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4 steps to make heating more climate friendly

Learn more about Daikin's contribution

  • How can the heating system in your home curb the climate change? 
  • How can sustainable solutions contribute to Europe’s ambitious CO2 reduction goals?
  • Which steps are needed to transform the heating business and avoid the use of fossil fuels such as coal or oil?

Recently (April 2021), the European Commission raised the goal of CO2 emission cuts from 40% to 55% by 2030. This agreement is an important step towards Europe’s goal to become climate neutral by 2050. It is ambitious, but achievable if fully supported by politics, industries and consumers. Making the heating sector more sustainable can have a major impact for this strategy. Daikin is ready to contribute to Europe’s renovation wave with environmental friendly solutions, especially with its heat pump technologies.

ISH Digital 2021 - Webinar: Ready for the renovation wave - A heat pump in every home (Hervé Pierret, Daikin)

Benefits of heat pumps

What’s the potential of heat pumps today?

  • The environmental friendly solution is the default heating system in Sweden1
  • In some European countries2 heat pumps represent 50% of the market share in new builds
  • Heat pumps have also been a proven solution for home renovations since decades
  • Efficiency of heat pumps continues to rise

According to a recent study3, where a large number of heat pumps used in renovation projects are monitored, 20-25% seasonal efficiency improvement is measured during the last 10 years. Home owners can enjoy heat pumps without replacing existing radiators. Insulation improvement during renovation is beneficial, but not mandatory.

Data for monitoring of the heat pumps used in renovation projects
1 International Energy Agency, Sweden country profile, consulted 14 September 2020, https://www.iea.org/countries/sweden
2 Hydrogen in the energy system of the future: focus on heat in buildings, consulted 10 May 2021, 
https://www.iee.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/iee/energiesystemtechnik/en/documents/Studies-Reports/FraunhoferIEE_Study_H2_Heat_in_Buildings_final_EN_20200619.pdf
3 How well do heat pumps really work in existing buildings?, https://blog.innovation4e.de/en/2021/03/03/how-well-do-heat-pumps-really-work-in-existing-buildings/

4 steps to decarbonize residential heat​ing

4 steps to decarbonize residential heat​ing

Following the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), EU member states have already put measures in place to ensure that new built houses and apartments have a better carbon performance. 

This is achieved through:

  • an improved building envelope and
  • mandatory use of renewable energy

Daikin estimates that heat pumps already have up to 50 % market share in new (single family) houses. However, there is still a need for phasing out polluting heating systems from the market.

Since January 2020 Austria no longer allows oil-based boilers to be installed in new homes and new built houses in the Netherlands are all off-gas-grid from 2020 onwards. UK also has announced that by 2025, all new homes will be banned from installing gas and oil boilers and will instead be heated by low-carbon alternatives.

Benefits of hydronic heat pumps

A considerable additional benefit of hydronic heat pumps is the ability to use it for cooling as well as heating, which is more and more becoming a consumer requirement.

This is partly due to the climate change effect, but also because of the higher insulation level in new built houses. In a standard set-up, when a boiler is installed, a second HVAC system needs to be installed in case cooling is desired. A reversible hydronic heat pump provides heating and cooling in one system, thereby benefiting from a single investment.

1. Strengthen new build rules on energy use

The replacement rate has to be doubled from 1% to 2% by 2030 as the replacement of old systems by more energy-efficient ones will naturally lead to emission cuts.

EU citizens have to be motivated to choose renewable solutions by showing them comprehensible reasons why renewable heating systems, like heat pumps, are efficient, cost-effective and reliable solutions.

In Central & Eastern Europe attractive incentives and subsidies are offered to home owners for upgrading their heating systems and/or building their homes with heat pumps.

  • Austria: Heating renovation incentive for existing oil & gas heating replacement with heat pump
  • Bulgaria: Loans and investment incentives through local participating banks for energy efficiency home improvements
  • Hungary: Home renovation subsidy including heating renovation with heat pumps
  • Czech Republic: Fund focused on energy savings in family and apartment houses including heat pump (new build & renovation)
  • Croatia: Incentive given after a proof of 60% energy efficiency improvement, targeting home renovations incl. heat pump applications
  • Romania: Incentive to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing energy consumption and the use of renewable sources
  • Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia: Loan pay-back for home renovations including heat pump applications.
  • Slovakia: Incentive for upgrading heat system with renewable energy source or installation of renewable energy generator
  • Slovenia: Incentive for environmentally friendly home renovation investments including heat pump applications.

 

2. Increase the replacement rate

Due to direct or indirect incentives oil or gas-based boilers are today still cheaper than heat pumps.

Also, the gap between electricity and gas prices in many EU member states is too high to make heat pumps accessible for all EU citizens. A level playing field is also needed for renewable technologies.

In the short term, government incentives can help accelerate the transition to carbon-neutral heating and make heat pumps accessible to all Europeans. But in the longer run only more balanced energy prices and a correct indication of the energy and carbon performance of a building will motivate end consumers to invest in energy efficient technologies.

3. End fossil fuel incentives

Overall, renewable heating via heat pumps represents only 10% of all heating systems installed annually in Europe1.

This contrasts sharply with the EU Commission’s ambitious 2030 target: a 40% penetration of renewables in heating and cooling2.

Thereby, transforming residential heating has to become a joint effort of politics, the HVAC-R industry, the building sector and last but not least the consumers.

Daikin invests heavily in the design and technology of heat pumps which makes them increasingly capable of delivering high efficiencies, even at lower outdoor temperatures. Heat pumps will therefore become the climate-friendly heating system of choice for not only single family or multi-family homes, but also for small and large commercial buildings or industrial applications. Making the installation as simple as possible by well thought out design is an additional benefit of Daikin solutions.

1EHPA market report, https://www.ehpa.org/market-data/
2State of the Union, Heating and cooling renewable systems penetration, consulted 05 May 2021, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_20_1598
4. Make renewable heating standard in replacement

Find out more about the European Green Deal:

European Green Deal

Renovate your home with Daikin:

Home renovation solutions

Discover our heating solutions

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