In simplified terms, developers, businesses and building owners will be required to reduce their Greenhouse Gas Emissions by phasing out energy systems that use fossil fuels and replacing them with low carbon/ renewable alternatives.
For the housebuilding sector, changes to building standards and the fast-approaching 2024 cut-off date for the installation of gas in new-build homes place a renewed emphasis on fabric design and the use of suitable technologies.
One area is in the application of Renewable services and the use of district heating networks, a heating technology that has been identified as a key area of development by the Scottish Government that will be supported by a Heat Networks Delivery Plan that will be implemented across Scotland from 2024 in support of new build construction and the retrofit of existing buildings.
Arc-Tech (Scotland), as a market-leading Building Services provider in Scotland, has considered the above factors and in partnership with Hawthorne Boyle (M&E Design Consultants), we have designed and researched various renewable technologies and distribution methods to support the net zero carbon agenda.
Our focus has been to combine gas-free, low carbon heating solutions with renewable technologies through the use of:
District Heating and Air Source Heat Pumps
Arc-Tech is presently supporting the creation of over 500 net zero homes across the breadth of the country. Forming a major part of this pipeline are two entirely D&B projects in Edinburgh: Western Villages, a 444-home scheme along the Granton Waterfront and Granton D1, a 75-home development on Granton Broadway, are each being supported with a bespoke-designed heating system that utilises a new form of district heating to achieve zero-emissions.
Arc-Tech uses a two-stage heat pump district heating system comprising of stage 1 Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP’s) and stage 2 Water Source Heat Pumps (WSHP’s) which can provide a district heating system at higher temperatures suitable for both space heating and domestic hot water.
The district heating system is fed from a central energy centre which consists of an external compound containing the ASHP’s and a stand-alone plant building containing buffer vessels, pumps, WSHP’s, control panels and electrical switchboards.
Once the heating network leaves the energy centre, it distributes identically to a conventional district heating network. The flatted block(s) are fed by an underground pipe network that enters each block and rises up through the communal areas to serve individual Heat Interface Unit’s (HIU) within each property, providing space heating and hot water to each dwelling. Occupants control temperatures via a standard control system and billing is undertaken via an ESCO (Energy Services Company).
Contact us today for more information.
