Could you soon be heating your home through a heat network?

Oops – Here is the second link: https://conversation.which.co.uk/home-energy/district-heating-schemes-choice-regulation-ofgem-renewable-energy/

The two Conversations highlighted by Wavechange have 175 and 115 comments. The CMA letter highlights the ridiculously uncontrolled nature of this in the housing market. I am not convinced that there is not more that can be done.

My comment last year of avoiding such schemes as a purchaser still applies. At least as a renter you can move elsewhere. Without having the pleasure of reading a contract I am nervous that if there is a large number of people making minimal use of the system all the operating parameters will be out of whack.

I do know from a source that at least one scheme had an unfound leak in the supply pipes which quite likely are buried deep. That in itself will be something all will be paying for.

That would also be more economical by enabling gas to be safely used [where available] for the heating system instead of residents having to use more expensive electricity. There is a lot of wasted hot water in apartment buildings as each has its own hot tank whereas a central supply could be designed to provide enough for all needs much more efficiently according to demand. Hotels are a good example of how this can be achieved.

The wonders of a planned economy by the state. Then the democratic view that people have choices which often are probably financially not the best but do provide flexibility.

I might be agnostic as to the benefits results but currently it looks like a very bad deal for purchasers. I am aware that there are considerable heat loss differences depending where a particular flat is within a block. There is also the case of solar gain that might be considerable for some and negligible for others which might need to be fleshed out when telling people what their expected costs will be.

I would not be surprised to see a 50% difference in heating costs quite easily between nominally identical flats with similar usage profiles and same temperatures.

Perhaps I am unduly pessimistic about flats being designed for looks rather than practical matters – including long term maintenance.

Not so, Larry. Where mains gas is available the cost per unit of thermal output is considerably lower than the equivalent electricity charge. There is a slight advantage if electricity can be used overnight on an economy tariff but room heating is not usually required at those times. Electric storage heaters are inflexible in output and control, and ‘dumb’ electric convector radiators are very expensive to run; modern ones have efficient control features and can operate in communication with each other to maintain an even temperature but the fundamental costs remain relatively high and are rarely installed where mains gas is available.

If a gas heating installation is unsafe or giving off fumes there is something wrong with it and it should be serviced as a matter of urgency.

In the context of district heating schemes the gas versus electricity argument changes because of course you have to take into account the heat losses and complexity of the piping. This complexity means high capital costs from inception and for eventual replacement let alone potential breakdowns.*

I think it probably is possible that electricity could be a viable competitor particularly if electricty generation costs reduce. For the moment ignore HMG’s nuclear aberration and overall the costs of production are falling.

* I am aware that there are almost certainly district heating schemes that work. The experience in Eastern Bloc countries makes me wonder if the capital costs etc were borne by the state rather than the actual flat dwellers.

Subsequent delving through the excellent Wikipedia article leads to this article with an excellent executive summary of the UK rush to District heating.
maxfordham.com/assets/media/images/publications/Widesread%20use%20of%20district%20heating/District_Heating__CHP_Study.pdf

” We have at one recent example from a housing association who have found that a community heating system is more costly to install and uses more energy than a conventional system that they would put in. Over a 25 year period the additional costs would be £40,000 to £52,000 per dwelling. On the basis that it costs considerably more to install and run and uses more energy, we cannot see any justification for expanding the use of this technology. “

Folks, please don’t feed the trolls!

True but not everyone has mains gas, we only have an LPG tank which is expensive to fill up so only use it for the hob and water heating, only in deep winter do we use the gas heating

I did make it clear that I was comparing electricity with mains gas where it is available. As is well known, other fuel sources like LPG and oil are more expensive. This is usually reflected in the price or rent of the property.