Non-domestic consumer views on heat networks

Main points

• Most participants have limited understanding of heat networks, especially those inheriting an existing connection, while awareness is higher among businesses who decide to connect to one.
• Participants were generally satisfied with their heat network, reporting only occasional, short-term supply issues, with suppliers typically responding to these in ways that broadly met expectations.
• Heat network costs were generally seen as affordable, particularly compared to gas boilers, with most participants reporting consistent and predictable billing that helped businesses plan.
• Lack of clear billing was an issue for some participants, who found bills confusing due to unclear language and poor links between usage and cost, making it hard to identify savings.

Methodology

Thinks Insights conducted 28 in-depth interviews remotely with businesses on heat networks across 26 different sites . A range of businesses connected to heat networks across England and Scotland took part in the research. This research is one of the first pieces of work examining the experiences of non-domestic heat network consumers. There is a lack of baseline data on the spread of businesses connected to heat networks across Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), therefore it is hard to tell if the interviews we did were skewed towards any particular business type.