'Greening' of heating on the agenda

By Roger Harrabin BBC environment analyst

Wood stoves able to heat a whole house are a topic of discussion

Energy experts are meeting to generate new ideas for the "greening" of heating, which produces 47% of the UK's CO2 emissions.

Heating, the Cinderella of the energy debate, consumes 49% of final energy in the UK but attracts a tiny fraction of the publicity afforded to electricity generation and transport.

The government will shortly launch a consultation for a heat strategy.

Meanwhile, the public-private Energy Research Partnership has been debating how to improve security of supply of heating whilst cutting carbon emissions and keeping heat affordable.

More than 80% of home heating is provided by gas, which is subject to volatile prices.

The experts are considering how much low-carbon heat could be gained from super-efficient wood stoves or from biogas from rotting waste.

'Smart' grid

The meeting brought together the Energy Technologies Institute and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Combined heat and power (CHP) was on the agenda.

In Nordic countries, a third of heating is provided by waste heat from electricity generation - the process saves about 20% of the greenhouse gas emissions.

The government wants to keep the price of heating low so the poorest can afford it but most experts believe the price of heating will have to rise to reflect its environmental damage

CHP has lagged in the UK despite the obvious attractions of not having to install gas central heating in homes near power stations where cooling towers are turning waste heat into useless steam.

Problems with CHP need to be overcome. The infrastructure is expensive and CHP locks households into a single heat supplier, which conflicts with government policies to promote competition.

It is also pointless super-insulating homes at great expense if they are to be served by low-cost waste heat which would otherwise go up a cooling tower.

The government wants major heat users like hospitals and prisons to install CHP boilers but schemes are often hampered by difficulty getting connected to the electricity grid.

This would be helped if Conservative plans for a "smart" grid could be realised.

Heat from low-carbon electricity sources like renewables and nuclear is up for discussion, too.

Electric heating allows people to calibrate their home heating with timers and thermostats in every room ensuring that space is heated only when the heat is needed.

Gas central heating by comparison typically warms bedrooms all day round. Either people don't have thermostatic valves or don't use them.

Most households don't have smart control panels - or don't have the requisite degree in advanced button-pushing often needed to use them.

Improving insulation

Demand for heating will be an issue.

The Treasury has assumed for decades that people will make rational choices to insulate their homes in order to save money but still the UK's housing stock is among the least efficient in Europe and many experts believe the government will need more decisive policies to improve insulation.

A thermostat for each room could be a way to cut CO2

Prices are another issue.

The government wants to keep the price of heating low so the poorest can afford it but most experts believe the price of heating will have to rise to reflect its environmental damage and to persuade people to insulate their homes.

The experts say the government would need to protect the poor from higher prices.

Communication will be a problem.

One way to save heat energy is by fiddling with the thermostat on your hot water tank until you find the optimum temperature for storing water - not too hot, not too cold - just right.

It is simple and painless, but it is hard to promote if many people have no idea of where to find that thermostat.