Whether you are with a local authority, Registered Social Landlord or any type of  business, avoid costly mistakes and make smarter decisions by sharing experiences and by identifying success- and risk factors. Here are some of the top tips to keep in mind during the design and planning of a heat network.

• Look for international best practice
• Avoid copy-paste of gas supply design
• Plan civil work carefully, especially pipe work. Cost of civil work is often much higher than the cost for the pipes itself
• Co-plan and work with water and sewage infrastructure, power distribution and optical fibre
• Design for low temperatures – if allowed by end-customers. The advantage here is that local surplus heat sources can be captured and the distribution losses will be low
• Prepare for fast-track project execution and time-to-invoice in order to minimize tied-up capital
• Design the network for future growth but without aover-dimensioning. This is important because the distribution often represents about 15 to 30 percent of the total investment

Sweden is at the forefront of decentralised heat networks technology. Our aim for “Heat Networks – Sustainability by Sweden” is to facilitate knowledge sharing between British and Swedish stakeholders and develop and encourage environmental and economic best practice.

To find out how we can help you and your organisation, please contact our London-based “Heat Networks” team. We can introduce you to leading consultants, suppliers of technology and services who will be pleased to share know-how of the development of heat network solutions.