ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about an English Zero Carbon Homes (ZCH) policy that is being positioned to offer significant financial support to UK district heating. In spite of early articulation of the policy by government in order to give housebuilders a decade to prepare for compliance, 2006-14 period has seen repeated and contentious revisions to the very definition of zero carbon. Alongside the resulting uncertainty, however, and in an ironic twist, the analysis suggests it is precisely because of the lack of comprehensive policy and investment support for district heating that the technology is able to be positioned as a front-runner for allowable solutions funding. The chapter illustrates how policy support for domestic heat and district heating in the UK continues to be complex and uncertain, using the case of the ZCH policy. The government is committed to implementing a zero carbon standard for new homes from 2016.
