About district heating
District heating is the supply of heat to a number of buildings or homes from a central heat source through a network of pipes carrying hot water or steam.
District heating pipes are not specific to the technology used to generate the heat and so can connect to a range of sources of heat supply including CHP, biomass, energy from waste, ground source heat pumps, geothermal heat or large power stations.
This means that because district heating pipes have a longer life than generating plant, networks can be put in place now based on whichever heat supply technology is most appropriate or economic and upgraded over time, for example to more renewable sources of heat.
District heating currently provides roughly 1-2% of the UK’s heat demand. Analysis shows that in the right conditions, district heating could supply up to 14% of the UK heat demand, and be a cost-effective and viable alternative to individual renewable technologies, at the same time as reducing bills for consumers. The full analysis is available:
District heating is best suited to urban areas with high heat demand, and a mix of different building types. The ability to generate heat at low costs means district heating can contribute to the goal of reducing fuel poverty.
Examples
- The Olympic Park Energy Centre is a trigeneration plant, providing combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) to the entire site. The energy centre includes biomass fired boilers to generate heat, reducing the park’s carbon emissions by 20-25%.
- The Cambridge and Crescent Towers in Birmingham: The project replaces outdated heating systems contained within the 16 storey 120 unit tower blocks located in the city centre, and links them to the existing natural gas CHP district heating system located in the International Convention Centre on Broad Street. This retrofit project helps to deliver carbon emissions reductions of 357 tonnes a year.
- The Southampton Geothermal Heating network is the largest district heating network in the country, and has grown since 1986 to encompass housing estates, several hotels, the port, Royal South Hants Hospital, Solent University and Carnival offices. There has also been interest from local schools.
- A CHP district heating scheme in Aberdeen has reduced heating bills by 50% in an area where 70% of consumers were previously fuel poor.
Heat sources
District heating can distribute heat from a variety of different sources, which can be updated as lower carbon options become available with time.