Council home tests high-tech heating
TRIAL COULD BECOME GROUNDBREAKING
A HUMBLE council house in Hull is to be turned into a hi-tech test lab to trial a potentially ground-breaking low-carbon heating system.
Experts from the University of Hull say if it proves a success, the pilot project could be rolled out in homes across the city and beyond.
It will test an innovative new combined system of ventilation and air source heat pump technology in a council-owned residential property over a 12-month period.
Developed by the university’s Centre for Sustainable Energy Technology, the system uses a unique mixture of both indoor and outdoor air and reduces the amount of heat which is lost in a typical house through ventilation.
Data on heating and energy use within the house will be monitored and recorded over the year to fully analyse its effectiveness and affordability.
Professor Xudong Zhao, from the university’s Energy and Environment Institute, said: “This project will be the first time this technology, which we hope will become an exemplar for the decarbonisation of our homes, will be demonstrated at full scale.
“Addressing the issue of decarbonising heating in the home is urgent to meet the UK target of net- zero carbon emissions by 2050, and Hull City Council’s ambitions to reach those same targets by 2030.
“This new project will provide us with a glimpse into the future of low-carbon, sustainable housing.
“It has the potential to be truly ground-breaking.”
It aims to overcome one of the main challenges faced in the use of domestic heat pumps in the UK - low performance during cold winter weather.
Currently around 90 per cent of heat pump systems use air as a heat source in the UK.
The university team says the way its heating system operates makes it more effcient during colder weather and low air temperatures.
Institute director Professor Dan Parsons said: “Early indications are that the technology can significantly reduce carbon emissions, when compared with existing gas boilers.
“We need to test how to best deploy and operate this new technology, which has the potential to decarbonise our residential housing stock across the country while simultaneously addressing fuel poverty through a reduction in heating costs.”
The city council has provided the property to the university for the trial. Its location has not been revealed.
Deputy city council leader Councillor Daren Hale said: “This pilot project puts Hull at forefront of the UK’S low-carbon heating push.
“The council has set the ambitious and achievable target to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
“If we are to reach that goal, projects such as this one from the university alongside the council will be vital. These systems currently make up a fraction of the overall heating market in the UK, but this partnership could change that which would be huge for the country’s zero-carbon goals”