The University of Worcester has been awarded a government grant to help find ways to improve the efficiency of a district heat network on its St John’s Campus.
The grant will pay for an optimisation study of the Edward Elgar district heat network
The University is one of 33 projects to be awarded a share of £2.7m under the Government’s Heat Network Efficiency Scheme, from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
The funding, of almost £24,000, will pay for an optimisation study of the Edward Elgar district heat network. The study will include an investigation into how the heat network is controlled as well as the efficiency of physical infrastructure including boilers, pipework, and radiators.
Once the study is complete, the University will receive a report summarising where improvements can be made across the heat network, as well as a detailed series of cost-effective recommendations for boosting its efficiency.
Jess Tasney, Carbon Reduction and Sustainability Manager at the University, said: “The study will give us a set of recommendations of things we can do to improve the efficiency of the heat network, while maintaining the comfort of users of the building.
“We hope to then take the findings and be able to apply them to our other sites and buildings, in order to work towards decarbonising the University.”
The University is currently a key stakeholder in a project to design a detailed plan for a city-wide heat network in Worcester, using the River Severn at its heat source.
Ms Tasney said: “Whilst this project is in its early stages, it demonstrates the importance of optimising smaller networks, such as our Edward Elgar heat network, as a critical step in securing maximum efficiency of regional heat networks providing low-cost, decarbonised heat to a range of customers, many of whom could be University staff and students in their residences, as well as members of our local community.”
The work is part of the University’s commitment towards becoming Net Zero. Worcester is already one of the UK’s most sustainable universities, having achieved First Class Honours from the People and Planet League every year for more than a decade. The league, compiled annually by the UK student campaigning network, People & Planet, scores universities by environmental and ethical performance.
The University has won and been shortlisted for numerous environmental awards over the last 20 years, including Sustainability Institution of the Year in 2019.