How are you heating your home?
District Heating

Heat pumps are ideal for providing district heating schemes in locations such as flats and social and sheltered housing.

District heating – also known as community or communal heating or heat networks – is a scheme which delivers communal heating for a number of self-contained properties using one main heat pump system.

  • How does district heating work?

    Ground source heat pumps lend themselves very well to district heating. A ground loop is typically laid in the grounds around the properties and a ground source heat pump installed in a central plant room. From its central location, the heat pump delivers the required hot water for radiators and hot water taps to each home in the scheme. Homes are metered and billed individually for the energy they use.

  • Advantages of district heating

    There are many advantages with district heating. These include:
    • Lower central heating costs – a significant reduction in heating costs for homeowners and tenants, not to mention a more efficient and effective heating system
    • Reduce bills and generate an income stream – the provider of the scheme can charge less for the delivery of heat, while still making a profit on heat generation
    • Easy maintenance – the central heat pump system can be serviced and maintained without disturbing homeowners and tenants
    • Longer-lasting and more reliable – commercial heat pumps have a lifespan far in excess of traditional boilers
    • Sustainable – heat pumps use renewable energy and help to reduce your carbon footprint.

  • What are the applications?

    District heating is suitable for networks of all sizes, from two properties up to schemes as large as housing estates, villages, towns and even cities. It can also be used in commercial and agricultural applications – for example, to heat a series of barns or warehouses.

    District heating schemes can utilise ground or air source heat pumps to suit the properties to be heated and the location.

    Where ground source is not an option because of space or budget, we can use commercial air source heat pumps to deliver the same low carbon heat input. Located within a service area or even on the roof of a block of flats, these air source units are capable of delivering all the heat and hot water required for large communal developments at a much lower installation cost than ground source.

    While district heating is still relatively new in the UK, it offers great potential and fantastic rewards for a host of applications.

    In Spring 2017, we installed the first communal domestic ground source district heating scheme in East Anglia for Flagship Group at 30 flats in South Norfolk. Click here to read more about this award-winning project. We have since installed a further two district heating schemes for Flagship, including one six-phase project to heat more than 100 homes in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

  • https://finn-geotherm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Quayside-Court.jpg

    Working with heating experts such as Finn Geotherm allows us to explore further opportunities to reduce the cost of living for our customers, and the savings should make a real difference for them.

    Charlie Conley, Head of Asset Investment at Flagship

Our Range of Products

  • Air Source Heat Pumps
  • Ground Source Heat Pumps
  • Heat Recovery Systems
  • Panasonic Aquarea UK Cylinders featured image

    Panasonic Aquarea UK Cylinders

    Manufactured in the UK, Panasonic’s Aquarea UK cylinders are designed to maximise the efficiency of the Aquarea heat pump range. The cylinders themselves are also very energy efficient and have been developed to ensure easy, hassle-free installation....

    View Series
  • Panasonic Aquarea Series featured image

    Panasonic Aquarea Series

    Panasonic’s Aquarea air source heat pump series generate the perfect temperature heating and produce hot water, in an easy, cost effective and environmentally friendly way. The highly efficient Aquarea range is suitable for both new installations and...

    View Series
  • Dimplex EC-Eau Smart cylinder featured image

    Dimplex EC-Eau Smart cylinder

    Dimplex’s EC-Eau Smart range of cylinders are designed specifically to work with A Class heat pumps to provide an efficient and environmentally friendly way of supplying domestic hot water. Employing a large surface area heat exchanger, EC-Eau heat p...

    View Series
  • Oilon ChillHeat RE Series featured image

    Oilon ChillHeat RE Series

    Oilon’s ChillHeat RE series of industrial ground source heat pumps are designed for very large scale projects, providing high capacity in a compact unit. A number of RE industrial heat pumps can be connected in series, resulting in an energy ef...

    View Series
  • Stiebel Eltron Cylinders featured image

    Stiebel Eltron Cylinders

    Stiebel Eltron cylinders are designed to work alongside the H Model range of ground source heat pumps. The cylinders are available in a range of sizes, including 300l and 500 l, to suit each project. ...

    View Series
  • Stiebel Eltron HW Models featured image

    Stiebel Eltron HW Models

    Stiebel Eltron’s HW models are ideally suited to domestic ground source heat pump applications. The systems are highly energy efficient and are suitable for both new build and retrofit projects thanks to flow temperatures of up to 75°C. ...

    View Series
  • Stiebel Eltron H Models featured image

    Stiebel Eltron H Models

    Stiebel Eltron’s H models are ideally suited to a vast range of commercial ground source heat pump applications, including both new build and retrofit. The systems are highly energy efficient and offer high hot water convenience thanks to high ...

    View Series
  • Enervent Pingvin featured image

    Enervent Pingvin

    The Enervent Pingvin air handling unit has been in production since 1995. It is the best selling single-family house unit with a rotating heat exchanger in Finland. Wall or ceiling mounting The Pingvin is dimensioned to fit in standard cabinets. The ...

    View Series
  • Enervent Pelican featured image

    Enervent Pelican

    Pelican is the older brother of the popular Pingvin series. It was designed to conform with the strictest building codes without compromising energy efficiency. The Pelican is best suited for larger single-family houses. The appearance of the Enerven...

    View Series
  • Enervent LTR Range featured image

    Enervent LTR Range

    The horizontal LTR models are designed to be installed in a roof space. Units of the LTR range have particularly efficient urethane insulation, so they can be installed in a cold space, such as an attic, with extra insulation. All of the LTR range ar...

    View Series