Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building regulations and fire safety exposed almost total failure to provide fire safety information under Regulation 38 of the Building Regulations. The changes to the Building Regulations which come into force on 1 October provide much greater clarity on provision of fire safety information as well as commissioning reports for all building work. Hywel Davies explains the requirements
Category: Technical
A well-mixed cocktail? Air contaminant levels
A paper on the mixing of air in a contaminated space examined the difference between modelling and real-world scenarios. Tim Dwyer examines the findings of Tom Smith’s paper, which was presented at the ASHRAE conference
What’s in store? Innovation in thermal storage
Researchers at the universities of Bath and Swansea claim to have made a breakthrough in thermal storage using a material derived from renewable seaweed. Molly Tooher-Rudd talks to Swansea University’s Jack Reynolds and Jonathon Elvins to hear how it could be used to store recovered heat in buildings
TM65.2: shining a light on embodied energy
Calculating embodied energy in lighting equipment can now be done more accurately thanks to the new CIBSE TM65.2 guide, which, say co-authors Kristina Allison and Irene Mazzei, is targeted at manufacturers and lighting designers to lower whole life carbon
Clear decisions: whole life carbon for façades
By applying the CWCT embodied carbon calculation methodology to a Croydon office, Patrick Ryan Associates estimated whether selecting a new high-performing façade is better for reducing whole life carbon than retaining elements of the original. Anri Doda and Jill Wang explain
What the awards data reveals
The quality of data submitted alongside project entries for CIBSE’s Building Performance Awards improves each year. Julie Godefroy analyses the 2023 entries and signposts potential information requirements for the future
Building Regulations update: single sex toilets
In response to a growing trend towards ‘gender neutral’ toilets, Government is consulting a new Part T of the Building Regulations dealing with toilet provision. Hywel Davies explains the proposals
Formula for success: Sizing heat pumps in hybrid energy centres
Reducing the size of heat pumps in hybrid energy centres can cut carbon and capital costs dramatically – but what ratio of heat should they supply? Research by FairHeat’s Ellie Hiscock used hourly load modelling to come up with a rule of thumb for the optimal heat ratios for heat pumps and thermal storage with electric boilers
Lighting’s critical role in healthcare
As well as minimising infection risk, the big trend in healthcare lighting is circadian lighting. HDR’s Karen Murphy looks at the latest research
Phased approach: optimising heat networks
The government’s new Heat Network Optimisation Guide aims to improve the performance of existing networks by rigorously analysing performance and making cost-effective interventions that maximise efficiency. Alex Smith reports