Case study · City heat network
Releasing the hidden potential of a city’s heat.
A city-wide heat network rediscovering how to flow, unlocking up to 30% energy and carbon savings for homes, public buildings and businesses.
What was happening
A city heat network quietly drifting out of tune, losing efficiency and energy across a complex web of pipes, plant and buildings.
What was needed
A clear, evidence-led way to cut waste, improve performance and support the city’s path to Net Zero without ripping everything out.
What we unlocked
A data-backed optimisation plan with up to 30% energy and CO₂ savings identified and a roadmap for deeper decarbonisation over time.
A living system that had drifted out of tune
City heat networks are the hidden arteries of urban life. When they work well, nobody really notices them. Homes feel warm, public buildings welcome people in and businesses can rely on steady conditions.
In this UK city, the network was moving around 90 GWh of heat every year yet too much of that energy was being lost before it reached the people and places it was meant to serve. Demand had shifted, buildings had changed use and operating practices had evolved in fragments rather than as one whole system.
There was no single moment of crisis. Just a slow, quiet erosion of performance that was starting to add cost, carbon and complexity to the city’s journey to Net Zero.
A system with more to give
Through site visits, energy centre audits and substation reviews, we built a detailed picture of how heat actually moved through the network from generation to each connection.
Hydraulic arrangements were working hard to compensate for uncertainty. Pumping regimes were out of sync with real demand. Generation was running harder than necessary, protecting against perceived risk and layering inefficiency into day-to-day operation.
There was no single fault. The system had simply adapted in pieces over time. Once everything was mapped physically, hydraulically and behaviourally, it became clear this was not a broken network. It was a capable network that needed realignment.
Helping the network remember how to flow
Using digital modelling and real-world diagnostics, we rebuilt a system-wide picture of how heat flowed, where losses concentrated and where the quickest wins sat. Every recommendation was rooted in data, not guesswork.
We explored generation efficiency, hydraulic tuning, pumping strategies and operational philosophy then defined an optimisation plan that matched supply to the real rhythm of the city. Alongside this, we developed a schedule of low-cost quick wins and a staged strategy for deeper decarbonisation.
Rather than prescribing wholesale replacement, we focused on unlocking the performance already present in the network and setting a clear direction for how it could evolve as the city’s needs change.
A lighter, clearer, more efficient network
The proposals identified up to 30% improvement in operational energy use and CO₂ emissions, along with a clear distinction between immediate optimisation measures and longer-term investments.
Operators now have a coherent mental model of how the network behaves rather than isolated views from individual assets. Decision-makers have a credible roadmap that links quick wins to deeper change instead of treating them as separate conversations.
The result is a network that feels lighter to run, easier to explain and better aligned with the city’s financial and environmental commitments.
Heat that helps a city thrive
Optimising a heat network is not just about tuning equipment. It is about improving the conditions that shape everyday life in a city.
When heat flows well, homes are more comfortable at lower cost, public buildings become easier to run and local businesses gain reliability. The city produces less carbon and cleaner air, and progress towards Net Zero becomes tangible rather than theoretical.
This project shows how a technical exercise can become a civic opportunity. By seeing the network as living infrastructure rather than a collection of parts, the city can use heat as a quiet enabler of wellbeing and resilience for years to come.