Hydrogen-ready boilers are great for future-proofing, here's why
Hydrogen-ready boilers are the future for commercial properties. To help you discover why, we’ve outlined what hydrogen-ready boilers are, the benefits they provide and a timeline of when they may come into force.
What are hydrogen-ready boilers?
A hydrogen-ready boiler is a gas-fired heating boiler that is capable of burning either natural gas or pure hydrogen.
Hydrogen-ready boilers are intended to provide a like-for-like replacement for existing natural gas boilers. The boiler can be quickly and easily converted to burn hydrogen at the time when the local network switches over.
Hydrogen-ready boilers: future proof commercial boilers
The world is looking to move away from carbon. However, the existing heating structure means that the majority of UK homes and businesses use natural gas for heating.
But, it’s clear that the UK will not meet its climate change targets without a change in heating technology and fuel. Due to this, replacing natural gas boilers with hydrogen gas may be the simplest solution to the nation’s heating problems. The only by-product of burning hydrogen gas is water, meaning that it is a carbon free fuel source and could be a key method to help decarbonise heating and hot water.
When hydrogen is introduced into the gas network, it will be phased in slowly. Currently, the HyDeploy programme is testing the effects of using a blend of hydrogen and natural gas. With 20% hydrogen and 80% natural gas, no alterations would need to be made to the majority of UK boilers, so the change could come in almost instantly. Their current aim is to achieve this by 2025.
When will gas boilers be replaced by hydrogen?
The government recently announced that gas boilers will be banned in new-build properties from 2025.
However, there isn’t currently a working boiler that uses 100% hydrogen. Due to this, although hydrogen boilers will eventually replace gas boilers, it’s likely to be a slow process.
Industry experts believe that the introduction of the 20% blend will happen in the next few years, but that the switch to 100% hydrogen may not happen until between 2040 and 2050. However, the slow pace of change will mean that adaption should be a painless process.
Why think of making the switch now?
If you buy a new boiler for your commercial property today, then it’s likely it will use natural gas for all its working lifetime.
But, if you switch to a hydrogen-ready boiler, you’ll find that your business can quickly adapt to greener and cheaper solutions. If you have a boiler that’s ready for the change to come, you’ll be able to quickly switch to lower costs and lower energy consumption options. Ultimately, by purchasing a future-proof commercial boiler rather than one that’s powered by natural gas, you can experience cost savings as well as helping the planet.
Thinking of changing your commercial boiler today? Get in touch with our team of experts to discuss your options. Whether you need to replace a faulty unit, upgrade your old boiler or install the most efficient and reliable commercial solutions into a new site, we can design, install, maintain and repair what can be the most important appliances in your building.
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