Water 'could warm a million homes in England'

A million properties across England could in future be heated by water from rivers, canals and the sea, the government says. The Department for Energy calculates this is the potential of a technology known as the water source heat pump. This relies on a heat exchanger, which uses a system akin to refrigeration to amplify warmth from pipes in the sea. If the energy from the process comes from renewables, properties can be warmed with near-zero carbon emissions.

Renewable heat

The government’s water source heat map identifies more than six gigawatts of potential low-carbon heat.
One major project – at the National Trust’s historic Plas Newydd house in Anglesey – is already running.
Launching the new map at Battersea Power Station in London today, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: “We need to make the most of the vast amount of clean, renewable heat that lays unused in our rivers, lakes and seas.“Doing this will help contribute to an energy mix that maximises clean, reliable home-grown resources rather than relying on foreign fossil fuels.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32054802