District heating can help in reducing carbon emissions by providing locally sourced heating and hot water.
How it works
Put simply, district heating removes the need for individual gas boilers in each home or business. Heating and hot water is instead generated or taken from waste heat sources within a local energy centre and delivered to the community through a network of pipes.
District heating is not new. There are over 14,000 heat networks within the UK supplying heat and hot water to approximately 480,000 customers. They now form an important part of the UK Government drive to reduce carbon emissions and use modern technologies to produce clean, simple, and cheaper energy. The Committee on Climate Change estimates ‘that around 18% of UK heat will need to come from heat networks by 2050 if the UK is to meet its carbon targets cost-effectively’.