Community heating involves piping hot water from a central boiler plant or energy center to heat buildings' radiators and provide hot water. It can save money by achieving economies of scale with a single efficient central plant rather than individual boilers. Community heating also cuts pollution by allowing use of renewable and waste fuels not feasible for individual buildings. It provides social benefits like reducing energy costs for residents struggling with fuel poverty.

1. The Benefits of
Community Heating
Find out how community heating can save
money, cut pollution and ease fuel poverty.
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What is community heating?
Buildings heated by community heating take hot
water piped from one central boiler plant or energy
centre to heat their radiators and provide hot water.

3. www.switch2.co.uk
What is community heating?
Buildings heated by community heating take hot
water piped from one central boiler plant or energy
center to heat their radiators and provide hot water.

4. www.switch2.co.uk
Buildings heated by community heating take hot
water piped from one central boiler plant or energy
center to heat their radiators and provide hot water.
What is community heating?

5. www.switch2.co.uk
Buildings heated by community heating take hot
water piped from one central boiler plant or energy
center to heat their radiators and provide hot water.
What is community heating?

6. www.switch2.co.uk
Why use community heating?

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Why use community heating?
Its benefits are:

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Economic
Why use community heating?
Its benefits are:

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Environmental Economic
Why use community heating?
Its benefits are:

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Its benefits are:
Environmental Economic Social
Why use community heating?

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Economies of scale mean that one central boiler
plant is more efficient than individual boilers.
An example of this is Leicester’s City Centre District
Heating Scheme, which spans six estates in the city
and will have saved more than 20,000 tonnes of
carbon by 2020.
Environmental benefits of community heating

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Community heating can use fuels in ways that just
wouldn’t work in individual houses or flats.
Combinations of energy sources can be used,
including traditional gas fired boilers, biomass, CHP
and low grade heat technologies such as ground
source heat pumps.
Heat that would otherwise be wasted during
industrial processes can be used when the plant is
connected to a district heat network.
More environmental benefits
Fuels rush in

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Typical carbon dioxide emissions
[g/kWh] of different heating systems:

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CHP gas
CHP coal
Biomass
Waste incineration
Oil
District heating
Typical carbon dioxide emissions
[g/kWh] of different heating systems:
10
270
30
20
360

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CHP gas
CHP coal
Biomass
Waste incineration
Oil
District heating Individual heating
Typical carbon dioxide emissions
[g/kWh] of different heating systems:
Gas boiler
Coal fired boiler
Oil fired boiler
Electric heating
Heat pump
10
270
30
20
360
260
530
350
850
300

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Economic benefits of community heating

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Community heating can cut the costs to the
housing management and to the consumer.
Economic benefits of community heating

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Community heating can cut the costs to the
housing management and to the consumer.
Economic benefits of community heating
Factors in economic savings:
• Reduced maintenance
• No gas boiler avoids
safety inspection costs
• Longer equipment life
• 25 years – versus 15
for gas boilers
• CHP

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Community heating can cut the costs to the
housing management and to the consumer.
• Reduced maintenance
• No gas boiler avoids
safety inspection costs
• Longer equipment life
• 25 years – versus 15
for gas boilers
• CHP
Economic benefits of community heating
Factors in economic savings:
Supplying electricity can cut building management
costs or provide income and lower electricity bills
to customers.

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Systems that serve social housing – typically owned by
a local authority or housing association - are among
the most viable. It can reduce energy bills for residents
on benefits or within fuel poverty. Affordable warmth
reduces cold and condensation related illnesses.
Social benefits of community heating

21. Why choose a community heating scheme?
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