There are a thousand and one unanswered questions in building services. Here, the Building Services Journal scans current research in the field to see what advances in understanding to expect in the near future.
Whether it's carried out by private firms, public bodies or professional institutions, a big chunk of services research is paid for by tax payers – courtesy of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. So where is the money going?
Let computers do the work
What would it be like to have a computer to take the chore out of laying out plantrooms? For the computer to design ceiling voids and riser paths, and test layouts against established rules. Finally, how about a three dimensional digital image of the services in a building?
A fanciful pipedream? Not if Oscar Faber and Cambridge University's Martin Centre get their way. They are working on "standard solutions" for building services, which should lead to a set of computer-based rules helping engineers to:
- select the right equipment for the job;
- specify the correct size of plant;
- choose the right location in the plantroom (or elsewhere) for the equipment.
The project, funded by DETR under the old Partners in Technology programme, is due for completion in September next year.
Oscar Faber is also taking a lead in research aimed at using thermal images to spot faults in building services. Problems in electrical wiring or mechanical plant often result in temperature anomalies, easily picked up using thermal imaging. In another strand of this project, Oscar Faber intends to use vibration testing to check rotating plant, and electric current spectrum analysis to diagnose faults in large induction motors.
The Institution at the leading edge
The CIBSE has a score of exciting research projects on the table. The long-awaited Architectural Guide to Building Services, now nearly complete, will help to smooth interaction between architects and services engineers. It is structured to follow the design process, from briefing to post-handover, and the Institution expects it to help cut the whole-life costs of buildings.
In another bid to help reduce the cost of buildings, the CIBSE is working on a project to encourage clients and designers to plan for changing business needs and uses. Rather than suffer the costly, environmentally-damaging consequences of replacing services prematurely, this work is intended to encourage more use of flexible, upgradable, components. Both projects are funded by the DETR.
BREathing cool air into buildings
The BRE's 530 employees have a host of new research projects of interest to services engineers in the pipeline. Four frontrunner projects are once again DETR-funded.
First, BRE is working with the CIBSE, looking into the microbiology of ductwork. Researchers will review current methods for monitoring ductwork hygiene, assessing their likely reliability and accuracy.
They will go on to study the effect of commercial cleaning on microbiological activity in ventilation systems. And finally, they will assemble an expert panel to develop technical guidance for managing ductwork – ultimately leading to a new CIBSE technical memorandum on the subject.
Second, the Democratic user control of zonal temperatures (DUCOZT) project comes to an end in August. This venture is to link pc's to an energy management system so that users can vote for higher or lower temperatures in their zone, with the most popular choices feeding into the heating or cooling system to change the work environment accordingly.
Putting its energies into air conditioning in particular, the third BRE initiative aims to find out why vav systems often fail to deliver the expected fuel savings. Fans and pumps account for about a third of CO2 emissions in air conditioned buildings. The BRE is looking to trim back this figure by explaining:
- where best to locate pressure sensors;
- how best to control fan speed;
- how to design duct loop systems to cut energy consumption.
Preliminary modelling work suggests that savings of up to 40% may be possible.
Turning its attention to the sun and opportunities for solar heating, daylighting and passive cooling, the fourth BRE project sees it collecting data about the use of solar energy. It plans to produce both an illustrated design guide and a computer-based tool which will evaluate solar access and wind patterns in urban areas. The work will help designers to:
- maximise solar gain and passive cooling;
- minimise energy consumption and the effects of urban pollution;
- surround buildings with pleasant spaces.
The Building Performance Assessment Centre (BPAC), meanwhile, has two hot projects on the horizon. First, a look at 'heat islands': high temperature urban areas resulting from concentrated air pollution and heat escaping from buildings. Wind can blow straight over the top of heat islands, and temperatures can be as much as 58C higher than surrounding areas. The BPAC is to map air temperatures in a geographical information system for the whole of London to pinpoint the locations of heat islands.
Second, an analysis of the barriers to take up of natural ventilation in buildings – NatVent – and how to encourage designers to use natural ventilation instead of air conditioning. This is a collaborative, pan-European project, and it will culminate in a guidebook showing how to design in an integrated way for year-round comfort.
BSRIA's research pipeline
The BSRIA has also been busy investigating issues close to a services engineer's heart.
Some buildings are handicapped from the start in trying to keep down energy use and costs, for they are lumbered with oversized plant. The Association's current research portfolio includes one project intended to help people cope with such buildings.
A BSRIA team is assessing 50 sites to get a handle on the extent of oversizing in UK buildings – particularly office buildings and schools – taking forward earlier work on the energy consumption of oversized plant.
The second stage of the project will monitor buildings where some form of remedial action has been taken to cut energy use. Such action could include anything from installing variable speed drives, to altering control strategies, to replacing excessively large boiler plant.
BSRIA is teaming up with the BRE to continue its work on chilled ceilings and beams: working out how they compare with traditional coil systems. Past work suggests that chilled ceiling systems can save energy, and provide opportunities to use free cooling and low energy sources like ground water.
The BRE's environmental chamber is being used to test the performance of chilled ceilings, results that will be supplemented by monitoring systems actually in use in occupied buildings. It is hoped that the results will convince more conservative clients that this alternative to coil air conditioning has lower lifetime cost and improves perceived comfort.
Thermal storage too falls under BSRIA's research spotlight. A two year project is to assess how practical different forms of thermal storage are for use in the UK.
It is looking at ice storage, ground cooling, storage in the building fabric and heating thermal storage. The plan is to monitor installed systems, examining:
- how much they cost to install and run;
- how easy they are to control;
- if they are being used to their full potential;
- for how much of the year they are used.
Looking to the future, CIRIA has won funding in the latest round of DETR's Partners in Innovation funding to investigate targets and indicators for more sustainable construction. Using DETR quality of life indicators and performance indicators from the Movement for Innovation as a foundation, this aims to help industry measure progress on sustainability.
All in all, this adds up to an encouraging outlook for research in the field. Definitely money well spent.
Source
Building Sustainable Design
