Step-by-step and regret-free to all-electric

An enormous sustainability challenge awaits approximately 7.5 million homes in the Netherlands. To make a circular, climate-adaptive, energy-neutral and healthy built environment possible in 2050, the heat demand of our existing housing stock must be significantly reduced. In addition, 30,000 to 50,000 existing homes per year must be taken off the gas. "Homes built after 2000 can easily switch to all-electric, with at most some modifications to the delivery system," knows Rudy Grevers, housing construction manager at Alklima, exclusive importer of Mitsubishi Electric Living Environment Systems. "For older homes, this is more difficult, but certainly not unfeasible. Especially for these homes, we have developed the All-Electric Ready concept, where going through to all-electric is the starting point."

It's a question that occupies homeowners with sustainability plans considerably: should I switch to a hybrid heat pump or would it be better to get rid of gas altogether? "The central government encourages the use of hybrid heat pumps with various subsidies," explains Grevers. "This invariably assumes a classic hybrid solution where the existing central heating boiler is combined with a small heat pump. As far as we are concerned, this is not an effective solution. This is because this heat pump only functions properly at outdoor temperatures above 5°C and the central heating boiler is still needed to provide the desired heating capacity. Also, the heat pump cannot prepare tap water. Objectionable, moreover, is that after the installation of a classic hybrid solution, residents still have insufficient incentive to take additional steps to comply with the agreements and objectives of the Climate Agreement."

Moving on at any time

Energy transition can only succeed when the entire home is addressed, Grevers emphasizes. "A heat pump is not a miracle solution, but is part of an integral solution in which the energy demand must also be significantly reduced. By combining this approach with our All-Electric Ready concept, residents benefit from a regret-free solution in which they can proceed step-by-step and at any time from a hybrid to a monovalent (100% natural gas-free) installation."

Alklima's All-Electric Ready solution functions in combination with any type of central heating boiler, says Grevers. "Depending on, among other things, house type, year of construction, delivery system and insulation possibilities, residents have a choice of various indoor and outdoor units, with capacities from 5.4 to 25 kW. Thanks to the use of robust technology, our heat pumps also function at low outdoor temperatures down to as low as -28°C. This allows for enormous gas savings. With additional measures such as cavity wall insulation, roof insulation and new window frames with triple glazing, the route to gas-free then comes naturally into view." As desired, residents can switch to all-electric in 1, 2, 5, 7 or ... years, after which the standing charge and double maintenance costs are dropped, he says. "If residents have PV panels on their roofs and the balancing scheme is adjusted, they can effectively use this self-generated energy for their hot water preparation. With this, we are perfectly in line with the energy goals of today and tomorrow."

Entry-level and pass-through model

For residents interested in this, Alklima offers two All-Electric Ready variants. The first is the entry-level model, which consists of a hydrobox (for heating or cooling only) and an appropriate outdoor unit in addition to the boiler. A follow-up step to All-Electric in this case could be the addition of a boiler with three-way valve, Grevers said. "The second variant is the through-pack model, which assumes a boiler with an outdoor unit including hydrobox and boiler or a variant with a cylinder unit (with built-in boiler). For both variants, suitable outdoor units from the Ecodan program are available: the Eco-Inverter (5.4 - 7.1 kW), the Power-Inverter (8.4 - 10.1 kW) and the Zubadan (for the most extreme situations). The boiler vessels are available with capacities from 170 to 500 liters."

The All-Electric Ready concept was shown to the general public for the first time during VSK 2022, says Grevers. "The first reactions are very positive. In the coming months, we will provide various webinars and training for installers so that they become familiar with the concept. Production will also be scaled up so that the systems can be delivered properly and quickly starting in September."