3 ottobre 2023 – District heating offers a vital opportunity for large-scale decarbonisation of the energy used by homes and businesses, with Scotland backing the roll-out through some notable innovations.

With heat the UK’s heaviest carbon emitter when combining all industries and uses in buildings – even more than transport and electricity, according to official figures – district heating offers vital opportunities for savings in emissions and costs. Heat networks can be rolled out on the large scale required to make the biggest impact in reducing the country’s carbon footprint, which is already happening in Scotland.

Unlike the gas-fired boiler model, where water is heated within a property, district heating involves heat being generated externally and carried into a large number of properties in the form of steam or hot water through insulated pipes.