Is heating homes with hydrogen all but a pipe dream?


It takes more than five times the electricity to heat a home with hydrogen than with a heat pump. Hydrogen has higher energy systems costs than heat pumps or solar energy because its production requires a lot of electricity. These were the basic findings of a report published in Joule this week.  Low-carbon and zero-carbon hydrogen has been promoted by gas and heating industry representatives as a key solution to replace especially fossil gas in the distribution grid. It has received significant media attention over the last 2–3 years and featured in some of the many national hydrogen strategies launched recently. An important question is whether the available evidence supports a case for heating homes with hydrogen. The report  analysed 32 independent studies – those that weren’t carried out by or on behalf of the energy industry – and found no evidence supporting widespread hydrogen use for heating. The critical issue is the inefficiency of hydrogen production and consumption. Electrolysis efficiencies are around 80%, and average boiler efficiencies of 85% are typical resulting in an overall efficiency of hydrogen heating of 70%.A heat pump uses one unit of electricity and generates about three to four units of heat. Because of these efficiencies, it takes about five times more electricity to heat a home with hydrogen than it takes to heat the same home with an efficient heat pump, either individually or as part of a district heating network. As a result of this inefficiency, the required build rates for renewables would be extremely challenging as the UK Committee on Climate Change points out.



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