Springfield Village

Springfield Heat Network integrates Design, Build, Operation & Maintenance, and Metering & Billing for a district heat network connecting two NHS hospital buildings and a care home for heat supply. Currently, over 1,000 residential units are connected, with ongoing expansion to accommodate more connections, scheduled for completion in 2025. Hemiko has managed all aspects of design, delivery, and operation with in-house teams, overseeing the project from inception to completion.
The scheme comprises of a 230kWe combined heat and power unit with back-up boilers. with and Air-Source Heat Pump coming online in the next phase. To ensure extra resilience in the network for the NHS this also includes backup plant installed on the rooftop of an NHS building.
To minimize disruption and maximise efficiency, we prefabricated the backup Energy Centre offsite, then crane-lifted it onto the roof for installation and commissioning, reducing on-site activity and service disruption. This backup system, combined with extensive thermal storage, ensures a resilient heat network, crucial for supplying live NHS sites.
Our expert team conducted detailed design reviews, enabling phased delivery without disrupting existing connections. We resized pipework and adjusted demand to enhance network efficiency.
Continuous amendments were made to designs and project programmes to accommodate evolving third-party timescales. Efficient management tracked all changes, ensuring high-quality delivery.
To meet changing delivery timescales, we accelerated works when necessary, increased the number of work gangs, and prioritized resources. This accelerated the delivery of buried pipework, enabling timely connections and excellent service for developers.

The challenges 

• Working in a live site – with in-situ residents and active NHS sites and healthcare sites including a care home.
• Coordination with third party developers
– changing timescales and heat on dates requiring careful management of installation and commissioning to meet develops requirements
• Connection to existing buildings – Existing buildings operating at higher flow and return temperatures require retrofitted solutions to ensure efficient delivery of heat.