Jeff Aherne
CEO, EVHACS
Ireland needs to reduce its carbon emissions and heat pumps and electrical vehicle (EV) chargers are part of the solution — here’s how.
Reduce carbon emissions
It is well-known that Ireland needs to do more to reduce its carbon emissions. This is all of our collective responsibility. Drives to reduce emissions and introduce change are ongoing in several key industries. There are two areas where change is imminent: EV charging infrastructure and heating ventilation and air conditioning.
Market demand for EV chargers
The amount of EV chargers required by 2030 is significant, according to multiple sources: Ireland had 1,900 public EV chargers in 2021; this needs to increase to 30,000 by 2030, according to reports. The UK had 25,000 public EV chargers installed in 2021, and there needs to be 280,000 to 480,000 by 2030.
The European Court of Auditors says there are 220,000 public chargers in Europe in 2020, which must grow to 1 million by 2025 and 3 million by 2030. EY, a consultancy, estimates that Europe will need 65 million chargers in total to fuel 130 million EVs by 2035.
In line with the demand for EV chargers, heat pumps
are expected to become more popular in Ireland.
Shift to heat pumps
In line with the demand for EV chargers, heat pumps are expected to become more popular in Ireland. Ireland is targeting 600,000 domestic heat pumps installed by 2030. The UK will grow the installation of electric heat pumps from 30,000 per year currently to 600,000 per year by 2028.
The heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) industry is expected to enter a period of exceptional growth over the next decade. The International Energy Agency (IEA) say they expect heat pump units installed globally to grow from 180 million units to a stock of over 600 million units by 2030. The stock of air conditioning units is also expected to increase from 2 billion units to almost 3 billion units by 2030.
Integration of both into one unit
Considering the upcoming installation drive across both of these key industries, there is an opportunity to coalesce both into the same product.
This will lower installation costs by making the process more efficient, lower running costs associated with both devices and, coupled with a home-energy management system, dynamically manage power consumption in the home. This will help produce an overall lowering of CO² output and energy consumption, which is a best-case scenario for current drives to future-proof homes and business premises.