Heat pumps work almost like magic—delivering several times more heat energy than the electricity they require to run. Modern heat pumps are so efficient, they can even extract warmth from freezing temperatures, keeping buildings comfortable despite the cold outdoors.
With many policymakers seriously exploring ways they can accelerate heat pump adoption, we thought now is the perfect time to offer some specific and useful guidance on designing effective approaches for realizing this goal. Our guest today is Dr. Richard Lowes, a specialist in heating technology and policy with the Regulatory Assistance Project in Europe. He also co-chairs the Clean Heat Forum international policy network. Richard has advocated for heating policy since earning his doctorate in the subject from the University of Exeter a decade ago, advising the Scottish government’s heat decarbonization programme board, various UK parliamentary select committees, and serving in multiple roles within the UK government.
In this episode, we discuss why the energy transition requires us to fix leaky buildings, tradeoffs between energy efficiency upgrades and simply swapping out old boilers for heat pumps, the best policies to encourage heat pump adoption, and the measures available in Europe to support all these efforts.
Dr. Richard Lowes is a specialist in the technology and policy associated with heating and is based within RAP’s Europe programme. He joined RAP in 2021 with over 10 years’ heat policy experience in industry, academia and working with policymakers. Richard currently coordinates much of RAP’s work on clean heating in Europe and globally, and as part of this, co-chairs the Clean Heat Forum international policy network.
After earning an advanced degree in energy policy, Lowes worked for UK energy company SSE before moving on to gas transporter SGN, where he led the company’s work on policy and public affairs. This was at a time when few were considering, let alone working on the issue of cleaning up heating. In 2014 he moved to the University of Exeter, where he completed a doctorate alongside various heat policy and regulation-focused research projects. He was particularly known for his analysis on lobbying and the political influence of the gas industry. He also lectured on energy policy. Since 2019, he has been a non-executive director of the Scottish government’s heat decarbonisation programme board.
Richard Lowes has a track record of delivering high-impact heat decarbonisation research and remains a research fellow at the University of Exeter. He has provided oral evidence to multiple UK parliamentary select committees, was an expert advisor to the National Audit Office inquiry into Great Britain’s Renewable Heat Incentive, and was an advocate for sustainable heating at the 2020 Climate Assembly UK. He had the privilege of being appointed as a specialist advisor for the UK house of commons inquiry into economy wide electrification in 2023.
He holds a first class honours degree in geography and environmental management, in addition to his master’s (with distinction) in energy policy and doctorate in the development of UK sustainable heating policy. He was appointed as a fellow of the energy institute for his expertise in energy policy in 2023.
On Twitter: @heatpolicyrich
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardlowes/
On Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/richardlowes.bsky.social
On the Web: https://www.raponline.org/experts/richard-lowes/
Recording date: November 14, 2024
Air date: February 12, 2025
Geek rating: 7