Technical Feasibility of Low Carbon Heating in Domestic Buildings

Scotland’s Climate Change Plan set an ambition for emissions from buildings to be near zero by 2050, and targets 35% of domestic and 70% of non-domestic buildings’ heat to be supplied using low carbon technologies by 2032. The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 set a new target for emissions to be net zero by 2045, with interim targets of 75% by 2030 and 90% by 2040. The update to the Climate Change Plan will be published at the end of 2020 to reflect these new targets. The Energy Efficient Scotland programme, launched in May 2018, sets out a wide range of measures to promote low carbon heating alongside energy efficiency improvements in Scotland’s buildings. Meeting these targets will require almost all households in Scotland to change the way they heat their homes. It is therefore imperative to advance our understanding of the suitability of the available low carbon heating options across Scotland’s building stock.

The aim of this work is to assess the suitability of low carbon heating technologies in residential buildings in Scotland. The outputs generated through this work will form a key part of the evidence base on low carbon heat which the Scottish Government will use to further develop and strengthen Scotland’s low carbon heat policy, in line with the increased level of ambition of achieving Net Zero by 2045.