Are you aware of these heat regulations?

The same Energy Efficiency Directive of the EU that brought about the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme has also produced UK regulations that affect far more organisations than ESOS does and many organisations who mistakenly think they are out of scope.

So, what is this mystery legislation?

Meter manufacturers and some housing associations are fully aware of the regulations but experience suggests that there is almost blanket ignorance elsewhere regarding – The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) (Amendment) Regulation 2015. 

But I am not involved with a district heating scheme, so why should I be interested?

The scope of the regulations is very broad and will directly involve numerous operators who least expected to be included.

The basic definition is that a heat network exists where A supplies heat to B. So if A operates a boiler house on an industrial estate and provides steam or hot water to B, and or others, then this constitutes a heat network and the regulations apply. In other words if the principal occupier supplies heat to two or more other users then the regulations apply. However, within a single building where the principal occupier supplies heat to just one other user then there is no heat network and the regulations do not apply. 

The application of the regulations to residential properties is yet more complex.  In this case there is no heat network where cooking, eating and/or sanitary provisions are communal. So a care home where meals are provided and the tenants' personal quarters are a bedroom only will be out of scope of these regulations whereas a sheltered housing accommodation block with centralised heating plant would be in scope.

These regulations are concerned only with the supply of heat to others; the supply of electricity, gas or other fuels is not in scope. However, the definition of heat does include cooling so the provision of chilled water or refrigeration is covered by the regulations.

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