By law, the UK is committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. To achieve this goal our power grid has already begun to decarbonise and, to make the most of this, much of our building stock is destined to become ‘all-electric’ – as well as being cooled, lit and powered by electricity many of our buildings will also be heated with electricity.
Heat pumps are the most efficient way to generate heat from electricity. Consequently, they have a crucial role to play in the transition to net zero, particularly in the residential sector where traditionally their market penetration has been low. AM16: Heat pump installations for multi-residential buildings provides guidance on the design and installation of heat pump systems for high-density developments, such as medium- and high-rise apartment buildings, care homes and student accommodation, including existing buildings. This guidance assumes that a heat pump has already been selected as the preferred primary heat source and principally covers installations within the UK market.
This Applications Manual deals predominantly with the design and optimisation of heat pump systems. It also covers the full life cycle, including installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance and decommissioning. Cost is always a key project driver – perhaps more so in residential construction than many others – and guidance on relative capital, energy and maintenance costs is included to help designers keep a weather eye on their client’s investment and the homeowners’ bills.
A series of case studies are included detailing where heat pumps have been applied to new and existing multi-unit residential projects. In time, as heat pumps grow in popularity, so will the industry’s portfolio of success stories.
Heat pumps will be a big part of our future as building services engineers and AM16 provides timely guidance and resource as we start down the road to an all-electric, zero carbon future.
Joshua Bird, Iona Norton, Ilaria Ricci Curbastro and Michael Edwards (Arup)
To find out more about the authors of AM16, see this blog interview: CIBSE Knowledge - Behind the scenes: an interview with the authors of 'Heat pump installations for multi-unit residential buildings' (AM16) (cibseblog.co.uk)