Isramart:Innovating to reduce the energy cost and carbon footprint of buildings

Isramart news:
An innovative research and development project is underway that aims to accelerate the move towards more buildings in the UK with a low carbon footprint. Businesses involved in delivering ‘low impact buildings’ will be given the opportunity to apply for a total of £8m investment from the Government-backed Technology Strategy Board, that would allow them to evaluate the performance of ‘case study’ buildings. The aim is to help the successful applicants to understand how their buildings perform and which design, construction and operation approaches work best in particular circumstances.

The data from all the successful case study projects will be collated to form a valuable source of detailed building performance information that will be larger than any previous study and will enable the building and design sector to use the information to develop improved buildings that use less energy and other resources, have a lower carbon footprint and perform better for their occupants. Study results will be shared across the sector and open to all for use, with an aim of improving the performance of new buildings and providing a basis for innovation.

The UK’s Chief Construction Adviser, Paul Morrell said:“The industry needs reliable information to enable improvements in the performance of new and refurbished buildings through specification, design, delivery and operation. UK Government has set challenging targets for improving sustainability and limiting climate change and about 45% of the UK’s CO2 emissions come from the occupation of buildings.

Research is required to compare actual performance with design data, to identify whether a building is delivering what it should do, and whether it is being run as it should be.This programme, launched by the Technology Strategy Board’s Low Impact Building Innovation Platform, will make a valuable contribution to increasing understanding across the sector, driving innovation and improving the competitiveness of UK companies.”

The competition has been devised as a response to the fact that that there is typically a significant discrepancy between the predicted energy performance of a building (and hence its C02 emissions) and the measured performance. These discrepancies arise from a variety of sources, ranging from the design and modelling tools used in the design of the building, build process and build quality, systems integration and commissioning, handover and operation, to the understanding, comfort and motivation of occupants.

For more information please visit www.innovateuk.org.
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