Page 11 - WWU Innovation Report 2019-2020

Approach
The project studied the Welsh capital of Cardiff and simulated the decarbonisation of home heating in a number of different ways.
It showed that using smart-controlled hybrid heating systems – where you pair a boiler with an air source heat pump – can
reduce carbon emissions quicker.
Hybrid installations of this kind use renewable electricity when it is available, and green gas like hydrogen and biomethane when it is not. It also reduces the amount of green gas needed to heat homes, relying on electricity for 80% of the time and on hydrogen or biomethane to meet peak heat demand.
Benefits
The existing gas network is already able to transport various amounts of hydrogen as it has done in the past. If Government mandate that all boilers should be hydrogen-ready, then the conversion process will entail little more than a short visit from a gas engineer.
ost exciting of all is the M“
First rolling out heat pumps for use alongside existing gas boilers (fueled by an increasingly green gas supply) means we can start to decarbonise home heating sooner using existing infrastructure, before switching to hydrogen in the future.
The main findings also show local hydrogen production is a viable and affordable alternative to a national supply. This solution could significantly reduce the amount of hydrogen required to meet Cardiff’s energy demand, simplifying the transport and storage of carbon dioxide from the hydrogen production process.
prospect of producing low-carbon heat; using smart hybrid heat pumps in combination with natural gas in the short-term, with the potential for hydrogen in the long-term.
– Lord Deben, Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC)
Wales & West Utilities Innovation Report 2019/20 | 11