This reflects the thinking of Islington Council which, through an innovative new energy centre, is now capturing warmth radiating from the London Underground to provide heating and hot water for more than a thousand homes, a school and two leisure centres, writes TP news editor Steve Dale.

The Bunhill 2 Energy Centre opened in the borough last week and, it is thought, represents the first time anywhere in the world that an underground railway system has been exploited for this purpose.

The facility is built on the site of the former City Road station, which opened in 1901 between the Northern Line’s Angel and Old Street stations but closed less than two decades later due to low customer numbers – not something you could imagine happening today!

Little trace remains of this heritage now. The old station was mostly demolished in the 1960s, leaving only the structure around the lift shaft at street level which has since been used for ventilation to take hot air out of the Tube tunnels beneath.

Most of this heat is generated by trains’ electric motors and brakes, explained Arthur Baker of London Underground while we stand above an enormous – and noisy – two metre fan that has been installed within the six storey shaft. Warm air rising from below provides a welcome respite from the wet wintry conditions outside.

This heat is fanned into the energy centre where a heat pump is used to raise the temperature of water, which can then be supplied to nearby buildings. Arthur added that during the hot summer months the fan can be reversed to draw cooler air into the train tunnels to prevent passengers from overheating.

An obvious question sprung to mind: How many other places around the capital could employ this idea? Transport for London has undertaken a study of 56 ventilation shafts to assess their potential for exporting waste heat, with key findings to be shared shortly, came the reply.

For the local authority, Bunhill 2 represents an expansion of the existing Bunhill district heating network, which aims to provide cheaper, greener heating and hot water to residents. The new centre’s combined heat and power technology also allows it to generate electricity that is fed into London Underground and an adjacent tower block.

“We are conscious about climate change and not wasting energy,” explained Islington Council’s project manager Janelle Raeburn, adding: “There is a desire not just to waste heat into the atmosphere but to make use of it.

“We have been able to do that here and we would like to be able to do it in other locations.”

London’s Tube network is vast and – one would think – must hold countless opportunities to replicate what has been achieved at Bunhill 2. It will be interesting to see how quickly, if at all, the idea catches on.

No doubt other boroughs across the capital will be looking on with interest and there are numerous cities around the world with underground metro systems and residents to keep warm that stand to benefit.

(Photograph: Islington Council)