Community/district heating schemes

CHP and biomass boilers are now being regularly used to provide renewable community heating schemes to maximise efficiency. This is more common in the rest of Europe, but a number of schemes are already being run successfully in the UK and many more are planned.

Also sometimes referred to as ‘district heating’, these systems produce heating for a number of buildings in a local area, for multiple use buildings such as tower blocks or even for entire cities as in the case of Southampton and Sheffield. They are often fed by heat from incinerating waste so creating a further environmental benefit.

Network
Once a heat distribution network is in place to deliver the heat to the local buildings, the energy source can be flexible and the consumers receive hot water in a similar way to conventional systems via their radiators. The only noticeable difference for the end user is the lack of a boiler for each property.

Aberdeen City Council is providing 988 homes, a local swimming pool and a further education college with renewable heat from a district CHP scheme. This has been particularly welcome for a large proportion of tenants in the area who were suffering from fuel poverty as their energy bills have fallen by £574 a year. Aberdeen also estimates that it has cut its annual carbon emissions by 411 tonnes.

Issues to consider:

This approach is only really effective for very large or multiple buildings projects

It requires a complex combination of factors including local political support; a suitable network of buildings or multi-occupancy facilities; and co-operation with waste disposal authorities.

It is becoming a greater priority for planning authorities including London where all developers are expected to at least consider the option of linking their building to others before submitting a planning application