The UK heat pump market is currently relatively small in comparison to the dominance of gas boilers, and with this situation not being compatible with the Government’s carbon reduction targets.

The Heat Strategy has identified heat pumps as a key technology to drive the decarbonisation of the heat sector in combination with the decarbonisation of the electricity grid.

Driven by the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), the deployment of heat pumps is projected to grow significantly.

Refrigerants are a fundamental element of a heat pump installation as they are the working fluid which carries the energy from the heat source to the heat emitters.

The most common fluids used inheat pumps are Hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs) which typically have a global warming potential over 1000 times that of CO2.

If the large scale deployment of heat pumps comes to fruition, the energy performance and displacement of existing fossil fuel heating technologies will have a significant impact on the ability of heat pumps to contribute to carbon reduction targets.

As a result, the GHG emissions associated with refrigerant use will be increasingly important as deployment of heat pumps grows. At this time there is still little quantitative analysis available on leakage rates of refrigerants over the lifetime of a heat pump,yet the potential carbon benefits of heat pumps are likely to be very sensitive to leakage rates.

The study, carried out by Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd and the Centre for Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Research (London Southbank University) was aiming to provide a more evidence-based assessment of likely leakage rates for various heat pump installations over time.

Driven primarily by the EU F-Gas Regulations, along with industry trends, it was also important to try to estimate the likely trends in refrigerant use, particularly with regard toGlobal Warming Potential (GWP).

At the same time, it iscritical to present these impacts in the context of the benefits derived from heat pumps. The study therefore aims to model deployment of heat pumps and leakage of refrigerant according to a range of scenarios to present overall carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) net benefits or costs to both 2020 and 2050.

This report addresses the net benefit of heat pumps in the UK,taking into account the environmental costs associated with refrigerant leakage. The primary research and modelling indicated that whilst leakage led to significant CO2 emissions, this was nonetheless a small proportion of the total reduced emissions associated with heat pump technologies. It also highlights that there is scope to reduce leakage further, thereby increasing the net benefit associated with heat pumps.

The approach undertaken for this study includes a mix of primary research and practical testing exercises designed to provide the most accurate picture of refrigerant leakage and net CO2 benefits over time.

Impacts of leakage from refrigerants in heat pumps

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