The Pimlico District Heating Undertaking (PDHU) is a

district heating District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating a ...

system in the

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

area of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, United Kingdom. The first district heating system built in the United Kingdom, it is owned by

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

and operated by CityWest Homes. The system is connected to 3,256 homes, 50 business premises and three schools.

History

The system began operations in 1950, and originally used waste heat from

Battersea Power Station Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) ...

,Michael Martin & Patricia Thornley (2013
The potential for thermal storage to reduce the overall carbon emissions from district heating systems
Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research which was pumped under the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

through a disused

Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functi ...

tunnel.PDHU
CityWest Homes A

thermal store Thermal energy storage (TES) is achieved with widely different technologies. Depending on the specific technology, it allows excess thermal energy to be stored and used hours, days, months later, at scales ranging from the individual process, ...

was built in

Churchill Gardens Churchill Gardens is a large housing estate in the Pimlico area of Westminster, London. The estate was developed between 1946 and 1962 to a design by the architects Powell and Moya, replacing Victorian terraced houses extensively damaged durin ...

, which could hold 2,300m³ and remains the largest thermal store in the UK. The system was originally built to serve 1,600 council homes. By 1958 Battersea was operating with a thermal efficiency of 25%, making it one of the world's most efficient power stations at the time. After Battersea Power Station closed in 1983, a 30MW coal-fired boiler was built to supply the system with heat. The boiler was subsequently converted to gas in 1989. A refurbishment in 2006 saw two 1.55

MWe The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...

CHP engines and three 8MW gas boilers installed. The system generates around 51GWh of heat and 16GWh of electricity per year. Based on the operational success of the Pimlico undertaking several schemes were proposed, and one was partly built, using waste heat from

Bankside power station Bankside Power Station is a decommissioned electricity generating station located on the south bank of the River Thames, in the Bankside area of the Borough of Southwark, London. It generated electricity from 1891 to 1981. It was also used as ...

. However, none were economically viable.

References

{{coord, 51.485896, N, 0.14028758, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title District heating in the United Kingdom Cogeneration power stations in England 1950 establishments in England Pimlico Westminster City Council