Abstract
Heat pumps play a central role in decarbonising the UK's buildings sector as part of the Committee on Climate Change's (CCC) updated abatement scenario for meeting the UK's fourth carbon budget. However, the UK has one of the least developed heat pump markets in Europe and renewable heat output from heat pumps will need to increase by a factor of 50 over the next 15 years to be in line with the scenario. Therefore, this paper explores what lessons the UK might learn from Finland to achieve this aim considering that its current level of heat pump penetration is comparable with that outlined in the CCC scenario for 2030. Despite the two countries’ characteristic differences we argue they share sufficient similarities for the UK to usefully draw some policy-based lessons from Finland including: stimulating new-build construction and renovation of existing stock; incorporating renewable heat solutions in building energy performance standards; and bringing the cost of heat pumps in-line with gas fired heating via a combination of subsidies, taxes and energy RD&D. Finally, preliminary efforts to grow the heat pump market could usefully focus on properties unconnected to the gas-grid, considering these are typically heated by relatively expensive oil or electric heating technologies.
Highlights
The UK has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 80%, relative to 1990 levels by 2050 (CCC, 2015)
By comparing the level of heat pump penetration in Finland today (Section 3.3) to that outlined in the Committee on Climate Change (CCC)'s UK 2030 updated abatement scenario we find a number of similarities
Whilst the UK's and Finland's energy sectors exhibit some fundamental characteristic differences we argue that they share sufficient similarities to warrant a comparison to transfer some valuable lessons from Finland to help accelerate UK heat pump deployment
Summary
The UK has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 80%, relative to 1990 levels by 2050 (CCC, 2015). Decarbonisation of heat sits at the centre of the fourth carbon budget considering that in 2012 direct emissions from heat consumption in buildings accounted for approximately 12% of total UK GHGs, (CCC, 2013c). These emissions are expected to fall by half under the 4th carbon budget, falling from 91 MTCO2e in 2012 to 46 MTCO2e by 2030 (CCC, 2013c).
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