REHAU has welcomed the launch of the government’s £320 million Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP), which will support the development of new heat networks from 2019.
REHAU believes the initiative will inspire confidence in the UK district heating industry and encourage more developers and specifiers to choose these low carbon systems in the future.
Steve Richmond, head of marketing & technical for building solutions, said: “Heat networks are an important part of the government’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions and in recent years, we have seen a marked increase in their use, particularly in schemes which provide low cost heat to those most in need.
“With funding soon to be available for new heat networks, the industry has a real opportunity to not only deliver more district heating systems across the country but to invest in the development and installation of modern heat networks for increased efficiency and even lower costs for end users.”
The terms fourth and fifth generation district heating are used to refer to low temperature and ultra-low temperature heat networks. These operate using low grade heat sources – either from renewables such as heat pumps or waste heat – and utilise lower flow temperatures and larger delta Ts (the difference between flow and return temperatures) and hence require smaller pipe diameters. Fifth generation district heating uses ambient temperature levels for heating and cooling (15-20°C).