Building safety, decarbonisation of heat and embodied energy are just some of the hot topics being tackled at CIBSE’s Build2Perform Live taking place on 29-30 November at ExCeL London.
The largest building services event in the calendar is back with a bang after a three-year hiatus. The move to ExCeL London coincides with the arrival of Crossrail at the venue, allowing delegates to reach Build2Perform from central London via Custom House station in a little over 10 minutes.
Visitors to the Build2Perform conference and exhibition will experience the full breadth of the building services industry: during the two-day event there will be 60 hours of approved CPD, more than 80 speakers and around 60 exhibitors.
Build2Perform will also see the welcome return of the Society of Digital Engineering (SDE) Awards and the Building Simulation Group Awards, which has a Young Modeller Award as well as an overall Building Simulation Award. In the SDE awards, judges are looking for examples of digital excellence across the whole built environment industry (see panel).
The conference programme kicks off on Day 1 with a panel discussion on the cross-industry initiative developing the UK’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings (NZCB) Standard.
The CPA’s Peter Caplehorn
Speakers will include Clara Bagenal George of Elementa and LETI, CIBSE’s Julie Godefroy and Related Argent’s David Partridge, who was appointed chair of the NZCB last month. The panel will discuss the latest developments on the NZCB standard and what it will mean for designers and installers.
In the morning, the HSE will be highlighting the most important aspects of the Building Safety Act and how the new safety regime will impact the design, construction and operation of all buildings – not just those deemed to be higher risk.
A keynote address before lunch will look at the role of the HSE and the Building Safety Regulator and will discuss how the golden thread will work. Another session will cover the requirements of the dutyholders who are responsible for the building’s safety at different project stages.
Product safety is also tackled in a discussion featuring the Construction Products Association. It recently recommended a single standard for construction product competence that aims to ensure that anyone who supplies, uses or works with construction products is properly assessed and deemed competent to do so.
On Day 2, the requirements for fire safety information will be discussed, with an overview of
BS 8644-1:2022. Mechanical building engineers have been getting to grips with the increasing electrification of buildings and a session on this topic on Wednesday will feature the authors of CIBSE’s roadmap to electrification, TM67.
The discussion will cover electric vehicles and the opportunities and challenges around charging provision.
Also on Day 1 will be a session on Future Heat and what heating in new and existing homes and offices will look like as we journey towards 2050 net zero carbon targets. A session on heat pumps will feature a look at recent CIBSE guidance on designing heat pumps for homes and non-domestic buildings – AM16 and AM17.
As well as hosting the Digital Awards, the SDE will be running sessions on the software tools that can increase productivity, save time and cut costs. The Knowledge Toolbox on Day 1 will give an overview of the tools available and will demonstrate TM65 – a calculation methodology for TM65.
The SDE will also explain how CIBSE’s Software Verification Assessments (SVAs), and how the awarding of a SVA logo proves that digital products perform according to CIBSE guidance. There will also be a discussion on the future of information management and exchange.
On Day 2, Clara Bagenal George and Will Arnold, of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) will provide the latest technical overview of work on calculating embodied carbon and will set out the urgent need to regulate.
The Society of Light and Lighting will present its TM66 guidance on embodied carbon in lighting on the first day. A session on overheating will feature a new report from Arup that has found that 90% of homes in the UK will overheat by 2050.
Speakers will also look at the prevalence of overheating in existing stock and the Good Homes Alliance guidance on new build and existing stock.
Find the full programme and register for the free event at www.build2perform.co.uk
The Society of Digital Engineering awards return
The fourth SDE Awards will be held at Build2Perform and we are now looking for entries from across the full spectrum of the built environment.
This is a change from previous awards which have focused on Building Services specifically. We want to recognise the progress of digitalisation across our whole industry. The awards look to recognise anyone who works in the built environment who is contributing to the digitalisation of what we do, where we live and how we experience it.
That could be a technician, engineer, developer, designer, contractor, manufacturer or any group or team who are making a difference in their field.
The awards will take the same format as in previous years. We will be accepting entries up until 14 November, when judging will start, and we will announce the winners at this year’s Build2Perform event.
From all the category winners we will choose the Digital Champion of 2022. This will be the entry that our judges feel best exemplifies what the Society of Digital Engineering stands for and whose contribution to our industry deserves special recognition.
As well as the presentations in the two main theatres, there is a packed CPD programme over the two days across three theatres. It’s the ideal opportunity to contribute to the 21 hours of CPD activity required by CIBSE every year.
To register for the event visit www.build2perform.co.uk and hopefully we will see you at CIBSE Journal’s own stand.