Organisations are setting ambitious 2030 targets in response to the climate emergency, but how do they decarbonise property assets in such a short period of time? Andy Pearson looks at how SNC-Lavalin is using data to assess buildings and set clients such as HM Treasury on the road to net zero
Category: Technical
How Britain’s film industry was saved from the London fog
In the early days of cinema, the UK’s biggest studios were in central London, but pervasive fog – ‘pea-soupers’ – was entering film sets and causing huge disruption. Richard Farmer describes how pioneering air cleaning techniques saved the studios
Dual purpose: evaporative cooling
Switching between modes in dual evaporative coolers can result in large operational savings, according to a recent B&SERT paper. Tim Dwyer looks at the latest research on hybrid direct and regenerative evaporative cooling
Digging for Britain: Swaffham Prior’s heat network
Escalating energy prices and the urgent need to decarbonise means communities are looking to move away from fossil fuel as a heating source. A pioneering heat network in the Cambridgeshire village of Swaffham Prior is aiming to use a hybrid heat pump system, coupled with a solar farm, to provide ultra-low carbon, affordable heating for every resident, business and school.
Andy Pearson reports
Turning to CO2 refrigerant in large-scale retrofits
Using CO2 as a refrigerant in heat pumps is ideal for retrofits requiring higher-temperature heat. Daniel Clark, of Isentra, reports on the refurbishment of Wolfson College, which is using heat pumps for district heating and DHW
Next generation: Arup’s net zero office at 80 Charlotte Street
Arup’s all-electric office at 80 Charlotte Street London is developer Derwent London’s first net zero office scheme. Andy Pearson examines the heat and cooling strategy that combines heat pumps and chillers, and looks at how Covid affected the design and delivery of the project
Made to measure: using digital twins to calculate heating demand in a Sussex village
A digital twin of an East Sussex village is being created by Buro Happold to assess how demand for heating and electric vehicle charging will affect the electrification strategy for rural communities. Andy Pearson reports
Work-light balance: key changes to workplace lighting guidance
The most influential guide to lighting the workplace has had its first update for a decade. Helen Loomes outlines the key changes
Panel gains: supplementing heat pumps with solar panels
Incorporating solar energy arrays in district energy networks powered by heat pumps has the potential to reduce carbon emissions, but by how much and at what cost? FairHeat’s Mark Reynolds crunches the numbers and considers the options
Eyes on energy: Carbon Intelligence’s award-winning data analysis platform
Building Performance Awards winner Carbon Intelligence has helped its clients save more than 17,000 tonnes CO2e from 2019 to 2010, while readying buildings for safe reoccupation following the pandemic lockdowns. Andy Pearson finds out how its data platform uses non-invasive technology to monitor and manage building energy use