GreenSCIES presents at the ASHRAE Conference

Professor Graeme Maidment, Dr Henrique Lagoeiro and Dr Caterina Marques were all given the opportunity of speaking at the 2023 ASHRAE Winter Conference, held from 4-8 February 2023 in Atlanta, Ga. The trio explained to an attentive audience the principles behind the GreenSCIES project and how it can meet the heating challenge in the UK, through providing support to local authorities. Professor Maidment observed that connecting up residential estates is a no brainer, but that the private residential sector is a challenging area to decarbonise. The initial GreenSCIES study compared district heating with individual air source heat pumps, and found that both technologies have significant challenges around practicality, cost and – especially in inner London – the heritage status of buildings. They are also economically difficult to justify compared to the costs of gas boilers, but this is changing as gas prices rocket, and we need to find ways to decarbonise all areas and building types. Heat networks can also unlock the potential of waste heat recovery in cities.