It is being reported that a loophole in the upcoming Future Homes Standard could permit new homes to be equipped with hydrogen-ready gas boilers instead of low carbon alternatives like heat pumps.
The Future Homes Standard, set to come into effect in 2025, states that new homes in England should produce 75-80% less carbon than homes delivered under the old regulations. While the Standard does not explicitly prohibit gas boilers, the mandate to drastically cut carbon has been widely interpreted as a gas ban.
Under the hydrogen loophole, new homes could be fitted with hydrogen-ready boilers on the basis that some day they could run on this low carbon fuel. However, there is currently no hydrogen infrastructure in the UK, which means that these boilers will continue burning gas for the foreseeable future.
UK think tank E3G has highlighted this issue in a letter to the UK Housing Minister, signed by more than 40 organisations, including energy companies, installers, and manufacturers.
The letter states: “100% hydrogen for heating is not yet a tried and tested technology, and unlikely to be available for decades – and even then, unlikely to be economic as a nationwide solution for domestic heat decarbonisation.”
It calls on ministers to ensure that new homes are fit for the future by legislating against new gas grid connections under the Future Homes Standard.
E3G senior policy advisor Juliet Phillips, who organised the letter, comments: “Connecting new built homes to the gas grid, during a gas crisis, is a disaster for energy bills, energy security, and the climate emergency. Experts have repeatedly concluded that hydrogen will not provide a nationwide solution for heat decarbonisation.
“Hydrogen-ready boilers could act as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, allowing new homes to be connected to the gas grid, with little chance they will be supplied with green hydrogen anytime soon. We encourage the government to instead firmly double down on readily available clean tech solutions such as heat pumps.”
Read the letter here.
