Net-Zero: How Can Housing Providers Respond to the Challenge?

Government Net-Zero Targets

In June 2019, parliament passed legislation requiring the government to reduce the UK’s net emissions of greenhouse gasses by 100% relative to 1990 levels by 2050.

What Does Net-Zero Mean?

Net Zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas* going into the atmosphere and the amount taken out of the atmosphere. We reach net zero when the amount we add is no more than the amount taken away.

*Greenhouse gasses are gasses in Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat. They let sunlight pass through the atmosphere, but they prevent the heat that the sunlight brings from leaving the atmosphere.

Why Is Net-Zero Important?

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, nearly 200 countries pledged to keeping global temperatures “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and “pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius”

But the world has already heated up by about 1.1C and is currently on track for warming of at least 3C this century as emissions continue to rise. Scientists say that would “bring ever-worsening extreme weather and potentially catastrophic sea-level rise, making some parts of the planet uninhabitable and fuelling hunger and migration.”

What Needs To Change In Order To Reach Net Zero?

To reach net-zero, emissions from homes, transport, agriculture, and industry will need to be slashed by reducing the amount of carbon they put into the atmosphere.

The tables below show you how much we all need to reduce emissions, in different areas, to reach net-zero by 2050.

How Can Housing Providers Respond To The Net Zero Challenge?

Heating is one of the most complex environmental challenges facing us, representing up to 30% of the UK’s carbon emissions and one where, together, we can make a real difference.

The journey to net-zero isn’t just about renewable energy, it’s also about changing the way we use that energy in our homes. Reducing the volume of gas households use to power heating and hot water will go a long way to helping us create a more sustainable environment for our planet.

To help in the race to Net Zero, Housing Providers – Local Councils, Housing Associations, Private Landlords, Developers and Builders – will have to start looking at alternative energy sources and innovative domestic heating systems. With the Government’s plan to ban the sale of gas boilers by 2025 less than 3 years away, alternatives such as electric heating and expensive ground and air-source heat pumps will need to be considered and implemented.

In a typical residential household, heating and hot water account for up to 78.4% of the total energy used.

*Source: Eurostat: Energy, transport and environment statistics — 2020 edition

How Enviroheat can help you in your journey to net-zero

Fortunately, help is at hand. Enviroheat has developed a revolutionary technology, HET® (Hydro, Electric, Thermic) with the specific aim of reducing carbon emissions by reducing energy demand in homes. This patented technology, developed by former CERN engineers, uses LESS electricity to produce THE SAME
heat requirement, reducing energy usage and carbon emissions and cutting energy costs for householders to help combat fuel poverty.

By using HET® technology to continue to produce lower-energy heating solutions for the home, Enviroheat can help you in your journey to net-zero with our range of heating, hot water and Smart Home solutions designed to help you heat your homes without heating the planet.

Enviroheat’s Comfort Control Suite, not only allows householders complete control of their heating energy usage – monitoring temperature, humidity, energy consumption and running cost – it also provides invaluable compliance data for Landlords.

Enviroheat’s core range of exceptional products, powered by revolutionary HET technology, to warm your homes sustainably and provide a complete energy management solution for the home. In addition, when tested, our solutions, are more efficient than traditional heating systems, and can help reduce your heating CO2 emissions, on average, by 50.24%.**

With Enviroheat, you will have an innovative and efficient heating & hot water system designed to:

• Be installed quickly and smoothly.
• Reduce fuel bills for residents.
• Produce lower carbon emissions, by more than 50% on average.
• Offer increased control – thanks to data and monitoring reports via the app. Reports can be generated for temperature, energy consumption, humidity and more, allowing householders exceptional control over energy usage and costs.

**Source: University of Salford Technical Report June 2015. CO2e carbon factors adjusted to the latest published figures from BRE.