Specialist panel discusses heat networks at Housing 2026, held at Manchester Central Convention Complex from 23 to 25 June 2026. Five speakers are seated on the Warm & Healthy Homes Stage while an audience of housing professionals listens from tiered benches. The conference screen and branding place the session within a programme concerned with decarbonisation, retrofit, resident wellbeing and lower-carbon heating. The session, titled “Heat networks - getting it right... and wrong: Performance, tenant experience and delivery at scale”, examined communal heating across existing homes and new developments. Its focus extended beyond installation to system performance, affordability, reliability and residents’ day-to-day experience. These issues matter for social landlords because poorly designed or managed schemes can lead to excessive charges, uneven comfort, complaints and costly remedial work. Heat networks distribute thermal energy from a central source to several properties through shared pipework. They may serve an apartment block, housing estate or wider district, using technologies such as large heat pumps, recovered waste heat or other lower-carbon sources. Their contribution to reducing emissions must be balanced against efficiency, transparent billing, consumer protection, maintenance capability and resident engagement. The event took place as housing associations operating communal systems entered a new regulatory environment. From 27 January 2026, heat-network suppliers and operators came within Ofgem regulation and customers gained access to the Energy Ombudsman. This gives the image relevance to landlord compliance, metering, tariffs, resilience and governance. The photograph captures knowledge-sharing within UK social housing, with panellists, delegates and event branding visible beneath Manchester Central’s historic railway architecture. It is suitable for coverage of district energy, net-zero homes, residential heat decarbonisation.
