Kensington and Chelsea Council was awarded £1.1 million from the government to build a renewable heat network in the north of the borough.
The scheme aims to build heat pumps and an electric boiler to supply renewable heating and hot water to 826 existing homes in Notting Dale, North Kensington.
Funding is delivered through the government’s heat networks investment project.
Heat networks supply heat from a central source to homes rather than individual boilers, making heating more sustainable.
Councillor Kim-Taylor Smith, lead member for Grenfell, Housing and Social Investment, said: “We’re making great strides in our progress to decarbonise all of our services and the borough as a whole, but we know homes can be one of the biggest carbon emitters.
“It’s fantastic to be able to further our plans for a zero-carbon heat network, which we have co-designed with local residents.
“This will allow us to provide affordable heating and hot water in an environmentally friendly way, whilst tackling fuel poverty.”
The council expects the Notting Dale heat network will be carbon zero by 2030 due to the use of heat pumps.
Heat pumps capture heat from outside and transfer it indoors.
They use electricity to do this but because heat is moved rather than generated, the process is more energy efficient.
Nearly 80% of the buildings targeted in the plan are connected to two older heat networks over 40-years-old, while the others use individual boilers.
The council believe the plan will save around 1,400 tonnes of carbon per year in its first 15 years.
Kensington and Chelsea council’s long-term plan for the project is to create a borough-wide network to decarbonise its housing stock and public buildings.
Lord Callanan, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: “Changing the way we heat our homes and workspaces is key to tackling pollution and today’s investment into the Kensington and Chelsea’s heat network will put the Royal Borough at the heart of London’s green industrial revolution.
“This network of air source heat pumps will deliver affordable, low-carbon heat and energy across the borough’s homes and business units, opening up job and investment opportunities in the area, all contributing to making the UK’s capital city a greener place to live, work, and visit.”
Featured image credit: Niklas Morberg, Flickr, 21 November 2008, CC BY-NC 2.0
