Decarbonising Cooling in UK Homes

This policy brief summarises the policy and governance work stream within the EPSRC funded (EP/V042505/1) Flex-Cool-Store
project. The key findings include:

• Overheating is already a problem in UK homes, and this will get worse as the climate warms, resulting in increasing levels of mortality, morbidity, and discomfort.
• Without policy intervention it is likely there could be significant further uptake of active cooling by households, leading to direct and indirect carbon emissions, creating new challenges within energy systems, and leading to growing inequalities within society.
• Policymakers need to coordinate and develop an integrated approach to decarbonise cooling, by supporting people to avoid the unnecessary use of active cooling, improving products within the market, and through initiatives to help shift and manage cooling loads within the energy system.
• Supporting a passive first approach is a priority, with information, advice and support a key enabler, alongside improvements to building regulations and planning; existing homes are the main challenge.
• There are five key recommendations to reduce risk and support action: act quickly and comprehensively; seek policy synergies; build on and share best practice; protect the most vulnerable and support all people; lead nationally and support action locally.