Main system
Buildings
The homes, offices and public buildings we heat, cool and build, and the materials they are made from.
Construction, heating, cooling and efficiency
Heat networks
Shared pipes that carry heat from one low-carbon source to many buildings.
The problem
Replacing boilers one building at a time is slow where buildings are close together and heat demand is high.
Approach01
How it works
The source might be large heat pumps, waste heat from industry or deep geothermal heat.
A central source produces heat at scale, often more efficiently than individual systems.
Insulated pipes carry hot water under the streets to connected buildings.
Each building takes heat through an exchanger in place of its own boiler.
Limitations02
Where it falls short
Laying pipes is disruptive and costly to start.
Networks need enough connected demand to pay their way.
Customers depend on one operator, so pricing and service need oversight.
At a glance
Where it fits.
- Main system
- Buildings
- Also shapes
- Energy, Industry
- Related solutions
- Air-source heat pumps
- Used in
- A heat network for a town centre
How solutions are sourced and reviewed is set out in our methodology.
System and projects
In practice.
Connecting public buildings and homes to shared low-carbon heat through underground pipes.
Where buildings sit close together, one shared heat source can replace many individual boilers.
Your questions, answered.
Quick answers about the platform and its content.
A technology or approach that addresses a specific problem in one or more systems, from heat pumps to land shared between farming and solar.
Only where a maturity stage is defined and backed by sources. We don't estimate one.
Always. Every solution lists where it falls short, alongside what it addresses and how it works.
To cover every system, from technologies like heat pumps and batteries to changes in how land, water and materials are used.
From published research and practice. Every entry is reviewed by people who know the field and linked to the systems, solutions and projects it relates to.
