Gas utilities have a structural problem in an electrifying economy. Customers can stop using gas one building at a time, while most of the physical network remains in service until enough neighboring customers have left for a section of pipe to be shut down. That distinction matters more as heat … [continued]
Healthy social housing has to provide winter warmth, summer safety and clean indoor air, while retrofit sequencing determines how quickly residents receive those benefits.
“Fabric first” starts from a sensible building-efficiency idea. Improve insulation, stop unnecessary draughts, fix ventilation and reduce heat demand before replacing a gas or oil boiler with a heat pump. Some homes plainly need that work, and cheap measures such as loft insulation, draught repair and basic remediation can be … [continued]
Ireland’s National Heat Study distinguished useful fabric improvements from extensive renovation and found that deep retrofit should not automatically delay replacement of fossil heating.
For several years I have been arguing that “fabric first” becomes a trap when a sensible building-efficiency principle is turned into a universal sequencing rule. Insulation, draught-proofing, ventilation and building repair can all be valuable, sometimes very valuable, but that does not establish that every household should complete extensive renovation … [continued]
Earlier this week, IFA Berlin wrapped up. If there was a consistent theme around clean technology, it was that sustainability is not just one thing, but a diverse range of approaches. Some of the innovations that we focus on in the US have become routine in Germany. Although I had … [continued]
ChatGPT generated this panoramic aerial image of a smart home in a British village, featuring rooftop solar panels, a heat pump, and a BYD EV charging in the driveway
While in Europe recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Nigel Banks of Octopus Energy on the weekly YouTube show Mesh. The channel and parent organization, Mesh Energy, are focused on sustainable energy options for the UK building industry. What follows is a lightly edited transcript of our … [continued]
My guy and I are traveling in eastern Massachusetts this week. It’s oceanfront tourism at its finest: weathered beachfront homes, open-air dining, riding the long and low cool surf. Unusual for the region, heatwaves do have our personal energy levels drooping. The 90 degree dog days seem daunting when we’re … [continued]
Heat pumps are still rare in the UK. A new Visit A Heat Pump program is educating consumers about the new technology.
The number of heat pumps sold in the US is rapidly outpacing the sale of gas furnaces as more people opt for lower energy bills.
The building electrification movement is getting another shot of adrenaline from new energy-efficient heat pump water heater technology.
Balto Energy is on a mission to help homeowners electrify their residences with heat pumps and EV chargers at affordable rates.
