Say Hy to Hydrogen
Published: 12-07-2021
As we move closer to net zero 2050, hydrogen may play a major role in the future of home heating.
Hydrogen-ready boilers are being included in public discussions, trialled in several test sites, and considered by many European countries as one of the most promising routes to decarbonisation.
Indeed, many countries are now looking at removing gas, oil, LPG, and coal in its current form to replace it with zero or low carbon alternatives such as hydrogen.
Considering that approximately 23% of the UK’s carbon emissions come from domestic use including hot water and heating, it is a key area to address if we are to achieve government targets.
In the UK, the two technologies best positioned to replace gas and oil in its current form are heat pumps and hydrogen-ready boilers, with the latter likely being the most practicable for existing homes.
Trial sites such as those at Keele University, Winlaton, and Fife, have shown hydrogen-ready boiler prototypes to run safely on a 20% hydrogen and natural gas blend.
When hydrogen likely becomes available in the 2030s, all boilers manufactured since the early 2000s will be able to be easily adapted to run hydrogen, taking an hour of an engineer’s time. So ultimately a hydrogen-ready boiler could be converted to run on 100% hydrogen and help the government achieve decarbonisation targets in existing homes.
This means that it may be possible to achieve a smooth transition to hydrogen in our homes, as hydrogen-ready boilers are installed just like a regular boiler and are therefore a great option for replacement of the 17 million natural gas combi-boilers in homes across the UK.
Alternative technologies such as heat pumps do not offer the same ease of installation into existing homes, making them more suited to new build properties.
With the possibilities shown by hydrogen blends comes the indication of a clear path towards net zero 2050. Hydrogen-blended boilers act as an intermediary step, offering an effective low-carbon solution until conversion to 100% hydrogen is possible.
Ultimately, hydrogen offers a great solution to the future heating of homes and would help government targets become achievable with little change for the homeowner.
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