Knowledge: Heat pumps
Rollercoaster ride
Despite the recent major fall in the price of oil and gas hogging
all the headlines, John Findlay, managing director of Carbon
Zero Consulting, reminds readers of the futility of gambling on
the temperamental fossil fuel market
ome of the press coverage surrounding plunging global
oil prices has suggested that this might spell the end of
the need for renewables. However, it was only one year
ago that ‘experts’ predicted oil at $200 per barrel. Nobody
forecasted today’s sub- $50 barrel. It would seem that
Saudi Arabia has sufficient funds and such a stable political landscape
that it will aim to continue to produce oil at the $50 level in order to put
pressure on other producers.
S
Carbon Zero Consulting would not
recommend looking to the long term for
an endless supply of cheap fossil fuel
This all amply demonstrates the volatility of the fossil fuel market.
Although many businesses will welcome a temporary reduction in fuel
costs, Carbon Zero Consulting would not recommend looking to the
long term for an endless supply of cheap fossil fuel.
Although heat pumps need electricity to operate, the price of
electricity does not suffer from the same degree of volatility as the
fossil fuel market. The power generators can use a range of sources,
including renewables to hedge their costs.
Although flying in the face of government policy to pursue
a massive increase in the electrification of the nation’s heating;
installation of biomass technologies has far outstripped heat pump
numbers. The number of projects considering ground source heat
pump technology is now starting to rise due in part to degression of
biomass tariffs, the advent of the domestic RHI and upward correction
of the non-domestic RHI.
A well-designed low temperature GSHP scheme provides the
most efficient means to obtain renewable heating – and cooling. Add to
this the benefits of no requirement for fuel delivery or storage, no flue or
on-site emissions and the ability to combine with solar technologies;
the benefits and returns from GSHP installations look very inviting.
As we have seen, the price of oil can change radically in a
matter of weeks. A GSHP is designed to operate for 20 years or more.
The major fuel source for a GSHP is, of course, the ground. A well-
constructed borehole or trenched ground array would still operate in
100 years.
What other technology could claim this? In fact, the UK’s first
‘modern’ closed loop borehole GSHP installation has recently turned
20 years of age with heat pump and borehole still going strong. Some
systems in Sweden are much older than this. Power stations producing
low-carbon electricity to drive heat pumps in every home and business
is how we should see the future in the UK – not hopeful gambling on
the price of oil!
Producing low-carbon electricity to drive
heat pumps in every home and business
is how we should see the future in the UK
High stakes: Why gamble on the fluctuating price of oil over the price
stability offered by a GSHP, argues John Findlay of Carbon Zero Consulting
36 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk