15 October 2015: New study by those excellent boffins at Ecofys for European insulation trade body Eurima which highlights that “Beyond the main benefits of energy efficiency, such as reduced energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency in buildings also has the potential to reduce costs and increase efficiency on the supply side. “
Why would that be the case? It’s due to the amount of heating that is anticipated to shift from gas to electricity (boilers to heat pumps) over the coming decades:
“The expected growth of electric heat pumps to supply heating (and cooling) energy to the EUs building stock will require significant investments in electricity production capacities and a respective strengthening of the grid. These investments can be reduced by energy efficiency measures that lead to a decrease in the energy demand of buildings.
Highly efficient buildings are thereby beneficial for the power systems in two ways: by reducing the energy demand and by providing a higher flexibility to the grid. The study found that in a high efficiency scenario, 57 GW in peak load can be saved compared to a low efficiency scenario by the year 2050, which equals the current total electricity production capacity of Austria and the Netherlands combined. The impact of energy efficiency on the flexibility of the power systems leads to an additional reduction in peak load of the EU power system of around 12 GW.”
So – as increasing electrification occurs – ensuring London’s buildings are better insulated would reduce energy bills, decrease carbon emissions, help with grid stability – AND also offset increased spend on new electricity distribution infrastructure (new investment for cables/transformers to carry this electricity – reducing the need to dig up roads!).
N.B. The government’s 2011 Carbon Plan first set out a vision how the UK might shift more of its heat sector from gas (and transport sector from oil – through the introduction of electric vehicles) to be fuelled by electricity. Both the heat pump and EV sector have, however, progressed much slower than the government had predicted. In contrast, the Carbon Plan is almost silent on solar PV, where of course there has been a huge take up.