Property News: Excess heat generated by the Royal Free Hospital will be channelled to nearby housing estates

Published: 14 April 2011
by DAN CARRIER

EXCESS heat generated by the massive plant rooms and boilers at the Royal Free Hospital will be used to combat fuel poverty on nearby estates.

A £4.3million Camden Council project could help reduce electricity bills for 1,500 homes in Gospel Oak as the extra heat generated by the 15-storey hospital in Pond Street, Hampstead is captured and then piped across the area.

Town Hall officers working on the scheme say heat, which would otherwise have been spewed out into the atmosphere via cooling vents on the roof, will be channelled into a “combined heat and power” unit – cutting carbon emissions as well as lowering bills. 

The homes that will benefit are currently being selected and engineers face the tricky job of finalising the route of a maze of pipes that will snake through the estates. Once this has been adequately mapped and checked, they will have a clearer idea of which blocks will be practical to use for the project. Residents will then be consulted and the scheme could be in use by Christmas. 

Labour councillor Sarah Hayward, the council’s communities chief, said: “Fuel poverty is a massive issue in Camden. It cuts across every demographic: figures show there are older people who are living in valuable Victorian homes but are on low incomes and find heating their houses a struggle. It also affects people in socially rented housing.”

And the issue is due to get worse in the coming years, says Cllr Hayward.

“Escalating fuel prices and the cuts to help such as the Winter Fuel Allowances for the most needy means people face real issues with bills – and this scheme will directly help them,” she added.

Another benefit for the project comes in the shape of more efficient boilers. Currently, much of the Gospel Oak area is made up of 20th-century estates that have suffered over the years with issues over maintenance. Tenants have endured regular breakdowns – and heating featured as an election issue. 

The new boiler unit will mean unreliable heating systems are a thing of the past. 

Cllr Hayward added: “It will certainly help solve some of the engineering issues there have been in the past over heating the blocks.”

The new system is set to save a minimum of 2,800 tonnes of CO2 each year, adding up to an equivalent of insulating 4,000 Victorian semi-detached homes in Camden. The system also means if the Royal Free should need energy for hot water and heating, they can flick a switch and use the new energy plant as well. 

Sustainability chief Councillor Angela Mason said: “This project will help with Camden’s borough-wide target to reduce carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2020. Our research shows that using combined heat and power is one of the most effective ways to reduce carbon emissions in Camden.”