With ongoing plans for the UK to reach carbon neutral by 2050, there has been a growing number of concerns for the heating industry. Traditional heating of homes and businesses using gas is understandably a major producer of dioxide carbon, thus likely to know some major changes over the coming years. The growing demand for electric heating and renewable energy is already a sign that the times are changing, and most new builds are already ditching traditional methods of heating. In this post we’ll explore the current challenges of the heating industry and what the future may look like.
Will gas heating be banned?
In order to achieve the target of net zero, the government has announced that gas boilers would be banned from new builds from 2025. Many constructors are not waiting for the deadline and many new builds are already opting for alternate methods of heating, be it electric heating or heat pumps – particularly suited to large business premises.
Is this the death of the heating sector?
More than an obstacle, many businesses in the heating industry are seeing these changes as opportunities. The heating market isn’t dying, it is evolving. As the UK phases out of gas heating, this leaves plenty of opportunities to expand to other areas of the market, including electric, solar panels, heat pumps, geothermal heating and infrared.
These technologies are readily available in the UK, and while most tend to think that they are more expensive, the growing demand for these is likely to decrease the overall cost as these ‘new’ methods of heating become more mainstream. Businesses that used to be more niche will likely know exponential growth as businesses (and homeowners) turn to these alternate methods of heating.
Going electric
Electric heating is currently one of the most readily available methods of heating. It’s easy to install and can be found at most retailers. There’s a large choice of styles, sizes and materials (even traditional cast iron radiators have their all-electric versions now). Electricity is much more environmentally friendly than gas heating and can even work alongside renewable energy sources, which makes it an energy source of choice for new builds, likely to opt for electric heating.
Large businesses and premises, however, could find an all-electric system costly. Heatpumps are a great choice for heating/cooling and again, this technology is already available.
Marketing and consumer education
The fact that these technologies are available, yet still unknown by the majority of the public, show that there has been a lack of marketing that will need to increase over the next years. The UK government is likely to run campaigns around the Carbon Neutral goals and any new legislation, but it’s also up to individual businesses in the industry to ensure that the market is aware of the different options available.
Early adopters also tend to have a better chance of faring well and imposing themselves as sector leaders, so retailers and manufacturers would do well to get ahead of legislative changes, rather than wait until they are forced out by law.
There are many exciting changes coming for the heating industry, and while it isn’t entirely certain yet which direction the market will take, we are likely to see an increase in demand for electric, renewable energy while new technologies are being developed.