The new face of district heating
After months of drafting, an extensive public consultation
and many rounds of input from several major organisations, the Heat Networks:
Code of Practice for the UK was finally unveiled. But it wasn’t just an
important night for the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) and CIBSE,
for whom this was a ‘first of its kind’ document. It marks an important
milestone for the future of heating in the UK.
And that’s not an idle boast; the Government already holds
heat networks to be an important asset in the fight against energy insecurity,
having issued a target of 14% of the UK’s heat to be supplied this way. As a
result, we have had a tremendous level of support from the Department of Energy
and Climate Change who provided funding for the completion of the Code and
development of the training programme.
CIBSE's Phil Jones, ADE's Time Rotheray and DECC's David Wagstaff launch the Code |
The reason for this stretches all the way back to the oil
crises of the 1970s, after which many European countries woke up to the fact
that they would have to start taking their energy security seriously. In the
face of heating oil rations, blackouts and driving bans, countries such as
Sweden and Denmark opted to manage their citizens’ heating more efficiently
from heat networks, while Britain opted to invest in its domestic gas network.
In 2015 we are starting to see similar pressures to those in
1973, but the threat is different. Climate Change is forcing the UK Government
to re-think the ways in which it supplies energy to its citizens, as dwindling
gas supplies and the increasing unsustainability of fossil fuels makes an
alternative more and more necessary. 40 years later, heat networks in Europe
are a much more mature concern; Malmo in Sweden and Denmark’s capital
Copenhagen supply close to 100% of their heating, while the UK languishes far
behind with less than 2% supplied that way.
Battersea Power Station used to supply Pimlico with waste heat |
Unfortunately, for all the international pedigree that heat
networks have, the picture is not the same in Britain. Without a heat networks
culture already in place, planners and developers are taking some convincing of
the benefits: Neglected as an option over the decades, heat networks often have
a history of poor installation and maintenance, as well as a bad reputation for
being installed in inappropriate settings. This Code, with the accompanying
training, puts the skills and standards in place which will convince developers
that new networks will be properly installed.
This has the potential to change the face of heating in the
UK, as it will finally make district heating a recognised alternative for
heating in high density areas, and could make it the solution of choice up and
down the country. And this isn't just a boost for the Government; over half of
the average home’s energy costs are taken up by heating bills, which will be
lowered considerably by the ability to tap into cheaper, shared heat
sources.
Fundamentally, the Code will give developers the confidence
they need to choose heat networks as their preferred solution, safe in the
knowledge that a rigorous set of standards and a robust form of measurement is
in place to ensure their effectiveness. This will prove crucial in the years
ahead, if the Government is to achieve their 14% target.
Pumping equipment at Pimlico District Heating Undertaking |
Very informative content.
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