Heat pumps in Sheffield: a city with district heating and steep streets

The Sheffield zone opportunity report, published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, names two significant existing networks: the Sheffield District Energy Network and Blackburn Meadows, both planning to expand. It identified 14 potential heat network zones, two of them strategic, with smaller zones in areas such as Crystal Peaks, Shiregreen, Stannington, Stocksbridge and High Green.

Potential heat sources listed include the energy from waste plant, waste heat from industry, mine water and air source heat pumps. That industrial heritage is unusual: steelworks and old mine workings are part of the city's future heating plans. The report is explicit that its maps and figures are provisional.

Source: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk · gov.uk

If zoning makes connection compulsory in part of Sheffield, it will be for new buildings, large non-domestic buildings and blocks with communal heating, the three groups the government consulted on. A house with its own boiler is not included, so you can fit a heat pump and use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme whether or not your street falls inside a mapped zone.

It matters more for flats. In a council or housing association block on communal heating, or a new student or city centre block, the heating strategy belongs to the landlord or developer, and connection to a network may be planned.

Sheffield's terraces and semis often sit on steep plots: a front door at street level, a rear garden a storey lower, or the reverse. That changes where an outdoor unit can sit. It has to be on firm, level ground or a wall bracket with space for airflow and access for servicing, and its noise has to be assessed at the nearest neighbouring window under the MCS planning standard. On a sloping terrace the neighbour's window can be closer than it looks.

Condensate from the outdoor unit needs somewhere to drain, which on a steep garden or above a path needs planning so it does not ice in winter. Ask the installer to mark the unit position, the pipe route and the condensate drain on a photo of your house.

• unit position and base, with access for servicing
• noise assessment at the nearest neighbouring window
• condensate drainage that will not ice a path or step
• pipe route from the unit to the cylinder
• whether the position fronts a road in a conservation area

Source: planningportal.co.uk

Older Sheffield houses are often solid-walled in brick or stone, while estates from the mid twentieth century onwards usually have cavity walls. The heat loss calculation will show the difference, and solid-walled houses may need larger radiators or insulation first. If cavity or loft insulation is missing, ask whether it should come before the heat pump; it can reduce the size and cost of the system.

Sheffield owners replacing fossil fuel heating can use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme via an MCS installer, and the city council is the route into the Warm Homes: Local Grant for low-income households. Your request is sold to exactly one installer covering South Yorkshire; before it can see your details, we email you its name, address and phone number. The service is free.