Top groups organise joint meeting
UK: In a unique collaboration, five leading industry groups are to host a joint evening technical meeting for their members and students.
The meeting on the subject of Low Carbon District Heating has been organised by the newly-formed ASHRAE UK Midlands Section in association with the Institute of Refrigeration, CIBSE West Midlands, the Birmingham Society of Refrigeration and Air conditioning (BSRA) and the BEI (Birmingham Energy Institute).
A paper will be presented by Dr Andy Pearson, ASHRAE Fellow and group managing director of Star Refrigeration Ltd on an installation in which his company was involved in in Drammen, Norway.
New Institute of Refrigeration president Steve Gill, one of the driving forces behind the event, said: “There has been increasing discussions about industrial-sized heat pump systems for district heating in the UK over the last three years. Heat networks are not a new idea but they have traditionally been seen as a very “un-British” way of delivering domestic heating. The realisation that our carbon reduction targets cannot be met without some drastic changes to the way we live our lives has changed all that.”
Centralised heat pump systems, drawing heat from rivers and lakes and transferring it to a distribution network are now proven in many European and North American cities and are said to be well-suited to the UK climate. The Department of Energy & Climate Change has completed a heat mapping exercise showing all the major sources of heat and correlating them to major demand centres.
Steve Gill, who in addition to his new role at the IoR is also president of the ASHRAE UK Midlands Section, expressed his delight at having secured Andy Pearson to present his first-hand views on such an important subject.
“We advance by sharing knowledge to this industry and by working closer with our fellow associated professionals,” he said.
“There are has already been a lot of interest from people wishing to attend and this event will be also be available a webinar for those who can’t.”
The event will be held at Birmingham University on June 14 at 6pm. You can book your place to attend here.
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