societal impacts and interactions of heat make
decarbonisation much more than a technical
challenge. Transformation of the sector must be done
in a fair and just way – changes made could have
major implications for fuel poverty and public health.
Under current policy, regulatory and market structures,
exacerbation of societal inequalities is likely. However,
the transition also provides the opportunity to build a
fairer system, bringing tangible societal and economic
benefits across the country.
Our review identifies five cross-cutting barriers
that will need to be addressed regardless of the
zero-carbon heat technology mix that is ultimately
adopted. Thus far, successive governments have taken
a predominantly centralised and top-down approach
to tackling these challenges. However, the supply,
demand, and storage of heat has inherently local
aspects. Changing the way we heat our buildings
is likely to impact our daily lives, demanding new
behaviours from consumers. It will also require
millions of decision-makers to choose based on
their own, often unique, circumstances. There are
technical challenges on both the demand side -
including coping with seasonal variation and changing
consumer needs - and the supply side - including
increasing integration of intermittent renewables. This
means that we need to move to smarter, more flexible
systems faster than achieved so far with decentralised
electricity and smart meters.
The key findings of the report are summarised below.
We show how each of the cross-cutting barriers
identified through the review can be addressed by a
SLES approach. We take this further by analysing the
UK Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy and
Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy,
both published in October 2021. We identify missed
opportunities, outline what SLES needs to succeed and
make specific policy recommendations.
Despite accounting for over a third of the UK’s
carbon emissions, little progress has been made in
decarbonising heat. This is particularly in the case
of space and hot water heating for buildings, which
account for 75% of those emissions. Stop-start
policies and delays to key decisions have resulted in a
thermally inefficient building stock and just 8% of heat
coming from renewable sources. There remain deep
uncertainties about the technology mix that will make
up the heat system in 2050.
A smart local energy systems (SLES) approach could
facilitate a transition to a zero-carbon heat sector
that is faster, fairer, and more cost effective than
current trajectories. However, the current policy and
regulatory landscape means that SLES struggle to
deliver their potential environmental, societal, and
energy system benefits.
The societal impacts and interactions of heat make
decarbonisation much more than a technical
challenge. Transformation of the sector must be done
in a fair and just way – changes made could have
major implications for fuel poverty and public health.
Under current policy, regulatory and market structures,
exacerbation of societal inequalities is likely. However,
the transition also provides the opportunity to build a
fairer system, bringing tangible societal and economic
benefits across the country.
Our review identifies five cross-cutting barriers
that will need to be addressed regardless of the
zero-carbon heat technology mix that is ultimately
adopted. Thus far, successive governments have taken
a predominantly centralised and top-down approach
to tackling these challenges. However, the supply,
demand, and storage of heat has inherently local
aspects. Changing the way we heat our buildings
is likely to impact our daily lives, demanding new
behaviours from consumers. It will also require
millions of decision-makers to choose based on
their own, often unique, circumstances. There are
technical challenges on both the demand side -
including coping with seasonal variation and changing
consumer needs - and the supply side - including
increasing integration of intermittent renewables. This
means that we need to move to smarter, more flexible
systems faster than achieved so far with decentralised
electricity and smart meters.
The key findings of the report are summarised below.
We show how each of the cross-cutting barriers
identified through the review can be addressed by a
SLES approach. We take this further by analysing the
UK Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy and
Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy,
both published in October 2021. We identify missed
opportunities, outline what SLES needs to succeed and
make specific policy recommendations.
Date Issued
2022-01-31
Citation
Decarbonisation of heat: How SLES can contribute, 2022, pp.1-65
ISBN
978-1-909522-96-1
Publisher
University of Strathclyde Publishing
Start Page
1
End Page
65
Journal / Book Title
Decarbonisation of heat: How SLES can contribute
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (E
Identifier
https://www.energyrev.org.uk/media/1907/energyrev-decarbonisation-of-heat-jan-2022.pdf
Grant Number
PO 5166090 - EP/S031863/1
Place of Publication
University of Strathclyde
Publication Status
Published