Breaking Down the Barriers is a 12-page guide aiming to improve the industry’s understanding of heat networks and correct some commonly held misconceptions surrounding district heating pipework. 

The guide delves into the world of district heating, which uses a variety of sources, including gas and energy from waste and renewable energy sources, to provide heat demand for a number of buildings, whether residential, commercial or multi-occupancy. 

It also explores the benefits of this heat network, which offers carbon savings via local heat generation, lower bills to end users and can help reduce fuel poverty, lower maintenance and ensure fuel security. 

The guide addresses some common misconceptions surrounding district heating and the use of polymer pipes in these heat networks. Commons issues such as whether specialist welding teams are required for installation, and whether polymer pipes are only suited for small networks and house connections, are also dealth with. Later in the guide, M&E contractors are given five top tips to consider when working on district heating projects.  

Breaking Down the Barriers is the second free-to-download guide to be published under Rehau’s Build Your Legacy campaign – an initiative devised to encourage M&E contractors to consider how the product choices they make today will impact on a building’s performance in years to come. It focuses on the four key ways to deliver more sustainable, future-proof installations by addressing quality, technical know-how, trust and reliability, and innovation and sustainability. 

Steve Richmond, head of marketing and technical for Building Solutions at Rehau, said: “District heating systems offer so many benefits and according to estimates could contribute as much as 17 per cent of heat to our homes and 24 per cent of heat to commercial buildings by 2050, ultimately supporting the UK’s goal to reduce carbon emissions. 

“But if we are to use this system as it has been in Europe, we must bust open some common misconceptions around district heating and the use of polymer pipes and encourage its adoption. This guide takes on many of these concerns and reassures contractors that their projects will leave a positive legacy for the building users for many years to come.”

Already released as part of the Build Your Legacy campaign was The Sound of Silence guide – the M&E contractor’s essential guide to acoustic soil and waste pipework. Further guides to be released will discuss 21st century plumbing and heating, and multi-occupancy buildings.

To download a guide or for more information, click here.