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
Tag: Heating
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
Force of nature – naturally ventilating Amsterdam’s Breeze Hotel
The 11-storey Breeze Hotel in Amsterdam has a unique natural ventilation system that uses solar chimneys and water droplets sprayed into a shaft to move air around the building. Andy Pearson speaks to the academic behind the concept, Dr Ben Bronsema, and looks at how his ‘earth, wind and fire’ theory became reality
Are we ready to switch to electric?
Decarbonisation of the Grid suggests a move from fossil fuels for heating, but Huw Blackwell says we are not ready to switch en masse
The meaning of life: Comparing whole life carbon for gas and electric heating
As electricity generation reduces its carbon intensity, embodied carbon represents a higher proportion of whole-life carbon. Clara Bagenal George’s study, summarised at last month’s CIBSE Technical Symposium, considers the implications for building services
How using turmeric waste as biomass cut carbon emissions by 60%
In 2018, GSH Group India won a major environmental award for a project with FMCG firm Kaleesuwari to replace coal with turmeric and mixed biomass at two refineries. Director of operations Anand G D Chennai explains how
Key changes in the updated Heat Networks Code of Practice
A major update to the Heat Networks Code of Practice includes key performance outputs that allow clients to check their networks are performing as designed. Here, the authors highlight the major revisions
Heat spring’s eternal: The Bath Abbey heating plan inspired by Romans
An ambitious project is under way to replace Bath Abbey’s 150-year-old heating system with low-energy underfloor heating, using heat recovered from hot springs rising in the nearby Roman Baths. BuroHappold Engineering’s Neil Francis describes the challenges encountered at the Unesco World Heritage city site
SAP 10: Other factors to consider
Lower carbon factors for grid electricity, in draft SAP 10, will profoundly affect how designers provide heat and power to buildings. Remeha’s general manager, Mike Hefford, puts the case for monthly intensity calculations
Playing to the gallery – V&A Dundee’s low carbon strategy
With its bold geometric design in danger of upstaging the exhibits inside, V&A Dundee has been making waves far beyond the museum world. Phil Lattimore looks at how the showstopping design influenced Arup’s low carbon strategy and choice of the renewable energy source