Key to attaining a Nabers operational rating for a commercial building is the creation of a dynamic energy simulation model that closely predicts actual operational performance. Alex Smith looks at how Hoare Lea modelled Timber Square to achieve the UK’s first design target rating
Category: Technical
Facing up to embodied carbon in façades
Façades account for up to 30% of a building’s embodied carbon, which is why the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology is working to produce a new methodology to bring consistency to life-cycle assessments. Buro Happold’s Teni Ladipo reports
CIBSE awards data: fuller disclosure
CIBSE pioneered the disclosure of building performance data in its awards, giving the industry a unique opportunity to compare and share. Julie Godefroy analyses figures from the 2022 entries and reveals how the process will be refined to provide even more valuable data in the 2023 Building Performance Awards
Technical knockout: the 2022 CIBSE Technical Symposium
The CIBSE Technical Symposium returned as an in-person event for the first time since the Covid pandemic, with delegates given plenty to think about over the two days of technical presentations. Phil Lattimore reports
How desalination affects chiller energy use in the Middle East
When comparing the energy use of air-chilled and water-cooled chillers, power used in desalination plants must be taken into account in places such as the Middle East, say Mott MacDonald’s Jismi Mohammed and Fergus Donaghy
Clear evidence: applying cleanroom technology to commercial buildings
Cleanroom ventilation systems are used to ensure pathogen-free indoor spaces in life science buildings, but can the technology be used in commercial offices? Clean Air Technologies’ Brendon McManus MCIBSE, Richard Fagg and Steve Robinson put the theory to the test by measuring the clean-up rate in a mock-up of a boardroom
Calculating whole life carbon in heating and cooling systems
To minimise carbon emissions from heating and cooling, the whole life of a system must be taken into account. Hoare Lea’s Will Belfield and Mathew Stark compare three common cooling and heating systems to see which has the lowest impact over a 60-year lifetime
Thinking big: CIBSE’s new AM17 guidance on non-domestic heat pumps
New CIBSE guidance on heat pumps in large non-domestic buildings will be released this summer. Arup’s Joshua Bird looks at what you can expect from AM17
Overheating warning: how Part O aims to address overheating
Approved Document O was published in December, and is aimed at reducing overheating risk in new residential buildings. Inkling’s Susie Diamond says the new regulations have significant implications for the design of such buildings, including homes, student accommodation and care homes
Oversizing matters: Effect of boiler oversizing on efficiency
With energy prices soaring and carbon reduction a priority, ensuring heating systems are specified to operate as efficiently as possible is essential. In this article, based on their CIBSE Carter Bronze Medal-winning paper, Dr George Bennett and Dr Cliff Elwell explain the impact on energy use and comfort of oversizing boilers – and how correct sizing can boost efficiency