Community heating offers affordable, reliable heat for residents, but what about the scheme operators? Find out how community heating can help you meet carbon emission targets and prove a financial return.

As social landlords go about trying to create a better environment for their tenants and improve their sustainability ratings, community heating schemes could help meet various targets such as energy efficiency, carbon emissions, and customer satisfaction.

The alternative to electricity or gas heating helps tick several boxes. Let’s take a look at five of them.

1. Being energy efficient

Homes that are affordable to heat can help boost residents’ wealth and positively impact their well-being.

Although there are currently no binding regulations on social landlords to improve energy efficiency, the government has a target of having all homes reach a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band “C” by 2030.

As EPCs take account of CO2 emissions systems – such as community heating, which can make use of renewable-fired boilers and heat – installation can help improve the EPC-rating of a property.

2. Saving energy in heating homes

Social landlords are under pressure to reduce energy throughout their housing stock. According to SHIFT, a social housing sustainability accreditation organisation, the Climate Change Act implies an energy cost (SAP) target of 86, where 100 is zero cost.

As well as being able to reduce carbon intensity through the use of renewable sources and excess heat, community heating schemes are also more energy efficient and use less energy overall to heat homes and hot water.

3. Reducing carbon emissions

With a national target of an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions based on 1990 levels by 2050, many councils and social landlords are committed to finding ways to improve their housing stock or build more energy efficient homes.

Once more straightforward measures like insulation are carried out, if feasible, community heating could have its part to play. A 2009 report prepared for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) found that a district heating network covering 250,000 houses could save between 0.25 and 1.25 Mt CO2 a year compared to conventional heating systems.

4. Creating less outlay for tenants

People in fuel poverty find it difficult to afford heating their homes during winter in order to keep healthy. The target is measured annually by the government across the country.

Recent changes to legislation will mean private-rented landlords will not be able to let out F- or G-rated properties by 2018.

Community heating can help improve energy efficiency as well as save up to 60 per cent on energy bills if a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) system is installed. If your customers are charged a flat fee, they can also be in line for a 35-50 per cent reduction in their bills.

5. Boosting customer happiness

Tenant satisfaction is measured annually by private company, HouseMark. While not a government target, the “survey of tenants and residents” (STAR) of 350 landlords often generates headlines and is therefore considered authoritative.

A number of the questions included in the survey relate to the tenants’ quality of life and the provision and value-for-money of services as well as their health and well-being.

With community heating providing affordable, reliable warmth and better value-for-money, the impacts on tenants’ health and pockets will reflect positively in the survey responses. Therefore, it is likely to represent a good investment for social landlords trying to boost tenant satisfaction over several areas at once.

Takeaways:

• Homes that are affordable to heat can help boost residents’ wealth and positively impact their well-being.
• Community heating schemes use less energy overall to heat homes.
• Many councils and social landlords are committed to finding ways to improve their housing stock or build more energy efficient homes.
• Recent changes to legislation will mean private-rented landlords will not be able to let out F- or G-rated properties by 2018.
• A district heating network covering 250,000 houses could save between 0.25 and 1.25 Mt CO2 a year compared to conventional heating systems.
• Community heating schemes help tick many boxes when looking at government targets – and, subsequently, prove a return for the operators.

Community heating offers affordable, reliable heat and savings in carbon emissions. But poor decisions in the planning and design stage can severely reduce scheme profitability or lead to tariffs that are too high or too low.

Review the issues and the latest codes of best practice.