The presentation will begin with a brief introduction to thermal instability issues and a reminder of their effects on precision instrumentation in ESRF experimental hutches.

One coarse of action against thermal drift is the judicious choice of materials and the application of athermal design principles. Advantages and limitations of this technique will be demonstrated. Within the framework of the ESRF Thermal Stability Working Group, the importance of environment stabilisation has been addressed. History and examples of existing solutions will be shown.

A numerical model of the existing ID22NI experimental hutch - constructed using results from an extensive data collection campaign - will be presented. With the aim to enhance thermal performance of future “Nano hutches”, several optimisation studies have been performed, based on the ID22NI model.

The greater part of this presentation will be devoted to results from these studies and associated recommendations for hutch design improvements.