District Heating is a modern system for providing heating, supplies of hot water and, in certain cases, cooling of environments , and is one of the leading clean heating technologies capable of reducing the greenhouse effect.

Thanks to an underground network of pipes, Hera’s hot water, taken from the generating plant, directly supplies the energy needed for homes, offices and other everyday activities (schools, hospitals, etc.), without the need for any prior processing.

This energy may be produced by various types of plants: high-efficiency cogeneration plants, waste-to-energy plants, plants powered by renewable resources or by energy recovery, or thermal plants. The use of cogeneration plants also allows electricity to be produced by recovering the heat given off during the various processes involved and re-using it to produce energy.

In return for substantial investment in infrastructures, district heating offers a service that is convenient, simple and safe, thanks to the use of hot water, which, since it is not a fuel, allows the boiler to be replaced by a heat exchanger, which means no flame and therefore greater safety for the building. The technology also represents an important opportunity for intelligent energy use and a major contribution to reducing local pollution: the heat is produced in a single location, thus eliminating the numerous traditional boilers and having a single point of smoke emission.

District heating can be used in any type of building, new or old. In both cases, the supply may be centralised or individual, and is compatible with any type of user equipment.