Heat Networks and Infrastructure-Practice Dynamics

About the Project

Heat networks are set to aid the replacement of natural gas boilers across the UK as part of national decarbonization efforts. This research proposal examines the reciprocal relationship between heat network infrastructures and everyday practices, focusing on how approaches to the design and delivery of heat networks might better integrate technical solutions with lived experiences.

Historical transitions in heating infrastructure demonstrate that changes in provision fundamentally transform the spatiotemporal organization of everyday life. When coal fires were replaced with gas central heating, households experienced not just different heat sources but profound changes in how domestic life was organized (Watson and Shove, 2023). Similar transformations can be anticipated with heat networks, yet their design rarely accounts for these implications.

The design and delivery of heat networks is dominated by technical-economic approaches that often overlook how such infrastructure interacts with everyday life. Current approaches to heat network planning typically prioritize engineering parameters and economic viability, with limited consideration of how infrastructure shapes and is shaped by household routines, expectations of comfort, and patterns of building use.

The discrepancy between approaches that focus on technical potential and those on everyday practices manifests in several challenges, including performance discrepancies, user dissatisfaction, and implementation barriers. Heat networks frequently underperform relative to design specifications, partly because technical parameters fail to align with actual usage patterns. Residents may also struggle to adapt established routines to new heating arrangements or find systems unresponsive to their needs. Furthermore, implementation often faces resistance when delivery approaches fail to address existing practices.

In taking social practices as a fundamental consideration, this project employs social practice theory to aid the design and delivery of district heat networks. Rather than viewing heat networks merely as technical systems that deliver warmth to passive consumers, this approach recognizes them as socio-technical arrangements that become meaningful through their integration into various household practices.

Research Questions

• How do heat networks enable, constrain, or reconfigure everyday household practices?
• What spatial and temporal adaptations occur when households transition to networked heating?
• How do material properties of heat networks shape domestic activities and routines?
• How do intermediary organizations (utilities, housing providers, local authorities) understand and respond to everyday practices?
• How might heat network specifications better accommodate diverse household practices?

University of Reading:

The University of Reading, located west of London, England, is ranked at 172 globally, according to the QS World University Rankings 2025. 98% of research at the University is of international standing (REF 2021, combining the University’s world leading, internationally excellent and internationally recognised submissions). The University’s main Whiteknights Campus is set in 130 hectares of beautiful, award-winning parkland, less than a 30-minute train ride to London Paddington and is approximately 30 miles from London Heathrow airport.

During your PhD at the University of Reading, you will expand your research knowledge and skills, receiving supervision and training in a number of different forms. We also provide dedicated training in important transferable skills that will support your career aspirations. If you need to develop your academic English skills before you start your studies, then the University has an excellent International Study and Language Institute which can help with this.

Eligibility:

• Applicants should have a good bachelor’s degree (minimum of a UK Upper Second (2:1) or equivalent)/master’s degree in sociology, engineering, architecture, construction management and human geography or a strongly-related discipline.
• International applicants will also need to meet the University’s English Language requirements. We offer pre-sessional English courses that can help with meeting these requirements.

*The University of Reading is committed to a policy of equal opportunities and non-discriminatory treatment for all members of its community.*

How to apply:

Submit an application for a PhD in Construction Management via our online application system

Further information:

Construction Management and Engineering PhD webpage

Enquiries:

Dr Martin Green, email: m.s.green@reading.ac.uk

Funding Notes

We welcome applications from self-funded students worldwide for this project.

If you are applying to an international funding scheme, we encourage you to get in contact as we may be able to support you in your application.