With 80% of today’s buildings still expected to be in use by 2050, decarbonisation is essential if the UK is to meet its net zero targets. The pressure is on businesses to adopt greener practices and it’s only increasing.
Demands for energy efficiency
Pressure is also mounting as government funding schemes, such as the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), focus heavily on cutting carbon in large, complex estates. While targeted at schools and community buildings, the funding highlights a wider truth: organisations responsible for older properties face increasing pressure to decarbonise heating systems.
Improving the thermal performance of a building remains a priority, and upgrading the heating system is often the most effective starting point. However, the challenge for building owners and custodians is that a full-scale switch to heat pumps can be prohibitively expensive and disruptive, especially in older or architecturally sensitive buildings.
This leaves many decision-makers facing a difficult question: if they can’t just replace a gas boiler, but can’t afford to go fully electric, what’s the alternative? The answer is hybrid systems, which combine the efficiency benefits of heat pumps with the support of gas boilers.
Why go hybrid?
Hybrid heat pump retrofits are less disruptive, more practical, and offer a cost-effective way to cut emissions and enable phased decarbonisation.
Hybrid systems are particularly valuable for retrofits, where a complete overhaul is neither practical nor economical. That is because in a hybrid system a new heat pump is coupled to a gas boiler. Often the existing radiator system can be reused. This enables the system to deliver heat from both the heat pump and the boiler systems, which means minimising disruption, saving on costs and reducing installation time.
The benefits of using a hybrid heat pump
Typically, a solo heat pump would have to work much harder and use more power to generate sufficient heat in heritage properties as they tend to have high heating or hot water demands. A hybrid system is more flexible and therefore more suitable for these types of buildings because the heat pump and gas boiler work in tandem. This means that it does not solely rely on one type of fuel.
Working in tandem also means that the heat pump can be a smaller size, reducing its initial cost and lowering its power demand. This is useful where physical space or grid power is limited.
Running costs can be further reduced by the intelligent smart controls which actively switch energy sources based on demand and tariff when it is most cost effective to do so. This means that while the upfront cost of installing a hybrid heating system may be slightly higher compared with a gas boiler, businesses can expect to see a return on investment over time.
A hybrid system may even increase the value of a building because the heat pump will add to the asset’s green credentials. This could also lead to a rise in occupier demand.
Smart hybrid heating solutions
Alpha’s Commercial Hybrid solution combines a high-performance Magis M heat pump with either the AresTec floor-standing boiler or the ProTec NX wall-hung boiler. This provides installers with a highly flexible and energy-efficient heating solution which can meet the complex demands of commercial retrofit projects.
The Commercial Hybrid system offers multiple configuration options based on the space, specific heating demands, and preferred heat pump contribution. This flexibility is combined with built-in intelligent controls. The active controller priorities the heat pump, automatically switching based on a set temperature and the gas vs. electricity cost ratio. This reduces heating costs by up to 20%, with the heat pump capable of supplying 80% of the yearly heat based on the typical UK climate.
This means older commercial properties which might not have been able to accommodate a full heat pump setup can now benefit from sustainable heating.
With the pressure on businesses to reduce their environmental impact, these types of heating and decarbonisation challenges are demonstrating the need for a flexible approach to solving them. Retrofitting is not a simple case of replacing an old boiler with a heat pump or installing solar panels. You need to assess the building and find a solution that is commercially viable and sustainable.
Hybrid heating systems can offer a practical and cost-effective way for businesses to take a real step forward towards sustainable heating. They also close the gap in getting properties fully heat pump ready, making that switch even easier.
For more information on our commercial solutions, contact us today.