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What the boiler ban means for new builds
Due to their reliance on fossil fuels, gas boilers have been at the forefront of parliamentary discussion, with plans to restrict their distribution by 2025. The International Energy Agency (IEA) goes one step further by suggesting it should be illegal to distribute gas boilers after 2025. This comes amid new concerns that gas emissions will have to half by 2030 in order to hit net zero by 2050, and in the hopes that all electricity will be emission free by 2040. However, this has not been confirmed and, for now, the boiler ban will only affect certain homes. Mark Glasgow, managing director of the Edinburgh Boiler Company, said: “Despite the IEA encouraging a full ban, it is still legal to buy and install gas boilers in your home, providing it is not a newly built domestic structure. This means that newly built homes, or homes built after 2025, will not be able to install gas boilers. “The UK government’s Future Home Standard campaign will require new homes to be built with the environment in mind, opting for carbon-conscious heating rather than harmful gas components. In fact, the campaign aims for new homes to reduce carbon emissions by 75-80% compared to ones built earlier. Therefore, if you’re planning to build a home before 2025, you will be allowed to install a gas boiler. However, if you plan to build your home any later than 2025, you will not be permitted to do this and you’ll need to start thinking about a new source of heating.” Other heating sources include electric boilers, heat pumps, and hydrogen boilers; here’s a brief look at each of them:
Electric boilers
Electric boilers allow your home to be heated without the use of unnecessary fossil fuels. If you’re looking for an alternative to gas boilers, electric boilers are already in distribution, so they could be the best option for you. Although electric boilers are already in use, it would be illogical to assume they are the sole solution to the carbon crisis. It is unlikely that the electrical grid could facilitate every domestic gas user in the nation. Whole electrical
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networks would need a considerable amount of upgrading, and this would be very time-consuming and costly for the UK government.
Heat pumps
Heat pumps extract heat from the air and the ground. This is then distributed around your home using electricity. To encourage people to switch to heat pumps, the government is subsidising the machines by £5,000. This will be a part of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme that will start in April 2022. Despite their many benefits, heat pumps can be expensive to buy, install, and run. Moreover, their efficiency is dependent on the level of insulation in your home. Therefore, if you do not plan ahead, you may need to undergo some construction work to appreciate the benefits of heat pumps.
Hydrogen boilers
Hydrogen, a man-made gas, may be the carbon-free solution we are searching for. However, it is important to distinguish the difference between grey, blue, and green hydrogen. Grey hydrogen is made when natural gas or fossil fuels are split into carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The carbon dioxide is then emitted into the earth’s atmosphere, and so it is not an environmentally-friendly solution. Blue hydrogen is produced in the same way as grey hydrogen, but the excess carbon dioxide is stored underground. Green hydrogen is made when water is split into hydrogen and oxygen. This process is known as electrolysis, which is powered by solar energy. It emits no carbon dioxide and is much more environmentally-friendly than other processes. Overall, the hydrogen boiler seems to be the most logical transition from fossil fuel to green energy. Engineers would be partially equipped to deal with hydrogen boilers, and only a small amount of training would be necessary. As well as this, scientists within the UK have already explored the possibility that that hydrogen could replace fossil fuels.
New legislation means that from this year, newly built homes and offices in England will have to be fitted with electric vehicle chargers.
38 Life in... Orpington January 2022
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