Vijf minuten met… Dr. Gareth Evans (misschien wel 15)

MEET DEXT TECHNICAL DIRECTOR GARETH EVANS.

We caught up with Gareth to find out how he met Neil, what drew him so strongly to Dext, and how he spends his days when he’s not poring over heat recovery data.

Hoe zou u uw rol bij Dext omschrijven?

I support the technical backbone of the business and drive the R&D strategy. I love having the opportunity to innovate in my own style. My role is about bridging creativity and practicality, ensuring that our ideas are nurtured, developed, and ultimately delivered for real-world impact.

Hoe ziet een typische dag er voor jou uit?

No two days are the same, but my approach is always methodical. Much of my work demands hyper focus, often on complex problems that require sustained attention. I connect deeply with the challenges I work on, living them until I find the right solution.
Sometimes the process continues into my sleep, and I wake with fully formed solutions or new ideas, often through lucid dreaming, a skill I discovered and refined during my PhD.

Since joining Dext Heat Recovery, I have been able to channel my full skill set, from the hands-on engineering foundations of my apprenticeship to my adventure into the towers of academia during my PhD, specialising in heat pump performance, optimisation, and integration, and my time teaching. That blend of practical and academic experience has been central to shaping Dext Heat Recovery technology, building its technological capability, creating a team that shares our vision, and managing large projects that bring that vision to life through a coordinated effort.

Recently, my role has shifted towards software, with a focus on DextCalc, which is my passion project and helps customers forecast their potential savings before making a commitment.

That same hyper focus drives my other current work. I am leading the creation of our technical documentation, further refining the heat pump version of the DexThermic, and developing ever more advanced monitoring systems which integrate with Siemens equipment to provide live performance insights from site using AI-driven smart monitoring.
The level of innovation across Dext projects is thrilling to me.

What do you think is the best thing about Dext Heat Recovery systems?

The ability to provide real positive change in how we use energy and approach the commodification of it.
By focusing on heat recovery and the efficient use of finite resources, these systems help restore balance to our energy systems, working in harmony with the planet rather than exploiting it (a little nod to James Lovelock there).

What do you wish more people knew about Dext Heat Recovery?

It is about breaking the mould, embracing creativity, and driving innovation to create meaningful solutions. What sets Dext apart is not just the technology, but the ethos behind it, the collaboration, the passion, and the belief in making a real difference. I would like more people to see how deeply those principles guide everything we do – we welcome contributions and collaborative innovation.

Hoe en wanneer bent u bij het bedrijf betrokken geraakt?

I met Neil through my academic mentor, Andy Young.
Andy and I connected at Sheffield Hallam University, and our relationship grew further when we collaborated by presenting ‘An Ecohouse of the Future’ at a grassroots festival in the mid-2000s.
The festival was called the Big Green Gathering and it stemmed from the Greenfields at Glastonbury.

This festival cemented mine and Andy’s working relationship in two ways:
1: A campfire discussion after the talk led to us discussing the possibility of me doing a PhD. At the time, I was really inspired by all the new technologies at the festival (and how excited and interested people were about all these new ideas – if only I could make these concepts mainstream…).
My aim was to move these grassroots concepts from the left-field into the mainstream, developing them into inclusive technologies that redefine and guide standard practice.
This resulted in the direction of my PhD (Experimental and Theoretical Analysis of Heat Pump Performance for Retrofitted Domestic Installations), undertaken in partnership with Danfoss Heat Pumps and, at the outset, Chesterfield Council and Rykneld Homes.
2: It cemented mine and Andy’s working relationship and led to myself and Neil being matched and introduced. I owe an awful lot to Andy Young and would not be where I am without his support.
Neil found Andy through Hallam Energy, and he then introduced us to each other.
When I met Neil and stood in front of his idea, I could see a creative future and someone who shared my passion for breaking the mould.

The rest is history.

Hoe besteedt u uw tijd buiten het werk?

Outdoors! I’m lucky to live so close to the Peak District for all sorts of year-round adventures. My love of cycling has taken me on incredible journeys, including riding from France to Bulgaria, and I have tested my limits with running challenges like the 9 Edges, a 21-mile fell running route. I like to live my life taking the hard route, with just a dash of peril, often driven by the questions: is it possible, will I survive, can I do that?
Given the chance, you will also find me sea kayaking along Scotland’s rugged coastline, catching and smoking fish for dinner. For me, these experiences are as much about exploration as they are about the challenge.
When I am not outside, I am usually tinkering with music or electronics. Over the years, I have played in bands (Postpunk, Shoegaze) and gone through a phase of collecting synthesizers, samplers, and drum machines that may have got slightly out of hand.
I enjoy experimenting with sound and exploring the creative subcultures it inspires. I also like building quirky, nonsensical devices designed to spark curiosity, fun, and a sprinkle of joyous confusion.
That same appetite for challenge, creativity, and exploration is something I bring into my work at Dext every day – sandals and long hair included.

What’s the strangest/funniest thing that’s ever happened to you at work?

Many things come to mind, but here is one that relates to when Neil and I first met. When he showed me the early DAHX concept, we ended up staying in the local pub where he had been lodging. The locals were absolutely thrilled because he had brought some Bury black pudding down south for them. I had never seen a reaction like it. It was as if he had turned up with treasure!

When you were a child, what did you think you’d grow up to be?

An inventor. Growing up in the ’80s, I was captivated by films like Explorers. Watching it as a kid sparked my imagination and, looking back, probably shaped my formative years more than I realised.

I was also deeply influenced by my dad, a glider pilot, and the eclectic mix of people I grew up around. These included retired RAF ace pilots, flat cap engineers who welded in a suit with NHS “blocker” spectacles (the sort of look Jarvis Cocker might have borrowed), and bearded long-haired dreamers determined to reach the sky without an engine.
Nearly all the ground equipment at the airfield was homemade in a very agricultural way. I remember helping build a winch from parts of an old bus and a military vehicle, and tinkering with big diesel engines, all before I was 13 years old. Being around glider pilots gave me a front-row seat to a fearless, can-do attitude where problems were solved with whatever was to hand.

It was a pre-internet era when the future felt full of wonder and possibility, and the tools we have today were the stuff of dreams. That same spirit of invention and determination has never left me. The “I’ve got a great idea” moment from Explorers still hits me emotionally, a reminder of the curiosity and possibility that inspired so much of what I do now.

Snelle vragen:

Favoriete plek?

On my touring bike, exploring the world with my partner and daughter (safely towed in her little trailer).
When I’m not on the road, the dance floor is where I find joy. I absolutely love dancing and music!

Wat is je favoriete eten?

Blue Cheese (In moderation).

Wat is je favoriete liedje?

Hardest question of all… Today’s sample: I have many from different genres, but like to program computers to transcendent breakcore: Vertigoaway,verti_dx – conduit_awakens.
Also: Henge – In Praise of Water.