Benefits of District Energy
District Energy is widely recognised as a sustainable, cost-effective solution to the provision of heating, cooling and power and scores highly in environmental assessment schemes such as BREEAM and LEED. It also facilitates compliance with Building Regulations Part L requirements. Increased use of District Energy combined with CHP is a cornerstone of the Government’s strategy for reducing carbon emissions.
At the heart of every District Energy scheme is an Energy Centre that typically serves a number of buildings, which could range from a block of flats to an entire city, through a network of underground pipes and cables.
In most District Energy schemes the Energy Centre includes Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant to generate electricity and heat for heating and hot water. District Energy schemes also increase the opportunities for using other low and zero carbon (LZC) technologies such as fuel cells, biomass, solar thermal, heat pumps etc – exploiting the economies of scale to increase the financial viability of such technologies. Conventional gas-fired boilers may also be included in the mix.
Where there is a cooling requirement in the summer, when space heating requirements are lower, the surplus heat from the CHP plant may be used to drive a high efficiency absorption chiller (Tri-generation). Surplus electrical power can be exported to the grid to generate additional revenue and subsidise the cost of the project.
Heat, power and cooling can all be individually metered to separate buildings or zones for recharging purposes.
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