UK Inquiry Tracker

Technological Innovations and Climate Change: Heat Pumps

Environmental Audit Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 12 Oct 2020 Closed: 26 Nov 2020 Parliament page

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has today announced that it will look at electrical, gas and hybrid heat pumps, marking the next phase of its Technological Innovation and Climate Change inquiry. Heat pumps transport heat from one location (such as the air outside) to another (such as a hot water … Read more The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has today announced that it will look at electrical, gas and hybrid heat pumps, marking the next phase of its Technological Innovation and Climate Change inquiry. Heat pumps transport heat from one location (such as the air outside) to another (such as a hot water system inside) using a small amount of external energy, which is often electricity. The technology could play a major role in decarbonising heat, which in domestic, industrial and commercial settings currently accounts for over a third of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. The Committee on Climate Change has said that to meet the commitment to reach net-zero by 2050, 19 million heat pumps will need to be installed and that hybrid heat pumps should be widely used by 2035. The Prime Minister has recently spoken on the role ground-source heat pumps could play in the ‘green industrial revolution’, and in its report, 80% of Climate Assembly UK members agreed that heat pumps should play a role in getting the UK to net-zero. However, there are current limitations to rolling out the technology. For example, heat pumps are currently more expensive that conventional options such as gas-fired boilers. A report, published last week by the UK Energy Research Centre, highlighted record sales of gas boilers last year, with current rates suggesting it will take 700 years for the UK to move to low-carbon heating. Electrical grids would also need to be significantly expanded to facilitate the extra capacity that electric heat pumps would require. Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Philip Dunne, said: “If the UK is to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, we need to accelerate the rolling out of technologies that can get us there. The purpose of the Committee’s work in this area is to examine whether new, low-carbon technologies can keep the lights on and our homes warm. “Heat pumps are playing an increasingly significant role in decarbonising heat in other countries. I look forward to the Committee examining why this has yet to take off across the UK, hearing from the sector on whether rolling out heat pumps is feasible at scale and what barriers exist to wider adoption. We hope our findings can help inform the Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy as it pioneers the course of the new Green Industrial Revolution.” The Committee will be considering these issues, and more, before sharing its findings and recommendations with Government on the role heat pumps can play in reaching net-zero. Read the call for evidence for more information about this inquiry . Show less

1 Oral session

2 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 4 events

8 Feb
2021

Correspondence

BEIS to Chair regarding heat pump installations, 29 January 2021

21 Dec
2020

Correspondence

Chair to BEIS regarding heat pumps, 21 December

25 Nov
2020

Oral evidence

Panel 1

25 Nov
2020

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual

Tech innovations and climate change: Heat pumps

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

25 Nov 2020

View on parliament.uk

Panel 1

Dr Howard Porter · BEAMA Ltd Dr Jan Rosenow · The Regulatory Assistance Project Emma Pinchbeck · Energy UK Randolph Brazier · Energy Networks Association

Correspondence 2 letters

8 Feb 2021 BEIS to Chair regarding heat pump installations, 29 January 2021

Parliament page

21 Dec 2020 Chair to BEIS regarding heat pumps, 21 December

Parliament page