Living at Brent Cross Town: Heat Networks & Net Zero Carbon Explained

Brent Cross Town will be a net zero town, addressing the global challenge of the climate crisis. We will have: 

• A neighbourhood-wide heat network created with Vattenfall, one of Europe’s largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat, providing low carbon heating to all buildings and cooling to selected plots. Find out more about Vattenfall here 
• 100% renewable energy for all landlord energy supplies controlled by Brent Cross Town 

• Designed efficient buildings to reduce operational energy demand 

• Worked to reduce the embodied carbon of our buildings, infrastructure and public realm 

• 6,600 cycle spaces, 2.75 km of new cycling routes, and a pedestrian and cyclist-friendly network of new streets that will be low-speed 

• New bus routes and a new mainline railway station 

Case study: Brent Cross Town Visitor Pavilion 

• Constructed entirely from responsibly sourced timber, the Visitor Pavilion has sequestered 250 tonnes of CO2 
• The carbon emissions from the foundations were reduced by using cement replacements in over 50% of the concrete 
• Recycled and reusable materials have been chosen throughout, such as internal acoustic panels, the decking on the second-floor terrace, and even the upholstery 

Case study: Brent Cross Town heat network 

Homes and businesses at Brent Cross Town will receive low carbon heating from a heat network operated by Vattenfall. The network will also provide low carbon cooling to selected commercial and residential plots. The development’s energy partner Vattenfall is the largest operator of heat networks in Western Europe, and a company that shares our vision for net zero carbon living and working.  

Vattenfall Managing Director Jenny Curtis says: “As part of Brent Cross Town’s transition towards a fossil free future, Vattenfall is proud to work in partnership to deliver a low carbon heat network that aims to provide homes and businesses with reliable heating and hot water, as well as cooling to some plots, at a fair price.” 

Here’s a brief summary of how it works:

What is a heat network?

Heat networks (also known as ‘district heating’ or ‘communal heating’) provide heating and hot water, and sometimes cooling, to multiple properties, rather than each property having to generate its own. Heat is generated in an energy centre and distributed by underground pipes to the properties connected to the network. These properties still control their own heating, hot water, and cooling, just as they would if they had their own individual systems. 

A low temperature heat network is an efficient method of supplying heating and cooling at Brent Cross Town; it enables us to capture heat that already exists in the air and use it to warm and cool homes and businesses.  

Having a centralised heat network is beneficial as it makes future upgrades to the development’s heating systems easier. With all the development’s heating and cooling generated in one place – the Main Energy Centre, heat sources can easily be removed – such as gas, which is set to be phased out by incoming government regulation – or added in, making it simple to react to fuel availability or strengthen the security of supply.  

Our 4th Generation heat network will predominantly use air source heat pumps to provide low carbon heating and cooling to Brent Cross Town’s homes and businesses; it will also use electric boilers, thermal stores and a water source heat pump to ‘top-up’ the heating and cooling supply as needed.  

Initial calculations suggest that the heat network’s carbon emissions will be 0.046 kgCO2 per kWh of heat; this is approximately 69% lower than an equivalent gas-powered network providing heat and electricity. 

The Brent Cross Town heat network is aligned with the UK Government’s heat strategy which recognises low carbon heat networks as a crucial means of reaching net zero in the UK. 

Why does Brent Cross Town have a heat network? 

Decarbonising the way our properties are heated and cooled is crucial to reaching net zero; the heating sector alone contributes over a third of the UK’s carbon emissions each year. However, it’s a part of the energy transition which is often overlooked.  

As Brent Cross Town aims to reach net zero carbon, we partnered with Vattenfall to address the challenge of heat decarbonisation and create a development-wide, low-carbon heat network.  

The Brent Cross Town Main Energy Centre will capture heat from the air around us and transfer it into the heat network where it will be used for low carbon heating, hot water and cooling. 

The benefits of being a heat network customer

• Your heating and hot water, and cooling if available, will be generated using low carbon sources, using heat captured from the air around us rather than burning fossil fuels
• By replacing the need to burn fossil fuels for heating, which releases particulates into the air, we are also improving local air quality
• It’s an all-inclusive service, with Vattenfall taking care of all repairs, servicing and maintenance for the delivery system into your property. This means you don’t need to worry about the cost and hassle of maintaining your own boiler
• You are guaranteed the highest level of customer service, and compensated if the service you receive falls below this. Plus, Vattenfall’s Extra Care service is available, designed to make sure that customers who need extra help receive it
• Your heating and hot water supply is monitored continuously by Vattenfall’s engineers to ensure it is kept working at its best. 

Interested in living at Brent Cross Town? Click here to register your interest and find out more.

Follow Brent Cross Town on Instagram and Facebook.