NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY

Building Design and Performance Critique

Advanced Measurement and Technology BE0898 – Alan Davies

Ellison Building W11003738

10/2/2015

Word Count: 3032

Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 2

Display Energy Certificate ......................................................................................................... 2

Electricity and Heating .............................................................................................................. 2

Building Occupants .................................................................................................................... 4

Case Study: Elizabeth Fry Building ........................................................................................... 5

Case Study: Innovate Green Office ........................................................................................... 8

Renewable Technologies ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 10

Appendix A .............................................................................................................................. 12

References ................................................................................................................................ 13

Introduction

This is a report to identify possible improvements that could be made to Ellison

Building in terms of its usability and environmental performance. Case studies will be looked

at to see where other buildings achieve good levels of environmental performance, and the

technologies and design that they use. The final part of the report will address the issues of the

building’s performance and usability by recommending changes that could be implemented in

the building itself and the engineering systems within it.

Display Energy Certificate

Appendix A is an example of a Display Energy Certificate. CIBSE (2015) states that

Display Energy Certificates (DECs) rate the energy performance of a building against

established benchmark, considering the way occupants use the building. CIBSE (2015)

continues to say that the operational rating ascertained from a DEC illustrates the efficiency of

how energy is being used within a building. As the DEC from Appendix A shows, Ellison

Building is currently has an operational rating of D, with a score of 97, maintaining its rating

from the previous year. By today’s standards, that is fairly typical.

Electricity and Heating

According to the DEC in Appendix A, natural gas is used as the main heating fuel. As

no energy is being produced from renewable sources, it can reasonably be assumed that Ellison

Building’s electricity comes from the National Grid. In comparison to other methods of

heating, this is relatively inefficient.

Energy International (2012) states that Combined Heat and Power uses some form of

heat engine in order to generate both electricity AND useful heat simultaneously. Energy

International (2012) point out that heat is emitted during electricity generation in all thermal

power plants, which is then released into the natural environment. Combined Heat and Power

(CHP) on the other hand captures the by-product of heat, to be used for heating purposes.

(Energy International, 2012). They continue to argue that producing heat from a boiler and

using electricity from the grid in a typical way has an efficiency of around 56% in the UK

overall, as opposed to up to and over 80% efficiency from a combined heat and power scheme.

Figure 1 on the following page helps to clarify this.

Figure 1 – Mathematical explanation of the efficiency of CHP compared to conventional

methods. 65+160+100 = 325, 260/325=80% efficiency from CHP.

40+160+100+165=465, 260/465=55.9% overall efficiency from conventional methods.

(Energy International, 2012).

Energy International (2012) do point out one significant factor that could deter the

adoption of CHP in Ellison. They note that in the UK, the electricity demand tends to

significantly outweigh the demand for heating over the year. The DEC in appendix A confirms

this, as roughly two thirds of the buildings energy is expended through electricity. While

Energy International (2012) do not suggest that CHP isn’t functional in this scenario, they do

argue that out of the 8,760 hours in the year, CHP will only attract an economic return if the

unit is in operation for 6,000 hours, roughly two thirds of the year. From an environmental

point of view this isn’t significant isn’t an ideal situation economically. Fundamentally,

however, this is a method that could be adopted by Ellison building to satisfy both its demand

for electricity and heating in a more environmentally efficient manner.

Building Occupants

CIBSE (2015) highlights the impact that building users can have on the building’s

performance, claiming that switching off lights, photocopiers and PC monitors at night can

have a positive impact on a building’s environmental, and economical performance. Even small

changes in behaviour can have a positive effect for the building. CIBSE (2015) argues that

unplugging chargers when they are not charging can save up to 10% on energy bills, adding

that 1 tonne of carbon dioxide can be saved annually if 20 people commit to plug in their

chargers, only when charging their phones.

In terms of occupants recycling in a building, one tonne of recycled paper is equivalent

to providing heat and hot water to a home for a year, further claiming that this also saves 15

trees, 2.5 barrels of oil, 31000 gallons of water, and 27kg of air pollutants. (CIBSE, 2015).

CIBSE (2015) claims that if occupants set the photocopying feature to double-sided by default,

a massive 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions can be saved each year.

Figure 2 (below) is a photograph of some of the waste recycling facilities already in

Ellison building. This goes towards addressing some of the possibilities suggested by CIBSE.

It is reasonable to argue that if users and occupants are better informed of how to use the

building, by switching off lights etc., then the environmental performance of the building could

improve.

Figure 2 – Ellison building does already have recycling waste bins, but the use by occupants

is often poor, and how much of the waste is actually recycled is not readily available.

Case Study: Elizabeth Fry Building

PROBE (1998) stated that the Elizabeth Fry building was occupied in 1995, by the

University of East Anglia. This case study has particular relevance to Ellison building due to

its use as a university building. Best Programme Practice (1998) point out that when the

building was being designed, there were three key considerations: minimising heating and air

conditioning, ensuring the effective use of daylight, and making sure that the architectural

design of the building is conducive to the surrounding buildings.

PROBE (1998) state that a well-sealed and well-insulated building was produced by

the design team, in order to satisfy the client’s requirement for a low energy building. Bunn

(2012) confirms this by adding that the service engineers had targeted a minimum level of air

leakage, and to optimise thermal insulation.

According to BPP (1998) the thickness of the insulation in the cavity walls was 200mm,

and achieved a U value of 0.2 W/m2K. “The U value is the measurement of heat transmission

through a material or assembly of materials.” (UValue, 2007). Essentially, the lower the U

value, the better the building is performing in terms of reducing the transfer of heat, whether

that is heat from the outside to the inside, or the loss of heat from the inside to outside.

PROBE (1998) points out additional information about the levels of insulation, adding

that the roof has 300mm of insulation, with 100mm of insulation applied to the exposed soffits

in the rooms over the upper ground floor. The U value for the roof was as low as 0.13W/m2K.

The Elizabeth Fry building has a narrow plan in order to achieve high levels of natural

light within the building (BPP, 1998). BPP (1998) points out that the windows on the building

are triple glazing, and have a sunblind. This helps with unwanted solar gain. The windows on

the building can also be opened by the building’s occupants, allowing a degree of control from

the user in order to maintain comfort. (BPP, 1998). In Ellison building, occupants can already

open windows if they wish, to let in fresh air and maintain comfort during hot periods. This

doesn’t appear to be too much of an issue when the weather is warmer. However, compared to

the Elizabeth Fry building’s triple glazing; Ellison lags far behind, as figure 3 on the following

page shows.

Figure 3 – Ellison building’s single glazed windows. Note how this window has been

opened by an occupant to maintain comfort. It is also worth noting the lack lustre insulation

surrounding the window. This is an obvious source of heat loss.

An interesting feature from in the Elizabeth Fry building’s design is the inclusion of

photosensitive louvres that assist in controlling solar gain. The louvres allow maximum levels

of solar gain during the winter months, but reduce the level of solar gain during the summer to

prevent overheating (BPP, 1998). This is a good example of how simply designing the building

correctly initially can contribute towards its ability to control the building’s climate, an idea

supported by Bordass and Leamen (2012) who suggest the design is a “keep-it-simple-and-do-

it-well” design.

In contrast to the photosensitive louvres on the Elizabeth Fry building, Ellison building

has no such system. The outer façade of the building is straight vertical, so seasonal control of

the solar gain cannot be achieved in this sense. However, the rooms are fitted with blinds to

restrict this. This is particularly useful in the respect that the lecture and seminar rooms utilise

projectors, and if there is too much sunlight in the room, the image “fades”. Figure 4 (below)

is an example of the blinds in Ellison building.

Figure 4 – Typical seminar room blinds that allow building occupants to control the level of

sunlight in the room.

As mentioned earlier, the Elizabeth Fry building aims to make the most of natural light,

by having a narrow plan. PROBE (1998) point out that while the Elizabeth Fry building does

try to maximise using natural light, some areas of the building are dependent on artificial light,

such as corridors. Regrettably, Ellison building has the same problem, as can be seen below in

figure 5.

Figure 5 – Ground floor corridor in Ellison building. Note, that through the double doors in

the centre of the image it is daytime, but the lights remain on.

It can be seen in figure 5 that where the walls meet the ceiling, there is fenestration. It

is reasonable to assume that this is an effort to maximise the use of natural light coming from

the seminar rooms along the building, but the ever present need for lighting during the day

raises the question of its effectiveness. This could be due to a lack of lighting controls,

suggesting that photocell controls could switch the lights on and off as necessary depending on

the availability of natural light (PROBE, 1998). This would obviously contribute towards the

environmental performance of Ellison building, and if the photocells were calibrated and set

up correctly, shouldn’t have an impact on the building’s usability.

Case Study: Innovate Green Office

British Construction Industry Awards (BCIA) (2007) discuss the Innovate Green Office

in Leeds, saying the design considers; orientation, thermal efficiency, natural ventilation, and

use of natural light. BCIA (2007) point out that the building in orientated North/South in order

to reduce solar gain, significantly reducing the requirement for cooling. The Eastern and

Western sides of the building are largely glazing (BCIA, 2007). Due to the orientation of the

building, and the level of glazing, a daylight factor of 4.5% is achieved, resulting in electric

lighting only being required 20% of the working year.

The building is heavily insulated, with 250mm thick render to the external walls,

250mm thick to the roof, and 150mm to the floor (BCIA, 2007). The building utilises the idea

of thermal mass, enabling it to be a large heat store during the winter, and in the summer, a

cool store. Reardon, McGee and Milne (2013) describes thermal mass as behaving like a

thermal battery adding that during summer it absorbs heat during the day, releasing it at night

to clear night skies. During the winter, the same thermal mass stores heat from the Sun or

heaters helping the building stay warm by releasing the heat at night, maintaining comfort

(Reardon, McGee and Milne, 2013). They add that thermal mass is not a substitute for

insulation, but suggest that when there is a big difference in temperature between day and night

outdoor temperatures thermal mass is particularly advantageous.

Reardon, McGee and Milne (2013) points out that sound passive design techniques

need to be incorporated with thermal mass to be effective. Passive methods listed by Reardon,

Mcgee and Milne (2013) include; appropriate areas of glazing orientated correctly, appropriate

levels of shading, ventilation and sufficient insulation. Innovate Green Office in Leeds tries to

achieve this, by insulating heavily, orientating the building in the North/South direction, and

using a technology called Termodeck that distributes and tempers the air supply to the floor

plates. (BCIA, 2007).

Innovate Green Office has the temperature of its supply air regulated by Termodeck,

where it either gives up excess heat to the thermal mass, or absorbs additional heat from it

(BCIA, 2007). This system, according to BCIA (2007), recovers casual heat gains in the

building and stores them for later use.

The building is cooled by comparable principles. BCIA (2007) states that the ventilation

runs overnight to draw out any excess heat within the thermal mass, using cool outdoor air. In

daytime operation the warm ambient air is cooled by the Termodeck maintaining the correct

supply temperature (BCIA, 2007). Additional cooling is provided by the absorption chiller

matched to the 30kW CHP that runs overnight during peak summer conditions on a predictive

control algorithm in order to store addition cooling within the thermal mass that can be utilised

during the day (BCIA, 2007).

Photovoltaics

There are a variety of renewable technologies that could be applied to Ellison building

in order to improve its environmental performance. Renewables as a whole is an enormous

subject, and discussing every avenue of renewable technology is beyond the scope of this

report. Photovoltaics are one possibility of renewables that Ellison building could incorporate.

Caddet (1998) refer to a project on Northumberland building, also on the Northumbria

University Campus. Caddet (1998) point out how the photovoltaic panels have been

incorporated into the new over cladding of the building, claiming that the electricity that is

produced contributes to meeting both its electrical and heating requirements. Caddet (1998)

add that any surplus electricity that is generated can supply other buildings on the campus with

electricity via the university’s internal distribution system.

The south facing rain-screen cladding is angled at 25° to the vertical to augment its

winter performance and provide some shading to the windows below during the summer

(Caddet, 1998). This would contribute towards alleviating Ellison building’s current problem

of having no shading system at all. Caddet (1998) believe that the photovoltaic cladding

improves the aesthetics of the building as it introduces a surface feature, which could be argued

to marginally increase the building’s usability, at least in terms of occupant satisfaction. Caddet

(1998) adds that the total system capacity is roughly 40kWp. Figure 6 (below) is a graph

showing the outputs for the first two years of its operation.

Figure 6 – The output of electricity of Northumberland building’s photovoltaic cladding in

the first two years (Caddet, 1998).

Caddet (1998) points out the reliability of the photovoltaic cladding by saying that in

the first two years of its operation on Northumberland building, there was less than 36 hours

of downtime, adding that this is the expected performance producing 39,000 kWh in the same

period. As far as economic performance is concerned, the cost per kWh on this project was

between £0.40-1.00 depending on the discount rate, and the system lifetimes that are chosen

(Caddet, 1998). This figure is based on technology that is approaching 20 years old. Bazilian

et al. (2012) the levelised cost for photovoltaic energy ranges from $0.11/kWh to $0.25/kWh,

or between $0.16/kWh to $0.31/kWh for commercial systems. Assuming a crude exchange rate

of 1.5 dollars to pounds from 2012 (XE, 2015) the levelised cost of photovoltaics is between

£0.07/kWh to £0.20/kWh. Therefore, utilising photovoltaics on Ellison building would be a

viable method improving its environmental performance, as well as its usability as solar gain

control would better improving comfort for the occupant of the building.

Conclusion

There are a variety of options available in order to improve the environmental

performance and usability of Ellison building. In terms of usability Ellison building seems

relatively fit for purpose. The seminar rooms and lecture theatres are sufficiently equipped, and

the corridors are wide enough to allow people to adequately move through the building. In a

few of the rooms there is a slight issue with comfort, namely glare or excessive heat.

Environmentally Ellison building could function much better. An immediate issue is

the poor standard of glazing right across the building. It is single glazing, with poor insulation

around the frames. Lessons could be learned from the Elizabeth Fry building in this respect,

which as mentioned previously, boasts triple glazed windows.

Another simple step to improve the performance of Ellison building would be to inform

the building’s occupants how small changes in their behaviour can have a positive effect, such

as reminding people to turn lights and computers off when they are not needed or being used,

and displaying what the benefits of the changes could be.

A more drastic measure could be to refurbish or replace the cladding on the building.

Following the success of Northumberland building that was discussed earlier, using

photovoltaics to provide both energy, and a degree of control over solar gain could be one

aspect of it. Similar to the example Innovate Green Office, improved insulation could be

applied to the external walls to prevent heat loss.

The thermal mass of Ellison building could also be increased. As discussed earlier,

there are a variety of benefits to utilising thermal mass, reducing the energy consumption of

the building, and improving the level of comfort. A Termodeck system could then be

implemented in order to supply air throughout the building, as well as maintaining the correct

temperature.

A possibility for Ellison building could be to start from scratch. Replacing the building

will have naturally cost and time implications, but it would allow the design of the building to

be carried out thoroughly, incorporating many of the recommendations of this report. A CHP

system could be used, alongside and absorption chiller, which would help with a Termodeck

system as seen on Innovate Green Office. The thermal mass of the building could be increased,

alongside correct orientation, appropriate fenestration and sufficient insulation, less energy

would be require for heating, cooling, and lighting, which was again seen in Innovate Green

Office. Improved air-tightness, as was seen in the Elizabeth Fry building could also be

considered.

If a replacement of the building was to be considered appropriate, CIBSE (2015) argue

an excellent point that eliminating all waste may not possible, but reducing the amount of waste

there is in the first place reduces cost, and saves raw materials. Essentially, if the building is

designed and built appropriately, and correctly to begin with less resources can be used during

the operating life of the building.

Appendix A

References

Bazilian, M., Onyeji, I., Liebreich, M., MacGill, I., Chase, J., Shah, J., Gielen, D., Arent, D.,

Landfear, D. and Zhengrong, S.(2012) Re-considering the Economics of Photovoltaic Power

Available at: http://az2112.com/assets/energy-

bnef_re_considering_the_economics_of_photovoltaic_power_a_co_authored_white.pdf

(Accessed: 31 January 2015).

Best Practice Programme (1998) The Elizabeth Fr Building, University of East Anglia –

feedback for designers and clients [online] Available at:

www.termodeck.com/Filer/pdf/BRE_EFRY_REPORT.pdf (Accessed: 1 February 2015).

Bordass, B and Leamen, A. (2012) Elizabeth Fry Building Available at:

https://cibseknowledgeportal.co.uk/elizabethfry (Accessed 30 January 2015).

British Construction Industry Awards (2007) Innovate Green Office Available at:

http://www.britishprecast.org/documents/ThorpeParkLeeds.pdf (Accessed: 1 February 2015).

Building Services Journal (1998) PROBE 14: Elizabeth Fry Building [online] Available at:

http://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/Probe/FRY/FRYAPR98.PDF (Accessed: 30 January

2015).

Bunn, T. (2012) Elizabeth Fry Available at: https://www.bsira.co.uk/news/article/elizabeth-

fry// (Accessed: 30 January 2015).

Caddet (1998) Building-integrated Photovoltaic System in the UK Available at:

http://www.caddet-re.org/assets/no67.pdf (Accessed: 31 January 2015).

CIBSE Energy Centre (2015) About Display Energy Certificates (DECs) Available at:

http://www.cibseenergycentre.co.uk/energy-certificates/display-energy-certificates-decs.html

(Accessed: 30 January 2015).

CIBSE Energy Centre (2015) Carbon Saving Tips Available at:

http://www.cibseenergycentre.co.uk/energy-certificates/carbon-saving-tips.html (Accessed:

31 January 2015).

Energy International (2012) Some Useful Notes on Combined Heat and Power Available at:

http://www.energyinternational.co.uk/CHP_Notes.htm (Accessed: 30 January 2015).

Reardon, C., McGee, C., and Milne, G., (2013) Passive Design Thermal Mass Available at:

http://www.yourhome.gov.au/sites/prod.yourhome.gov.au/files/pdf/YOURHOME-2-

PassiveDesign-9-ThermalMass-%284Dec13%29.pdf (Accessed: 1 February 2015).

U Value (2007) U Value Available at: http://www.uvalue.co.uk/ (Accessed: 30 January

2007).

XE (2015) XE Currency Charts (GBP/USD) Available at:

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=GBP&to=USD&view=5Y (Accessed: 31 January

2015).