.

Technologies

for Sustainable

Built Environments

Centre

Established in 2009 with a grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Our vision is to be a world leader in research for the built environment Our mission is to train Engineering Doctorates as future leaders who will help to deliver the changes we need to make in our built environment.

Energy Case study impact: Northern Ireland has a target of 40% of electricity to be supplied from renewable sources by 2020 which will mainly be supplied by wind power. This research is enabling AES to understand the impact of this on the future operation of its conventional power plants. The work is published in Energy Policy and Renewable Energy Journal.

Figure 1. 3-Dimensional visualisation of Northern Ireland electricity demand in 2010

Image courtesy of AES : Ballylumford power station

The impact of high levels of renewable generation on the Irish electricity market

Project aim • To understand the impact that high levels of variable renewable generation will have on the Irish electricity market (and vice versa).

Methodology • Analyse renewable resource data in Ireland (bridging the knowledge gap between industry and academia). • Model the Irish wholesale market and how it will operate under high levels of renewable energy. • Investigate how fossil fuel plants can be adapted in the operational field to reduce emissions and meet future energy demands.

Vauxhall Tower Case study: Initially supporting a small UK start-up Company, research will improve the efficiency of the design of an augmented vertical axis wind turbine for the built environment. The first full size turbine is being installed on the Vauxhall Tower in December 2012. Sponsored by Matilda’s Planet.

Augmented Vertical Axis Wind Turbine on the top of Vauxhall Tower

Building Integrated Wind Energy

Project aim • The aim of the project is to predict and improve the

performance of an existing augmented wind turbine (AWT) prototype, developed for the built environment.

Augmented Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Projects objectives

• To use a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool to model the AWT and predict performance

• To validate CFD results with open field tests • To scale up AWT for different applications • Vauxhall Tower as a case study

Monitoring solar power – weather corrected performance and carbon savings

Project aims • To develop a method for remotely monitoring inclined solar radiation using a network of ground sites in order to generate weather corrected performance data • Develop an improved method of calculating carbon savings from solar power Methodology • Create & test an interpolation – component separation – transposition model to estimate arbitrarily inclined solar radiation for use in Performance Ratio calculations. • Use data from all power stations in the UK to generate marginal CO2 data for each half-hour over a multi-year window and use to establish carbon savings from a seasonally and daily varying source (i.e. solar)

Informatics and Control systems

Case study impact: Research for Microsoft has developed a carbon calculator which enables businesses and organisations to reduce their carbon emissions. The research is also investigating the carbon impact of cloud computing with global impact. The work is published in Environmental Science and Technology journal.

The contribution of Microsoft technology and innovation in creating a low carbon environment in the UK

• Modelling and understanding the environmental and related economic and social impacts associated with Digital Services

• Analysing and demonstrating the potential of ‘Cloud Computing’ (online, on-demand services and infrastructures) towards environmental sustainability

• Investigating and creating a ‘Carbon Supply Chain’ system for both business and consumer activities in the physical and digital world

Reduce

Energy Demands

Rethink

Business Practice

Manage

Environmental Impact

Energy and Carbon Reduction in Buildings through Remote Management

Company Policies & Store

Requirements

Store Hardware

The Grid

Project Aim To analyse the use of remote control, allowing the hardware to meet in store requirements while working more effectively with the grid… To save energy, allow smooth demand on the grid and make money for an aggregation of buildings.

Building Energy Profiling: Sustainability through Information Transfer

Project aim • Improving the energy performance of buildings by optimising the transfer of information between building systems and stakeholders.

Methodology • Identify the key criteria that measure a building’s energy performance (cost, occupancy, availability, etc.). • Propose methodologies of ‘Energy performance profiling’ by a building’s location, type and usage. • Engage stakeholders to display information effectively. • Develop a software prototype which incorporates the recommendations.

Sustainable Materials Case study impact: Sponsored by the Bat Conservation Trust, this research is developing a bat friendly breathable roofing membrane which will preserve bats without damaging roofing membranes. The work is nationally recognised and has wide public engagement.

Investigating the features that constitute a bat friendly breathable roofing membrane

Introduction As many buildings in the UK used by bat age, they often require re-roofing and traditional roofing felts are frequently being replaced with breathable roofing membranes (BRMs), which are designed to reduce condensation. Whilst bats need safe places to roost, building regulations also require that materials be fit for purpose and with anecdotal evidence that both bats and BRMs may experience problems when the two interact, it is important to understand how bats and BRMs may be affected. Methodology • Research anecdotal evidence • Determine potential for bats to become entangled • Test effect of bat pollutants on membrane functionality • Monitor changes in temperature and humidity • Develop mitigation guidelines

Occupant Behaviour Case study impact: Research with Halcrow a CH2M HILL company, AECOM, BRE and Hereford Futures is driving change in occupant behaviour and sustainable communities. The Halcrow Research Engineer, is part of a spin off consortium which won a grant in the TSB Energy Efficiency in Non-domestic Buildings Competition. This project is developing an interactive energy interface to encourage occupants to save energy at their workplace.

Building refurbishment Project aim

To Investigate how the available innovative technologies for sustainability can be applied to refurbished buildings and how the behavioural change can be encouraged to achieve the most sustainable performance.

Methodology

Prepare/

Collect Data Identify Opportunities

Monitor and Measure

Get Employee Feedback

Identify and Engage the Stakeholders

Continue Improvement

Communicate Set Targets

An intelligent user-centric and participatory approach for sustainable

community development Aim To develop a framework for community regeneration projects that enables community members to discover, propose and develop new sustainable projects. Examples include energy efficiency, as well as socially and economically sustainable solutions such as distributed energy systems. Methodology • To identify stakeholders and their requirements using

Requirements Engineering and case studies

• To leverage a crowd sourcing approach to community development and collaborative working (CSCW) theories with case studies to understand how to encourage communities to collaborate on sustainable projects

• To develop platform to display ideas, projects and proposals using Human Computer Interface (HCI) theories

Climate Impact Case study impact: This project aims to create the Advanced Climate Technology Urban Atmospheric Laboratory (ACTUAL), consisting of the tools to monitor and simulate urban climate from city down to building scale; and to integrate results directly into engineering and policy areas which transform urban infrastructure. The work was featured in a BBC Horizon TV programme.

Energy Supply

• Low temperature district heating networks and CHP

Image courtesy of Berkeley Homes and Scottish and Southern Energy. Re-development of Royal Arsenal Woolwich

Performance of Low Temperature District Heating for Low Energy Homes

Aim Analyse and verify weather the Low Temperature DH District Heating network can satisfy space heating and domestic hot water of low energy houses and do it in more efficient way than the DH system designed in traditional/conventional way for UK climate. Methods • Statistical analysis of heat demand, indoor and

outdoor temperatures • Survey among residents regarding thermal comfort • Statistical analysis of district heating operational

parameters and network heat losses

Carbon Reduction in SMEs Case study impact:

Reading Borough Council want to reduce the CO2 emissions within the Borough but small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are especially hard

to engage. More than 99% of enterprises in the private sector are SMEs, accounting for almost 60% of

employment. Individual SMEs are often low energy users but the emissions

from an SME cluster may be significant. This work will inform RBC’s carbon

reduction strategy. Thames Valley Business Park, Reading

Do Smart Grids Offer New Incentives for SME Carbon

Reduction?

Project aim •Potential for SME carbon reduction using smart grids to load-shift heating and cooling

Methodology •Design a software model of energy use in SME premises •Assess load profiles of SME electricity consumption - heating and cooling

38%

14%

33%

13%

2% 0%

48%

Domestic

Road Transport

I&C Electricity

I&C Gas

I&C Other Fuels

Agricultural Combustion

Reading Borough CO2 emissions, 2010: 48% was due to the industrial and commercial sector (I&C) ; 70% of this was from electricity

•Quantify potential for load-shifting •Validate the model with SME case studies So

urce

: DE

CC

Building Design Case study impact:

Research for UK based consultants Peter Brett Associates has derived a tool to compare embodied and operational carbon in buildings. It has been used to assist in reducing the embodied carbon and cost of the flagship Curve library and community building at the heart of the £1bn regeneration of Slough Town.

270

85 98

15

295

80

266

1110

307

176

110

75

420

276 33

5

1699

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

foundations ground floor columns walls upper floors roof constructionand

demolition

Total

tCO

2e

Proposed building Original building

Figure 1: The Curve Building - Whole life embodied carbon assessment of the structure. Results indicate a 35% saving in CO2e emissions.

The Curve building Slough - Image courtesy of Peter Brett Associates

Whole Life Cycle of Carbon Design and Management in Buildings

Project aims: – To investigate the embodied carbon in buildings and the

relationship between the embodied and operational elements – To produce design guidelines to reduce whole life carbon

emissions

Research method: – Review the current approaches for determining embodied carbon

in buildings and develop a standard calculation method – Carry out cases studies on existing buildings and on buildings at

design stage to test and validate the methodology – Produce a database of embodied and operational carbon for

different building types to assist optimum carbon design

Methodology • Examine the potential for improvements in entrance design. • Explore possible savings through heat recovery from refrigeration in food stores. • Evaluate the potential application of new green solutions to the retail industry.

Project aim To identify economical strategies for reducing the carbon footprint of various retail spaces without adversely affecting the willingness of customers to use the space, and that can be installed without undue disruption of the retail activities within a space.

Energy reduction solution in food supermarkets

Figure1. (top) 3-D model of a store; (middle) A typical wind Lobby design; & (bottom) CFD Simulation of a store.

Energy Reduction from Food Preparation in Commercial Kitchens

Project aim • To reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions from food preparation in commercial kitchens

Methodology • Develop a methodology for measuring and targeting energy use in commercial catering businesses • Investigation into the choice of menu items offered and optimising the choice and design of cooking equipment for these items • Investigation into the potential of heat recovery from equipment, extract hoods and refrigeration equipment for heating purposes

Sustainability assessment framework to reduce in-use energy consumption & carbon

footprint in existing commercial offices Project aim • To develop a sustainability assessment framework to reduce ‘in use’ energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in existing commercial offices. Methodology • To review the state-of-the-art in sustainable buildings, building lifecycle assessment, intelligent building management. • To develop a sustainability assessment framework and methods for profiling space and activity within the in-use energy of the office building. • To evaluate the framework using relevant office buildings

Project Implication: During the design and preconstruction stages the most significant decisions regarding a building’s sustainable design features can be made. Building Information Modelling (BIM) has the potential to enable multi-disciplinary information to be inputted into one model creating an opportunity to efficiently analyse and assess environmental data to ensure the best possible sustainable solution. Linking new approaches to simulation and analysis within sustainable design to enhanced coordination of information via BIM throughout the construction process allows both reduction of rework and waste and the realisation of ‘designed-for-performance’ new buildings and infrastructure.

Sustainable Design Benefits & ROI Analysis of BIM

Sustainable Design Benefits & ROI Analysis of BIM

Project aim To examine how new working processes utilising BIM technologies can be developed to deliver more sustainable design processes, and to produce demonstrable benefits and ROI of these processes across the whole lifecycle for wider implementation within the sector. Methodology •To review state of the art research on the synergies between and potential of BIM and sustainable design practices. •To develop a baseline model of Capita Symonds current processes for comparison. •Conduct an in-depth case study of the process of implementing BIM for sustainable design within the organisation. •Develop a generic model of ROI over time against benefits realised, and lessons learnt and best practices emerging from the research.

Buildings Case study impact: In October 2012, Sainsbury’s launched the 20 by 20 sustainability plan, stating its objectives, plans and targets through to 2020. Both operational and embodied carbon are recognised as equally key to meeting future de-carbonisation goals. There is a clear strategic reduction plan in place for our operational carbon with stretching goals to reduce emissions by 30% compared to a 2005 baseline. This research project will help to develop and deliver a similar plan and roadmap for embodied carbon. The project is linked to Sainsbury’s goal to reduce the carbon footprint within the construction programme. Delivering over 1 million Sq. Ft of new space in 2012, the embodied carbon footprint is significant and the company has a desire to reduce it.

Figure 2: Indicative relative contribution of embodied and operational carbon to the whole-life carbon footprint of different types of building. (Sturgis Associates LLP)

Figure 1: Sainsbury’s new timber-frame tore at King’s Lynn (Image courtesy of Sainsbury’s)

Targeting embodied carbon reduction in supermarket construction

Project aims •Research and catalogue the embodied carbon footprint for Sainsbury’s construction specification. •Create a plan for Low Embodied Carbon Buildings and propose suitable reduction targets and timelines •Understand the true cost/value of Embodied Carbon to deliver a competitive advantage. •Review Construction Industry supply chain to drive change in behaviours, products, process and people.

Methodology •A multi-stage investigation of embodied carbon footprint within Sainsbury’s construction programme with the aim to develop tools and mechanisms for its optimal reduction. It is anticipated that this will include: •Detailed research into construction componentry and techniques, including consideration of design requirements that influence these developments and implementation of construction componentry recyclability index •Detailed analysis of methodologies for construction products assessment and cataloguing •Recommend change programmes for reducing embodied carbon footprint •Develop and evaluate calculation tools for construction teams

Raw Materials

Manufacture

Transport

Construction Operation

Demolition

Recycling

Raw

Landfill

Advancing Configuration Management in Crossrail

Design Innovation Research Centre

Project Aim Develop Enterprise Change Control processes for the delivery of large-scale sustainable infrastructure

‘Fine’

Rendered real-time from Crossrail Maps; Geographic Information

0.25 Million Records

(mR)

1 mR 3D/4D

Models and Drawings

2-3 mR

Worksite

Building

Route

Rendered real-time from the

EMMS

Linking to the EDMS and its AIMS subset; forming a relational Electronic Database

‘Coarse’

Documentation

Modelling

Documents and Asset Information

Geographic

Repositories

Tech

nica

l Inf

orm

atio

n Sy

stem

s’

Info

rmat

ion

‘Gra

nula

rity’

Methods 1. Qualitatively map the

enterprise-wide technical information systems and information flows relating to Change Control.

2. Monitor and evaluate the impact of new Change Control processes in Crossrail.

3. Qualitatively compare Crossrail’s Change Control processes with other leading manufacturing sectors.

Crossrail's Integrated Technical Information Systems

Sustainable BIM-driven Design into Post-Occupancy Evaluation of

Buildings Case study impact: The research project will help guide the development of BIM capability as our industry works towards the UK Government’s target to deliver Level 2 BIM for all publically funded projects by 2016. It will identify how existing service delivery arrangements are challenged by BIM adoption and the carbon economy, and propose areas for change or improvement, such as legislation, client behaviour, investment criteria and funding models. In addition evaluation of the use of open and propriety information and software standards and formats will be undertaken.

BIM Maturity Levels

The Maturity Model illustrates the levels of technical and collaborative working, as should be applied to all projects and contracts in the construction industry. Figure 1. BIM Maturity Level Model (Source: BIM Industry Working Group)

Sustainable BIM-driven Design into Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Buildings

Project Objectives To critically evaluate current interfaces between project and cost consultancy and the wider construction supply chain around the four key metrics of cost, quality, time and carbon. Methodology •Review of the current state of Building Information Modelling development through existing publications. •Mapping the processes within the cost consultancy sector and the supply chain, as well as requirements for achieving BIM maturity levels, categorising the stages of the delivery process. •Develop a carbon reduction prioritisation plan, identifying the carbon intensity of each stage within the delivery process, completing a carbon data case study.

Fig 2. Image courtesy of Associate Architects.

Sustainable BIM-Driven Design through to post Occupancy Evaluation of Buildings

Project Objectives

• To provide practically focussed research-led analysis of the service delivery procedures adopted by Faithful+Gould, to support the integration of cost and project management services.

• To critically evaluate current interfaces between project and cost consultancy and the wider construction supply chain around the four key metrics of cost, quality, time and carbon; identifying how existing arrangements are challenged by the adoption of BIM.

• Evaluate the use of open and propriety information, software standards and formats with regards to achieving government set targets.

• To propose ‘commercially-evaluated’ changes, introduced as a part of Building Information Modelling process delivery model.

• Analyse the scalability of potential changes with regards to policy, client behaviour and investment criteria

Sustainable Materials Case study impact:

Building façades act the moderator of the external environment and therefore play a large role in determining the thermal conditions that exist in the interior building environment. Buro Happold is sponsoring this project that recognises the need to develop materials in facades that reduce the energy needed to provide thermal comfort in buildings.

Image courtesy of Buro Happold: Hazelwood School, Glasgow

Image courtesy of Buro Happold : CALTECH Earle M Jorgensen Laboratory

Hybrid Materials as multifunctional adaptable façades for lower energy buildings.

Project aim • To develop an adaptable façade system for use in hot and humid environments that allows natural ventilation while maintaining thermal comfort by regulating relative humidity.

Research Method Wood is known to respond to changes in humidity by expanding and contracting. Building on the principle of the bi-metallic strip, a façade element made of wood veneer and moisture-inert plastic is being developed and tested to determine the moisture absorption properties and dimensional change. The purpose of this is to: • To reduce high levels of moisture by the buffering

effect of wood • To utilise the change of shape to facilitate increased

air flow and air mixing at the facade interface.

Figure 1: Wood+plastic hybrid sheet

Figure 2: Schematic diagram of the sheet as it will function in a facade

The use of Artificial Intelligence for Product Carbon Footprinting

• Aim • The main aims of this project are to improve the accuracy of product carbon

footprinting employed by @UK and to reduce the required computation in terms of both required computation and time to compute.

• Objectives • •Compare the method developed by @UK to the PAS2050 method. • •Investigate reasons why the method employed by @UK differs in output to that

of the PAS2050 method. • •Further develop the method employed by @UK to improve the accuracy and

speed of carbon footprinting. • •Validate the improvements to the method to determine the level of

improvement.

Occupant Behaviour Case study impact: Building performance evaluations routinely show that apparently ‘sustainable’ buildings consume 2-3 times more energy than the initial design predictions.

The behaviour of the occupants is often cited as a key factor influencing actual in-use performance however the full extent of its impact remains unclear. This research will allow AECOM to develop a sophisticated understanding of occupant behaviour and remain at the cutting edge of built environment consultancy.

Figure 1. CarbonBuzz median electricity consumption per-sector – predicted vs. actual

Image. Users often leave building services such as lighting operational when design models anticipate that they will be off

The impact of occupant behaviour on building energy performance

Project aim To assess and mitigate the impact of occupants on the energy performance of non-domestic buildings

Methodology • Multi-discipline literature review analysing

the psycho-social bases of user behaviour • Establish an experimental programme to

apply these findings to the built environment • Use the results to inform a range of design

tools focusing on a user centred approach • Produce a model for the contribution of user

behaviour to the energy performance of buildings

Figure 2. Normative prompt encouraging occupants to turn lights off

Figure 3. Results of light switch prompt experiment

Environmental Sensory Design

Project aim Develop advanced methods of analysing people’s experience in buildings.

Methodology Experience sampling of people’s affective state. Measuring peripheral psychophysiology (heart rate, sweat rate, skin temperature).

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