A compelling line-up of papers at the CIBSE Technical Symposium 2026 will showcase new research and real-world case studies. Here’s a preview of some of the featured contributions:
Transforming 1920s-1940s housing to minimise energy use and optimise comfort
Dilek Arslan, Emmanouil Perisoglou, Jo Patterson (Cardiff University) and Andrew Shea (University of Bath)
This explores how Britain’s ageing social housing stock can be decarbonised without compromising comfort. It applies advanced dynamic simulation and optimisation to test deep retrofit strategies on a Swansea council house.
Residential indoor air quality impacts of building fabric upgrades and heating and cooking electrification
By Professor Rajat Gupta and Dr Sahar Zahiri, Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development
As homes move to low carbon heating and cooking, this study monitors three Oxford homes retrofitted with heat pumps and electric cooking. While electrification reduced combustion pollutants, occupant behaviour remained critical to IAQ outcomes.
‘We have to freeze or be deafened’: A survey on the effectiveness of CO₂ alarms in university spaces
Aanchal Vishal Bhagwat and Carolanne Vouriot, University of Sheffield
CO2 sensors are increasingly used to prompt ventilation. Based on a survey of 100 university occupants, this paper examines how people interpret and respond to CO2 alarms, finding that uncertainty and comfort concerns often limit action, despite high IAQ awareness.
Leveraging high-granularity operational data to inform building control strategies, indoor air quality and performance-gap considerations
Laurence Peinturier (Atamate) and Kat Kelly (University of Oxford)
The performance gap between predicted and actual building operation remains a major challenge. Using non-domestic case studies, this paper compares real operational data with regulatory assumptions, showing how occupancy-responsive controls can improve energy efficiency, comfort and IAQ.
Sustainable workplace: Enhancing health and wellbeing through circular design
Lucia Savastano and Alejandro Mar Morales, Cundall
Cundall’s new Edinburgh office demonstrates a combustion-free, all-electric workplace shaped by staff engagement, circular design and continuous IAQ monitoring, delivering one of the firm’s lowest-carbon CAT B fit-outs.
To register: CIBSE Technical Symposium