DISTRICT HEATING LONDON HEAT MAP
The London Plan doesn’t say DH is mandatory. We can’t have policy holding up development, and it has to be economically viable
CODE OF PRACTICE ON DISTRICT HEATING
Feedback from district heating/ cooling schemes is providing strong evidence that some systems are not performing to expectations. Problems such as poor pipework specifi cation and layout, lack of insulation continuity, high operating temperatures, poor pumping and fl ow control have been reported, as well as a lack of accurate metering and poor commissioning. ‘There has been a growth in smaller domestic schemes and many of these are not delivering,’ says Phil Jones, chair of CIBSE’s CHP and DH Group. ‘The sector needs underpinning standards on feasibility and planning through design, installation, commissioning and into operation, to ensure DH systems actually deliver.’
Islington Council’s district heating scheme links the hot spots on the London Heat Map
and done in the right way. With the right energy loads – high enough, fl at enough and long enough energy demand patterns for heat – then it can be a highly-viable proposition. However, I believe that there are situations where it’s been put in that are too small, with the wrong energy loads.’ Planners are keen for developers to consider the technology, and anecdotal reports suggest that they won’t take no for an answer. Indeed, in London, the Mayor’s target is to achieve 25% of London’s energy supply from decentralised energy sources by 2025, with the London Plan the mechanism for change. ‘Planners seem to be insisting on district heating for schemes as low as 50 homes, which are very hard to make viable,’ says Jones. ‘Heat loss is a high proportion of the total heat demand, the effi ciency is poor and the capital cost of the unit and pipework is very high, relatively speaking.’ Matthew Pencharz is senior advisor on environment and energy to the Mayor at
Greater London Authority (GLA). ‘The London Plan does not say that district heating is mandatory. We can’t have policy holding up development, and it has to be economically and technically viable.’ Peter North, senior manager, programme delivery at the GLA, is currently directing London’s Decentralised Energy Project Delivery Unit (DEPDU). He argues that engineers need to carry out better feasibility work upfront. ‘Applicants often aren’t able to set out the numbers in a clear way to demonstrate to our planners.’ Huw Blackwell, a former sustainability consultant at Hoare Lea, is now decentralised energy project offi cer at Islington Council, where he is part of the team behind the next phase of the London authority’s Bunhill Heat and Power heat network. ‘I haven’t yet seen any defi nitive work that says a 40-50 unit scheme is not fi nancially viable,’ says Blackwell. ‘It’s certainly technically viable. Yes, there are higher capital costs, but it’s diffi cult to compare maintenance costs for DH with
CIBSE and CHPA have formed a partnership to enhance the quality of heat networks. This aims to develop and implement standards for district heating/ cooling to help take this sector to the next level. This would begin with a Code of Practice publication.
‘The adoption of a Code of Practice by developers could be used to support marketing by providing assurance to customers and property purchasers that the DH scheme has followed a set of design, installation and commissioning standards,’ says Jones. ‘A condition of receiving private investment or public funding could be that the Code of Practice has been followed. The assurance provided by the standards and accreditation should therefore have a signifi cant effect on the DH market.’ For more on this topic, visit
www.cibse.org/chp
www.cibsejournal.com
February 2014 CIBSE Journal 53
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