Meta-Analysis of Hydrogen’s Role in Residential Heat Decarbonization

Hydrogen is a potential energy carrier for the decarbonization of the heating sector; however, its long-term role remains highly debated. This meta-analysis (2024–early 2025) assesses hydrogen’s potential for domestic heating regarding consumption, costs, and environmental impacts. Current scientific evidence distinguishes between hydrogen use for direct residential heating and its role in integrated energy systems. For residential decarbonization, the literature does not support hydrogen as a primary solution: electrification, especially through heat pumps, remains the most efficient and cost-effective long-term pathway. Direct hydrogen heating faces major thermodynamic and economic barriers, including low conversion efficiency, high Levelized Costs of Energy (LCOE), infrastructure limitations, and challenges in achieving broad social acceptance. Hydrogen’s more strategic value emerges at the system level. Hybrid configurations that combine heat pumps with hydrogen storage show strong potential by using heat pumps to efficiently meet thermal demand while reserving hydrogen for flexible backup and storage. In particular, hydrogen is well suited for long-term seasonal energy storage and grid balancing, enhancing system flexibility and reliability. Its main contribution therefore lies not in direct end-use heating, but in strengthening grid resilience and supporting energy autarky in net-zero scenarios. Hydrogen blending into existing gas networks is widely viewed as a transitional measure to stimulate the hydrogen economy and deliver limited short-term emission reductions, rather than a definitive net-zero solution. Overall, hydrogen’s residential role remains niche, requiring targeted research, development, and large-scale pilot projects to validate competitive applications.