For any installer in the heating and ventilation industries, keeping up with the latest trends can be the difference between the business being successful or not. Quite often, these trends are based upon legislative regulations or guidance from government or industry bodies – it might be amends to Part L of the Building Regulations, initiatives such as the Renewable Heat Incentive, or health and safety updates from OFTEC.
Whether it is a school, hotel, library, gym, small office or even a large domestic property, space is a valuable commodity. Commercial property owners cannot afford to lose the space a bulky heating system or plant room takes up in their building. Owners and operators of these building are looking to get the maximum from the space they have available.
As businesses and organisations look to improve their building’s energy performance and cut costs and emissions, heating is a frequent starting place for efficiency measures.
The UK’s total gas consumption has fallen by 20% since 2000. In some parts of the country, more than 50% of electricity supplies are now being generated by renewables; and last year saw the first day since the industrial revolution when none of our electricity came from coal.
Recycling our rubbish has become second nature in the UK. But we are missing an opportunity to recycle our heat.
Currently supplying about 11% of global space and water heating needs, most heat networks today are fuelled by either coal or natural gas, while the national renewable energy share can range from 1% in China to 42% in Denmark.
The heat network industry is beginning to make a much-needed cultural shift from keeping the heat on at any cost to one that focuses on increasing whole system reliability and efficiency. This is part of a more holistic approach to maintenance and operation.
Communal heating systems and district heat networks are considered by the UK Government as one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing carbon emissions from heating, especially as their efficiency and carbon-saving potential increases as they grow and connect to each other. They also provide a unique opportunity to exploit larger-scale, and often lower-cost, renewable and recovered heat sources that otherwise cannot be used.
