REHVA, through its Taskforce on Circular HVAC Systems, is co-organizing a dedicated workshop on circularity in HVAC design, installation and operation at ROOMVENT 2026, taking place 15–18 September 2026 in Prague. The workshop, "Integrating circularity into design, installation and operation of HVAC systems" (C-HVAC), brings together policy, research, consultancy and industry perspectives in a single 90-minute session.

Why circularity, why now

HVAC systems have made real progress on operational energy efficiency. But as buildings get more efficient to run, the environmental footprint of the systems themselves, the embodied carbon and material impact of the equipment, becomes a bigger share of the total. Most HVAC systems are still built on a linear take–make–waste model. At the same time, EU policy is moving fast: the Critical Raw Materials Act, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, and the Construction Products Regulation are all pushing the sector toward resource efficiency and away from dependency on virgin materials. Circular HVAC, systems designed for longevity, adaptability and reuse, is becoming a real priority rather than a talking point.

What the workshop covers

The session is moderated by Atze Boerstra, professor of building services innovation at TU Delft, and Mikael Börjesson, director of future solutions & public affairs at Swegon, and runs in two 45-minute parts.

Part 1 – Framing and Perspectives: four short presentations covering the regulatory, scientific, consultancy and industry angles on C-HVAC:

• Policy perspective - Jacopo Famiglietti: the European regulatory context and its implications for circular HVAC
• Scientific perspective - Atze Boerstra: research challenges and methodological gaps in assessing and designing circular systems
• Consultancy perspective - Charlotte Nyholm (online): practical experience implementing circular HVAC in real projects
• Industry perspective - Mikael Börjesson: implications for manufacturers - product design, materials, logistics and new business models

Part 2 - Interactive Session and Discussion: participants work through key themes together, assessment methods, design strategies, and the barriers standing in the way of change, in a format built for exchange and co-creation, not passive listening.

What it aims to deliver

• A shared, working definition of what circular HVAC means in practice
• The key barriers and knowledge gaps holding back implementation
• Practical strategies and real-world experience, exchanged across disciplines
• Promising research directions and innovation pathways
• Stronger collaboration between policy, research, design and industry

The workshop is organized in cooperation with REHVA and REHVA's Taskforce on Circular HVAC Systems, and is part of the ROOMVENT 2026 programme hosted by the Czech Technical University in Prague.

Attend

ROOMVENT 2026 runs 15–18 September 2026 in Prague, Czech Republic. Full programme and registration details are available via the ROOMVENT 2026 website.