Millions of UK homes could successfully switch to low carbon electrified heating whilst easing pressure on the electricity grid by using innovative heat battery technology.
The landmark innovation trial ‘Neat Heat’, led by UK Power Networks in partnership with OVO and tepeo found the switch would significantly help the UK meet its net zero targets by 2050.
Neat Heat ran for 18 months until June, and involved installing tepeo’s Zero Emission Boiler (ZEB) which uses heat battery technology, in 30 homes across the South East and East of England. The findings demonstrated that heat batteries, as an all-electric low carbon alternative to fossil fuel boilers, can shift peak energy demand for heating to off-peak times by up to 95%. This means that homes could be efficiently heated even in the depths of winter, whilst providing substantial carbon savings of 15,600kg CO2 compared to if these homes were using gas boilers instead.
By leveraging thermal storage, homes could ‘charge’ their heating systems outside of the most expensive hours of the day, with heat being released on demand when needed. At launch, the project attracted more than 2,000 registrations of interest for the limited spaces available, evidencing a strong demand from UK customers for new alternatives to fossil fuel heating.
The trial was built around an innovative tariff proposition developed by OVO called a ‘type of use’, giving customers access to a cheaper (than standard) rate to charge their ZEBs. Customers could also set their ZEBs to charge during the cheapest times during the day, making it simple for the customer and enabling flexibility for the grid.
As well as showing 95% of a trialist’s yearly heating demand could be moved outside of peak hours, where demand on the grid was highest, over 90% could be moved in the coldest weeks in winter. All participants experienced no noticeable change to their heating, with the ZEB providing a similar experience as a traditional boiler but powered entirely by electricity.
Green solutions such as the ZEB could play an important role in decarbonising home heating. They are ideal for the estimated over 20% of UK homes which lack the space required for low carbon solutions like heat pumps or where these solutions could prove difficult to retrofit. All homes involved in the trial also benefited from quick installations with minimal disruptions, taking on average one-to-two days. All trialists opted to continue with their new ZEB heating solution rather than reverting to a fossil fuel boiler.
Head of Innovation at UK Power Networks, Luca Grella says, “Being able to move electricity demand away from peak hours is huge, for both our network and customers.
“The more people move to electric heating systems, the more resilient our network will need to be. Shifting demand away from peak hours will reduce the upgrades needed to keep up with the future demand for green technologies, which would ultimately have been paid for by customers across the country. We hope this also opens the door to further low carbon solutions which we know they are keen to adopt.”
For more from UK Power Networks, click here.