Project CALEBRE: Consumer Appealing Low Energy technologies for Building REtrofitting: a summary of the project and its findings

Project CALEBRE ‘Consumer-Appealing Low Energy technologies for Building REtrofitting’ (October 2008 – April 2013) was a £2 million E.ON / RCUK-funded research project comprising a partnership of six leading UK universities, and supported by a Project Advisory Board. Our aim was to contribute to addressing the challenge of reducing UK domestic energy demand and carbon emissions. With our focus largely on solid-wall, ‘hard to heat, hard to treat’ dwellings, we investigated a selection of current, medium and longer-term technologies for domestic energy efficiency refurbishment, with householder perspectives at the heart of our thinking. We approached this from a multi-disciplinary perspective, encompassing a range of techniques that included laboratory testing, simulation modelling, test house field trials and user engagement methods

Design approach for the integration of services in buildings

This paper describes a novel methodology to group building services (BSs) into a single trunking system at minimal proximal distances between them. The study focused on solving the geometrical complexity encountered in conventional arrangements of BSs, while taking into account thermophysical and electromagnetic interactions between services together with building regulations. The potential solution for delivery and distribution of BSs in any number of directions is an ‟onion layers„ type of design, using novel mathematical manipulations based on manifolds of spherical and cylindrical geometries joined using Bezier surfaces. Computer Aided Design iterations were undertaken for channelling six BSs into a single unit including water, air, electricity and data. It consists of concentric cylindrical-spherical shells superimposed at few millimetres gaps (channels) for which physical prototypes were produced

Measured winter and spring-time indoor temperatures in UK homes over the period 1969-2010: A review and synthesis

This paper presents a review and synthesis of average winter and spring-time indoor temperatures in UK homes measured over the period 1969-2010. Analysis of measured temperatures in a sample of solid wall dwellings in the UK, conducted as part of the CALEBRE research project, is included. The review suggests that, for periods when occupation was likely, there has been little or no increase in winter and spring-time average living room temperatures over the last 40 years, with average recorded living room temperatures having been historically lower than the WHO-recommended value of 21. °C. Correspondingly, for periods of likely occupation, average bedroom temperatures appear to have increased. Compared with non-domestic buildings, there have been fewer investigations of domestic thermal comfort, either in the UK or elsewhere, and hence the paper also calls for further detailed investigations of domestic indoor temperatures during occupied hours together with thermal comfort evaluations in order to better understand domestic thermal environments. Based on suggestions from the limited range of studies available to date, living room temperatures may need to be maintained within the range 20-22. °C for thermal satisfaction, though this requires confirmation through further research. The study also emphasises that improving the energy efficiency of homes should be the primary means to effect any increases in indoor temperatures that are deemed essential. Considerations for future policy are discussed. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Predicting the impact of upgrading Chinese building design

In order to reduce building energy consumption, Chinese government has revised the Chinese building design standard. In the new guide the use of individual room temperature control is highly recommended for new and refurbishment buildings. However, critical evidence on how this improvement can have an impact on the building energy consumption is not clear. This paper is aiming to explore how the upgrading residential standards affect the building energy performance. In order to evaluate its impact on the building energy consumption, two buildings were chosen: one complying with the old Chinese building design standard, while the other complies with the new standard. Additionally, the real time measured data from a typical residential building in China are used to validate a dynamic building performance simulation

Factors affecting ‘end-of-day’ window position in a non-air-conditioned office building

This paper presents a longitudinal study observing people's use of windows in mixed mode cellular offices, and sets out to identify factors other than air temperature, that have a significant influence on window operation. The work focuses on the final position of the window at the end of the working day. The results have been compared to other published work and the building is found to have similar characteristics when it and its occupants are treated as a whole. When sub-sets of the data are examined, the factors of season, floor level, gender, and personal preference emerge as having a statistically significant effect on the end-of-day window position in the building examined and these findings are properly discussed with relevant references

Design methodology for integrating multipath systems (building services)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a geometrical integration methodology that can be used to organise some types of these systems. Most multipath delivery systems, such as Building Services (BSs), are arbitrarily distributed with no known solution to reduce the complexity in the way channels are arranged. Design/methodology/approach – Integration for optimal functionality through reduction of geometrical complexity is achieved by understanding the elements of complexity within current practices; identifying commonalities between the various components which can be used for integration; performing an axiomatic design to resolve design complications; adopting theory of inventive problem-solving for methodology and process development towards optimal functionality; and generating a mathematical solution to inform digital modelling of optimal design. The study takes into account thermophysical and electromagnetic interactions between utilities and uses novel mathematical manipulations based on designing a manifold of spherical and cylindrical geometries joined using Bezier surfaces. Findings – Once a solution was reached, computer-aided design (CAD) iterations were undertaken for channelling six BSs into a single unit. The outcome was concentric cylindrical–spherical shells superimposed with spacings of typically few millimetres to deliver/distribute the utilities. It is applied to bring together BSs into a single trunking system at minimal, yet appropriate, proximal distances, and it allows distribution of any number of services in any direction. Physical prototypes were produced and initial testing of their performance (reported elsewhere) has been encouraging. Originality/value – A design methodology for integrating arbitrary distributed paths/conduits. The approach could be incorporated into CAD tools as a design feature to facilitate integration of multipath delivery systems

The Hills Fuel Poverty Review Interim Report: assessing proposals and implications

The Hills Fuel Poverty Review has been commissioned by the United Kingdom coalition government to review the definition and targets used to guide the alleviation of fuel poverty in England, as mandated by the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000. The interim report was published on 19 October 2011 and addressed questions relating to the definition and measurement of fuel poverty. The final report, due in early 2012, will make further recommendations as to appropriate policy responses. This paper reviews the interim report, placing proposals within the context of the ongoing debate around fuel poverty and its alleviation, and offering commentary as to the implications for policy

Public opinions on alternative lower carbon wall construction techniques for UK housing

There is a widespread interest in reducing environmental impacts of all industries and processes to help achieve the targets set in the Climate Change Act of 2008. The use of alternative construction techniques to build the walls of UK housing has the potential to reduce their environmental impact in a range of ways. This includes the reduction of embodied energy as well as operational energy use, the latter through improved thermal performance. A major challenge to be overcome if alternative techniques are to be used is the acceptability to purchasers. The current acceptability of a range of construction techniques and issues that are important to purchasers were examined using a questionnaire. Although the acceptability of lower carbon alternatives is less than that of the conventional technique, findings in this research suggest that there is potential for their use in UK housing. The acceptability of alternative construction techniques varies greatly with type. Concerns expressed about the construction techniques could often be dispelled by existing research, indicating that education is key to improving acceptability of alternative construction techniques and hence opening the way to accessing their environmental benefits. The respondents identified environmental issues, finance, operating costs and risk as key areas of concern, which need to be considered during decision-making

Quantifying the effect of window opening on the measured heat loss of a test house

Opening windows is a common method for controlling air temperature, moisture, air quality and odours in dwellings. Opening a window in winter will increase the heat loss from a house, the additional heat loss will depend on the size of the window opening and the length of time for which the window is open. However, window opening behaviour is unpredictable, varying widely between different dwellings and occupants making it difficult to incorporate into predictions of energy consumption. This paper reports the results of an investigation to quantify the impact of window opening on the measured air tightness and total heat loss in a detached, timber framed test house built in the year 2000 to contemporary building standards, and located at Loughborough University. Blower door tests were used to measure the increase in ventilation caused by opening windows. The additional heat loss due to this ventilation was predicted using a simple model and then compared to the whole house heat loss as measured by a co-heating test. A linear relationship between window opening area and additional ventilation was found, independent of window location. This relationship was used to quantify the additional heat loss for a variety of window opening behaviours. The results show that window opening does not significantly increase heat loss rates in this particular house for all but the most extreme window opening behaviours. The implications of these results for different types of dwelling are discussed

The impact of updated building design standards on the thermal environment and energy performance of dwellings in China

Energy demand reduction has become a global issue involving all countries, including China. As major energy consumers in today’s society, the need for buildings to be built and operated more energy efficiently is well recognized. In 1995, the national standard on building energy efficiency in China (JGJ 26-95) was refined and updated to become the new residential Buildings standard (JGJ 26-2010) published in 2010. In the new version, many changes have been made to support the construction of more energy efficient buildings in China. For example, in the new standard, all buildings are highly recommended to install personal control on the heating system, such as by Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs), together with ‘pay for what you use’ tariffs. Previous practice comprised uncontrolled heating with payment based on floor area. This paper evaluates the impact of updated building design standards on thermal conditions and energy consumption in Chinese residential buildings. In the study, two types of residential buildings have been chosen, one complying with the old Chinese building design standard, while the other complies with the new standard. The study was carried out in seven apartments in each building, with a longitudinal monitoring of indoor air temperature, outdoor air temperature, window position and energy consumption. The impact of the new design standard has been evaluated in relation to a number of aspects, that include building construction, indoor thermal environment, occupant behaviour, thermal comfort and building energy consumption. It is concluded that updating the building design standard has had a positive influence on the building conditions and energy consumption