News

District Heating On The Way For Stoke-On-Trent!

It certainly looks as though the way forward for keeping businesses and properties warm here in the UK is a district heating model, similar to what was introduced in Denmark back in the 1970s – which has proven to be incredibly successful at both using less energy and driving down household bills.

According to the Stoke Sentinel, a £52 million district heat network will be in operation for 13 blocks of flats in Stoke and Hanley come the year 2019, with nearly 1,000 council flat tenants set to benefit from the scheme.

It will involve geothermal energy being extracted from below ground and then distributed to both houses and businesses using water pipes. Not only will this development reduce carbon emissions but also protect people against future changes in fossil fuel prices.

“Stoke-on-Trent is being developed as the UK’s hotspot for low carbon district heating and our plans have significant backing from central government. We are putting ourselves firmly at the centre of a growing UK sustainable energy industry.

“For the first phase of the scheme, we are looking to focus on council-owned blocks of flats, where we can provide commercially sustainable heat to a large number of residents through a single connection,” Terry Follows, cabinet member for greener city, development and leisure, was quoted by the news source as saying.

District heating really came to the fore back in 1973 when oil prices skyrocketed and many countries, that were dependent on oil, suddenly found themselves in serious trouble. Denmark was certainly one of these, with the vast majority of its oil being imported. Following a very hard winter indeed, the government decided to reduce its dependence on imported oil, making heavy investments in energy efficiency, renewables and district heating ever since.

Now, new research from Aarhus University has revealed that Denmark has a historically low real consumption of energy where heating is concerned. The study concluded that increasing energy requirements in building regulations, for example, have had an especially positive effect – for example, between 2006 and 2011, heating consumption in single-family households dropped by 25 per cent.

Associate professor Steffen Petersen of the Department of Engineering at the university said: “We can see a clear correlation between the age of the buildings and the actual energy consumption, with a very significant decline starting with houses built in the 1950s. This means that we now have an empirical overview that makes it possible to document the impact of historical energy-saving requirements in the building regulations.”

The UK certainly seems to be inspired by developments of this kind. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy recently launched the first stage of a £320 million scheme intended to facilitate the deployment of district heating networks around the country… so hopefully we’ll all soon be able to enjoy reduced energy bills and a smaller carbon footprint!

Looking for insulation jackets? Browse the Elmatic website today.

New Gas Generation & Low-Carbon Battery Storage Supporting Electricity Demands

The electricity demands of homes and businesses in Britain will continue to be met in the winter of 2020/2021 thanks to a Capacity Market auction that has secured more than 52GW of electricity capacity, as well as low-carbon battery storage and two new power stations that are going to be built.

The two gas power stations will be located in Kings Llynn and Spalding, while the battery storage has won agreements for the first time ever in the market-wide auction. By buying electricity capacity four years ahead of time, the chances of unexpected price hikes for electricity is also reduced.

In fact, the auction cleared at a lower cost than was predicted by many, at £22.50 per kilowatt, which means that bill payers will be able to take advantage of a secure supply of energy at a fair cost.

“Technological innovation, as part of our low carbon future, will create jobs and opportunities across the UK. We are rebuilding an archaic energy system, bringing forward brand new gas power and innovative low-carbon capacity like battery storage to upgrade our energy mix. This is about more than just keeping the lights on. A modern, reliable, and flexible electricity system powers the economy and Britain’s future success,” Greg Clark, business and energy secretary, said.

These battery storage plants will also be given government subsidies to provide electricity when supplies are low. These facilities work by absorbing surplus power when too much is generated and then release it as and when it is needed.

For tubular electric heaters, get in touch with us at Elmatic today.

Green Gas Pilot Scheme Awarded £4.8 Million In Funding

Funding to the tune of £4.8 million has been provided under Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition to finance a three-year pilot study intended to cut out the use of costly greenhouse gases like propane.

Currently, this is added to bio-methane and other lower carbon gases for billing reasons, but it’s hoped that the study will eventually see updates brought in with regards to how gas bills are calculated so that the lower carbon alternatives like natural gas are taken into account – since they’re likely to be powering our homes and businesses in the future.

“Ofgem’s decision to award National Grid £4.8 million for this programme reflects how serious the UK’s gas grids are about delivering low carbon heat, as well as delivering a sustainable gas future which works for consumers as well,” director of network strategy at National Grid Gas Distribution David Parkin said.

In addition, the company is also looking into making gas from household waste by funding a bio-substitute natural gas plant in Swindon that will accept 10,000 tonnes of waste from the region and produce enough green gas to either fuel 75 heavy goods vehicles or heat 1,500 homes.

Similarly, Ofgem has also just awarded £6.8 million to the HyDeploy project at Keele University that intends to inject hydrogen – a clean and carbon-free gas that doesn’t contribute to climate change – into the existing natural gas network. This will make up a maximum of 20 per cent of the gas volume in the network and if the project is successful some 120 million tonnes of carbon could be prevented from reaching the atmosphere by 2050.

Looking for ceramic heaters? Check out our website today.

Delivery & Enquiries

Most items are available for delivery in 4/5 or 2/3 working days. However, we do offer additional emergency services for customers who are in a breakdown situation. This includes a 48hr services on Mica products, Cartridge Heaters and Ceramic Knuckle Heaters. For all enquires please contact a member of our sales team who will be happy to assist.

GET IN TOUCH