BSEE COMMUNAL LIVING C
When it comes to specifying new heating systems for multiple occupancy buildings the norm may be to fit a boiler in every flat, but this is not always the most efficient and cost effective way of providing heat and hot water to a large number of dwellings. Neville Small, Sales Director at Potterton Commercial, explains why communal heating systems deliver on green credentials, ease of installation and much more.
ommunal heating – sometimes referred to as community heating, district heating or heat networks – is enjoying somewhat of a resurgence in popularity as energy efficiency legislation and rising energy costs encourage more private sector
developers to look for greener ways to provide heat to the homes they are building.
Heat networks first became popular in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s and were primarily used in blocks of flats in urban areas. The decline in high rise housing developments and the poor performance of some of the early heat network schemes meant that communal heating began to fall out of favour in the 1980s and 1990s. But the idea of decentralised heating networks is becoming popular again, as the search for greener, cleaner heating solutions intensifies. The Government is actively trying to increase the number of households connected to a district heating network and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and would like to see 20 per cent of homes connected to one by 20301
. The UK’s existing communal heating networks meet heat demand for around 210,000 homes, as well as 1,700 commercial and public sector buildings1
.
In contrast, countries such as Denmark lead the way in communal heating, with an impressive 63 per cent of Danish households connected to a heat network2
Sea, the Swedish city of Malmo meets 95 per cent of its domestic heat demand by heat networks1
. Across the Baltic .
Communal heating installations provide heat and/or hot water to a number of individual homes from one central boiler or group of boilers via a flow & return piping network. These installations are particularly popular for multi-occupancy high rise schemes, where a central boiler plant can be coupled with heat interface units (HIUs) to deliver heating and domestic hot water to individual properties. The householder is able to control their supply with either a room thermostat or individual thermostatic radiator valves, and a separate programmer. The HIUs record the heat used for accurate energy billing.
A communal heating system should be designed so that it is flexible enough to respond swiftly, accurately and efficiently to changes in heating and hot water demand. It is worth specifying boilers which are able to modulate, to ensure they are condensing and running at their most efficient even when demand for heat and/or hot water is low. In high rise developments, centralised schemes can offer many benefits over the more traditional approach of installing separate heating systems (typically a gas-fired combi boiler or a form of electric heating) in individual properties. Firstly, it is more energy efficient to run one centralised boiler installation, meaning that energy consumption is reduced and cost savings can be passed on to the householder. The bar for energy efficiency is being set higher and higher for new builds, and heating engineers are well
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A COMMUNAL APPROACH TO HEATING Energy efficient and affordable – it all adds up
uPotterton Commercial’s Sirius WH cascade is suitable for a wide range of applications accommodating two to six boilers.
positioned to advise private developers on how they can meet their legislative duties. Part L of the current Building Regulations requires a 6 per cent improvement on 2010’s carbon emission targets for new build properties3
. Communal heating can all contribute to
and under
the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), all new buildings will need to be nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) by 20204
meeting these targets.
Of course there is more to cutting emissions than just selecting an efficient and correctly sized boiler and controls. It is important to look at the bigger picture, taking into account how a system is operated and maintained to ensure it continues to run at optimum performance. Engineers should agree a scheduled maintenance and service programme with the building owner at the installation stage of any heating system to safeguard long term energy efficiency and performance. This not only ensures that bills are kept low for tenants, but also that they are not left without heating or hot water provision due to unscheduled breakdowns.
Heating systems perform more reliably with good-quality water circulating in them so it’s worth considering the impact of chemical water treatment. Water contains dissolved atmospheric gases, which can affect a heating system’s components. Failing to invest in appropriate water treatment can result in corrosion and the build-up of limescale, leading to inefficiencies, poor performance and potential boiler failure after a relatively short period of time. Systems that are corroded become blocked with sludge and debris, which will cause the boiler to work harder and for longer, as the circulating water is unable to transfer the heat efficiently throughout the system. This drastically reduces energy efficiency, in turn increasing running costs as well as carbon emissions.
As well as energy efficiency, properly maintained centralised plant installations also offer improved safety and ease of installation. As the gas supply does not need to be distributed to multiple dwellings, engineers don’t need to fit gas distribution pipework throughout the building, or indeed install numerous flue terminals, plume displacement and condensate drainage systems that would be required if all apartments had an individual boiler. This all adds up to less hassle for engineers, less capital costs for installation and reduced whole life costs too as there is just one heating installation to service.
The benefits of communal heating systems soon add up, not only in terms of more affordable heating for the end user, but also a more cost and energy efficient way of delivering domestic heat and hot water to multiple occupancy buildings.
By thinking outside the box, and moving away from the idea that every home needs to have a boiler, we can develop more affordable, alternative heating initiatives for private landlords and developers.
www.pottertoncommercial.co.uk
NOTES 1
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/ uploads/attachment_data/file/190149/16_04-DECC- The_Future_of_Heating_Accessible-10.pdf
2
https://www.theguardian.com/big-energy- debate/2014/aug/20/denmark-district-heating-uk- energy-security
3
uCommunal heating installations provide heat and/or hot water to a number of individual homes from one central boiler or group of boilers via a flow & return piping network.
14 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER DECEMBER 2016
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/ uploads/attachment_data/file/8390/2076716.pdf
4
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/ energy-efficiency/buildings
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Countries such as Denmark lead the way in communal heating, with an impressive 63 per cent of Danish households connected to a heat network. Across the Baltic Sea, the Swedish city of Malmo meets 95 per cent of its domestic heat demand by heat networks.
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