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SOLAR AND HEAT PUMPS:

UNHAPPY BEDFELLOWS

awareness and understanding, an
ignorance of facts or sometimes even
a face-saving side-lining of the truth
to maintain a long held position – or
perhaps even a combination of all
these things.
What’s the point? What am I getting
at? Well, let me give you a simple
example. Taking an averages approach
will point to action to install heat
pumps and install solar panels to
supply electricity to the heat pump. It’s
presented as a magic circle of being
energy independent for your heating
needs. Sadly, what people will then find
out over time reveals that the seasonal
differences in supply and demand are
mismatched, or diametrically opposed.
Gas supply in the UK across each
year shows a swing of demand driven
by heating our homes in the winter.
Electricity supply from solar panels also
has a swing across the seasons, with a
peak in the summer and a trough in late
autumn through to early spring. The
glaring miscalculation of pairing these
technologies together is that they are
anti-correlated.
The solar panels will barely supply
IGEM CEO Ollie Lancaster looks at why the law of averages any electricity for heat demand. Wind
could be leading local authorities astray when it comes to performs much better across the
planning their energy strategies for a low carbon future year and works well in winter, which
makes it a much better bedfellow for
here’s a bit of an issue when come from. Unfortunately, a lot of the heat demand – whether to power heat
looking at how to heat our homes time, we’ll find that local authorities pumps or electrolysis for hydrogen
today and in the future – and no, are developing their net zero plans boilers. Making the error of installing
I’m not talking about the boring with rather, shall I say, ambitious solar panels for heat pumps will result
T row between hydrogen and heat target dates set by politicians. Cue in underutilised generation assets and
pumps. It’s where thinking falls down an uninformed consultancy to win a a need for additional investment in
at the boundary of a building without race-to-the-bottom contract that tells different electricity generation, such
looking upwards and outwards into the them the actions they need to do, with as wind. We must also not forget the
energy system to see whether a good really impressive infographics, to clean investment in back-up generation
idea actually works in reality. up energy within their local or regional capacity for those periods of dark lulls –
It’s easy to think that one seemingly boundary. These actions then get known by the wonderful German word
good thing plus another seemingly good lapped up and adopted as a strategy. ‘Dunkelflaute’. More on Dunkelflaute
thing equals a seemingly really good So, what is a big mistake that keeps conditions another time.
thing. But, when not tested to see if this being made? It’s the painful use of Working on the back of the
actually works, we’re left with sales averages. Average energy demand proverbial fag packet can bring about
tactics leading customers astray with of a home across a year. Average some decent ideas, but they need
solutions packaged up as frontier, when electricity a home can generate across turning over to challenge and work
actually it’s investment that’s leaving a year. Average carbon intensities of on them a bit more to find out if they
them without what they wanted. grid electricity across a year. Average hold promise, or if they’re a dead end.
A big problem is the making of efficiency of a heat pump across a year Solar and heat pumps together are
some basic assumptions about when (SCOP). Behind thinking like that sits doomed for divorce at the bottom of a
we want our energy and where it can a lot of nonsense, mixed up with poor disappointing cul-de-sac.

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