Specifiers need to start assessing a refrigerant’s embodied carbon as well as its global warming potential, says Klima-Therm’s Tim Mitchell, who is working with bodies such as LETI and CIBSE to calculate the full carbon impact of HVAC systems
Author: Alex Smith
Anything but play
After the government announced measures to improve collaboration with industry, minimise greenhouse gas emissions and support the UK recovery from Covid-19, Hywel Davies considers the likely impact
LETI’s plan for retrofit energy targets
The energy demand of our homes must be reduced significantly to make a net-zero future viable, but for a high proportion of existing buildings this will be challenging. Passivhaus Trust’s John Palmer says upcoming LETI guidance will show professionals what is possible
Tom Hopton interview: the new norm must be smarter
CIBSE Engineer of the Year Tom Hopton spent 2020 looking at how data could help building owners respond to the upheaval caused by Covid-19. He tells Alex Smith how analytics is boosting the performance of buildings while responding to the needs of occupants
From BBC to BIO: turning offices into laboratories
The growing life sciences sector is leading to more office space being repurposed as research laboratories for cutting-edge firms, including a former BBC building in West London. Andy Pearson reports
Heart of the matter: calculating embodied carbon using TM65
Embodied carbon in MEP equipment makes up a large proportion of building emissions, but is hard to measure. Elementa Consulting’s Louise Hamot and Clara Bagenal George explain how CIBSE’s TM65 methodology estimates components’ environmental impact
Highlights from Build2Perform 2020
Achieving net-zero carbon was one of the key themes at the CIBSE Build2Perform online conference, alongside building safety, Brexit and minimising the risk of Covid-19. Alex Smith, Liza Young and Phil Lattimore hear how engineers are responding to a changing landscape
Thriving in the fourth industrial revolution
Automation of simple M&E tasks will free up engineers to develop innovative zero carbon designs, argue CIBSE’s Carl Collins and Jagannatha Reddy
Engineers respond to the climate emergency
As more and more organisations signup to Building Services Engineers Declare Climate and Biodiversity Emergency, seven signatories explain the movement’s significance
Business studies: adapting commercial offices for universities
With office occupation in central London not expected to return to pre-Covid levels, Andy Pearson finds out how space has been repurposed for university students at two major developments