Building the
Bristol heat network
The Bristol heat network is modernising the way homes and businesses are heated in Bristol and supporting the city’s climate goals.
The Bristol heat network is a system of insulated pipes that transfer heat underground across the city to deliver reliable, fairly priced heating and hot water to homes, businesses and public buildings.
Stay informed about our progress and upcoming works in your area.
Works in your area
Check planned works, timelines, and any potential impact on your street.
General FAQs
Find answers to common questions about the heat network, how it works, and what it means for you.
Rethinking how Bristol heats its buildings
To respond to climate change, we need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels like traditional gas boilers. In Bristol, we can do this be using heat networks and move away from individual energy systems, to a shared solution that has citywide benefits.
Heat networks capture heat from low carbon sources and use energy centres to generate this energy, which is distributed through a network of insulated pipes to deliver heating and hot water to homes, businesses and public buildings.
The network already provides heating and hot water to thousands of homes across the city. Our vision is that by 2050, over half of all Bristolians living, working and learning in the city will be kept warm by the Bristol heat network.
What’s happening in your area
Our works have been split into ‘network areas’ covering different parts of the city.
Just like other essential utilities – water, gas, and fibre optic – a heat network requires us to lay underground pipes. We also build energy centres that generate and distribute heat efficiently across the city. Check our planned works, timelines, and any potential impact on your street by exploring our network area information below.
How it works
Heat networks (also known as district heating) provide heating and hot water to multiple properties, rather than each property having to generate its own. The heating and hot water is distributed by an underground pipe system to the buildings that are connected to the network.
Heat networks can use a variety of sources to supply heat, including low carbon sources and heat from processes that would otherwise be wasted.
Watch the video to learn how the Bristol heat network is recycling heat from the harbour to heat parts of the network.
