Located on Greendykes Road, Craigmillar, the development is being constructed on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council comprising 75 affordable homes and is set to be complete in early 2019.

The project is an important part of the ongoing regeneration of the wider Craigmillar area and represents over £9 million of investment by the council, with support from the Scottish Government.

The district heating network is being installed by mechanical and electrical services provider Arc-Tech (Scotland) Ltd as part of the authority’s Sustainable Energy Action Plan, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 42% by 2020, and for the new carbon and energy targets set by Scottish Government.

The heating network serves the development from an onsite Energy Centre which houses a gas-fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit and energy efficient gas-fired boilers.

Designed by Hawthorne Boyle, the network naturally functions at a lower temperature than standard systems which reduces heat wastage and minimises heat loss. The use of more efficient heat will provide a range of benefits ensuring long term energy savings for future occupants with open protocol smart meters installed to every property to monitor usage.

Cllr Kate Campbell, convener of the housing and economy committee, said: “At a time when energy bills are rising, it’s great to see these systems being installed for our tenants to help lower their living costs. From Spring next year, the 75 affordable homes will be complete and tenants will be able to move into their new homes. Along with our housing association partners, this will take us a step closer to delivering 20,000 homes in the next ten years.”

John Gallacher, Arc-Tech managing director, said: “Our progress at Greendykes has been very good. Working with our design partners Hawthorne Boyle and the main contractor, we have managed to complete a good majority of the installation so far and believe that the testing and commissioning of the network will be able to take place in February.

“Naturally we are very happy with how this project has gone and with increasing demand for such networks, we hope we can use this experience to deliver similar contracts in the future.”