21 October 2022 News
Not long ago, two of our employees visited the site of Northern Gas Networks’ (NGN) hydrogen homes as part of a newfound partnership with them to prepare for a potential transition to a fully hydrogen-fuelled future.
Whilst we’re not expecting a full transition just yet, hydrogen has seen a gradual increase in popularity since the release of a 2016 report by NGN themselves that concluded a total conversion to hydrogen was both technically and economically viable.
This report led to NGN receiving funding from the government innovation programme Hy4Heat to develop two fully hydrogen-powered example homes, both of which were completed in 2021.
We recently sent employees Daryll Garavan and Nichola Kitching to visit these hydrogen-fuelled homes at NGN’s Low Thornley site. The visit was a chance for them to observe first-hand the complex training needs that may be required for a potential transition to hydrogen as a fuel source.
They found that homes were fitted with hydrogen gas appliances, including cookers and hobs, fires and boilers and a hydrogen meter. The appliances all operated and worked to the same purposes as their natural gas counterparts, however one clear difference was that the flame on the hob burned orange rather than blue.
A hydrogen gas supply could offer the most cost effective and least invasive route to zero carbon home heating for many UK homes. However, whilst hydrogen is considered a clean fuel, it is also a more volatile energy source than natural gas.
This means that employees at companies such as NGN would need to undergo bespoke training should its widespread installation be required.
With our particular experience in offering gas compliance and safety certification training, it seemed only natural for us to begun working with NGN in anticipating the potential training required by both NGN and potentially the wider industry for implementing a hydrogen-fuelled future.
Follow along with us as we continue on this hydrogen journey, which we’ll be sure to update more on soon.
