Community heating (also known as district heating) takes the heat from a central source and distributes it through a network of pipes to multiple customers.

Heat networks range in size from one building (say, a block of flats with multiple tenants) to town- or even city-wide schemes.

For example, the community heating scheme at Lerwick in Shetland distributes the heat from a waste incineration plant to homes, schools, a museum, a library and other public buildings around the town.

Community heating:

Many heat networks use combined heat and power (CHP) to generate both heat and electricity. Click here for more on CHP.

Some of the most exciting new heat networks use renewable fuel sources for heat generation. Click here for more on renewables-fired networks.