United Kingdom: Government funds project to use water to heat and cool buildings

Innovate UK, the United Kingdom’s innovation agency, is providing £2.9 million in financing for an energy network that plans to develop heat pumps that will deliver heat at high temperatures so they can be retrofitted into existing buildings in place of gas boilers and use existing heat distributions systems directly. Heat will be recovered from buildings needing cooling and transferred to those needing heating and domestic hot water. The Balanced Energy Network (BEN), developed by renewable energy firm ICAX in partnership with the London South Bank University, will also store excess energy that can be sent back into the grid. BEN is expected to help the London South Bank University save energy and reduce costs without emitting carbon dioxide or any other environmentally damaging gases.