Abstract
In dwellings connected to district or communal heating schemes occupants are commonly charged based on actual heat consumption, providing a direct link between heat consumption and weekly heating cost. This article investigates how the use of fixed-rate, shared-cost charging without dwelling-level metering affects the heating and controls use in communal network social housing. Living room and radiator temperatures in 50 flats were monitored over a winter heating season and occupants surveyed at monitoring install and removal. The primary stated and observed heating strategy was to leave the heating always on and control through the radiator thermostatic radiator valves. Of people who used timer control, total heating hours reduced with increased frequency of manual intervention. Mean indoor temperatures up to 27.7°C were observed, implying many residents are adapted to higher indoor temperatures. Thus, the current model encourages wasteful behaviour and education on use of controls is key to transitioning residents to charging for actual heat use. Practical application: This article intends to inform the landlords of communal network social housing schemes on the impacts that shared-cost recovery methods of charging for heat has on heating and controls use. This charging method can impact the behaviour of the network occupants resulting in higher heat consumption, overall higher heating costs and subsequently higher carbon emissions from the site if occupants are not adequately trained in how to operate their heating effectively. Where similar charging methods are implemented, the article hopes to inform operators of the potential vulnerabilities of the network occupants to changes in the method of charging for heat.
Highlights
The use of district heat-networks and communal heating offers residential housing blocks an efficient solution to meet carbon emissions targets
This study has shown that most of the tenants of the Charles Dickens Estate Heat Network are adapted to living at temperatures higher than the self-reported expected temperature of 20.6C and above the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Public Health England recommendations
This is potentially precarious for the tenants, who may struggle to adapt to lower internal temperatures or face much higher heating bills if the method of charging for heat were to change or the tenant had move to a dwelling where heat is charged based on individual use
Summary
The use of district heat-networks and communal heating offers residential housing blocks an efficient solution to meet carbon emissions targets. Heating system is that an entire building or network can be upgraded to a more fuel-efficient and/or lower-carbon heating solution in one instance. The continued development of heat network technology has seen the gradual reduction in distribution temperatures. This improvement is predicted to continue in the future and will further reduce best-practise network energy losses and resulting carbon emissions.[1,2,3] heat networks and communal heating schemes can provide an element of futureproofing to the building or network. The inclusion of CHP requires constant management to ensure an efficient run-strategy and optimal electrical generation is maintained.[5]
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