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You are here : Home » Other » Eco Guidance » Heat pumps’ HFC emissions add 20% to their carbon footprint
Heat pumps’ HFC emissions add 20% to their carbon footprint
Roughly the same or higher than other footprints
For UK air-source heat pumps, emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – powerful greenhouse gases – add another 20% to the carbon footprint created by power generation, says a new report from Atlantic Consulting.
Also the study finds that the overall carbon footprint of a UK heat pump is roughly the same or higher than the footprints – as estimated by the Department of Energy and Climate Change – of gaseous fuels used in heating.
Both findings call into question some EU and UK policy in this area. EU laws such as the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Using Products Directive, and UK regulations such as the Standard Assessment Procedure for Buildings and the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), do not include fluorocarbon emissions in their evaluations of heat pumps. Hydrofluorocarbons are missing, even though various European studies (similar to this one by Atlantic Consulting) pointed out their significance as early as 1994, and they are included in the Kyoto Protocol which set binding targets for reducing greenhouse gases.
Under the proposed RHI, homes and offices in the UK would be subsidised to displace or replace gas- or LPG-fired heating with heat pumps, even though this would, at best, cause a very minor reduction in carbon emissions and in many cases an increase.
Eric Johnson, lead author of the report, says: “This study shows that hydrofluorocarbons need to be considered in the analysis and policy that cover heat pumps. A 20% addition to heat pump footprints is really too big to be ignored.” He added that in some EU countries the percentage would be even greater.
As for the proposed RHI, Johnson suggested that the UK Government may want to reconsider how the proposal is being targeted. “Installing air-source heat pumps rather than gas or LPG boilers will not decarbonise UK heating; in fact, it might re-carbonise it. The RHI should be aimed at replacing fuels that are clearly dirtier. If not, the RHI is more than a waste of money; it starts to become an embarrassment.”
Atlantic Consulting’s findings are supported by a similar, peer-reviewed study published by the University of Delft in the Netherlands, which found that “even though heat pumps are generally considered to be sustainable heating systems because they extract heat from renewable sources rather than by burning non-renewable fossil fuels this research shows that a heat pump is actually not more environmentally friendly than a gas-fired boiler.”
More information: www.atlanticconsultinggroup.com
Image is from Freedom Heat Pumps
5 Responses to “Heat pumps’ HFC emissions add 20% to their carbon footprint”
ecoadmin says:
European governments support the use of heat pumps as a means of reducing carbon emissions.
Heat Pumps says:
‘Ecoadmin’, I am sure you are correct – the sad thing is that often the governments support green initiatives which do not work, because they are frequently lacking the knowledge necessary to make the right decisions.
Andrew Leech says:
So far as I can make out, Chris Huhne’s Green Deal doesn’t even give GSHP a mention! Perhaps the time is ripe for a well orchestrated lobbying of the Secretary of State for ECC – he needs to be fully aware of the potential for this technology!
Jakes heat pump says:
A heat pump can be many things. Geothermal ones don’t add anything negative to the environment.
John Hemingbrough says:
How many heatpumps leak? How much methene leaks from the gas dostribution or is released by poor combustion? Headline grabbing stuff but it needs some numbers to make the case.