Delay fears for heat pump rollout after EU moves to restrict gases
THE heat pump rollout could be delayed, experts have warned, amid fears crucial gases face a crackdown.
Gases which are central to both heat pumps and air conditioning are set to be phased out more quickly than planned, in a move that could block Net Zero goals to rapidly replace gas boilers with electric heating.
HFCs, a type of f-gas or fluorinated gas, contribute to global warming if allowed to escape into the atmosphere.
Original EU plans meant cutting the quota allowed for industry to just under a third of 2015 levels by 2024, and to just over 20 per cent by 2030.
But the EU has announced plans to cut to 5 per cent of 2015 levels by 2030, a schedule which the UK may follow and which could stunt the rollout of heat pumps. An expected spike in demand for air conditioning after this summer’s heatwave is also set to increase pressure on supplies.
Martyn Cooper, at the UK’s Federation of Environmental Trade Associations, said: “There wouldn’t be enough f-gases to service existing equipment in the market, be they heat pumps or not.
“It would potentially impact on the rollout of heat pumps because there wouldn’t be enough f-gases to go in them. Potentially you have one environmental regulation, f-gas regulation, impinging on the move to Net Zero.
“The Government’s target is 600,000 heat pumps installed by 2030. You’d potentially not have enough heat pumps to meet Net Zero targets.”
Earlier this year the European Heat Pump Federation warned that the proposed stricter limits would “necessarily slow down the speed at which heatpump equipment will be deployed”.
HFCs can be replaced with natural refrigerants such as propane, but these tend to be flammable, which has limited their use.
Bean Beanland, at the Heat Pump Federation, said the UK would likely follow European trends. “We don’t want to get into a situation where we started limiting the UK market for heat pumps by demanding special treatment.
“So it’s highly likely that the UK regulations will follow global trends because it’s just not economic for us to demand anything else,” he said.
The UK has said it would incorporate the existing EU law on f-gases into domestic law. A consultation is set to launch at the end of the year.
In June, Jo Churchill, the Defra minister, told the European Scrutiny Committee of MPs that ministers were concerned that the changes could force suppliers to scale back production of heat pumps. The new regulations “could hamper UK’s Net-Zero objectives”, the committee warned.
A government spokesman said: “There are currently no issues with the availability of fluorinated gases needed for heat pumps. We are incentivising people to get a heat pump by offering grants and are working with industry to further bring down the cost of heat pumps by up to half by 2025.”