Monitored environmental conditions in new energy efficient housing in Scotland – effects by and on occupants

The need to improve building performance to meet the challenges of climate change has led to increasing numbers of low energy houses being constructed and occupied. Given the drivers for rapid change and use of new materials and technologies, it is vitally important that we understand how these buildings are working to ensure that they meet expectations, both in terms of energy use but also liveability, comfort and health from the occupants' perspective. However, unlike other disciplines, construction rarely evaluates the performance of completed buildings. It is crucial that industry adopts these processes. These buildings are in effect a series of experiments, and the occupants are the subjects of these. There is therefore both a practical and ethical need to review the results and to apply this knowledge in future design. This paper presents findings emerging from a two-year Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) study, funded by Innovate UK, of 26 new build low energy houses in Scotland, UK. The programme aimed to develop capacity for undertaking BPE and this research undertook detailed monitoring of energy consumption and internal environmental conditions, as well has gathering information from users about how they use their houses. Although it is clear that housing standards are improving, the study has found evidence of performance gaps between design expectations and actual performance, both in terms of energy and also the quality of the internal environment. This paper will present data from four case study houses, which illustrates both the effects of occupancy on performance, but also how the building performance can affect the occupants’ experience

Using Microsoft Teams to Enhance Engagement and Learning with Any Class: It’s Fun and Easy

Microsoft Teams is a great tool for meeting virtually, collaborating and even recording class sessions. Acting as a hub for all Office 365 apps it allows for easy uploading of the videos to Stream (the organizations You Tube). MBA and graduate classes are often composed of working professionals who frequently miss class. Teams allows them to easily review class sessions so that they do not fall behind. This article discusses the experiences of one professor who collaborated with the Faculty Development Center at a small, private university to allow for a more blended, flexible classroom using Teams

Building Performance Evaluation – A design approach for refurbishment of a small traditional building in Scotland

The drive for carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions has, in recent years, seen thermal improvements being made to the fabric of historic buildings. This paper discusses, through a case study, the use of Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) to inform refurbishment design of the community owned Land Sea and Islands Centre, located in Arisaig, Scottish Highlands. This is a 19th century stone building with high heat losses, inefficient heating and lighting systems, resulting in occupant discomfort and high running costs. Funding was awarded in 2014 to improve its energy performance. Pre-refurbishment BPE results identified areas of significant heat loss, low internal surface temperatures, discrepancies between predicted and measured U-values, thermal bridges and excessive air infiltration. Refurbishment was completed in June 2015 and post-refurbishment BPE utilised to quantify improvements in building fabric, energy consumption and comfort levels, advocating pre-refurbishment BPE as a beneficial tool for informing traditional building refurbishment

Building Performance Evaluation – A design approach for refurbishment of a small traditional building in Scotland

In recent years, thermal performance improvements have been applied to an increasing number of historic buildings towards the achievement of the legally binding Scottish carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions. Over 20% of the built environment in Scotland was constructed pre 1919 and the targeting of fabric improvements in these buildings can pose a performance risk if inappropriate measures are applied. This paper discusses through a case study a Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) approach used in conjunction with the design process for refurbishment of a community owned historic building, located in Arisaig, Scotland. The community received funding to improve the energy performance of this 19th century stone building and committed to a 75% reduction in CO2 emissions. BPE was conducted in 2014 as part of the design process and repeated post-refurbishment in 2015 to validate the design. The initial BPE identified high heat losses, inefficient heating and lighting systems that resulted in occupant discomfort, high running costs and consequently the loss of a community facility during the winter months. The resulting BPE quantified improvements to the building fabric, occupant comfort and reduced energy consumption, which advocated this design approach as a beneficial tool for informing historic building refurbishment

Scottish Passive House: Insights into Environmental Conditions in Monitored Passive Houses

Climate change and sustainability legislation in recent years has led to significant changes in construction approaches in the UK housing sector. This has resulted in the adoption of new building typologies, including the German Passivhaus (Passive House) standard. This standard aims to improve occupant comfort and energy efficiency, potentially changing the ways in which homes operate and how occupants interact with them. With increasing construction of low energy dwellings, there is an emerging gap in knowledge in relation to occupant health and wellbeing, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality (IAQ). Using data collected from a two year Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) study funded by Innovate UK, the environmental data (temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentrations) from five Certified Passive House homes in Scotland was compared. The results demonstrate problems with overheating with peak temperatures exceeding 30 °C. Imbalanced mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems were identified in 80% of the dwellings and inadequate IAQ was found due to poor ventilation. Only one of the Passive Houses studied exhibited thermal conditions and IAQ which were, on the whole within Passive House parameters. This paper outlines the insights and the main issues of Scottish Passive House in the broader context of sustainability

Occupant experience of domestic kitchen environments in low-energy social and affordable housing in Scotland

New housing design has changed rapidly due to legislative requirements for energy-efficiency improvements. While housing energy efficiency is improving, little attention is given to individual indoor spaces, such as a domestic kitchen and associated occupant well-being. This study used secondary data from a building use survey (BUS) undertaken in 91 energy-efficient dwellings in five new social housing developments in Scotland to assess the views and experiences the kitchens had on the occupants. The occupants’ open-ended responses were explored using thematic analysis, identifying five themes: architectural design, building services, fixtures and fittings, change in diet and social outcomes. Satisfaction was reported for higher ceilings, good daylight, views and positive social engagement. Aspects considered poor related to construction quality, high internal temperature, low daylight levels, artificial lighting, and storage negatively impacted the occupier’s lived experience. The results highlight broad issues associated with kitchen environments that can affect the occupiers' physical and mental health. While an exploratory study, the outcomes emphasise the need for focused research of a larger sample size to explore the impact of kitchens on the resident’s health and well-being in modern housing

Domestic energy consumption: Temporal unregulated electrical energy consumption in kitchens in Scottish affordable and social housing

Housing contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. It is also a social determinant of health. In Scotland, 25% of households in 2019 were in fuel poverty. Current (2023) energy price increases are likely to further increase this proportion, particularly among low-income families. Fuel affordability measures implemented by Scottish and UK Governments generally focus on achieving thermal comfort, largely disregarding appliance energy usage, termed 'unregulated loads'. These include essential household items in kitchens such as the cooker, washing machines, fridges and freezers. The inability of occupants to afford to cook and store food and launder clothing can have broader health implications. This study reviews one year of energy consumption data collected from 17 newly constructed energy-efficient dwellings available for a combination of social rent and purchased through an affordable shared equity scheme in Scotland. The data are used to determine the proportion of total household energy consumption used in kitchen environments. Analysis indicated a vast range of 20 – 72% (41% mean) of total household electricity consumption was linked to the kitchen, excluding artificial lighting. In this study, energy efficiency ratings of the cookers, fridges, freezers and washing machines identified that those in social housing had the least energy-efficient kitchen appliances compared to those in purchased affordable homes. This suggests inequitable practices for kitchen appliance procurement in social homes compared with affordable homes. Overall, this study highlighted the need for larger-scale, in-situ research to evaluate energy efficiency and consumption in kitchens to inform social landlords and policymakers to reduce disparities and to form a focus on fuel poverty calculations

Longitudinal hippocampal subfields, CSF biomarkers, and cognition in patients with Parkinson disease

Objective: Hippocampal atrophy is an indicator of emerging dementia in PD, though it is unclear whether cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) Abeta-42, t-tau, or alpha-syn predict hippocampal subfield atrophy in a de novo cohort of PD patients. To examine whether levels of CSF alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn), beta-amyloid 1–42 (Abeta-42), or total-tau (t-tau) are associated with hippocampal subfield volumes over time. Methods: We identified a subset of Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) de novo PD patients with longitudinal T1-weighted imaging (baseline plus at least two additional visits across 12, 24, and 48 months) and CSF biomarkers available at baseline. We performed cross-sectional, regression, and linear mixed model analyses to evaluate the baseline and longitudinal CSF biomarkers, hippocampal subfields, and cognition. A false discovery rate (FDR) was used to correct for multiple comparisons. Results: 88 PD-CN and 21 PD-MCI had high quality longitudinal data. PD-MCI patients exhibited reduced bilateral CA1 volumes relative to PD-CN, though there were no significant differences in CSF biomarkers between these groups. Relationships between CSF biomarkers and hippocampal subfields changed over time, with a general pattern that lower CSF Abeta-42, higher t-tau and higher alpha-syn were associated with smaller hippocampal subfields, primarily in the right hemisphere. Conclusion: We replicated prior reports that demonstrated reduced CA1 volumes in PD-MCI in a de novo PD cohort. CSF biomarkers were associated with individual subfields, with evidence that the increased CSF t-tau was associated with smaller subiculum volumes at baseline and over time, though there was no clear indication that the subfields associated with cognition (CA1 and HATA) were associated with CSF biomarkers