District heating (less commonly called teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating. The heat is often obtained from a cogeneration plant burning fossil fuels but increasingly biomass, although heat-only boiler stations, geothermal heating and central solar heating are also used, as well as nuclear power. District heating plants can provide higher efficiencies and better pollution control than localized boilers. According to some research, District Heating with Combined Heat and Power (CHPDH) is the cheapest method of cutting carbon, and has one of the lowest carbon footprints of all fossil generation plants. CHPDH is being developed in Denmark as a store for renewable energy, particularly wind electric, that exceeds instantaneous grid demand via the use of heat pumps and thermal stores.

The core element of a district heating system is as a minimum a heat-only boiler station. Additionally a cogeneration plant (also called combined heat and power, CHP) is often added in parallel with the boilers. Both have in common that they are typically based on combustion of primary energy carriers. The difference between the two systems is that, in a cogeneration plant, heat and electricity are generated simultaneously, whereas in heat-only boiler stations - as the name suggests - only heat is generated.