Heat is the largest energy end-use with nearly 50% of global final energy consumption
Heat is an energy form crucial for determining the temperature, volume, and state of materials. It's transferred from warmer to cooler objects and produced through converting chemical or electrical energy. Essential for heating buildings, providing hot water, cooking, and industrial processes, heat significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Decarbonising heat is vital for emission reduction but is complex due to its varied production and use methods.
Unlike electricity, which can be decarbonised via renewable energy, heat requires changes at the point of use, often necessitating the replacement of gas or oil-fired boilers. A multifaceted approach is essential, involving electrification with heat pumps, sustainably-produced hydrogen, and district heating networks incorporating low-carbon sources and waste heat. Efficiency improvements in buildings' thermal performance and heating systems, alongside combined heat and power (CHP), can enhance the energy system's efficiency. However, public acceptance, high costs, and infrastructure needs are challenges.
Learn about the decarbonisation of heat by reading our Energy Insights.
Find out energy professionals’ expectations for the future sources of heat in the UK.
Learn more about the future of heat and its role in society by browsing our online New Energy World magazine records.
£0billion
of additional investment needed to install low-carbon heating in existing UK homes from 2020-2050 as estimated by the Climate Change Committee (Department for Energy and Net Zero)
0%
of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK is attributable to heating homes (Department for Energy and Net Zero)
0bcm
global reduction in gas demand needed to heat buildings by 2030 due to heat pump uptake and energy efficiency improvements (IEA)
About 0%
of heating needs in buildings were met by heat pumps in 2023 (IEA)
New Energy World stories
World’s largest thermal energy storage unit commissioned in Hungary
22nd October 2025
The 56 MWh Heatcube will provide KALL Ingredients with more than 30 GWh of renewable process heat per year, replacing natural gas-fired boilers with c...
UK civil nuclear project Sizewell C powers ahead with new fuel contracts and turbine deal
22nd October 2025
The contract with Urenco for enriched uranium services will serve the first six years of the 3.2 GW-capacity Sizewell C power station’s operation. It ...
Turbulent times for wind: Ørsted to cut workforce by 25% by 2027, while Ming Yang plans to build new UK wind manufacturing hub
22nd October 2025
Some 500 Ørsted employees are to be made redundant before the end of the year, of which 235 will be in Denmark. The remaining cuts from the current 8,...
A shift to green hydrogen is offering European oil and gas refiners a route to decarbonisation
15th October 2025
World’s largest high-temperature electrolyser comes onlineThe world’s largest multi-megawatt high-temperature electrolyser (HTE) has start...
Parties clash as UK energy policy turns into political battleground
8th October 2025
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband used his speech on the last day of the Labour Party Conference on 1 October to set out a sweeping vision for the UK’s ...
Technical guidance publications
EI 3560
Research report: Global activities in hydrogen development
June 2024
This report covers various developmental activities across the hydrogen value chain, encompassing production, transportation/distribution, storage, an...
EI 3499
Research report: Application of life cycle assessment methodology to the understanding of the energy balance and efficiency of hydrogen value chain building blocks
May 2022
This document is free to download for registered users.This publication explores the efficiencies of the hydrogen energy system and quantifies the ene...
EI Recommended Practice 1597 Procedures for overwing fuelling to ensure delivery of the correct fuel grade to an aircraft
January 2017
This publication is available to download for free by registering/logging in to this site.This publication provides recommendations to assist those in...
IP 309: Diesel and domestic heating fuels - Determination of cold filter plugging point copy
March 2016
ScopeThis European Standard specifies a method for the determination of the cold filter plugging point (CFPP) of diesel and domestic heating fuels (se...
EI 3084
Guidelines for the safe design and operation of shell and tube heat exchangers to withstand the impact of tube failure
November 2015
This second edition guidance contains major additions to the first and focuses on improving the inherent safety of designs, including protection of as...