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https://www.positive.news/environment/heat-pumps-put-less-pressure-on-the-grid-than-expected/>
"Some of the UK’s first homes to meet new energy efficiency standards are
proving kinder to the electricity grid than expected. A real-world study of
social housing in Birmingham, UK found that peak electricity demand from
heat-pump-equipped homes was: “lower than we would expect,” said Dr Monica
Mateo-Garcia, academic lead at Birmingham City University’s Centre for Future
Homes. The analysis of carbon savings is still being finalised.
Researchers at Birmingham City University tracked seven all-electric homes over
the course of a year. The results show that efficient design and smart energy
use can avoid spikes in demand that strain infrastructure, easing concerns that
widespread electric heating could overwhelm the network. The research compared
electricity use across a year and found overall consumption far below typical
UK homes.
“We currently seem to be overpredicting how much power we need in new-build
housing,” said Professor Richard Fitton of the University of Salford, who was
not involved in the study.
Each property was equipped with an air-source heat pump for heating and hot
water, as well as high levels of insulation and solar panels. Critics of heat
pumps have expressed concern that the extra load would burden the grid, but
findings show that electrified homes used less energy at peak times, because
peak usage timings varied between properties, and were spread across the homes,
helping to reduce pressure on the grid."
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