Air conditioning - the blind spot in the UK’s heat decarbonisation strategy?
Demand for cooling systems is expected to rise as summers become hotter in the UK.
Lack of focus on cooling may result in missed opportunities - there are significant synergies between the decarbonisation of heat and cooling systems.
The case for energy efficiency has never been stronger
Improving energy efficiency is one of the most immediate solutions to rising energy bills and to concerns around security of supply. Improving the efficiency of our homes could reduce our heating bills by around 20% and reduce our dependency on foreign gas. The business case for energy efficiency is better now than ever before.
Is the Government doing enough to drive the uptake of heat pumps?
Heat pumps are expected to play a key role in decarbonising heat. As part of its 2021 Heat and Buildings Strategy, the UK Government introduced an ambitious target of 600,000 installations per year by 2028, and has unlocked significant funding to support this ambition. Yet, heat pump uptake remains slow – annual installations amount to only around 35,000 heat pumps.