Mitsubishi Electric has welcomed the Government’s release of another £940 million for Phase 4 of the Public Sector Decarbonization Fund to help Local Authorities remove gas heating from their buildings.
As the UK’s largest heat pump manufacturer, Mitsubishi Electric is now calling on the Government to look at similar initiatives to help reduce carbon in the private sector.
Heat pumps and low-carbon heating
Since 2020, the Public Sector Decarbonization Fund has made over £3.6 billion available to help decarbonize schools, libraries, town halls, and other public buildings, and this has led to many examples of gas heating being replaced with low-carbon renewable heating and hot water systems.
While a lot of media focus has rightly been on converting the 1.6 million residential gas boilers sold each year to heat pumps and low-carbon heating, the Public Sector Decarbonization Fund highlights the significant opportunity that commercial buildings can deliver.
Modern heat pump technology
“There are over 2 million ‘non-domestic’ buildings in the UK and they are responsible for around 18% of the UK’s carbon emissions, so we are calling on the Government to look at how they can support commercial businesses in moving away from gas,” comments Chris Newman, Zero Carbon Design Manager for Mitsubishi Electric.
Modern heat pump technology offers high water flow temperatures and equipment efficiencies, which means that more and more buildings are finding it easier to make the switch to low-carbon renewable heating and hot water systems.
Net-zero targets
“We know that the Government is already looking at trying to balance the price difference between electricity and gas,” said Chris Newman, adding “It may be time to also look at other incentives to help businesses decarbonize their buildings which will help the UK drive towards our legally binding net zero targets.”