The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is closely exploring ways of getting people and businesses to take part in district heating schemes.

An official at DECC has declared that there over five million properties that could benefit from district heating schemes, which accounts for around 20% of current overall heating demand. This equates to one in five households which could use community heating systems.

Compared to the rest of Europe, the U.K. is seriously lagging behind in the area, with only a 2% usage of such systems. In Austria, Finland and Denmark, district heating systems account for some 60% of their heat supplies. In Iceland, the figure reaches 90%.

The government is keen to promote shared heating plans, as heat accounts for nearly half of the U.K.’s total carbon emissions. And that by 2050, the government has committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.

A Renewable Heat Incentive could offer financial support for those wishing to get involved in the scheme, but funds will only be available to those using renewable energy sources, such as biomass boilers.

DECC officials admitted though that unless a radical re-think was actioned, it’s unlikely that such schemes will take off in the U.K., as financial constraints, system redundancy worries and a lack of understanding will hold back projects, no matter how well intentioned.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Officials from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) are keen to see more waste used as a source for low-carbon heat.

The DECC is working on a new Heat and Energy Saving Strategy, which has been involved in an initial consultative period, and should be released in a more detailed version in the autumn. This will follow the government’s Renewable Energy Strategy which outlines the U.K.’s plan to reach its 15% renewable energy target by 2020.

The government is trying to marry the too much waste problem, with too little correct heat problem.

A number of solutions have been put forward, with one of the main contenders being the manufacture of biogas from waste, which is in turn cleaned and converted into biomethane, which can then be fed into the national gas grid. This method is very appealing to experts, as 90% of the country’s current domestic heating is provided by natural gas.

Experts explain that biogas has to be cleaned, because it consists of 65% methane and 35% carbon dioxide. When cleaned up into biomethance, it becomes about 90% methane, together the ethane and various other contaminants.

Cleaning biogas is regularly done in mainland Europe. The carbon dioxide has to be removed, as well as the hydrogen sulphide containments. The process is said to be no more complicated than cleaning natural gas from the North Sea before it enters the national grid.

Guest Article by Neil Camp