Utility clearance
Identify existing-service constraints early enough to support safer route planning, design coordination and delivery.
Design / 01
Network Design & Engineering
Heat network design and site-survey support for routes, utility clearance, PAS 128/GPR, topographic surveys and nationwide CCTV drainage surveys, energy centres, plantrooms and buildability decisions.
Design brief
Design decisions should survive procurement, installation, commissioning and operation.
Heat network design risk rarely sits in one drawing. It sits between the route, plantroom, energy-centre strategy, controls, metering, HIUs, commercial scope and the evidence a delivery team will need later.
DHS helps clients test those links while the project can still move, so the design basis is buildable, commercially legible and easier to carry into handover.
Utility & site surveys
Know what is on, in and beneath the route before design decisions harden.
DHS can provide the supporting site intelligence needed to establish and validate the design basis, coordinate the route and reduce uncertainty before delivery.
Site evidence
Design basis
PAS 128 surveys (GPR)
Provide underground utility survey evidence, including ground-penetrating radar, to inform design and civils coordination.
Topographic surveys
Capture site levels, features and physical constraints for route, plantroom and wider design coordination.
CCTV drainage surveys nationwide
Provide drainage survey evidence nationwide to support informed design, coordination and delivery decisions.
Design decisions that matter
The work is to connect technical decisions before they split into separate risks.
These are the areas DHS would test first when reviewing a district heating or heat network design.
Network route
Test route length, civils interfaces, access, expansion points and maintainability before the alignment becomes difficult to change.
Energy-centre strategy
Check heat-source assumptions, plant selection, redundancy, space planning and operating temperatures against the intended network outcome.
Plantroom layout
Coordinate equipment, pipework, access zones, lifting routes, valves, control panels and metering so the room can be installed and maintained.
HIUs
Review dwelling interface assumptions, flow rates, controls logic and maintenance access before apartment-level decisions become a performance constraint.
Controls
Make control philosophy, sequencing, weather compensation, pump control and metering logic visible early enough to influence design.
Metering
Plan heat meters, data visibility, landlord supplies and consumer-facing requirements so performance evidence is designed in rather than added late.
Operating temperatures
Test temperature strategy against heat-source efficiency, pipe losses, HIU performance, commissioning and future optimisation.
Buildability
Challenge drawings against site constraints, phasing, buried services, access, procurement packages and handover evidence.
Design evidence map
One design basis, carried forward
- 01RouteAlignment, civils and access
- 02Energy centrePlant, temperatures and space
- 03PlantroomLayout and maintainability
- 04ControlsSequencing and operating logic
- 05HIUs & meteringInterfaces and performance data
- 06HandoverEvidence the next team can use
Design intentProcurementDeliveryOperation
Evidence board
Evidence should be tangible enough for the next team to use.
For design support to be useful, it has to become evidence: annotated assumptions, route notes, plantroom observations, coordination actions, controls and metering logic, HIU considerations and handover implications.
- Drawings challenged against buildability and maintainability.
- Technical assumptions translated into procurement-ready notes.
- Performance, commissioning and operator needs visible before handover.
Design hold points
Intervene while the design still has room to move.
Each handover narrows the room for correction. DHS focuses on the points where a design decision still has leverage.
Before scope hardens
Stress-test the route, heat-source strategy, plantroom constraints and performance assumptions while the project can still move.
Before tender
Turn design intent into clear packages, responsibilities, exclusions, BoQ logic and buildability notes suppliers can price.
Before site start
Check access, sequencing, interfaces, materials lead-in, testing routes and commissioning evidence before programme pressure takes over.
Before handover
Protect controls, metering, HIU, O&M and commissioning evidence so performance does not become an operational surprise.
Project-stage fit
Where network design support changes the outcome.
Use DHS when the project needs design evidence to stay coherent across feasibility, design development, procurement and delivery readiness.
Feasibility
Risk to expose
Heat-source, load, route and spatial assumptions can make the preferred option look simpler than it is.
Option review, route challenge and early technical-commercial notes.Design development
Risk to coordinate
Plantroom, buried pipework, controls, HIUs, metering and access decisions can drift into separate workstreams.
Coordinated survey evidence, design basis, layout review and buildability actions.Procurement
Risk to price
Ambiguous scope, missing interfaces and weak evidence make tender returns harder to compare and defend.
Tender-ready design evidence, scope clarifications and package notes.Delivery readiness
Risk to protect
Site changes can weaken design intent unless commissioning and handover evidence are visible early.
Delivery review notes and evidence requirements for installation teams.Practical outputs
Work products that help the next project decision.
The aim is not design commentary for its own sake. The aim is evidence that can be used by clients, QS teams, tendering contractors, delivery teams and operators.
Design basis
- Feasibility and concept design inputs
- Load, temperature and heat-source assumption review
- Utility clearance, PAS 128/GPR, topographic and nationwide CCTV drainage survey inputs
- Design intent notes that can travel into procurement
Coordination
- Energy-centre and plantroom layout review
- Buried pipework route and access considerations
- CAD, 3D and interface coordination support
Performance logic
- Controls, metering and HIU considerations
- Commissioning evidence expectations
- Operator and handover information requirements
Procurement support
- Buildability notes for tender and delivery
- Scope clarifications and technical-commercial risk notes
- Design evidence for contractor pricing and review
Technical FAQ
Common questions before a heat network design review.
Practical questions clients ask before appointing specialist heat-network design support.
When should DHS review a heat network design?
The earlier the better, especially before route, plantroom, heat-source, operating-temperature and procurement decisions harden. DHS can also review live designs where the client needs a second technical-commercial view before tender or delivery.
Can DHS provide surveys before or alongside design?
Yes. DHS can provide utility clearance, PAS 128 underground utility surveys including GPR, topographic surveys and CCTV drainage surveys nationwide, helping project teams establish site constraints before route, coordination and delivery decisions harden.
What makes district heating design different from ordinary M&E design?
Heat networks connect energy-centre decisions, buried infrastructure, commercial scope, HIUs, controls, metering, commissioning and resident outcomes. A technically sound drawing can still create risk if those interfaces are not joined up.
Can DHS support plantroom and energy-centre design?
Yes. DHS can review plantroom layouts, energy-centre strategy, access, maintainability, controls, metering and buildability so the design basis is easier to procure, install, commission and operate.
Does this include HIU, metering and controls advice?
Yes. DHS looks at how HIUs, metering and controls affect operating temperatures, commissioning evidence, resident experience and long-term performance, not just whether the components appear on a drawing.
How does design support connect to procurement?
DHS helps turn design intent into clearer packages, scope boundaries, buildability notes and evidence that tendering teams can price and delivery teams can carry forward.
Connected services
Network design is one part of the DHS delivery chain.
01
Design
Network Design & Engineering
Heat network design and site-survey support for routes, utility clearance, PAS 128/GPR, topographic surveys and nationwide CCTV drainage surveys, energy centres, plantrooms and buildability decisions.
Buildable designs backed by site intelligence 02Commercial
Commercial & Cost Management
QS-led commercial discipline for heat network projects, from early cost planning and BoQ development through tender control, procurement support and contract-stage risk management.
Cost certainty and commercial rigour 03Delivery
Installation & Commissioning
Supply, installation and commissioning support that protects design intent through procurement, energy-centre and network works, testing and handover.
On-programme, first-time performance 04Compliance
Compliance & Principal Designer
CDM, Principal Designer and client-side assurance support for heat network projects facing CP1, HNTAS, Ofgem and stronger technical-evidence expectations.
Embedded regulatory compliance from day one 05Performance
Performance & Lifecycle Support
Lifecycle support for heat networks where performance depends on commissioning evidence, controls, HIUs, metering, monitoring, operator readiness and resident outcomes.
Long-term performance built inDesign and survey support
Plan the design basis or supporting site surveys
If a scheme needs clearer route evidence before design, procurement or delivery, DHS can provide the design review and supporting utility or site surveys needed to move the next decision forward.
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