New research has found that Irish households are more willing to switch to renewable liquid fuels than heat pumps, as the government develops its policy plans for decarbonising the country's 700,000 oil heated homes.
The study, carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), surveyed over 1,000 Irish homeowners about their attitudes to biofuels, such as renewable liquid fuels, and heat pumps as low carbon heating solutions for their home.
The research outlined how households face several challenges decarbonising and that only around a third of homes on oil were familiar with biofuels before taking part. However, once people understood more about them, their willingness to switch increased. Interestingly, the report also found no evidence that promoting biofuels put people off heat pumps. Overall, the main influence came down to their perceived financial and practical costs.
The findings highlight a wider practical challenge facing Ireland's oil heated homes as many are older and less well insulated. Fitting a heat pump into these properties can therefore require significant, and disruptive, retrofit work to make the system work effectively.
In response OFTEC, which represents manufacturers and training providers and runs a registration scheme for non-gas heating technicians, and UKIFDA, which represents fuel distributors, have launched a Future Ready Fuel campaign in Ireland to help ensure oil heated households have a say over how they decarbonise.
Whilst recognising that heat pumps remain a suitable option for some properties, OFTEC and UKIFDA argue that a one size fits all approach is not realistic for the hardest to treat oil heated homes and that they require more practical, alternative solutions.
The Irish government has already proposed a Renewable Heat Obligation which would require a blend of renewable liquid fuel, such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), into home heating oil, starting at 1.5% before rising to 3%.
OFTEC and UKIFDA have welcomed the proposal as a pragmatic first step, but hope the blend will eventually go further, pointing out that the existing oil boilers can already support a 20% blend with no modifications required to the heating system.
Future Ready Fuel already has strong presence in Great Britain and gives oil heated households a voice on decisions about how their homes are heated.
David Blevings, OFTEC's Ireland Manager, commented: "This research confirms what oil heated households have been telling us for some time. People want to cut their emissions but need a solution that is practical and affordable to install. Heat pumps can be the right choice for some households, but for older, rural properties the cost and disruption of the work involved is a real barrier. Renewable liquid fuels offer a practical alternative for oil heated homes as they work in the existing heating system with no upfront cost.
"Access to good information is vital, which is why we have launched this new campaign. We welcome the government's proposal for a Renewable Heat Obligation as a positive first step, and our message is that renewable liquid heating fuel blends will work well in existing oil boilers and households will notice no difference in performance.
“However, the industry can already support a much higher blend, and we would encourage government to go further when they feel it’s right to do so. That's why we're launching the Future Ready Fuel information campaign in Ireland to ensure oil heated households have the facts they need and can have their say in this conversation.”
For more information visit www.republicofireland.futurereadyfuel.info.