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.
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.
will typically save around
of
to individual gas boilers.
