<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/11/heat-pumps-twice-as-efficient-as-fossil-fuel-systems-in-cold-weather-study-finds>
"Heat pumps are more than twice as efficient as fossil fuel heating systems in
cold temperatures, research shows.
Even at temperatures approaching -30C, heat pumps outperform oil and gas
heating systems, according to the research from Oxford University and the
Regulatory Assistance Project thinktank.
Heat pump uptake is rising in many countries as fossil fuel energy prices have
soared following the invasion of Ukraine and as governments seek to reach net
zero greenhouse gas emissions.
But the UK has lagged far behind. France, for instance, installs 10 times as
many heat pumps as the UK, where many people are unfamiliar with them and
doubts about their efficacy have been widely publicised. Reports have spread
that they do not work well in low temperatures despite their increasing use in
Scandinavia and other cold climates.
The research, published in the specialist energy research journal Joule, used
data from seven field studies in North America, Asia and Europe. It found that
at temperatures below zero, heat pumps were between two and three times more
efficient than oil and gas heating systems.
The authors said the findings showed that heat pumps were suitable for almost
all homes in Europe, including the UK, and should provide policymakers with the
impetus to bring in new measures to roll them out as rapidly as possible.
Dr Jan Rosenow, the director of European programmes at the Regulatory
Assistance Project and co-author of the report, said: “There has been a
campaign spreading false information about heat pumps [including casting doubt
on whether they work in cold weather]. People [in the UK] don’t know much about
heat pumps, so it’s very easy to scare them by giving them wrong information.”
The
Guardian and the investigative journalism organisation DeSmog recently
revealed that lobbyists associated with the gas boiler sector had attempted to
delay a key government measure to increase the uptake of heat pumps."
Via Christoph S.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
