HEAT NETWORKS; HOUSING; HEALTHCARE SPECIAL FEATURES This month: Heat network regulations; ambient networks; Cleveland Clinic QUALITY ASSURED With investment in heat networks expected to rise exponentially, the government is proposing mandatory testing to ensure the new wave of low carbon district heating delivers performance and value for consumers. Alex Smith reports T he government is banking on heat networks to help the UK meet its 2050 carbon-reduction targets. In 2015, the Committee on Climate Change estimated that around 18% of the countrys heat will need to come from heat networks by 2050 if it is to meet its carbon targets cost-effectively. According to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), 16bn of capital investment is likely to be needed to deliver such growth. In 2017, with the industry set for rapid growth, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recommended that the gas and electricity regulator, Ofgem, be given powers to regulate domestic heat networks. In February this year, BEIS launched a consultation for a regulatory framework that would give Ofgem oversight and enforcement powers across quality of service and pricing for domestic heat network consumers. The consultation, Heat networks: building a market framework, proposes mandatory regulation of new heat networks and urges developers to join the Heat Trust, an independent consumerprotection scheme for heat network customers. The trust aims to ensure a minimum standard of quality and a level of protection for consumers equal to other energy customers. Scheme rules include a guaranteed performance standard for temperature, continuity of service and reporting faults. Heat interface units (HIUs) must also be maintained regularly, and suppliers signed up to the Heat Trust can be penalised if standards are not met. Heat networks are maturing and becoming a central feature for the decarbonisation of heat Assurance schemes would assess whether heat networks meet technical standards at design and build says Gareth Jones, managing director at heat network specialist FairHeat. This is apparent in increasing consumer protection, better technical standards through the ADE-CIBSE Heat Networks Code of Practice and proposed certification. Jones believes it is a pivotal moment for heat networks, because of the move away from gas-fired CHP energy source towards heat pumps, which has huge implications for the design of heat networks. There needs to be a significant change in the way people design dwellings and systems. We need lower temperatures, which will increase the performance for heat pumps and increase the number of heat pumps that can be used, he says. Regulating heat networks The BEIS consultation looked at options for ensuring heat networks are designed, installed and operated to robust technical standards, and concluded that there should be some form of mandatory assurance schemes. We know that, as the market builds, some heat networks have struggled to keep up standards in line with the rest of the sector, leading to less effective and poorer performing networks, says the report. It is important to address this gap, both to improve the experience of consumers on poorer performing networks and to address the negative impact on the sectors overarching reputation. The consultation states that assurance schemes would assess whether new heat networks had met technical standards required at design and build. It would consider whether large extensions to existing networks could be covered by the assurance scheme and whether operational requirements should be applied to existing sites. A body such as the UKs National Accreditation Body could have responsibility for monitoring organisations offering assurance and certification, says the CMA report, which advises organisations to join the Heat Trust to prepare themselves for future standards. www.cibsejournal.com August 2020 31 CIBSE Aug20 pp31-32 Heat network Fairheat.indd 31 24/07/2020 15:54