HEAT NETWORK | SWAFFHAM PRIOR DIGGING FOR BRITAIN Escalating energy prices and the urgent need to decarbonise means communities are looking to move away from fossil fuel as a heating source. A pioneering heat network in the Cambridgeshire village of Swaffham Prior is aiming to use a hybrid heat pump system, coupled with a solar farm, to provide ultralow carbon, affordable heating for every resident, business and school. Andy Pearson reports O n 19 October 2021, the government launched a consultation (now closed) on its plans to phase out, from 2026, the installation of fossil-fuel heating in the 1.1 million homes in England not connected to the gas grid. It also plans a heat pump first approach to replacement heating systems from that date. A community heat network nearing completion at Swaffham Prior, East Cambridgeshire, shows how it is possible to phase out fossil-fuel heating in rural villages; it also highlights some of the challenges faced by those attempting to do so cost-effectively. Installation of heating mains and the construction of a local renewable energy centre are under way in Swaffham Prior, for what will be Englands first rural village heat network. The majority of its 300 homes as well as two churches, a pub and school are currently heated using oil, one of the most carbon-intensive forms of heating. The remainder of the properties use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or direct electric. In spring 2022, the first homes will connect to the heat network and benefit from low carbon heat produced by a hybrid air and ground source heat pump (GSHP) system, powered by a solar farm 8km away. Four large thermal stores will meet short-term peaks in demand and provide resilience. The Heating Swaffham Prior project was kick-started by Swaffham Prior Community Land Trust to give residents the opportunity to cost-effectively replace their oil-fired heating systems with a low-carbon alternative. In 2018, the trust commissioned a study into alternative heating options from sustainability charity Bioregional, which identified the potential for a village-wide heat network. A range of heat sources was considered including biomass from local straw but the key to unlocking the project was a parcel of land on the edge of the village owned by Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC). This opened up the possibility of generating heat using a GSHP system. CCC partnered with the trust, enabling the project to access funding and support from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategys Heat Network A particular issue with homes that use heating oil is that fuel delivery notes are often the only consumption data available Delivery Unit. It also allowed CCC to appoint sustainability and environmental consultancy Avieco as project manager, and Bouygues E&S Solutions as design and development engineer. CCC set out to establish the level of interest in the project. Avieco worked with LineUndrawn to engage the wider community and secure sign-ups for the scheme. Because the project is a retrofit of privately owned homes, we needed to do an intensive piece of community engagement, to see how many homes wanted low carbon heat and what the connection issues would be, says Helen Troup, principal consultant at Avieco. In just six months, more than half the community had registered an interest in the scheme. Next, the challenge was to establish 20 February 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Feb22 pp20-22, 24 Swaffham Prior.indd 20 28/01/2022 16:19