As one of the UK market leaders in district heating pipes, Rehau believes that the announcement will inspire confidence in the UK district heating industry and encourage more developers and specifiers to choose these low carbon systems in the future.
Steve Richmond, head of marketing and technical for building solutions at Rehau, said: “Heat networks are an important part of the government’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions and in recent years, we have seen a marked increase in their use, particularly in schemes which provide low cost heat to those most in need.
“With funding soon to be available for new heat networks, the industry has a real opportunity to not only deliver more district heating systems across the country but also to invest in the development and installation of modern heat networks for increased efficiency and even lower costs for end users.”
The terms 4th and 5th generation district heating are used to refer to low temperature and ultra-low temperature heat networks. These operate using low grade heat sources – either from renewables such as heat pumps or waste heat – and utilise lower flow temperatures and larger delta Ts (the difference between flow and return temperatures) and hence require smaller pipe diameters. 5th generation district heating uses ambient temperature levels for heating and cooling (15-20°C).
4th and 5th generation networks are typically designed and installed using polymer pipes, reducing the capital costs for both developers and contractors and the lower heat losses will reduce costs for end users.
Mr Richmond added: “The HNIP scheme will open for applications in January 2019, so we would advise clients looking to install a heat network to factor this into their project timelines. The funding will be available for both public and private sector projects in England and Wales, and for schemes which incorporate both domestic and non-domestic use. With funding available and the continued support of supply chain partners like Rehau, 2019 is sure to be a key year for heat networks in the UK.”
The Clean Growth Strategy shows that heat networks could meet up to 17 per cent of heat demand in homes and up to 24 per cent of heat demand in industrial and public sector buildings by 2050.
Rehau’s heat networks portfolio includes the Rauthermex and Rauvitherm PE-Xa pipes and large diameter PP-R district heating pipes, alongside the Rautitan heating and plumbing system often used in communal heating systems.