This week Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Britain will be cutting carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, which will require fundamental change to the way the country’s homes are heated.
Commenting on the announcement, Iain Bevan, commercial manager – Heating & Renewables at Daikin UK, said: “Fifteen percent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions come from our homes because of oil and gas usage. If we’re to meet the government’s new 2035 target, the task of decarbonising domestic heating is an urgent one.
“Heat pumps are a well-established technology that can be immediately and efficiently implemented across the UK to substantially reduce carbon emissions. And, because heat pumps are so efficient, they produce 45% fewer carbon emissions compared to a gas boiler, and 59% fewer than an oil boiler – a reduction of up to 43.5 tonnes of carbon emissions per home over the system’s lifetime.
“We must be mindful though that there is a significant job still to do in supporting professionals within the sector to meet the demands of scaling up the installation of renewable heating systems. For the heat pump market alone, we estimate around 17,000 new installers are required to meet the expected demand within the next 10 years, so providing high quality training opportunities is essential.
“At Daikin, we are already providing top quality training that is available for free as part of the Sustainable Home Network. This will play a significant role in developing a highly-skilled workforce that will be vital in supporting the government’s plans to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions.”