As data centre demand surges, engineers are racing to redesign power, cooling and infrastructure systems. Molly Tooher-Rudd finds out how CIBSE’s Data Centre Special Interest Group is tackling these challenges
Tag: Energy
Redefining with retrofit: CIBSE’s Building Performance Champion
The University of Auckland’s B201 is one of the world’s most sustainable academic buildings. Andy Pearson explores how CIBSE’s 2026 Building Performance Champion used deep retrofit and building services engineering to transform the 1970s campus
Hard truths behind the energy transition
Building services engineers are eager to decarbonise, but need upskilling if they are to move from fossil fuels to clean energy, according to a new survey by CIBSE Journal and Eaton. Andy Pearson reports on the findings
Leeds office achieves 5-Star NABERS UK Energy Rating
The 11&12 Wellington Place office development in Leeds has made history by becoming the first new building in the UK to achieve a 5-star NABERS UK energy rating. For the engineering team, it’s just the beginning, as they push for even greater efficiencies to future-proof the investment
Getting it right: simulation tool for integrating environmental design
A new integrated simulation tool aims to close the gap between architectural form-making and environmental performance at the earliest stages of design. Joel Callow, founding director at Beyond Carbon, explains how it works
Hot-water boost to heat network efficiency
Jacobs has designed a Generation 4.5 heat network that uses an innovative boost electrode to deliver domestic hot water, allowing the system to operate efficiently at a 45°C flow temperature for 80% of the year. The company’s Adam Selvey FCIBSE explains how it works
A new chapter on solar heat at the British Library
The British Library’s ambitious decarbonisation strategy starts with energy reduction at its Grade I-listed archive in King’s Cross. Alex Smith looks at a solar heating and power project that generated more than 200MWh of renewable energy in 12 months
Turning waste into warmth: how data centres can heat tomorrow’s cities
Aecom has helped develop a vast energy centre in West London that will pipe waste heat from data centres into 10,000 new homes and existing businesses via a heat network. The company’s Asad Kwaja looks at the ‘architecture’ behind the design
In demand: the DESNZ/IEA Heat Pump Research Seminar
Demand-response strategies were the hot topic at this year’s DESNZ/IEA Heat Pump Research Seminar. Molly Tooher-Rudd and Alex Smith capture the highlights, including talks on non-domestic heat pump retrofits and full-scale testing of net zero homes
Model future: the Home Energy Model
The model set to replace SAP for home energy assessments is designed to work dynamically with new-era technologies such as energy storage, advanced control systems and dynamic tariffs. Sustenic’s John Henderson and Jose Ortiz FCIBSE highlight the potential of the Home Energy Model