The first heat pump and home heat battery storage system has been delivered into a home near Inverness as part of the Re-HEAT project.
The £5 million project, being developed by the Scottish government, SP Energy Networks and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution, aims to install 150 Daikin heat pumps in homes across three local authority areas in Scotland, including 50 in the Highlands.
The project will look to explore options for decarbonised heating systems by using the flexibility of heat pumps and storage to benefit the network.
Smart grid controls and smart heating management will be utilised by the distribution network operators (DNOs) to demonstrate technical solutions to reduce demand on the electricity network using the heating systems and in doing so reduce or remove the need for traditional reinforcement.
Heat batteries in particular could provide an innovative method in the decarbonisation of heating within buildings. Heat batteries are able to store low carbon heat within the battery when complemented within a heat pump. This can help reduce energy costs associated with heating – a crucial development amid the energy crisis and volatility in the wholesale gas market.
“We are delighted to have reached the landmark of installing the first heat pump in a customer’s home and look forward to tracking the benefits to that household over the next couple of winters,” said Rhys Williams, Re-HEAT project manager for Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
“Households with a heat pump and an electric vehicle can have a peak electricity requirement that is twenty times higher than households without these low carbon technologies. It is therefore essential that we manage the transition to net zero technologies as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.”
Re-HEAT has been funded via various schemes, which includes the Scottish government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme, with £1.26 million allocated for the project, along with another £1.2 million from its Home Energy Efficiency Programme for Scotland.
“Our electricity networks are at the heart of the transition to a net zero Scotland, and we recognise the need to take action now to ensure they are able to cope with the significant increase in demand we know we’ll see as more low carbon technology is connected,” said Scott Mathieson, network planning and regulation director at SP Energy Networks.
“We are really pleased to see our Re-HEAT project reach its first significant milestone, kickstarting our work to explore how electricity networks can facilitate the large-scale electrification of heat – which comes at a time when innovative solutions are more critical than ever to ensuring a Just Transition and to enabling us to keep power flowing to our customers and communities.”
In August, Scotland became the “first country in the world” to offer an interest-free loan for homeowners to install heat batteries, according to thermal storage company Sunamp.
The government-backed Home Energy Scotland Loan scheme provides homeowners with an opportunity to incorporate renewable heat systems into their homes.
It is designed to provide an interest-free loan of up to £6,000 that can be secured by private landlords and homeowners who wish to decarbonise their properties and homes by installing heat batteries.
A number of English-based developers have also been exploring electrified heating to both cater for the rising demand in heating costs and reduce carbon emissions from homes. UK Power Networks (UKPN) is one firm that has been exploring this. In early 2021, UKPN set out a roadmap for electrified heating through a trial in Sussex village Barcombe.
The CommuniHeat project involves over 600 households and, with a duration of two years, is aiming to understand how the Sussex village and similar communities can switch to low carbon heating using electricity.
Energy meters have been installed in the village with the data gathered set to offer new insights into how residents currently use energy. With this information, UKPN will be able to run advanced simulations for different approaches to installing low carbon electrical heating.
