ENERGY CHP & DISTRICT HEATING XXXXX XXXXXX
Conclusion Perhaps the most substantial argument for the effectiveness of district energy is the continued success of many district energy schemes around the UK, such as those in London, Southampton, Birmingham, Exeter, Leicester, Nottingham, Newcastle, Woking, Sheffield, Shetland, Edinburgh, to name just a few. The UK District Energy Association
says its member schemes alone save more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, when compared to conventional alternative energy supplies. Increasing numbers of local authorities
now understand the potential benefits of district energy for their local areas. In tandem, the private sector makes these investments because it is financially viable to do so, on a long-term basis, delivering substantial carbon savings over the coming decades and providing consumers with operational cost savings when compared to conventional energy supplies. Surely the fact that energy can be delivered at a lower cost than alternative supplies, and with a lower carbon content, is testament to the fact that district energy works. DECC’s new heat strategy references Pöyry’s 2009 report2 into the potential of district heating networks, stating: ‘Up to half of the heat load in England is in areas that have sufficiently dense heat loads to make heat networks economically viable.’3 Like all other low-carbon technologies,
A district heating network installation
When district energy and CHP are implemented appropriately, they can be the most cost-effective means of significantly reducing carbon emissions
2011 Journal article is generally considered to be a worst-case heat loss rather than a typical loss factor – and is certainly not a best-case loss factor, as the March Journal article assumed. The actual temperature losses on a given network will fluctuate from moment to moment, depending on the constantly varying demands on the different sections of the network. Therefore, heat-loss calculations are
more accurately performed using W/m figures and over a whole year of operation. In high energy density situations, the losses are much smaller than estimated in the March article – around 5% and a maximum of 10% of annual heat consumption. Heat losses at the Olympic Park’s district energy scheme – in ‘legacy phase’ for example – are calculated to be 6.9%.
42 CIBSE Journal May 2012
district energy is not a panacea; it is not generally appropriate for areas of low heat density and it requires genuine expertise to assess its feasibility, undertake its design and implement it correctly. However, when district energy and CHP are implemented appropriately, they can be the most cost- effective means of significantly reducing carbon emissions.4
REFERENCES
1. A D Hawkes, Imperial College, Energy Policy 38, 2010 2. The Potential and Costs of District Heating Networks, A Report to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Pöyry, April 2009
3. The Future of Heating: A Strategic Framework for Low Carbon Heat in the UK, DECC, March 2012, Page 19
4. Annex II to Heat Call for Evidence, BERR, January 2008, Page 88. Originally prepared by the Office of Climate Change
l PETER HAMNETT is emergent technology specialist for Cofely District Energy and Policy Specialist for the UK District Energy Association.
www.ukdea.org.uk PHIL JONES, of Building Energy Solutions, is chair of the CIBSE CHP & District Heating Group, which is organising visits to some district heating sites.
www.cibse.org
www.cibsejournal.com
Cofely
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