For Immediate Release
FairHeat Welcomes Publication of Draft Technical Specifications and Assessment Procedures for the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS).
London, UK – 30/07/2025 – The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published the draft New Build Technical Specification and Assessment Procedures Overview documents for the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme (HNTAS)—marking a major milestone in the journey toward regulated, high-performance heat networks in the UK.
These draft documents offer the first detailed insight into what compliance with HNTAS will require and provide an outline of the technical and procedural obligations across the New Build assurance pathway. Key inclusions are:
- Detailed element definitions
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that all new build networks must meet
- Required monitoring points for new build networks
- An overview of the assessment levels that will determine scheme compliance
Gareth Jones, Managing Director at FairHeat and Lead Technical Author of HNTAS, comments:
“As Technical Authors of HNTAS, we’re proud to have contributed to the development of these documents over the last 3 years. However, we do need to acknowledge that it was all made possible by the contribution of dozens of experts in the sector, who have been through every requirement set out in the Technical Specification and Assessment Procedures documents and dedicated thousands of hours of their time to industry workshops to ensure that the scheme is fit for purpose for the sector.”
“Overall, 190 individuals across 111 organisations have contributed to the process, participating in c.60 industry workshops, with a total of about 240 hours of in-depth workshops to consider the different proposals.”
“On top of this there has been 10 stakeholder engagement groups, who have put time into the process and provided valuable feedback.”
“As such, we’d like to say thanks to everyone who has engaged in the process to date and for the thousands of hours of work that has been contributed by the industry, for the industry. The level of engagement has been humbling and it has been a privilege to be involved in the process.”
Tom Burton, Senior Engineer and Head of Industry Standards Team at FairHeat, comments:
“Really excited to see the first set of HNTAS documents released. These documents set out some of the key compliance requirements and help to establish a clear direction for what the new build heat network landscape will look like once HNTAS is live.”
“It’s a reflection of a huge amount of hard work and dedication from the FairHeat team, delivered in close collaboration with DESNZ, Gemserv, and the many industry contributors—without whom this would not have been possible.”
The draft documents are available to view at:
- Technical Specifications: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-network-technical-assurance-scheme-hntas-technical-specifications
- Assessment Procedures: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-network-technical-assurance-scheme-hntas-assessment-procedures
A public consultation on the scheme is expected to follow in the near future.
FairHeat will also be launching a webinar series to support stakeholders in understanding the documents and preparing for compliance. For support navigating the documents or to express interest in the webinars, please contact info@fairheat.com.
About FairHeat
FairHeat is an award-winning engineering consultancy specialising in quality assurance for heat networks. With extensive experience across design, commissioning, delivery, operation, and maintenance, FairHeat has worked on over 500 heat network projects, collaborating with housing associations, local authorities, private developers, and ESCos. The company has been instrumental in shaping industry best practices, acting as Technical Author for HNTAS and contributing to key initiatives such as the Heat Network Optimisation Guidance and the BESA HIU Test Standard.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fairheat/ | Website: www.fairheat.com
