Heat Pumps in Our Homes

Despite the many benefits that humanity has obtained by burning fossil fuels, the impact of the concomitant emissions of carbon dioxide has created a grave climate crisis. Fortunately, in recent years, the energy landscape has been transformed, with renewable generation technologies now being the cheapest way to make electricity. Wind and solar generation, used alongside conventional nuclear generation, make it possible to produce electricity with zero proximate emissions of carbon dioxide. By electrifying as many processes as possible, we can ‘de-carbonise’ processes that previously used fossil fuels.
Applying this ‘electrify everything’ principle to heating, heat pumps offer us the chance to electrify – and hence de-carbonise – our heating in both domestic and industrial settings. The energy and cost savings available are so large that the widespread use of heat pumps is inevitable. 

In this talk Michael de Podesta will outline how heat pumps work, how homes work, and how heat pumps work in homes to replace a gas or oil boiler. Do come along with questions!

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Michael de Podesta retired in 2020 after a career as a Physics lecturer (Birkbeck and UCL) and a measurement scientist (NPL). Since retiring he has devoted his time and life savings to attempt to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide he emits each year. As part of these efforts, his own home is heated with a heat pump which he monitors every two minutes 24/7/365. He writes a blog at http://protonsforbreakfast.org.