Waste not, want not. That’s how the saying goes, and it is a saying local authorities in England and Wales are taking to heart. In an effort to reach the countries' goal of slashing carbon emissions by 2050, new government-backed plans call for a huge expansion of “heat networks” that use warmth generated by industrial machinery, geothermal energy, and subway trains to heat homes, The Telegraph reports.
A heat network is, as it sounds, a large network of insulated pipes that transports hot water or steam to “heat exchanger” units in homes in order to heat up the mains water supply. Basically, the networks make use of heat that is produced as a waste by-product of commercial or industrial processes in order to replace less efficient domestic gas boilers.
Of the 381 local authorities in England and Wales, 131 of them are now working on some sort of heat network plan.
Islington, north London is planning to use heat generated from the Northern Line of the London Underground network while other locations are exploring using geothermal heat from deep beneath the earth's surface or even recycling heat from pottery kilns from the local ceramics industry.
In 2015, an additional £320 million was set aside to help fund the construction of up to 200 projects, which would produce enough heat to supply 400,000 homes.
There are still two main hurdles that need to be overcome for these plans to work, however. The first issue is in creating a viable business model for the rollout to millions of households. Currently, it is difficult to finance a project without securing customers, but it is difficult to secure customers for something that doesn’t yet exist.
The second issue is in figuring out how to deal with “customer protection, choice, and pricing” Richard Howard, Head of Energy and Environment at Policy Exchange says in an interview with The Telegraph. “Heat networks generally lock customers in on very long term contracts, which can be 15-20 years.” A contract that long may scare away potential customers.
While heat networks seem to offer a glimmer of hope for de-carbonizing heating supplies, it remains to be seen just how viable they will actually be once implementation begins.
Related Stories
Sustainability | Jan 16, 2018
The nation's capital of sustainable design
Major cities, like Washington, D.C., make up less than 2% of the world’s landmass, but they contribute 77% of the world’s CO2 emissions.
Museums | Jan 11, 2018
Suzhou Science & Technology Museum will highlight new cultural district in Shishan Park
The 600,000-sf museum will be about 62 miles northwest of Shanghai.
Urban Planning | Jan 10, 2018
Keys to the city: Urban planning and our climate future
Corporate interests large and small are already focused on what the impact of climate change means to their business.
Sustainability | Dec 7, 2017
Busting the myths: What the “S-word” can mean for construction and development
Sustainability, it’s a trendy term. The problem, however, is that it’s being used in so many different ways that people don’t even know what it means anymore.
Sponsored | Sustainability | Nov 2, 2017
Galileo’s Pavilion is a true showcase of sustainability
Galileo’s Pavilion is a 3,000-square-foot academic building.
Greenbuild Report | Oct 18, 2017
Rebuild, retreat, or resist
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma expose the necessity—and limitations—of resilient design and construction measures.
Sustainability | Oct 16, 2017
A negative emissions power plant is now operational in Iceland
The geothermal power plant in Hellisheidi, Iceland was outfitted with a Climeworks DAC module.
Sustainability | Oct 9, 2017
New Arizona State University building will reach triple net-zero performance
The science and research complex will include an atrium biome filled with plants and water.
Sustainability | Oct 4, 2017
The solutions to climate change are already at our fingertips
To keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius of warming, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that the global buildings sector will need to decrease its total annual greenhouse gas contribution by 77% by 2050.
Green | Oct 2, 2017
Five strategies to improve energy performance in existing buildings
After performing retro-commissioning and energy audits for more than five million square feet of existing building real estate, we have developed a list of common low/no-cost Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) that are identified on the majority of projects.