Cambridge’s elegant new mosque has comfort and sustainability at its heart thanks to the involvement of the environmental engineer at the project’s inception. Andy Pearson looks at how Skelly & Couch’s creative design worked with the grand scale of the prayer hall to provide natural ventilation and daylighting for more than 1,000 worshippers
Category: Technical
Plymouth’s 5th-generation heating network
When Plymouth City Council looked at heating and cooling buildings more efficiently, it found the area’s geology offered a source of energy that enabled it to use the latest heat network technology. Andy Pearson reports
The scale of the problem – water quality issues in heat networks
A recent study found 15% of heat networks had suffered failures as a result of issues around water quality. Jon Greaves, of Hydro-X Water Treatment, offers guidance for different stages of the system life-cycle
Opening the loop – CP3 guide
Open-loop groundwater source heat pumps are poorly understood and little used in the UK. A new code of practice, CP3, aims to raise standards, say Phil Jones and Bean Beanland
A pressing issue for refurbishment projects
There are numerous benefits of press connection technology for repair, refurbishment and retrofit including reducing downtime, improving cleanliness and minimising risk to the building and installer. Viega director Scott James explains
Electrocaloric cooling – making a difference
Electrocaloric cooling works by applying an electric field to change temperatures and requires no refrigerants. Metkel Yebiyo and Professor Andy Ford look at the benefits of the technology and the challenges of bringing it to market
Life safety support: CIBSE Guide E: Fire Safety Engineering
Grenfell put fire safety in building design under greater scrutiny. Martin Kealy introduces the new CIBSE guide to fire safety engineering, which – in its fourth edition – has been updated to take account of the findings from Grenfell Tower and other fires
Hot off the press: research on overheating in homes
The latest research on assessing and mitigating overheating in buildings is the focus of a Building Services and Engineering Research and Technology Journal special edition. CIBSE’S Anastasia Mylona looks at the key findings
In plane sight: ultra-high-resolution thermal imaging
Ultra-high-resolution thermal imaging technology is giving researchers much more detail on how cities are affected by high temperatures. James Richards explains how a land-temperature sensing project, led by King’s College London, could help assess urban overheating risk and model ventilation strategies
Heavyweight solutions
Scott James, director at Viega, looks at why thick-walled steel tube continues to be a common choice and how press connection technology helps overcome many of the traditional installation issues