January 20, 2026
The Eco-Block Pilot Project at Glasney Village completed in September 2025, marking an important milestone in efforts to reduce carbon emissions on campus. This innovative project aims to test the use of air source heat pumps as an alternative to gas heating, and for the past few months, Glasney Parc Block A—a residence containing four flats—has been fully heated and supplied with hot water using this technology. The block is now completely disconnected from mains gas.
Fergus Chan, Carbon and Energy Manager at FX Plus, described the project as a significant achievement:
“The Eco-Block Pilot Project is really exciting because it is the first project of its kind implemented on this campus. Over the next year, we’ll monitor performance and assess whether this approach can be expanded across our other residences in Glasney Village, as part of a district heating system.
“It’s provided the opportunity to learn more about emerging green technologies that could support us in making real progress toward the universities’ net-zero targets of the future”.
Other green technologies such as Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels and a Building Management System with Automatic Monitoring and Targeting have also been incorporated to generate energy and improve the energy efficiency of the accommodation block.
“Although the installed PV panels do not cover the building’s entire electricity consumption, they do reduce the portion of energy drawn from the national grid,” explains Fergus.
The Building Management System which controls the air source heat pumps, by telling them when to turn on and off, has been successfully operating for just a couple of months now. It will take at least one years’ worth of monitoring and gathering data throughout the seasons, to be able to assess the technology in different temperatures, to get the full picture of the viability of a district heating system using air source heat pumps throughout Glasney Village.
The Eco-Block Pilot project has been supported by the Salix Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, an initiative funded by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, which provides grants to public sector organisations to implement energy saving and carbon reducing technologies in their buildings. This initial phase (Glasney Parc Block A) was awarded a £55k grant towards the £114k total project cost.
Glasney Village, a significant carbon emitter, is the focus of a wider Decarbonisation on Campus project, with specific funding allocated by the University of Exeter and Falmouth University to fund projects to reduce carbon on their shared campus at Penryn.
In the future, following the outcome of the Eco-Block Pilot project, it is hoped that more air source heat pumps could be installed and connected across numerous residence blocks at Glasney Village, to realise the efficiencies and carbon savings associated with a district heating system and to move away from using natural gas to heat student residences entirely.
For more information about this project or if you have any questions about sustainability on campus, please contact the Sustainability team on sustainability@fxplus.ac.uk.
