Academic: Oil and gas boilers should be banned across Europe by 2030

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Academic: Oil and gas boilers should be banned across Europe by 2030

By District Energy posted 01-17-2019 14:06

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Frederic Simon, EURACTIV

Summary

Carbon emissions from residential heating can be drastically reduced if Europe agrees a ban on new oil and gas boiler installations by 2030 at the latest, according to a Danish researcher who led an EU-wide study to decarbonise the heating and cooling sector.

Brian vad Mathiesen is an academic and researcher specialised in smart energy systems at Aalborg University, Denmark. He is the lead coordinator of the Heat Roadmap Europe, an EU-funded project which developed a low-carbon heating and cooling strategy for Europe.

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

Solar PV systems and heat pumps are like clean energy “limousines” that most people can’t afford;
At least 50-70% of EU households could be served more cheaply by thermal infrastructure, or district heating networks;
An end date for oil and gas boilers should be included in the EU’s 2050 low-carbon strategy, with 2030 “the last deadline” to install new gas boilers;
Such a ban would free up available gas for use in higher value purposes than heating;
However, most EU countries are currently planning to expand gas, not reduce it;
And EU funds currently support only cross-border gas and electricity networks while there is enough waste heat available to heat Europe’s entire building stock.