What are heat
networks?
Heat networks are helping to remove gas boilers from our homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They are the way to net-zero heating and a greener future. Our community heat hubs create low-carbon heat that’s delivered to each home through a network of highly insulated underground pipes.
Community Heat Hub
The community heat hub uses electricity to generate low-carbon heat using zero-carbon ready, large scale, air source heat pumps. As the electricity grid decarbonises, so will our heat network.
The heat pumps produce up to three times more heat into the network than the electricity they use.
The thermal stores can hold thousands of litres of hot water, a key part of our smart network.
Electric boilers will serve as a back-up for every eventuality.
Heat Interface Unit
Each home has a Heat Interface Unit (HIU), which is similar in size to a gas boiler.
Two plate heat exchangers in the HIU transfer heat from the heat network into the home, and deliver heat to radiators, or underfloor heating, and hot water to taps, showers and baths. This happens instantly – there’s no need to store water in the home.
Each HIU has a heat meter inside to measure how much heat is used. The meter sends automatic readings to our system so that all bills can be based on actual meter readings.
You can also read this yourself if you need to. There is a screen on the front of your HIU – look for the number of kWh. For more information, see “Submitting a meter reading”.
We’ll maintain the heat hub and network up to and including the HIU at no extra cost to the homeowner.
High Efficiency Heat Network
Heat is pumped to each home, in the form of hot water, using our highly insulated underground flow and return pipe network. This flow and return operates continuously.
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 storage approach is key to our Customer Price Promise and keeping heating bills affordable.
Welcome to cleaner, greener heating
Heat pumps create less CO2 than conventional heating systems, delivering…
80%
carbon savings from the day they start running*
As the electricity grid becomes zero-carbon, so will the community heat hub and network – there’s no need for retrofitting or disruptive work. Your home is already future-proofed to support zero-carbon heating.
*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.
