Connect to a district heating scheme#
District heating schemes, or heat networks, are starting to appear in some areas. In district heating, the heat is generated elsewhere in the neighbourhood and delivered via insulated pipes. When the heat is recycled from other activities, like electricity generation or industrial processes, rather than being generated by burning fossil fuels, this is a good carbon reduction strategy. It can be expensive to retrofit to existing buildings because, just like a heat pump, it delivers heat at lower temperatures than our current boilers, meaning it often requires underfloor heating and good use of heat loss measures.
Picture credit: HeatNet NWE Project, European Regional Development Fund
This card will be academic for most groups, but before making major investments it’s worth trying to find out whether there will be district heating covering your building in future. It’s most likely in dense urban areas or right next to sources of heat. The UK Government no longer has a map showing the highest potential areas, but they decommissioned it because they felt it wasn’t accurate enough. You may be able to find information about plans for future networks for your city or local region.