Hydrogen Boilers, Heat Pumps, Funny Cylinders etc. etc.

[Roy_66]

Some positive news.

For anyone not seen, interesting video from Roger B. on the future for boilers vs heat pumps etc. etc.


Includes some more slightly wacky but interesting points like horizontal cylinders and boilers - anyone done one / seen one on hol ?

Was interested also that their might be an intermediate stage in the switch to hydrogen of using a hydrogen/methane mix.

Night vision goggles for servicing?

Just wondered what people think of it all.

Cheers,

Roy

 

[siricosm]

The nice thing about hydrogen is that it can be stored, unlike electricity. To create hydrogen from electricity, you need water, and when you burn the hydrogen, you get the water back. So if you have somewhere to store it, like underground caverns, then hydrogen can also be used to store electricity and balance the load for wind and solar, without the need for a large continuous water supply, you would just need a pond.

Another nice thing about hydrogen boilers is that they have no CO risk.

In the end, the idea of re-purposing the gas infrastructure for hydrogen is just a stop-gap measure. And what is it all for? If the aim is to reduce carbon emissions to zero, then the only option is nuclear power. Even if one believes hydrogen is the answer, the only way we'll be able to create enough hydrogen, short of reforming natural gas, is to use electrolysis. If the panic-**** media hadn't scared the public off nuclear power in the 70s, the gas lines would already be mostly abandoned, our electrical infrastructure massively enhanced, and electricity would be cheap. An electric boiler can go anywhere. There are 11,000 wind turbines in the UK. If that concrete and steel (i.e. CO2 budget) were used to build reactors instead, the UK would already be zero carbon on electricity, and it would be cheap.