The Energy Centre

The Energy Centre is the ‘heart’ of the network, being located on the ground floor of the multi-storey car park at plot 2. The energy centre houses two gas boilers (0.5MW each) and one combined heat and power (CHP) engine (1.2MW). There are also two thermal storage vessels which hold 80,000 litres of water each, and space for future low carbon heat generation equipment. The energy centre uses gas to produce heat and electricity (via the CHP), both of which are then distributed through the network to the connected buildings.

The Connected Buildings

Within each connected building there is a heat sub-station containing equipment which transfers the heat from the network to the building’s internal systems. This takes up a fraction of the space a building would usually need to generate heat. It also removes the need for a gas supply or large electricity supply which would be required to generate heat.

Hot water is not shared with the building, only the heat from the water (the network is a closed system). There are heat meters for both ‘flow’ and ‘return’ which measure the temperature and volume of heat that has been used by each building by calculating the difference between the two. The buildings are then charged for the heat that they extract from the network. There may also be further ‘sub-meters’ within the building so that individual Tenants can be charged for their heat use, an example of this is shown below:-

Where private wire electricity is being provided to a building there is also a separate ‘private wire sub-station’. This contains a transformer which reduces the electricity from high to low voltage, and meters which records the electricity used by the building. This is similar to obtaining an electrical supply from the grid, the main difference being that a percentage of the electricity is generated locally.

Network Operation and Administration

The network is owned by LCC with its technical operation being contracted to heat network specialists Vital Energi (who also constructed the network).

Each customer has supply agreements in place to define the commercial arrangements such as service levels they can expect to receive and pricing structures for the heat and electricity they use. Any new buildings that intend to connect enter into ‘connection and supply agreements’ to provide them contractual assurances that the network will provide them with heat and electricity in time for their construction and operation.

The administration of the network is the responsibility of LCC, supported by Harbour Project Management among others. This ensures that the network remains well managed, financially viable, forward looking, provides reliable heat and electricity, and value for money for its customers.

Decarbonisation and Expansion

One of the key benefits of a heat network is that it is better able to respond to changes in technology than individual buildings. When Paddington Village heat network was designed the predominant technology for heat networks was gas CHP and gas boilers. This has been a major shift in recent years toward the use of heat pump technologies, driven largely by a desire to reduce carbon emissions.

LCC are in the process of developing detailed plans for the decarbonisation of the network, with the overall aim being to move away from the use of fossil fuels altogether. This would allow all connected buildings to decarbonise without any works required within their buildings.

The move to low carbon heat may also present opportunities to expand the network beyond the boundaries of Paddington Village, particularly when considering forthcoming national policies around heat network zoning.

Our Role at Paddington Village

Our team have been heavily involved in Paddington Village Heat Network since 2018. A summary of this involvement during the different stages is as follows:-

Design and Procurement

Our team took the role of Client Project Manager during the design of the network and procurement of a design, build, operate and maintain (DBOM) contractor. We managed the two-stage design and build process on behalf of LCC, as well as separate enabling works at the site to prepare for the construction.

Construction

During the construction stages we continued in the role of Client project manager, overseeing the timely construction of the energy center, network, and building connections. During the construction period we also oversaw a second work-stream focused on exploring and developing network governance and administration in preparation for the network going live.

Operation

We have an ongoing role as Network Manager, taking day to day responsibility for the management of the network on behalf of LCC, supported by Ener-Vate (commercial consultants), WSP (engineering support), and Vital Energi (technical operation).

As part of this role we have taken in lead role in establishing governance and reporting structures, developing business plans, managing new connections, customer liaison, performance monitoring, and future network strategy.

Decarbonisation and Expansion

As part of the Network Manager role we are also managing the feasibility and detailed design work around the proposed future decarbonisation and expansion of the network. This work is part funded through a government grant which we helped LCC to secure.