Sharing is caring

When it comes to low-carbon commercial heating system design, collaboration is the name of the game, according to Richard Brown, Head of Specification at Ideal Heating Commercial.

The UK Climate Change Committee published its Seventh Carbon Budget in February 2025, identifying the replacement of gas boilers with heat pumps in homes and businesses as essential if we are to meet net zero in 2050. The transition away from fossil fuels to low-carbon heating systems, predominantly in the form of heat pumps powered by electricity, represents a significant period of adjustment for the heating industry and those working in the built environment – especially consulting and design engineers.

While change can be good, and necessary in this scenario, it can also create uncertainty about learning new technologies and adapting skillsets. For installers of commercial heating systems, it will require product training on heat pumps and associated equipment. For system designers, there’s a learning curve because there’s no like-for-like replacement of a gas boiler for a heat pump. For example, as appliances move from inside to outside it brings considerations such as where to locate units so they can perform most effectively, yet remain discreet and be easily accessible for maintenance (there is also the noise consideration).

There are also hybrid systems to consider (while we are transitioning from gas to electricity) where heat pumps work alongside boilers providing a ‘top up’ during times when there is high demand or when external temperatures are particularly low, so products must be compatible and work efficiently together.

Fast forward

Collaboration between manufacturers and design engineers can simplify this transition. Both product managers and specification managers within manufacturing companies have invaluable practical knowledge covering the full range of commercial heating solutions, and are able to apply that to assist engineers with finding the best heating solution for their project. The only effective way we’re going to meet our net-zero obligations and decarbonise heating is for the industry to start talking more and sharing our knowledge.

An example of this is Ysgol Tir Morfa Community School in Rhyl, North Wales. As part of its plan to become carbon neutral by 2030, Denbighshire County Council identified it as a property that could easily transition to heat pumps. Ideal Heating Commercial was involved at an early stage to support both the council’s Property Section Energy Team and its contractor GGS Heating. Its experts visited the site and provided guidance on system design for maximum efficiency of the air-source heat pumps, which are partly being powered by solar PV. It also provided GGS Heating with training to enable it to successfully install heat pumps, thus upskilling the local supply chain.

With the push towards net zero and the changes to Building Regulations Part L, which require improved energy efficiency and lower network temperatures, the sharing of sector knowledge has never been more important. Engineers who collaborate with manufacturers at an early stage of their project have a head start. The more we share, the faster we can move forward.

For more, visit idealcommercialboilers.com

Ideal Heating Commercial’s CIBSE-approved CPD ‘Surveying the modern plant room – from boilers to heat pumps’ provides advice on the various stages involved in surveying a plant room, as well as modern, energy-efficient plant room retrofits using heat pumps. Visit b.link/ICB_CPD

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