What are heat
networks?

Cleaner, greener heating for your home

A heat network is a modern way to provide heating and hot water without using gas in your home. Instead of individual boilers, heat is generated at a central location and shared across a community.

This approach is more energy‑efficient, lower‑carbon, and designed to support the UK’s move away from fossil fuels — while still giving you reliable heating and hot water whenever you need it.

Our heat networks create less CO2 than conventional heating systems, delivering

80%

carbon savings from the day they start running*

*compared with an individual gas boiler and working to the Future Homes Standard. These carbon savings apply to our air source heat pump community heat hubs.

Why being on a heat network is a good thing

Living in a home connected to a heat network brings some clear benefits:

No gas boiler in your home
Heating and hot water available on demand
Lower‑carbon heating that supports the UK’s Net Zero goals
Less hassle – servicing and maintenance are taken care of
Designed to be future-proof

Low Carbon Now

Our heat networks will deliver carbon savings from the day they start running, by removing the need for individual gas boilers and providing locally sourced heating and hot water.

Zero Carbon Ready

As the electricity grid becomes zero-carbon, so will our heat networks. There’s no need for retrofitting or bolt on technology.

Future Proof

As technologies advance, we can add them to the heat hub making our networks a long-term sustainable solution, with no need for disruptive works later on.

How does a heat network work?

Community Heat Hub

Heat is produced at our community heat hub and delivered to homes through insulated underground pipes.

The heat hub uses electricity to generate low-carbon heat using large air source heat pumps.

Because the system runs on electricity, it will become cleaner as the national grid continues to reduce carbon emissions.

For added reliability, electric boilers provide back‑up so your heating and hot water are always available when needed.

Heat Interface Unit

Each home has a Heat Interface Unit (HIU), a compact unit similar in size to a standard boiler.

The HIU replaces the need for a gas boiler and provides heating and hot water for radiators or underfloor heating, taps and showers.

The built‑in heat meter automatically sends us readings so your bills are based on your actual heat use.

We maintain the heat hub, network and HIU at no extra cost to you.

Community Heat Hub

Heat Interface Unit (HIU)

Highly Efficient Heat Network

Thermal Stores

High Efficiency Heat Network

Heat is delivered to each home as hot water through a highly insulated underground network of flow and return pipes.

Hot water flows continuously through the network, ensuring that heat is ready to be used whenever you turn on your heating or hot water.

Thermal Stores

We use the thermal stores in the community heat hub like a battery, to lower our electricity peak demand.

We charge our thermal stores at night, when electricity prices are at their lowest; then switch the heat pumps off during peak price times and use the supplies of hot water we’ve stored.

This approach helps keep heating bills affordable and supports our Customer Price Promise.

Each one of our heat networks
will typically save around

820 tonnes
of

CO₂ each year compared
to individual gas boilers.

That’s equivalent to removing around

488 cars from our roads, every year.

Planting and growing 820 trees for 50 years.

Still got questions? Watch our video on how it all works

The benefits of living on a heat network

Is there something else
we can help with?

Get in touch

What are ambient
loop heat networks?

Back to Help and Advice

Cleaner, greener heating

Most traditional heating systems rely on burning gas to create heat. Our ambient loop system is different.

Your heating will work just as you’d expect, but with the benefit of no gas in your home. Instead, our heat network uses renewable heat from the air and delivers it efficiently to homes, helping to reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency, and support the transition away from fossil fuels.

Every 1 kWh of electricity generates 3 to 4 kWh of heating – providing 100% heating and hot water needs throughout the year. That is…

3-4 times

more efficient than gas. This means more heat is produced using less energy, helping keep running costs lower.

What is an Ambient Loop Heat Network?

Instead of each home relying on a gas boiler, heat is taken from the air by a central air source heat pump and circulated at a steady, low (ambient) temperature through insulated pipes. Each home then uses a small, efficient heat pump to raise that ambient heat to the temperature needed for space heating and hot water in your home.

This approach combines the benefits of centralised renewable energy with individual, in‑home control.

How the Ambient Loop Heat Network works

1. Collecting heat from the air

A central large-scale Air Source Heat Pump absorbs heat from the outside air. Even on cold days, there is still heat in the air.

2. The Ambient Loop Heat Network

The heat generated by the large scale air source heat pumps is circulated around the building through a closed loop of insulated pipes filled with water to your homes water source heat pump.

3. The Water Source Heat Pump

Inside your home is a Water Source Heat Pump. This heat pump uses electricity to boost the temperature to the level needed to provide heat and hot water to your home.

Large-scale air source heat pump

High-efficiency, flow-and-return pipe network.

Water Source Heat Pump and hot water cylinder

Why Ambient Loop heating is more efficient than gas

Uses renewable heat

Unlike gas boilers, which burn fossil fuels to create heat, Ambient Loop systems capture renewable energy from the air. This reduces carbon emissions and supports national net‑zero targets.

More efficient

Heat pumps are highly efficient because they move heat rather than generate it. For every unit of electricity used, a heat pump can typically deliver three to four units of heat. This level of efficiency is far higher than traditional gas boilers.

Lower heat losses

Because the Ambient Loop operates at a lower temperature than conventional heat networks, much less heat is lost as water travels through the pipes.

No combustion in the home

There is no gas burning inside the property. This removes flues, reduces maintenance needs, and improves indoor air quality.

Benefits of Ambient Loop Heat Networks

Heating all year round

The Ambient Loop provides a consistent heat source, whatever the weather outside.

Individual control

Your heat pump is connected to your own electricity meter. You only pay for the electricity your heat pump uses to boost the hot water in your central heating system.

Energy efficient

For every 1 unit of electricity used by your heat pump, it can produce 3 to 4 units of heat, making it more efficient than a gas.

Better for the environment

Because Ambient Loop Heat Networks don’t use gas, they create less carbon emissions, supporting greener living.

Maintained by us

We’ll service your heat pump every two years. All servicing, repairs and replacements are included in our service at no extra cost to you, so there’s no unexpected bills to worry about.

Future proofed

As the UK electricity grid becomes greener, your heating becomes even more eco-friendly without you having to change a thing.

Supporting low-carbon and the Future Homes Standard

Ambient Loop Heat Networks play a key role in supporting the UK’s transition away from fossil fuels:

They align with the UK’s Net Zero 2050 targets by eliminating fossil fuel use for heating
They are compatible with the Future Homes Standard, which aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions from new homes and avoid reliance on gas heating

Is there something else
we can help with?

Get in touch

What are ground source
heat networks?

Back to Help and Advice

Cleaner, greener heating

A ground source heat network is a low-carbon, energy-efficient way of heating homes without using gas. They use natural heat from the ground and electricity to keep your home warm all year round, even in cold weather.

Unlike traditional gas boilers, ground source heat networks do not burn fuel. Instead, they transfer renewable heat from the ground to your home, making them one of the cleanest and most future-proof ways to heat homes in the UK.

Ground source heat networks offer reliable, low-carbon heating and is designed to support the UK’s transition away from fossil fuels – while still giving you the comfort and control you expect in your home.

Every 1 kWh of electricity generates 3 to 4 kWh of heating – providing 100% heating and hot water needs throughout the year. That is…

3-4 times

more efficient than gas. This means more heat is produced using less energy, helping keep running costs lower.

How does a ground source heat network work?

In simple terms, the system captures natural heat from the ground, boosts it using highly efficient heat pumps, and delivers it to homes as hot water through insulated pipes.

1. Heat is taken from the ground

Pipes are placed deep underground in boreholes and filled with a water and anti‑freeze mix. As the liquid flows through the pipes, it absorbs natural heat from the ground, which stays at a steady temperature all year. The warmed liquid is carried through flow and return pipes to a central manifold and into each home.

2. The heat pump warms it up

The ground source heat pump in your home takes this heat and uses electricity to increase the temperature. There is no gas, no flames, and the system runs automatically.

3. Your home is heated

The heat is sent to your radiators or underfloor heating and provides hot water for taps and showers. You control the temperature using a thermostat.

Bore holes and ground loop

Central manifold

Ground Source Heat Pump and hot water cylinder