Decarbonising Heating and Cooling

Durham research is leading the way in addressing what is now the most pressing area of energy innovation needed to meet net zero.

Heat is used for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes and accounts for around a third of UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Other large emissions sources include power generation, transport, industrial processes and agriculture. Around 50% of heat emissions come from the domestic sector, 20% from the commercial sector and 30% from the industrial sector. In the UK domestic and commercial setting, 98% of GHG emissions from heat come from space and water heating, with 2% from cooking. In the industrial sector, only 13% come from space and water heating; the rest are from specialised industrial processes.

Research into new low carbon heating resources and technologies, and their deployment in different societies stretches across multiple disciplines and research centres at Durham University, including the Durham Heat Hub and Network for Decarbonising Heating and Cooling. DEI brings together these multidisciplinary capabilities and provides links and information to policy makers, industry and communities. Our main areas of research expertise include:

• Geothermal energy
• Low grade energy recovery
• Hydrogen for heating and cooling
• Thermochemical innovation
• Thermal Storage
• Combined heat and power (CHP)
• Thermal energy management
• Heritage Retrofitting
• Affordable warmth

Heat is used for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes and accounts for around a third of UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Other large emissions sources include power generation, transport, industrial processes and agriculture. Around 50% of heat emissions come from the domestic sector, 20% from the commercial sector and 30% from the industrial sector. In the UK domestic and commercial setting, 98% of GHG emissions from heat come from space and water heating, with 2% from cooking. In the industrial sector, only 13% come from space and water heating; the rest are from specialised industrial processes.

Heat decarbonisation is now the most pressing area of energy innovation required to achieve our net zero targets, and the transition to lower carbon heating solutions is a key strategic area at DEI.

Current Research Projects: 

• Network for Heating and Cooling Research to Enable a Net-Zero Carbon Future (H+C Zero Network)
• Geothermal Energy from Mines and Solar
• Decarbonisation of Low Temperature Process Heat Industry (DELTA PHI)
• Energy Recovery of Ultra Low Grade Sources using Absorption Thermal Battery
• Immersion cooling and heat storage technologies for HPC
• Durham Heat Hub
• Advanced hybrid thermochemical-compression seasonal solar energy storage and heat pump system (Solar SH&P)

Completed Research Projects: 

• Net Zero Geothermal Research for District Infrastructure Engineering
• Thermal Energy Challenge Network
• A decarbonisation plan for the Church of England
• Solid Wall Insulation Innovation
• Heat Supply through Solar Thermochemical Residential Seasonal Storage
• H-DisNet: Intelligent Hybrid Thermo-Chemical District Networks
• UK-India Foundation Industries Sustainable Thermal Energy Management Collaboration

Decarbonising Heating Researchers