The facilities team at the British Antarctic Survey are responsible for maintaining heat and power in some of the most isolated buildings on Earth. Alex Smith finds out how remote monitoring and controls are ensuring the welfare of staff and scientists living near the South Pole
Category: General
Tidings of comfort and joy – cost efficient church heating
Churches may be full to bursting at Christmas, but smaller congregations at other times make planning a heating strategy difficult. In response, James Sheehan, heating adviser for the Diocese of Peterborough, has produced a cost guide that aims to minimise ecclesiastical heating bills
A healthy light style – the biological impact of light
The Well Building Standard considers the biological impact of light – and this ‘melanopic’ approach will have implications for lighting workplaces, says Andrew Bissell
Raising the bar – Land Rover BAR headquarters for the America’s Cup
Land Rover BAR will attempt to achieve Britain’s first America’s Cup victory next year. If its teamwork is anything like the collaborative approach taken to design its HQ, Sir Ben Ainslie stands a good chance of bringing home the trophy. Alex Smith reports
Wrestling with the future of heat – debate
Where should the UK source its heat? WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Barny Evans and CIBSE CHP/District Heating Group chair Phil Jones discuss the options
Building on the past: celebrating 40 years of CIBSE
From the miners’ strikes and oil crises of the 1970s, to the ‘boom and bust’ of the 1980s and technological advances in the 2000s, the UK’s industrial landscape has evolved radically over the past four decades. Liza Young asks former CIBSE presidents how building services has changed since the Institution began in 1976
Primary evidence – primary schools from 1976 and 2016 go head-to-head
School design has changed fundamentally over the past 40 years, but have results improved in terms of energy use? IES’ Colin Rees models two primary schools from 1976 and 2016 to find out what impact advances in materials, systems and IT have had on energy consumption
Question time: Boswell Reid’s pioneering work on occupant evaluation in the Houses of Parliament
David Boswell Reid was a pioneer of post occupancy evaluations, allowing MPs to feed back on their comfort levels during the development of the Palace of Westminster’s Victorian ventilation system, says CIBSE Heritage Group’s Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt
The perfect return – heat network return temperatures
For a heat network to be energy efficient, it is essential that low flow return temperatures are achieved. Carbon Alternative’s Martin Crane explains why it is so important
Concerted effort: inspiring the next generation of services engineers
When STEM ambassador Charity Nicholls mentioned ‘building services engineering’ to a class of pupils, she was met with a sea of blank faces. In response she created a virtual rock venue and, with the help of Google’s 3D glasses, brought the profession to life