Preparing Now with Practical Tools

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Heat Networks are often misconceived and seen as an obligation - let's start to look at them as an opportunity, for a cleaner planet and heating that's more efficient and affordable for your residents.

One of our biggest challenges as we move towards Net Zero 2050 is decarbonising domestic heating (currently 45% of the carbon emissions in the UK). If we expect home heating to become greener then it also needs to become more sustainable, and that means finding affordable solutions to the Net Zero challenge.

Let’s look at where we are today.

Research from the University of York found that in 2024, more than a third of UK households spent over 10% of their income (after housing costs) on energy. With living costs still high, that figure isn’t likely to fall any time soon. That same year, Ofgem capped average energy bills at £1,717 - with roughly 70% of that (£1,201) going on heating and hot water.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) also estimated that 11% of households - 2.73 million homes - were in fuel poverty. So, if many people can’t afford to heat their homes today, how can we expect them to embrace low-carbon heating tomorrow?

New technologies arrive on the market every week, each promising a more sustainable future — from heat pumps and ambient loops to solar-assisted hot water. But the reality is that for many households, these systems are still out of reach financially. Unless we can make low-carbon heat both socially and economically appealing, we’ll struggle to build momentum.

financially. Unless we can make low-carbon heat both socially and economically appealing, we’ll struggle to build momentum.

That’s where heat networks come in.

Heat networks, when designed and operated well, offer a rare balance between affordability and sustainability. Yet for many homeowners, the idea of communal heating still comes with misconceptions. They might feel locked in, confused by the system, or convinced they’re

^{Kat Baker, Business Operations Manager - Data Energy}

Some of our best-performing networks are charging as little as 5.451p/kWh in 2025. This means their average consumer pays around £280 a year for heating.

paying more for something they don’t understand. The good news is that the data tells a very different story.

Across nearly 14,600 homes we billed for heat in 2024, the average spend was £532.80 — over 50% less than the Ofgem-capped gas and electricity bill. Heat networks achieve this because homes on these systems are typically more efficient. While the unit cost of heat may be higher per kWh, total energy use is lower.

Some of our best-performing networks are charging as little as 5.451p/kWh in 2025. This means their average consumer pays around £280 a year for heating. These are networks that run efficiently, are properly maintained, and benefit from competitively procured utilities.

Well-run heat networks can deliver the net zero future we’re aiming for. A future that's cleaner for the planet and genuinely affordable for residents. For developers and freeholders who care about the social, economic and environmental impact of their projects, it’s time to see heat networks not as an obligation, but as an opportunity.

Preparation & Next Steps - What you can do now:

Review current compliance gaps.
Build your asset and meter registers.
Carry out efficiency checks and optimisation.

Put maintenance and water treatment plans in place.
Start preparing for tariff transparency.
Book your Compliance Health Check.

Authorisation	Fair Pricing	Quality of Service	Consumers, Vulnerability and Debt	Monitoring, Audit, Compliance and Enforcement
Are all your Heat Networks registered with the OPSS?	Are all your gas supplies in contract and on competitive rates?	Is your maintenance contractor qualified to operate and Heat Networks?	Do you have a competent metering and billing agent?	Does your metering and billing agent provide detailed reporting?
Are all heat meters operational and reporting remotely?	How efficient are your Heat Networks?	Do you have an out of hours service for reporting disruptions?	Do you have a handle on residents’ debt?
Do you have operational bulk/building level heat meters?	Are your heat tariffs fair and reasonable?	Do you have a full set of O&Ms?		–

Find out more about our Heat Network Health Checks

Discover

Step-by-Step Processes for OPSS Notification, Bulk & Apartment Level Metering

Preparing Now with Practical Tools:

KPIs are the new compliance currency. If you don't know your network's numbers - and can't prove them - you won't just miss efficiency savings, you'll miss regulatory approval.

Daniel Davies (d-Analysed)

Audit & Gap Analysis	A first step to identify missing monitoring points or meters. Without metering data, you can't calculate KPIs.
Benchmark performance	Run an optimisation study or data analysis to see where you stand
Automated Monitoring Systems	e.g., Guru Pinpoint or similar, to ensure compliance-grade data.
Checklists	Do we have reliable meters at every required monitoring point? Are reads coming in at the right frequency
External Expertise	Independent audits from heat network engineers to validate compliance and identify optimisation opportunities. Consultants, schemes like HNES can also offer support.
Plan for Improvement	Small changes (e.g. better controls, insulation, flow balancing) can deliver big efficiency gains.

The HNTAS Timetable

The timeline on the next page shows how compliance will phase in differently depending on whether your network is older (pre-2015) or newer (2015 onwards).

Older networks (2014 or earlier):

Face a stepped process, starting with registration in 2027, followed by plant room and network-level monitoring by 2029, and full end-user metering by 2031. Certification comes later (2034/2036).

Newer networks (2015+):

Expected to meet stricter requirements earlier, including dwelling-level metering by 2029, with certification starting in 2032.

Key Takeaway for PMs

The key takeaway for PMs is that while the deadlines look far off, the groundwork needs to begin now. Asset registers, metering upgrades and efficiency plans take years to deliver - and Ofgem will expect evidence of progress, not last-minute fixes.

Tip: Think of the timeline less as a countdown clock and more as a staged roadmap. Each milestone builds on the last, so missing one will make the next almost impossible to achieve.

Top Tip:

Tip: Think of the timeline less as a countdown clock and more as a staged roadmap. Each milestone builds on the last, so missing one will make the next almost impossible to achieve.

The HNTAS Timetable

Years from start	Year	2014 or older networks	2015 or newer networks
1	2027	Register heat network	Register heat network
3	2029	Demonstrate meeting minimum metering & monitoring requirements, with full plant room and network monitoring and reporting. Demonstrate meeting	Demonstrate meeting minimum metering & monitoring requirements, including dwelling metering. Demonstrate meeting threshold performance. Submit Heat Network Improvement Plan (to reach certification).
4	2030	Submit Heat Network Improvement Plan (to reach certification).	–
5	2031	Metering & monitoring for all end user connections.	–
6	2032	–	Certification 1
8	2034	Certification 1	Certification 2 (O&M)
10	2036	Certification 2 (O&M)	–

Checklist: What Should Be in Place

Heat Metering

Heat meters at consumer connections
Heat meters at each block connection (or entry point into a block)
Heat meters downstream of plant (to measure generation performance)
Heat meters at the boundary of the plant room (to define accountability)
Heat meters on both sides of substations (to verify transfer efficiency)

Other Metering

Electricity check meter on pumps (to capture parasitic loads)
Gas and/or electricity meters upstream of plant input (to measure fuel consumption)

Pressure & Flow Monitoring

Differential pressure measurement points at key locations (distribution network and energy centre)
Operating pressure points – ideally via Building Management System (BMS) or dedicated sensors

Water Quality Monitoring

Inline water quality testing with output (e.g. via Modbus protocol)
API integration with test equipment suppliers for digital reporting
Lab results (only as a last resort if no digital option is possible)

Is Your Heat Network Compliance-Ready?

Make sure your heat network is ready for the upcoming changes. Our Self-Assessment Questionnaire helps you quickly evaluate compliance, identify gaps, and plan your next steps with confidence.