Jan Rosenow, Director of European Programmes at the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), joins ElectricHomes as our first Heat Pump Leader.
Jan is a leading voice in clean energy. He has advised governments, international organisations, and businesses in their journey to net-zero following his prolific research with Oxford and Cambridge universities. Having presented at over 200 global events, including the UN and World Economic Forum, it’s fair to say he’s something of a clean energy expert.
As a top global influencer in climate and energy, Jan Rosenow is driving the transition to a sustainable future with a focus on heating and cooling technology.
With Heat Pump Week well underway, it’s the perfect time to catch up with Jan about the state of the nation’s energy transition, and the incredible new developments and technologies on the horizon.
Can you give us a quick overview of your work. I know you know wear many hats, with both academic roles at both Oxford and Cambridge, and a role as the Director at Regulatory Assistance Project.
The question that guides all of my work is this: “Which policies and regulations can facilitate the transition to a zero-carbon energy system that is fair and efficient?”
In my day job I lead the European team of RAP where we develop and help implement new clean energy policies across Europe. I love my team which includes people who worked in government for a long time, former industry executives, academics and analysts. Our work covers a wide range of topics including electricity market design, network regulation, energy efficiency, electrification of buildings, transport and industry and demand response.
In addition to my day job I have always been passionate about academic research. I know that seems odd but it is true! After my PhD I remained an honorary researcher at Oxford and more recently also joined the University of Cambridge as a Senior Associate.
The remaining time I have left in my working week I fill with being a member of various boards and advisory committees as well as being a communicator as a podcast co-host and on social media.
You are clearly very passionate about sustainability technologies – you drive an EV, and you are a huge advocate of heat pumps—what got you interested in this area?
This goes back a long way. When I was 8 years old I founded an environmental group in my hometown recognising that the way how we treat the only planet we have is not sustainable. During my undergraduate studies, I increasingly became aware of energy as THE most important lever to solve many of the environmental problems. I do believe in doing what I preach which is why I embraced and adopted clean energy technologies where I could including a heat pump, an EV, solar and energy efficiency improvements to our home. I learned so much from not only being an analyst of clean energy technologies but also an adopter.
How do you see sustainable electrification technologies coming together—heat pumps, EVs, V2G, solar, battery storage—to lead to low carbon and lower cost lives for consumers with their home energy consumption?
The pathway for low-carbon living is becoming increasingly clear. Compared to where we were 10 years ago EVs are now available at competitive prices. Solar panels are getting so cheap people have started using them as garden fences! And battery costs have dropped rapidly too. However, we still see a disjoint approach to bundling these technologies into a package: Too often policies treat each technology in isolation with programmes for each rather than in combination.
Installers of clean energy technologies often only offer a single technology – solar installers offer solar panels, heat pump installers offer heat pumps, and building retrofit companies offer insulation. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that integrating several clean energy technologies with a heat pump can deliver cost savings to consumers, support the electricity system, and reduce carbon emissions faster. Some companies are now moving and offer package deals for clean energy technologies. We will need a lot more of that to scale up faster.
Why do you think heat pumps are great?
Simple: Heat pumps are the most efficient heating technology ever invented. Why is that? Because rather than burning a fuel heat pumps simply capture, compress and transport pre-existing heat from the air, the ground or the water and put it into buildings. And they do this by using electricity that is getting cleaner by the day. In the UK, heat pumps will cut people’s carbon emissions from heating by more than 80% today. With decarbonised electricity, this will soon be 100%.
This week is Heat Pump Week. This campaign aims to raise awareness of heat pumps. Why do you think there is so much resistance to this technology in countries like the UK and, importantly, how do we overcome that?
There is so much resistance and fabricated negativity about heat pumps because of vested interests opposing the transition away from fossil fuels. It has been documented that many of the heat pump bashing articles in the media have been funded directly by lobby groups representing industries that want to keep the status quo. We have seen the same with renewables and with EVs.
I believe over time people will see heat pumps more and more and have neighbours who have them already. I like initiatives like the visit a heat pump initiative from Nesta where people can meet a heat pump in real life installed in a house just like their own. What I try to do to fight misinformation is to use science and facts debunking many of the myths that persist.
Are you optimistic for the near future of the heat pump transition?
Yes. Heat pumps will only go one way and that is up. There is so much momentum now in the industry and I believe it is unstoppable. Of course it will be a bumpy ride and mistakes will be made. But we will also see innovation doing its beautiful thing improving heat pump technology, driving down costs and smoothing the customer journey. The future is bright for heat pumps.
Thank you to Jan for catching up during this busy week of heat pump activations and awareness. Find out more about Jan’s work at RAP, here.
Get involved with Heat Pump Week, and drive the world towards greener living, here.
