Myth-buster: Heating decarbonisation
Why stalling on the transition to clean heating in the EU will only help fossil fuel companies. A mythbuster by ECOS with the Coolproducts campaign.
MYTH: “The electricity grid will be incapable of accommodating a massive rollout of heat pumps”
FACT: Capacity of the existing power system is already capable of integrating 50 million heat pumps – and more could be unlocked by making electricity demand flexible
The electricity grid is central to the energy transition. Shifting to electric vehicles and appliances, like heat pumps, means that we will use more electricity than before. Measures to make our energy use more efficient are essential, alongside energy flexibility and energy storage technologies.
The biggest EU energy companies and trade associations have said that “integrating 50 million heat pumps into the existing power system is possible with existing capacity” without jeopardising grid stability. This is backed up by a recent study from the Joint Research Council (JRC), which shows that “most national power systems could cope with higher heat-electrification rates”. 12 EU Member States are even prepared already for full electrification scenarios.
Only three countries in the EU have a power system that would be stressed if 60% of all fossil-fuelled technologies were substituted. However, even this challenge is not unsurmountable. Making electricity demand flexible would enable larger shares of heat electrification. According to another JRC analysis, the load shifting potential of heat pumps can be released by activating their smartness, “unlocking the possibility to shift up to 4 to 14 GWh hourly”.
