D3associates

14/09/2026

Some people know exactly what they want to do from an early age. Phil Norval clearly had other plans…

Fireman, inventor, mountain guide and aircraft designer all featured in his childhood career ambitions. Thankfully for us, he eventually found his way into energy and decarbonisation.

Phil joins d3associates as a Principal Consultant, bringing more than a decade of experience in energy efficiency, renewables and decarbonisation. Having spent the last seven years at Decerna, progressing to Head of Group for Energy Efficiency, he’ll be working with our clients on energy audits, feasibility studies and decarbonisation strategies, as well as helping us develop our services and supporting the wider team.

And one final fact about Phil: at 17, he memorised Pi to 50 decimal places. He still remembers it. We’re not planning to test him.

09/09/2026

From aircraft to energy centres…

Ajay Pillai started out studying Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College London. Fast forward 13 years and he’s now a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, specialising in distributed energy, heat networks and low-carbon technologies.

Having worked on everything from energy centres and heat pumps to CHP, waste heat recovery and some seriously complicated plant rooms, Ajay brings a wealth of experience to D3A.

He’s also no stranger to leading teams, developing engineers and helping clients turn ambitious energy projects into something that can actually be built.

We’re delighted to have Ajay on board - welcome to d3associates!

08/09/2026

08/09/2026

With 25% of the D3A team now working remotely, getting together regularly is more important than ever - and our socials are a great excuse to do just that!

We started in Hexham with Paul’s Year in Review, looking at how we’ve performed, where we’re heading and our aspirations for the future. With Ian up from Bristol, Ajay from Sale and Stuart from Newark, it was great to have everyone together.

Then we piled onto the train to Newcastle for the LVLS Escape Rooms. The Arcade and 221B Baker St. certainly tested our grey matter - with Nick getting a special mention for putting in a sterling performance!

After escaping, it was drinks at The Bridge Tavern, a stroll up Grey Street and pizza at Rudy’s. Great company, plenty of laughs and a very good reason to get together. We’ll definitely be doing it again!

10/08/2026

From energy audit to action.

The D3A team are heading to the Middlesbrough & Eston Circuit to visit five Methodist churches as the next stage of their decarbonisation journey.

We originally worked with the Circuit to carry out Energy Audits, identifying practical opportunities to reduce energy use, lower carbon emissions and improve the buildings and now the project is moving forward.

Our recommendations are being taken into the detailed design phase, where we’ll work with the churches to turn those initial findings into deliverable projects.

The five churches involved are Grove Hill, Middlesbrough Methodist Hub, Marton, Nunthorpe and Trinity and the proposed measures include improvements to building fabric, more efficient hot water systems, LED lighting and electrical upgrades to support the transition away from fossil-fuelled systems.

This is the part of decarbonisation we particularly value at D3A: taking a strategy off the page and helping clients make it happen.

Good progress for the Middlesbrough & Eston Circuit, and another example of how the Methodist Church is turning its Net Zero ambitions into action.

13/07/2026

As much of the UK experiences another spell of hot weather, it's a reminder that building decarbonisation isn't just about keeping warm in winter.

At Wetherby Methodist Church, a recent decarbonisation project delivered by d3associates included air source heat pumps, air-to-air heat pumps, solar PV and battery storage.

The result?

✔ The building remains warm and comfortable throughout winter.

✔ The church hall stays cool during the summer, with users and community groups noticing a significant improvement in comfort.

✔ During sunny periods, the church is generating more electricity than it consumes.

Too often, discussions around Net Zero focus solely on carbon reduction. That's important, but the most successful projects also deliver tangible benefits that people can experience every day.

For Wetherby Methodist Church, that means lower carbon emissions, reduced reliance on imported electricity, and a more comfortable environment for worshippers, visitors and community groups all year round.

As our climate continues to change, perhaps the question isn't whether buildings should be designed to cope with hotter summers, but whether we can afford not to.

01/07/2026

Today our Project Manager, Geoff Robinson, Principal Architect, Simon Timperley, and Senior Engineer, Brad Murray, are in Denby Dale carrying out site inspections as part of a feasibility study for the Methodist Church.

The project will assess three churches - Denby Dale, Clayton West and Skelmanthorpe - to determine which offers the best opportunity to become a single, future-proofed church and community hub.

This is about much more than choosing a building.

Our team will be developing high-level decarbonisation plans for each church, while also assessing how the existing spaces could be adapted to meet the needs of current and future users. By combining technical building assessments, architectural expertise and stakeholder consultation, we'll help the client make an informed decision based on evidence rather than assumption.

At d3associates, we believe the most successful projects start by asking the right questions.

- How can existing buildings be adapted to better serve their communities?

- How can they become more energy efficient and affordable to operate?

- And how can we preserve valued buildings while creating spaces that remain fit for purpose for decades to come?

We're looking forward to working with the Methodist Church on another project that brings together sustainability, architecture and community-focused design.

27/05/2026

Great to see the D3A team back at Rosyth Methodist Church today as work continues on the church’s journey towards Net Zero.

Phase 1 has now been completed, including the installation of:
- a 29kWp solar PV system
- a 23kWh battery storage system

Attention now turns to Phase 2, which will focus on replacing the existing gas boiler with a low-carbon heating solution - another important step towards full Net Zero operation for the building.