Assessing the public acceptability of the use of hydrogen for heating and cooking in the home

Heating and hot water for buildings make up 40% of energy use and 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. These emissions need to be reduced by at least 20% to 2030, with a near complete decarbonisation to 2050, as a contribution to the legally-binding targets set by Parliament under the 2008 Climate Change Act. This reduction requires a combination of improved energy efficiency and a large-scale shift from gas boilers to a low-carbon heating technology. Whilst some options are clear now, such as ensuring that new buildings are low-carbon, injecting biomethane into the grid and the installation of low-carbon heat networks in densely populated urban areas where they are economic, this leaves over 20 million homes currently connected to the gas grid where a solution is needed, as shown in Figure 1.1 The two main options currently known for a switch away from the use of natural gas are electrification through the use of highly efficient heat pumps, or potentially by switching the gas supply over to hydrogen. *** Please see specification for more information ***