The National Heat Map : putting low carbon heat on the map
Email for enquiries: national.heat.map@decc.gsi.gov.uk
Covering the whole of England, the National Heat Map is a unique interactive tool that provides local authorities, communities, private sector developers and heat suppliers with a reliable source of information about where heat networks are technically possible. It is the only map covering the whole of England that allows planners to zoom down to the level of individual buildings and view their heat demand, and shows the demand of wider areas with the same accuracy. This will underpin feasibility studies by enhancing precision whilst reducing costs.
The map is equipped with a range of tools to help developers and planners identify priority areas for low carbon heat projects. Local authorities will be able to use the map as the starting point to develop detailed Energy Master Plans, to inform distributed energy policies in their LDFs and climate change strategies. Developers can use the map to help them meet local distributed energy needs.
Aside from the groundbreaking model and unparalleled data underpinning the map, there are a number of benefits that come with heat mapping at a national level.
- Common standards: individual local maps are developed by different people in different ways, using different data sources and methodologies. The National Heat Map is drawn up to common standards and open to everyone, to help identify the best opportunities for low-carbon heat across the country.
- Cross-boundary development: local heat maps stop at the boundaries of the authority that commissioned it. Having a common map helps join everything together across boundaries, so a large heat demand in one borough could be linked easily to an abundant supply of heat in a neighbouring area, for example.
- Economies of scale: The National Heat Map covers the whole of England at a substantially reduced cost.
Problems with planning
Some buildings are more likely to be suitable for some types of heating technology than others. This is due to:
- their heat demand
- their proximity to heat sources
- their proximity to existing energy infrastructure
- the significance of other buildings and infrastructure in the local area
This makes low carbon heating very much a local issue, with local experts driving local solutions.
How the Heat Map helps
The heat map allows planners to make effective decisions about what type of technology is best suited to an area, or individual building. To demonstrate, the guidance below describes how a local authority planner might use the map to find the best site for a district heating network:
Identify local areas of high heat demand density on the map
The map is presented so that the density of heat demand of the buildings can be easily identified. Planners can see where heat density is highest, and can generate reports of selected areas, such as a given radius around a heat source. Heat networks are usually best suited to areas of high heat demand density, where there are a mix of building types. Reports generated by the heat map tell planners the mix of building sectors within the selected area too.
The National Heat Map is unique, in that it allows planner to look at the heat demand of individual buildings, streets, and areas of any shape or size for precise and detailed analysis.
Identify major heat supply plants
A major heat supply plant may offer potential to supply heat to the areas identified in the heat mapping.
Identify physical constraints
Physical constraints include major roads, railways, waterways and certain types of topography or land use. Crossing these physical barriers may be costly or not permitted, and the focus areas may be limited by them. There may however be circumstances (e.g. where the heat loads are sufficiently large) in which the cost of crossing such barriers can be borne by the scheme economics and hence the focus area would not be limited by this constraint.
The heat map uses Google Maps to explore the geography of the area. The StreetView function allows detailed “on-the-ground” exploration of the potential site.
The National Heat Map does not replace the need for detailed feasibility studies to identify the full potential and economic cost/benefit of heat network development. But it can save time and money by helping them identify precise locations for further investigation, and they can use the map to put together evidence to support the need for development, or further studies.