The 2024 Act!onHeat Training Programme is in full swing!

The 2024 season of the Act!onHeat Training Programme is in full swing. This week, participants from energy agencies, regional and local governments, and experts in the field came together in the second out of three webinars, entitled “Optimising the Design of District Heating and Cooling Networks.” The second session focused on using digital tools for making the design of heating and cooling networks more efficient in cities.

Martin Holley, Head of Technical Consultancy at the Centre for Sustainable Energy, kicked off the session with some background context on how THERMOS (Thermal Energy Resource Modelling and Optimisation System) became a software tool; what its main features are, who uses it and what it brings to heating and cooling planning.

Following this, Lewis McNamee, a Project Officer at the Centre for Sustainable Energy, walked participants through the THERMOS tool in real time, whereby he presented the capabilities of the second of the three free features of the tool: Network Optimisation (the other two being Heating Mapping and Supply Optimisation).

Participants then heard from Dr. Richard Büchele of Energieinstitut Vorarlberg, who presented a case study in Bludenz, Austria. Richard discussed how he and his team had explored the economic and ecological feasibility of district heating in a deeply renovated housing estate using THERMOS. He discussed the challenges faced and the objectives achieved through the use of THERMOS’ network optimisation feature. See his full presentation here.

Luis Miguel Blanes, researcher of the IRUSE group (Informatics Research Unit for Sustainable Engineering) within the University of Galway, then presented a case study at the central campus of University of Galway. He outlined the institution’s sustainability commitments for the campus alongside objectives, talked through Ireland’s District Heating and Cooling policy, as well as DHC options for Ireland. Luis discussed his use of the THERMOS tool, challenges faced and next steps for the project. See his full presentation here.

Keen to dive deeper into these topics? Check out the session recording and full presentations here.

Ready for more? The third session of the Training Programme will take place on 25 April at 11:00 CET where we will discuss A Look at the Future of Heating & Cooling in Europe.

Register and learn more about the final session here.