Work out your district heat and steam emissions
= 10.52 tonnes CO2e in 2026 (Scope 2)13.09 tonnes including well-to-tank and grid losses
Each kWh × 0.17529 kg CO2e, the 2026 UK government (DESNZ) factor.
That is one line of your footprint. Want the whole thing done for you?
Carbon Recycling holds every UK government factor for every year, works out each line from your bills, mileage and travel, and writes your Carbon Reduction Plan and SECR report.
No card needed for the trial.
District heat and steam emission factor by year
| Year | Scope 2 (kg CO2e per kWh) | Well-to-tank | Grid losses | Full figure | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0.17529 | 0.033410 | 0.009450 | 0.21815 | 0.0% |
| 2025 | 0.17529 | 0.033410 | 0.009450 | 0.21815 | -2.4% |
| 2024 | 0.17965 | 0.033410 | 0.009460 | 0.22252 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.17965 | 0.033410 | 0.009454 | 0.22251 | +5.2% |
| 2022 | 0.17073 | 0.031530 | 0.008990 | 0.21125 | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.17073 | 0.031530 | 0.008990 | 0.21125 | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 0.17261 | 0.025950 | 0.009080 | 0.20764 | -2.0% |
| 2019 | 0.17606 | 0.025160 | 0.009270 | 0.21049 | – |
Total kg CO2e for the seven greenhouse gases, from the official DESNZ files for each year. 2026 factor ID: 10_401_4003_5_1. Where a factor jumps sharply between two years, it is usually because DESNZ changed its method or data source, not because the activity itself changed.
Worked example
Take an office on a heat network using 60,000 kWh of heat a year. 60,000 kWh × 0.17529 kg CO2e = 10.52 tonnes CO2e, reported as Scope 2. Adding well-to-tank and grid losses brings the full figure to 13.09 tonnes CO2e; the extra 2.57 tonnes are Scope 3 category 3.
How to report it
Heat or steam bought from a heat network is Scope 2, like electricity, because it is made somewhere else. The government factor is a UK average; if your network operator publishes its own factor, you can use that instead and say so.
Losses in the pipes between the plant and your building are shown separately as distribution losses.
Where the data comes from
You'll usually find it in your heat network bills, in kWh. Keep the source documents: anyone checking your Carbon Reduction Plan or SECR report may ask how each figure was worked out.
Read more about how the factors change each year in our guide to the 2026 conversion factors, or see how we apply them in our methodology.
Related emission factors
- Natural gas: 0.18231 kg CO2e per kWh
- UK grid electricity: 0.13096 kg CO2e per kWh
- Heating oil (kerosene): 2.5402 kg CO2e per litre
- All UK emission factors