St Loyes Care Home research on climate change adaptation published in CIBSE Technical Memorandum TM55

After over a year of editing and peer review our research project which investigated the climate change adaptation (CCA) of the ExtraCare4Exeter project has finally been published in CIBSE TM55.  This is the first time G&S have been published in an engineering technical document and joins the many papers and case studies we have published to date.

The building itself is a state of the art, 5-storey exemplar Extra Care Facility for the elderly located in Exeter.   During early design stages G&S won funding from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) under the Design for Future Climate Change (D4FC) competition.  This funding enabled G&S to investigate climate change adaptation strategies for the building design moving into future climate change weather scenarios well into 2080.

The main emphasis of this CCA work was to address the issue of overheating in the building design for a very vulnerable user group, primarily focusing on increased internal and external temperatures and heat related discomfort and illness in individuals. In particular high level dementia care was to be accommodated in the building design.

To a lesser extent increased weather severity (flooding, wind, and driving rain) and increased air pollution were also investigated.   

Many papers were written investigating strategies to develop an adaptable design for changing climates - passive and active strategies, mass, natural ventilation, the role of plants and courtyards, green roofs, earth cooling, and the role MVHR could play.

Further details on this project and the papers written can be found here:

ExtraCare4Exeter research project

The case study presented in the CIBSE TM55 was a synopsis on the overheating analysis and adaptation strategies that were developed for the Extra Care Facility.

Further details on CIBSE TM55 can be found here:

CIBSE knowledge portal TM55

The five adaptation case studies presented in TM55 were funded as part of a larger programme called ‘Design for Future Climate’ creating adaptation strategies for 50 UK building projects supported by the Technology Strategy Board. The aim of the programme was to build expertise within the UK design profession for delivering adaptation services and to build a body of evidence of the commercial advantages of considering future climate adaptation in current building projects, both new build and refurbishment.

This publication is presenting current practice and understanding, rather than commenting on the best way to carry out building adaptation strategies, or recommending changes to regulatory documents and procedures. The projects were undertaken on a commercial basis and so the extent of modelling, investigation and research were inevitably constrained by the overriding needs of the project, planning, programme and costs. In many cases it was the first time that the design teams had given serious attention to the concerns of future climate and so approaches may not necessarily be best practice. It must be noted that it is impossible to measure the weather in 40 years time today, and so the decisions and recommendations in these case studies were based solely on modelling using future weather scenarios without the ability to validate their models with real world measurement, which is not ideal.

These case studies on real building projects illustrate the lessons learned by design teams on improving adaptation resistance and resilience of building projects and show the impact that embedded adaptation strategies can have on the design decisions adopted by clients.

The case studies recommend use of the following adaptation measures: Thermal performance and dealing with overheating; water conservation and dealing with flooding risk; and material durability.

Contents:

1 Introduction

2 Key messages

3 How the climate is changing

4 Impacts of a changing climate and the challenge of adapting buildings

5 Making a case for adaptation to the client

6 Climatic data used by each study 

7 Challenges to conducting adaptation work and lessons learned in the case studies 

References

Case studies:

• Case Study 1: Church View, Doncaster

• Case Study 2: Greenwich University, School of Architecture and Construction

• Case Study 3: ExtraCare4Exeter

• Case Study 4: Harris Academy Purley

• Case Study 5: White Collar Factory at Old Street Yard

'Building a Resilient Future' - Gale & Snowden at the Technology Strategy Board

Gale & Snowden is to showcase work at 'Building A Resilient Future' for the Technology Strategy Board.

The event is to be held on Wednesday 26th February at No. 1 Drummond Gate, Victoria, London, SW1V 2QQ. 

The focus of this event is to establish the latest thinking and best practice around integrating climate change adaptation and resilience into built environment projects, and to highlight and promote the opportunities for the UK built environment sector.  A range of drivers, approaches and tools which support the understanding, communication, and development of the 'business case' for climate change adaptation and resilience will be highlighted. The benefits of attending include helping to shape the discussion about the future of climate change adaptation in the built environment, sharing knowledge, networking, and finding out about business opportunities.

The conference will be the final dissemination of the TSB funded competition Design for Future Climate. The competition provided funding for project teams to consider climate change impacts in the design of real life construction and building refurbishment projects.

The format of the day will include a series of presentations with panel sessions for wider discussion.

David Gale will be presenting the three 'Design for Future Climate' (D4FC) projects that Gale & Snowden has undertaken over the last 3 years and showcasing the Future Climate Ready Consultancy services that Gale & Snowden provides for all types of building projects. David's presentation is available to view below.

Passivhaus Monitoring South West & Cross Channel Dissemination with Exeter City Council

Housing providers and local authorities from Brittany, France and the South West learn how one of the first UK Passivhaus certified low energy affordable housing schemes in Exeter performs.  

Emma Osmundsen (Housing Development Manager - Exeter City Council) in the foreground of the image below with Gale & Snowden Architects (G&S) with French and British delegates outside the Passivhaus scheme Rowan House.  The day was also made up by the attendance of G&S Architect Tomas Gartner (in the foreground) who is from Germany and the Passivhaus designer of the schemes presented.   It turned out to be a very informed multi-cultural and European exchange of Passivhaus ideas and learning from three different countries.     

French, British & German delegates outside Rowan House

French and British local councillors together with housing providers and various industry professionals from the South West, Devon County Council, Exeter City Council and Wiltshire Council visited two social housing schemes in Exeter built to the Passivhaus standard to learn about how the buildings have actually performed with regards to energy consumption and indoor comfort.   Both buildings have been extensively monitored and evaluated through funding by the Technology Strategy Board and this monitoring work has been delivered by the housing scheme designers themselves, Gale & Snowden Architects. In order to maximise comfort and well being, this two year project is ensuring that the new housing tenants get to grips with the various energy saving technologies installed in their home thanks to training and interviews and  energy and indoor quality monitoring. The learning from this project will inform future designs and is vital in understanding the level of support required to help tenants use effectively the low energy features of their new home. 

The day was split into two halves; the Passivhaus presentations were held in the morning in Exeter's medieval Guild Hall followed by the tour of the Passivhaus schemes after lunch;     the morning venue being at the complete opposite end of the energy spectrum when compared to the afternoon visit.  French and British visitors were welcomed by Exeter City Council (ECC) Housing Development Manager, Emma Osmunsden and had the opportunity to discuss their experience.  Gale & Snowden then presented the results of the monitoring so far.   The delegates also enjoyed a warm welcome from one of the tenants who shared her positive experience of moving into a low energy Passivhaus home. 

The two housing schemes called Rowan House and Knights Place were designed by low energy and ecological Architects Gale & Snowden and managed by ECC. These homes not only benefit from high levels of insulation, "airtightness", a whole-house ventilation system with efficient heat recovery, and hot solar water panels but they are also designed to be as healthy as possible with no PVC used in the construction, the installation of ceramic tiles throughout to reduce dust mites and radial electrical circuits to reduce electro-magnetic fields which are believed to carry health risks.

Emma providing a warm welcome to delegates

The exchange was a real success with both French and British visitors taking a lot of learning home. This cross channel exchange was part of another EU funded project on sustainable energy between local councils on both side of the Channel, which Gale & Snowden were happy to collaborate with as part of the monitoring dissemination activities  – SEACS is a €2 million project selected by the European Cross-border Co-operation Programme INTERREG IV A France (Channel) – England and is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Conseil General des Côtes d’Armor, Devon County Council, Dorset County Council, Agglomeration Lannion-Tregor and Wiltshire Council.

G&S presenting monitoring results

Gale & Snowden would like to thank Emma and Gary (ECC housing team) for their input throughout the day in particular sharing ECC's experience of delivering and managing the first multi residential Passivhaus building in the UK.  Gale & Snowden would also like to thank Rose the tenant at Rowan House who warmly received 30 delegates in her Passivhaus flat to share her positive experiences of living there.   A special thanks also goes to Doe Fitzsimmons of Devon County Council who as well as organising and co-ordinating the whole day through the SEACS project also had a very tiring time translating all the presentations live throughout the course of the day.  It was a job well done!

Devon County Councillor Roger Croad, Cabinet Member for Community and Environmental Services, said “The SEACS project is working with communities and schools throughout Devon to tackle the energy challenge together, by raising awareness of the cost of energy and the range of options available to help manage consumption. This SEACS event has enabled Exeter City Council’s experience to be shared with other housing agencies in Devon to inform future schemes for Devon’s residents, as well as our partners in the south west and France”.

If anybody would like to know more about the Passivhaus monitoring research, healthy building design or Passivhaus low energy design then please contact David Gale (david@ecodesign.co.uk) and we would be more than happy to present our research and findings, designs and ideas.

Some quotes below from the delegates who attended. 

"All the partners from Lannion-Trégor Communauté have been very happy and fully pleased with the day, the information provided and the atmosphere."

"Dear Doe and Emma, That was fantastic. Thank you so much for organising it.  You should be really proud of your team."

"This is just a short note to thank you for the time, patience and soaking you took to show us round your projects. We had a blast.  I am sure we will be able to promote passivhaus ideals here in Wiltshire as a result of it."

"I thought the day was just perfect, so well planned and executed. It was a fabulous opportunity to meet not just the French but other Councils too.  I am very grateful for all your time, trouble and efforts which made the day a complete success."

Presentations prepared for the day

Knights Place & Rowan House Introduction

TSB Passivhaus Monitoring Introduction

Passivhaus Monitoring Dissemination Results




Mechanical Ventilation BPEC qualified

Jason our mechanical engineer recently attended a BPEC Domestic Ventilation Systems course, sat the exam and passed with flying colours.  Jason is now qualified under Part F of the building regulations to commission, balance and sign off ventilation systems in domestic applications.  This will be very useful to Gale & Snowden especially when it comes to mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems in homes.  As a practise we are finding that MVHR systems require particular attention in domestic applications to ensure that they perform as intended and provide good air quality in a noise free manner.   MVHR systems need to be designed and installed correctly taking account the room layout, the air tightness barrier and duct penetrations, noise break out, other plant systems such as wood burners, pressure drop to keep fan power to a minimum and air distribution within the spaces to name but a few elements.   Once this has been covered a well designed and correctly installed system requires to be correctly commissioned and balanced at the end of the construction period if it is to perform as intended in a trouble free manner.

MVHR Air Balancing

In buildings that are becoming increasingly air tight it is even more important that air quality is maintained otherwise VOCs (volatile organic compounds), gases and chemicals, dust and particulates, moisture and odours can build up in the home which then become detrimental to health and the building.   Whilst it is important to be energy efficient this cannot be at the detriment to air quality.  Gale and Snowden can now design and detail MVHR systems as well as install and commission them.   We can now ensure that all areas of the MVHR design and installation is carried out to the highest standard.     See our low energy mechanical engineering service for further details.  

Gale & Snowden Mechanical Engineering Service

As well as providing mechanical designs in-house on our own architectural designs we also provide a low energy mechanical design service to other architects throughout the country who are also working on prestigious low energy projects.   Our in-house team have been designing MVHR systems for over 15 years now which include both commercial schemes (offices, hospitals, museums) and domestic schemes.    We have also designed these systems with C02 & humidity controlled variable volume control and a variety of earth duct and ground piped heat exchangers and carried out extensive thermal modelling work looking at the feasibility of earth heat exchangers at keeping buildings cool when moving into future climate change scenarios.  Some of this work can be found here:   

Care Home Climate Change Adaptation Work

We also intend to offer this service to clients who wish just for a check and verification of MVHR systems being commissioned by others and also for trouble shooting problem systems.    Our in-house team has experience in monitoring and fault finding problem ventilation systems and fine tuning them to operate correctly.   This may involve taking simple air flow measurements and rebalancing to leaving temperature, humidity and C02 sensors within the ductwork and room space to determine how well any system is performing.   We have found that MVHR systems in homes generally require a fine tune typically a year after hand over to ensure they are working to their optimum.  

Temperature & Humidity Logger in Ductwork

The presentation below provides details of an investigation we carried out on the MVHR systems at Knights Place one of our Passivhaus schemes.  We wanted to determine if frost protection was required or not and also investigate in-situ the efficiency of the MVHR system.  A sub meter on the power supply to the MVHR system was installed as well as temperature, humidity and C02 sensors were installed in the rooms and within the ductwork.  This presentation presents a snap shot of some of the analysis and results so far.

G&S Passivhaus affordable homes featured in Devon Life Magazine

Bevan House, 9 Passivhaus dwellings designed by Gale & Snowden for Exeter City Council, are featured in the December 2013 issue of Devon Life magazine.

The development features:

Super insulation and thermal bridge free design
High performance triple glazed timber windows and doors
Air tight design achieving 0.5 ac/hr
93% efficient MVHR
Thermal mass design providing inter-seasonal internal temperature stability
Designed to meet Lifetime Homes standard, Code 4, Secured by Design, optimum daylight levels throughout
Bevan House is currently being assessed for Passivhaus certification

Purely through passive design elements, the new flats at Bevan House will use approximately 75% less heating energy when compared to a standard UK building (2010 Building Regulation requirements), making it truly affordable for its tenants without compromising on comfort or indoor air quality.

Bevan House will provide exemplary, affordable housing, built to the highest standard of energy efficient construction.  This project shows again that we can successfully target fuel poverty and combat climate change at the same time.

Grand Designs Zero Carbon Cob Passive House

One of our projects recently featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs.  More information can be found at the following links:

Kevin McCabe Ltd.
Build Something Beautiful

Grand Designs

Kevin McCabe Ltd master cob builder based in Devon approached our building physics and engineering department to assist with developing the thermal, energy and mechanical strategy for his new cob building project Dingle Dell.  The Dingle Dell project turned out to be grand in every sense.   Local planners had stipulated that the scheme should not only be outstanding in its design and architecture but also be environmentally sensitive and must achieve code 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.  Two of the key elements of the code 6 requirement was that firstly it be totally zero carbon not just in regulated emissions from heating and hot water but also from non regulated emissions including appliances and sockets - all power.  Secondly that it achieve a heat loss parameter (HLP) of 0.8 W/m², a level currently only being achieved by the Passivhaus low energy standard.  As we are experienced in dealing with natural materials in building design our role was to investigate and advise on how the HLP could be achieved with a cob building. 

Working with the project architects, Bedford and Jobson, we assessed various fabric and window U-values, thermal bridging and different air permeability and ventilation strategies before finally arriving at the most appropriate solution for the scheme to achieve the HLP.  The zero carbon requirement was quite a challenge due to the size of the property so a high mix of renewable energy technologies was required.  We investigated the mix of water and wind turbines and PV technologies and assessed them in conjunction with other technologies such as biomass, heat pumps, MVHR and solar thermal to determine what was required to achieve the zero carbon requirement.   The final result being a truly grand design cob house that is totally zero carbon and who's energy performance rivals that set by the Passivhaus Institute - the first of its kind in the world.     

Wire frame image of 3D thermal model.

Due to the high levels of insulation required and the high levels of south facing glazing for winter solar gain our physics department then carried out a 3D thermal modelling simulation exercise using IES software of the design.  Thermal modelling enabled us to determine natural ventilation strategies to limit any potential summertime overheating.  We modelled and thermally assessed the cob mass and how effective it would be at stabilising temperatures.  We simulated stack ventilation and cross flow ventilation strategies.  We also carried out a 3D daylight modelling assessment to ensure that daylight levels would be appropriate when using triple glazing or even quadruple glazing in thick cob walls. Due to the added requirement of insulation these cob walls were thicker than normal.  

In addition to these services we also provided the Code for Sustainable Homes assessment developing the code 6 strategy and provided a specialist thermal bridging assessment of the scheme.   This is a remarkable project that we were happy to have played an integral part of.  

Gale & Snowden provide mechanical engineering and building physics services to architects, designers and construction professionals.  These include:

• Thermal and carbon modelling
• Passivhaus design consultancy
• Low energy mechanical engineering
• Renewable energy engineering

Full information about these services can be found on our website here.

Opening ceremony for ground-breaking development in Exeter

Bevan House was handed over to the client and tenants at a ceremony today with Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Hannaford and Sovereign Housing Association.

The affordable housing flats are part of Exeter City Council's plans to provide more quality housing accommodation in Exeter that are affordable for the occupants to run.  The development was designed by Gale & Snowden Architects and Engineers to Passivhaus principles and were built by CG Fry & Son Contractors.

Image: Jonathon Bosley Photography courtesy of CG Fry & Son

Image: Jonathon Bosley Photography courtesy of CG Fry

The development features:

Super insulation and thermal bridge free design
High performance triple glazed timber windows and doors
Air tight design achieving 0.5 ac/hr
93% efficient MVHR
Thermal mass design providing inter-seasonal internal temperature stability
Designed to meet Lifetime Homes standard, Code 4, Secured by Design, optimum daylight levels throughout
Bevan House is currently being assessed for Passivhaus certification

Purely through passive design elements, the new flats at Bevan House will use approximately 75% less heating energy when compared to a standard UK building (2010 Building Regulation requirements), making it truly affordable for its tenants without compromising on comfort or indoor air quality.

Bevan House will provide exemplary, affordable housing, built to the highest standard of energy efficient construction.  This project shows again that we can successfully target fuel poverty and combat climate change at the same time.

Self-Build & Design Show is nearly here!

We have nearly completed setup of our stand for the Self-Build & Design Show at Westpoint, Exeter this weekend.

Please drop by and see us to talk about your project!

Gale & Snowden at Self-Build & Design Show

The Self-Build & Design Show 2013 takes place this weekend (14-15th September) at Westpoint, Exeter, and Gale & Snowden Architects will be there!

Come and visit us on Stand D172B to say hello, meet the team and discuss how we can help you with your project.

We look forward to seeing you there!

TSB monitoring update of Passivhaus schemes: Knights Place and Rowan House

We have now carried out over a year of monitoring at these flats, downloaded the data and started the analysis.  To recap, as part of this study we have been monitoring the following:

• All energy circuits – lights, small power, hot water, MVHR, kitchen appliances etc
• Temperature, humidity, CO2 levels 

Our findings so far have found that: 

The flats use 4-5 times less space heating energy and 2-3 times less hot water energy compared to standard new build.  This translates to an overall energy saving of over 65%.  

Whilst we have managed to reduce heating and hot water loads via the design the next step in closing the performance gap is to address tenant behaviour and appliance use.   Energy loads here require particular attention and G&S are proposing to work with the tenants to develop low energy strategies and review how they are using their appliances and the type they have.   

Monitored CO2 levels for winter cold days have been found to be within acceptable guidelines for good air quality.   This is good news as it shows that with windows closed in winter and using the MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) system, good air quality can be achieved.  

We have also found that comfortable temperature conditions can be maintained on the coldest of days with the use of a small heater battery in the supply air.

The next step now is to download the summer temperature data for this year’s exceptional summer to determine how well the flats have maintained comfort levels with all that mass they have been designed with.  

The findings are summarised in the following publication:

Gale & Snowden Schools Design and Passivhaus Consultancy Services

Gale & Snowden are building on their school building design experience and Passivhaus work.  The practice has recently been commissioned to provide Passivhaus Design Consultancy for a £6m Primary School in Wales.  A planning application is to be submitted before the end of the year and start on site is scheduled for the beginning of 2014.

Torrington Infant School, Devon.  Gale & Snowden Architects Ltd.

Pioneering Work Towards Low Energy Swimming Pools by Gale & Snowden Architects with Exeter University

Gale & Snowden Architects and Engineers has recently completed design work for the UK’s first Passivhaus Certified public swimming pool and leisure complex for Exeter City Council with funding from the Technology Strategy Board under the Design for Future Climate programme. As part of this work Gale & Snowden is pleased to publish a joint academic building physics paper with Exeter University entitled ‘Modelling Low Energy Swimming Pools adapted to Climate Change’.

The results show that the key energy loads for the building are heating the pool water to maintain temperature and heating fresh water followed by heating the pool hall to maintain a high air temperature. Simulations show that the pool hall will require heating throughout the year even under a 2080s climate change scenario. The energy load for this space heating outweighs the loads for cooling and dehumidification even in future climates. Therefore the overall strategy should be to minimise the pool evaporation and heating load where possible, this can be achieved by:

• Maximising solar gain to the building throughout the year by orientating to the south with optimum glazing ratios.
• Minimising heat loss from the building by including high insulation and high airtightness standards such as those recommended by the Passivhaus standard.
• Maintaining relative humidity levels of around 65% and fresh air rates of 0.5 ac/h for normal use are the optimum in terms of minimising energy loads, using variable speed fans to alter fresh air supply rate to balance humidity and water evaporation with occupancy will result in lower energy use.
• Including shading devices has a detrimental effect on the energy requirements for the buildings, as it will reduce the solar gain that can contribute to the heating load and therefore increase the overall energy loan.
• Significantly increasing the glazing levels will result in a neutral energy effect, as although the heating energy load will be reduced across the climate change scenarios, it will increase the cooling loads by an equal amount in 2050 and a greater amount by 2080. This study is useful if glazing areas are required to increase daylight levels or views out.
• The use of efficient mechanical processes and heat recovery (sensible and latent where possible) will become even more prevalent in future swimming pool buildings in particular at reducing dehumidification loads and heating colder incoming fresh air load.
• Finally, lowering the pool water temperature will decrease evaporation and reduce water-heating requirements. The fresh air supply rate may also be reduced to maintain relative humidity.

We have devised a methodology for the incorporation of swimming pools into thermal modelling software. We have presented proof of concept by modelling an example swimming pool and examining heat loads for different levels of ventilation and humidity. The method accounts for latent and sensible heat losses from the pool water and the required energy to heat water and maintain humidity in the pool hall. This methodology has been used to assess the impact of different design scenarios on the energy loads of the pool building in the current climate and under estimates of climate change over this century.