District Heating uses a delivery network to distribute heat generated at a central location to individual premises for space and water heating.
This concept dates from antiquity and is considered lower carbon than individual gas boilers. At a basic level, a network requires the delivery of hot water through one pipe system, and the return of cold water to the energy source through another, which means there’s almost unlimited potential to scale up with additional sources of energy generation.
The network allows for a degree of future proofing as new technologies emerge. Once the pipes are laid, changes to more renewable or energy efficient processes can be made at either end. This could be transitioning to lower carbon or renewable energy at the source, or more efficient buildings to reduce the heating demand, or more optimistically, both.