IES Blog

Last week, we headed to the land down under for the 12th International Conference of the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA). From November 14th to 16th in Sydney, Australia, simulation researchers, mechanical designers, government legislators and more came together with the local simulation user community for Building Simulation 2011, co-hosted by IBPSA Australasia and the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air-conditioning and Heating (AIRAH).

At the conference, we showcased and provided live software demos of VE-Pro, our suite of building performance simulation tools, and VE-Gaia, our architectural analysis tool. Our experts also had the opportunity to present a couple of research papers, one of which involved a case study of the William McCormack Place Stage 2 building, a government office building in Cairns, North Queensland. This paper explored key strategies used in the HVAC systems and discussed the thermal and CFD modeling involved during the earliest stages of the building design to optimize the building’s environmental performance.

The second paper we presented described two new indices to assess and benchmark building energy performance – the Climate Energy Index (CEI) and the Building Energy Index (BEI). In a nutshell, these globally-applicable energy indices were developed as a means of quantifying the climate impact on building energy performance, and distinguishing climate-related and climate-unrelated energy end uses. Our paper specifically described the derivation of the indices calculation methods, and presented some case study results based on two types of building models.

Overall, our team had a great time at the show meeting with others involved in the building performance simulation field. Regarding the papers we presented, they will be available on our website shortly – stay tuned!

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Tags:Australia, Building, climate, design, Modeling, VE-Gaia, VE-Pro

What’s the equivalent of a Prius when it comes to green buildings? Well, the answer might be The Bullitt Center in Seattle, Washington. It just broke ground last week, and aims to be the first commercial building designed to carry its own environmental weight.

What does that mean – “carry its own environmental weight”?

It means that this building is taking sustainable design to the next level. This building is designed to produce as much energy as it consumes. To provide its own water, its own sewage. If you want to drive to work, you’ll have to find an alternate parking lot. Parking at The Bullitt Center will be reserved for bikes only.

You might be scratching your head and thinking this is crazy. But this is what sustainable design is all about!

Denis Hayes, president and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, was quoted in a Seattle Times feature about the project, saying this is what we should have been doing 5, 10 years ago.

Conventional office buildings are getting greener, Hayes acknowledges. Many developers are designing their projects with green features to qualify for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, then marketing that label prominently.

But change isn’t happening fast enough to respond to climate change and other looming environmental problems, he said: “If the world had three or four centuries to address these challenges, we would be right on track.”

So what does this mean for our industry? This will force programs like LEED to take it to the next level, and for architects and designers to really incorporate sustainable design techniques into projects.

Building owners are going to be asking for these features in their buildings. And it’s possible, we just need to keep at it.

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Tags:Architects, Building, climate, design, leadership, LEED, office, Seattle, Sustainability

A few weeks back, the Boston Chapter of the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) held a speaker session to investigate the topic of weather and building simulation. This seminar was Part 2 of the IBPSA’s “Big Uglies”. The “Big Uglies” represent four of the major unknowns in energy modelling: Occupancy, Plug Loads, Weather and Infiltration.

The group discussion was designed to tackle the impact of weather on building simulation and covered the following topics – “options for obtaining weather files for building simulation, the affects of weather on simulation results, future weather files, and related practices”.

This event caught my eye as climate and its impact on performance analysis has been on the IES agenda for a while now. Richard Quincey, Technical Director at IES explains, “To be truly sustainable, a building needs to last in excess of 100 years, and current design regulations and sustainability rating systems only require you to design against weather data that represents at best the next decade or so. Sustainable designs really need to make some assessment of the impact of climate change on determining built form suitability for the long term.”

With climate change becoming a global reality, why risk the long term performance of your building by ignoring it? A building may perform well today but it may not be able to adapt with the impact of future adverse weather conditions.

In January we teamed up with the University of Exeter to assist with their Prometheus Weather Files project. The weather files are available in .epw format for 35 locations around the UK for the 2030s, 2050s and 2080s across both high and medium emissions scenarios. The files are fully compatible with the IESVE allowing designers, architects and engineers to future weather-proof buildings and undertake comparisons between performance today and in future decades. The files are free and can be downloaded from our website.

Richard Quincey (IES) and Dr. Tristan Kershaw of the University of Exeter presented the project at this year’s Ecobuild. Highlights from the session are available in the video below.

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Tags:Boston, Building, climate, IES, Modeling, Sustainability, weather files

The United States Conference of Mayors recent Clean Energy Solutions for America’s Cities report is a summary of survey results. The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,200 such cities in the country today, each represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the Mayor.

I’ll admit, I was a bit worried to dive into the report, with visions of a glum outlook and details that reflect why this cities are not sustainable.

But I’d say things are looking pretty good!

If you want to read the entire report, you can download it here.

But the key findings sum things up quite well.

• Despite challenging economic conditions, three in four cities (75%) expect their deployment of clean energy technologies to increase over the next five years.

• Cities identify financial constraints as the most significant challenge to improving energy efficiency and conservation, and developing new renewable energy supplies.

• LED and other efficient lighting (76%), low-energy building technologies (68%), and solar systems to generate electricity (46%) are the top three choices among mayors as the most promising technologies for reducing energy use and carbon emissions.

• Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) are shown to have multiple benefits for cities, from helping to cope with higher gas prices to deploying new energy technologies and efficiency measures, now and in the future.

• Mayors point to the economic benefits of clean energy solutions as key drivers of their energy strategies.

• For one in three cities, adapting to climate change is already an element of their capital planning and/or capital improvement programs.

• One-quarter of all cities have already set targets for the use of renewable energy.

What do you think? Are our major cities on a path to a sustainable future? How can we ensure we get there? I certainly think implementing “smart” solutions within commercial buildings is a fool-proof way to ensure energy hogs such as lights and HVAC systems are kept in check, without the need for extra manpower (and extra expenses) to keep tabs during peak demand times throughout the day. But that’s just a small piece of the puzzle. There’s so much more we can do in the world of sustainable design, and we are just scratching the surface

My hope is to view this report 5, 10 years from now and see an even greater move towards sustainability.

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Tags:Building, Clean Energy Solutions, climate, HVAC, Renewables, Sustainability

There’s just 2 days to go until approx 7,000 events across 200 countries get underway as part of www.350.org’s 10/10/10 Global Work Party for action on energy efficiency and climate change. It looks to be the biggest day of positive action on climate change in history so, what will you be doing?

Here at IES we’re supporting 10/10/10 by hosting a series of events including:

• Switch off stickers
• Sourcing even more ethical suppliers
• Thermostat settings on radiators
• To urn or not to urn!!
• Water waste awareness
• Supplier check up – utilities, shredding etc.
• Composting feasibility
• IT ideas
• Setting up electricity / energy monitoring

There are some fantastic events happening all over the world and I wanted to share some of the highlights with you:

• Sumo wrestlers cycling to practice in downtown Tokyo.
• An education center in the Namib Desert in Namibia installing six solar panels.
• Divers on the smallest island nation of the world, Nauru (8.1 square miles) will plunge into their coral reefs for an underwater clean-up.
• President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives is installing solar panels on his roof.
• Partiers in Edinburgh will be throwing a “Joycott” (a reverse boycott) at a local bar that agreed to put 20% of its extra revenues on 10/10/10 to making the bar more energy efficient. Attendees will try and drink as much as possible to raise money. Cheers!
• In San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico, students will hand out solar-powered lights to families, who are still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Alex this June, 2010.
• Over 100 cyclists from Jordan, Israel and Palestine taking part in a 3-day bicycle relay to carry water from the Yarmouk River and the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea to symbolize the need for cooperation to stop climate change and save precious water resources.
• On 10/10/10 the Mayor of Mexico City will sign a commitment to reduce the city’s emissions 10% in a single year. The city government will be directly responsible for 5% of the reductions and lead a public campaign to get citizens to cut the remaining 5%.
• Young people in Barbados will be demonstrating the viability of fuel cell technology in a hovercraft they have built themselves.

I must say the “Joycott” in Edinburgh is my personal favourite!

Fancy being a part of it? You can Find a local event near you to see what weird and wonderful events are being held in your neighbourhood. Plus, there’s still time to register your own event so why not join in and celebrate climate change solutions? You can register your event at http://www.350.org/oct10 and if you’re looking for inspiration why not check out the 350 Action Gallery showing some amazing examples of actions that have happened already from all across the globe.

We’ll post a Blog (with photos of course!) of our very own 10.10.10 events very soon!

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Tags:10:10, climate, IES, reduce

Earlier this year, I attended & was proud to present at The 10th REHVA World Congress – Clima 2010 in Antalya, Turkey. There were over 1,000 attendees from 56 countries at the HVAC congress. Attendees included two former ASHRAE presidents, one former CIBSE president - OBE, the current IBPSA president and the chairman of CIBSE Guide- A Steering Committee. There were 460 papers presented orally & 180 posters took place. Needless to say it was a huge success.

If you are unaware, REHVA is the Federation of European HVAC Associations and represents over 100,000 engineers from 28 European countries.

A feature of the biannual REHVA World Congress is the International student competition. Having graduated with my MSc. from Brunel University in 2009, I was asked to enter the competition. The European association I was representing was CIBSE, which I know is not specific to any one European country, but a collective nomination from the UK & Ireland nevertheless.

Apart from commending the success of the event, I wanted to blog about a fascinating project of the student competition, by Geert Filippini of Royal Haskoning in The Netherlands. Geert went on to win the competition, and deservedly so. Geert’s research work on a low energy micro-climate was very impressive. I’ve attached an image below of his built prototype which was tested in a climate chamber in the Eindhoven University of Technology.

The fresh air is being supplied directly into the microclimate of the occupant so the he/she is given a psychological feeling of being in control of his/her own environment. The radiant panel is a low energy feature (14% less energy), again because the local heating & cooling is taking place in the occupant’s working environment. A very clever idea!

I’ve analysed the concept using <VE> – MicroFlo for a typical day and the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analyses does also seem to certainly prove the concept.�
Please see the latest edition of the REHVA Journal & I hope to see you at the next annual conference In Tallinn in May 2011.

Liam

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Tags:ASHRAE, CIBSE, climate, Engineers, Environment, REHVA World Congress

To be truly sustainable, a building needs to last in excess of 100 years, and current design regulations and sustainability rating systems only require you to design against weather data that represents at best the next decade or so. Sustainable designs really need to make some assessment of the impact of climate change on determining built form suitability for the long term.

Therefore, I thought I’d take this opportunity to expand on my recent Weather Design and Data blog.

IES cannot tell you what is going to happen, however there is huge consensus around a 3oC global warming target as you will have no doubt heard. What does this mean to building design?  It seems reasonable to assume investors and insurers will consider this target and what it might mean for buildings in the future.

Let us take the CIBSE published UK weather predictions for a medium-high climate change scenario, which represents about a 3oC rise, and consider London, by far not the worst location in climate change terms, over the next 70 years.

Just glancing at the headline information you see that:

• The summer is extending and getting hotter in the Mahoney analysis (monthly average);

• The reduction in heating degree days -31% from now to 2080;

• The growth in cooling degree days + 65% from now to 2080;

• The climate classification shift – mixed humid to warm marine;

• How built form design focus shifts to be dominated by summer issues.

Just from this brief overview you can start to see how selecting and comparing weather data, especially climate change impacts, can allow you to assess fundamental built form suitability and its ability to adapt to climate change over the long term.

For locations outside of the UK this analysis is possible using morphed data from any epw weather file; a free tool allows you morph climate change scenarios worldwide.

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Tags:Building, CIBSE, climate, free, IES, Sustainability

In Architecture there is a persistent organic theme of using the environment to inform both urban and built form; obviously vernacular architecture is a demonstration of this, but in the latter half of the 20th century people have explored this theme in more detail, such that cause and effect is well explained.

In the past, greatest interest in this theme has occurred at times of energy crisis and now with climate change high on the global political and social agenda, there is a real demand for solutions that are climate responsive and adaptive to climate change.  Some of this is taught in Universities and so has a familiarity especially to Architects.

The main reason why Bio-Climatic analysis has not been applied extensively in the past is due to the breadth and depth of the subject and the fact that the logic is somewhat fuzzy.  Manually doing it properly is complex, difficult and very time consuming.  Thus few have been able to master it and turn it to everyday use.  However, the desire to utilise Bio-Climatic analysis is still alive and kicking.

Over the past few years, IES have researched this subject globally and developed the logic to a level where we can automate it, and have consequentially developed a Bio-Climatic tool, which we recently launched.

As part of the evolving VE Gaia product, Bio-Climatic analysis is used in conjunction with other Gaia tools to provide a rich source of knowledge about weather / climate data and the built environment.  It delivers complex knowledge and analysis about what may be appropriate design strategies by providing a detailed list of suggestions appropriate to the specific climate data chosen.

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Tags:Architects, bio-climate, Building, climate

Recently I have been looking at the weather data we use for dynamic simulations using the Gaia rapid analysis tools. When you consider what we used 10 years ago these datasets are a huge increase in resolution, but ….

The attached graphic shows a Mahoney analysis (this looks at monthly trends) of the CIBSE current & climate change weather files for London; you can easily see the progression over time in the climate …. the change in heating and cooling degree day data (HDD & CDD) and the increasing summer season is stark …. but there are inconsistencies in the data, the 2050 data being a case in point.

Overall this should be sufficient cause for building professionals to at least carry out a risk analysis on the robustness of their designs for + 50-80 years hence i.e. the correct fundamental form plus the ability to adapt, but we must accept that the data we use is much closer to the raw edge of science than it ever used to be and it will evolve with the science !

Richard Quincey

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Tags:Building, CIBSE, climate

On April 22, 2010, the ‘Global Day of Conversation’ engaged more than 500 mayors and locally elected officials around the world in separate conversations within their local communities on issues of climate, energy and sustainability. This Global Day of Conversation illustrates the commitment of millions to make the natural environment a priority for 2010 and beyond.

However, with the arrival of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the United States has failed to enact a comprehensive climate bill. The Earth Day Network insists Congress enacts climate and clean energy legislation in 2010.

On Sunday, April 25, Earth Day Network and partner organizations organized a massive climate rally on the National Mall, Washington DC. With the participation from thousands, The Climate Rally is a chance to be heard on climate legislation and tell Washington;

“It’s time to enact climate and clean energy legislation.”

The Climate Rally also featured live music from Sting, John Legend, The Roots, Jimmy Cliff, Passion Pit, Bob Weir, Willie Colón, Joss Stone, Robert Randolph and many more.

The White House Response
Washington, D.C. – On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Vice President Biden announces the selection of 25 communities for up to $452 million in Recovery Act funding to “ramp-up” energy efficiency building retrofits. However, more than $3.5 billion in applications were received for the just over $450 million in Recovery Act funds available, an eight-fold difference, indicating significant demand for investment in energy-saving and job-creating projects like these across the US.

The selected projects for a retrofit ramp-up are available by clicking here.

On a final note, Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Please get involved and let every day be an earth day!

Liam

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Tags:Building, climate, earth day, Environment, Sustainability