District heating experts come together for workshop

District heating experts from across the sector are coming together to discuss the latest trends and topics in low carbon heat networks on 17 November at the REHAU Hub, located in the Building Centre in central London.

Although the UK government has demonstrated its commitment to district heating, experts at REHAU are urging closer collaboration across industry to catch up with its European counterparts.

Currently heat networks contribute around 2-3% of the UK’s total heat demand, which is much lower than the likes of Germany – where REHAU’s headquarters are located – and where it is the main heating system for just under a quarter of new build homes.

Specifiers, ESCOs, contractors, local authorities, developers and key decision-makers working on district heating projects are able to register for the free Low Carbon District Heating event online now.

The event will be hosted by REHAU and opened by an update on the Green Heat Network Fund from Ken Hunnisett from Triple Point Heat Networks.

The waste heat potential for heat networks will then be discussed with Akos Revesz at South Bank University followed by Tom Rook from Clade Engineering Systems talking about high temperature natural refrigerant heat pumps.

Delegates will also be the first to gain access to REHAU’s latest technical whitepaper Trends in District Heating Pipework which provides key considerations and technical points for the next generation of heat networks. This follows the major success of its previous whitepaper launched in 2018 under its Build Your Legacy campaign, which garnered significant interest from industry professionals. Alexandra Leedham is Technical Team Leader at REHAU and has been instrumental in the development of the paper. She will be available to answer questions on the day.

The morning event will be rounded off by Antonis Thrasyvoulou and Vishal Bhowmik from AECOM talking about challenges in designing secondary heat networks in residential buildings, and finally Rob Temlett from Metropolitan presenting a segment on designing network heat pump solutions for low density housing.

Steve Richmond comments: “Bringing these technologies online is one thing but making them effective is another. We are really looking forward to bringing this panel of industry trailblazers to share ideas and best practice to help supercharge the UK’s district heating rollout.”