Opportunities and costs for shared ground loops

Abstract

Shared ground loops (SGLs) combine shared ground heat exchangers with distributed heat pumps across multiple properties and may offer a route to decarbonise heating where individual heat pumps or heat networks are not feasible. SGLs can be installed in homes and buildings with limited outside space for a heat pump or insufficient demand density to support a heat network. To make the most of potential opportunities, greater awareness of factors shaping UK deployment is needed. Through a mixed-methods approach combining rapid evidence assessment, case studies and policy mapping, this study finds SGLs mostly limited to deployment by social landlords and in new build settings, with wider use impacted by high capital costs, policy gaps around mid-scale solutions, market concentration around a single supplier, and the need for business models applicable to mixed-tenure settings. SGLs are particularly suitable for dwellings in higher density areas outside of government-designated Heat Network Zones, where it is expected that large heat networks will deliver the lowest-cost route to decarbonising heat. We suggest policy and practice recommendations intended to create conditions for wider deployment. At a national policymaker level, SGL suitability for mid-scale, medium-density settings and support for a flexible energy system should be more clearly recognised, especially in areas outside Heat Network Zones. At the individual company level, deployment would be supported through development of utility-style business models and installation approaches by infrastructure developers which can offer SGLs to households of a range of tenure types