NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY

Advanced Measurement and Technology

Building design and performance critique

Alan Davies: BE: 0898 Option 1A – Ellison Building

W11006322 2/10/2015

Word Count: 3194

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Contents 1.1 Ellison Building .................................................................................................................................. 2

2.0 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................ 4

2.1 Heating ...................................................................................................................................... 4

2.2 Building Management System .................................................................................................. 5

2.3 Thermal Mass of the Building ................................................................................................... 5

2.4 Insulated Glazing ....................................................................................................................... 6

2.5 Air tight ..................................................................................................................................... 7

2.5 Reducing the Temperature of the Building ............................................................................... 7

2.6 Hybrid Ventilation System ........................................................................................................ 7

2.7 Photovoltaic Panels ................................................................................................................... 8

2.8 Blinds ......................................................................................................................................... 9

3.0 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 10

References ........................................................................................................................................ 12

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1.1 Ellison Building The aim of this report is to make recommendations for the potential refurbishments of Ellison

Buildings engineering services. The refurbishment will improve the buildings usability and

environmental performance.

Improving the usability is improving the buildings all round performance (Useablebuildings, 2006).

Improvements are needed to advance the reputation of the University. It wants to be seen as a

University that is making positive changes to improving the life of a student. Part of this is ensuring

students can study in buildings that are up to date and provide the best possible working conditions.

It is also important to be seen making amendments to the building to make the as sustainable as

possible.

Obligations are put onto the building occupiers, by the public authority to display the buildings

energy usage due to it exceeding 500m2 and being frequently visited by the public. The information

is displayed in the form of a certificate as shown below.

Due to this requirement the university should be doing all it can to prove to students and visitors, it

is doing all it can make the building as efficient as possible and use this document as evidence of

that.

W11006322 - 02/02/15

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Ellison Building is split up into different blocks; these can be seen in the image below. Each block has

been given a different letter as a name, A, B, C, D, and E. The blocks have slightly different designs to

enable different methods of teaching takes place. The majority of the building is made up of large

lecture theatres which can allow up to 100 people in them. But there are also smaller class rooms

designed for a maximum occupancy of around 30 people. Block C, on the other hand is designed for

practical lab work, which includes working with heavy machinery.

There are computer labs located in different areas of each of the blocks. Each of these different

areas requires different services to create a usable working space. Some areas will require a greater

level of cooling than others and some require more heating.

Taking in all of the different requirements of the building, this report will recommend potential

modifications to the building engineering services which will improve the usability and reduce the

buildings environmental impact.

Google maps

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2.0 Recommendations

2.1 Heating

Ellison Building predominately uses radiators to heat the building. The water used to heat the

radiators is heated in the boiler room which is located beneath A Block. The boiler room consists of a

mixture of different types of boilers. The majority of the boilers are Condensing boilers. These

boilers use heat from exhaust gases that would normally be released into the atmosphere through a

flue. This process makes a condensing boiler a more efficient boiler as it able to extract more heat

from the fuel it uses, which in this case is natural gas. (Worcester Bosch Group, 2015) .The Process

can be seen in the image below.

Boilers UK (2014)

Before the radiators were installed, radiant heaters were used as a hat source. These have gradually

been taken away to make way for the more efficient radiators. There are some areas of the building

that still uses these radiant heaters. These should be removed and have radiators installed. This will

allow for full use of the condensing boilers.

Along with additional technologies added to the building the current boiler room will be able to

provide enough energy to heat all of the blocks within Ellison. Whilst maintaining a high level of

sustainability.

Once the building is heated to the buildings optimal temperature it is important that there are

systems in place that will help maintain this temperature. This will reduce the energy need to

maintain the temperature. The recommended changes are discussed below.

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2.2 Building Management System

A Building Management System is a computer system that can calculate pre-set requirements of the

building and manages and controls the building services (Health Facility Scotland, 2012). This means

that an optimal temperature can be inputted into the system. It will then connect with the services

to ensure they are working at a level that achieve the required temperature. Depending on the

service systems in place the BMS could reduce the temperature of the building if it is too high. The

BMS can lower the amount of CO2 emission by ensure the services are working as one to achieve

the required output.

2.3 Thermal Mass of the Building

The Thermal mass of a material is a term used to describe its ability to store heat (MPA the concrete

Centre 2012). The higher the level of thermal mass the more heat it is able to store. Materials with a

higher density such as concrete and masonry are the best examples of materials are to store large

amounts of heat. These are useful materials to have in a building design because the heat stored in

the material is released once it has been exposed to the cooler air, therefore heating a cooling

building. The best forms of materials are ones that release the heat gradually (MPA the concrete

Centre, 2012).This will help maintain a controlled temperate inside the building. Materials that have

a low level of thermal mass, such as timber and steel, are only able to store a small amount of heat

and then release the heat to fast. This means the temperature is harder to control and requires

more mechanical input, which uses up more energy making the building less efficient.

In the warm summer months the external walls of the building will absorb heat and release it again

in the evening, once there is a change in temperate. This is a natural response of the materials that

will help reduce the building from overheating and therefore require less input from mechanical

cooling.

Materials used can also help keep the building warm in the cooler winter months by capturing waste

heat from inside the building then releasing it back into the building at night to help reduce the need

for additional heating.

Ellison Building would benefit from an increase in thermal mass. It would help reduce the heating

and cooling requirements of the building whilst keeping the building at a comfortable working

temperature. This would increase the usability of the building and reduce the CO2 emissions by

reducing the energy consumption.

A way to increase the buildings thermal mass would be to introduce additional insulation to the

exterior side of the façade (Haglund, 2012). If the insulation is placed on the interior it is thermally

isolated from internal gains and solar gains. Its mass is virtually useless in effecting indoor

temperatures which the building will not benefit from. By placing the insulation on outside of the

building will means that the entire concrete will contribute to the thermal mass. This will help to

maintain comfortable internal conditions passively. An example of this can be seen in image below

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Render Right

As E block has recently had a new cladding put in place, it will not be appropriate to install additional

insulation on that part of the building. To get the maximum effect from additional thermal mass, it

needs to be place on the south facing walls to gain maximum solar glair throughout the day.

Additional thermal insulation can be added to the different blocks in stages and as it is to the

exterior part of the building there will be little disruption to the building day to day operations of

providing a place for teaching. The refurbishment can take place at different stages to ensure the

refurbishment has little effect on the university timetable.

2.4 Insulated Glazing

Insulated glazing, more commonly known as double or triple glazing window panes, is an assembly

of at least two panes of glass, separated by one or more space Glass and Glazing (2009). The aim of

installing them is to reduce heat transfer through the building envelope. The lower the U-value of

the glazing makes for a more efficient window in terms of reducing the heat lost, (Design Wiki 2014).

By replacing all of the single glazed windows with either double or tripled glazing the building will be

able to retain heat more efficiently.

All of the blocks included in the Ellison building have large areas of glazing that would be needed to

change to reduce the heat loss. As seen in the image below.

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As this is on such a large scale it will have to be done in stages during terms breaks. This way part of

the building won’t have to be closed and therefore causing disruption to lessons.

2.5 Air tight

Appling additional insulation to the exterior walls of the building will help keep the building

completely air tight. It will reduce the account of warm air leaking out of the building and stop cold

air leaking in. Keeping the building air tight will also reduce the cold air bridging within the building

which can cause condensation build up and result in rotting. Achieving a certain level of air tightness

is a mandatory requirement set out in the 2006 Approved Documents L 2006 editions, (Boanson

2007). To check for any areas of weakness in the façade an air leakage test can be carried out. This

can be done in the evening when there are very minimal occupants that will be removed from the

buildings. This will not affect the normal day activities within the building.

2.5 Reducing the Temperature of the Building

It is important to ensure there are sufficient cooling systems in place throughout the building. By

increasing the thermal mass and air tightness the temperature may rise to an uncomfortable level.

Currently A Block has air conditioning to the upper floors which is supplied by Air Handling Units

(AHUs) on the roof. These temper the outside air, and then transport it through ducts to the

required locations. But the rest of the building relies on natural veneration for cooling. With extra

computer labs added to the building, additional cooling methods are required. The original building

design would not have been included for heat produced from the extra computers. Therefore

additional air-conditioning units will have to be installed to meet the demands. As well as make

better utilisation on natural ventilation.

2.6 Hybrid Ventilation System

Designing out the demand for cooling can help reduce the amount of equipment that needs to be

installed. (Cheshire, D 2015) this can be achieved by reducing internal heat gains from lighting and

equipment by replacing old outdates technologies with new more efficient appliances.

A Hybrid Ventilation System provides a comfortable interior environment using both natural

ventilation, opening of windows and mechanical systems in an integrated fashion (Window Master

Natural ventilation 2014). Its main objective is to provide comfortable temperatures whilst

minimizing energy and costs. The two systems work together to adjust to the characteristics of the

day to gain the maximum advantages of the conditions.

Build (2014)

The image above shows how the two systems work together. The open windows allow for the

natural ventilation and the air conditioning unit adds additional cooling if required.

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Due to the large amounts of windows in the façade of Ellison Block A it could be possible to meet the

cooling demand by using natural ventilation. The windows could be opened either manually or

automatically depending on pre-set conditions installed in the BMS. This will reduce the cooling load

of the AHUs and reduce the amount of energy required making the system more sustainable whist

improving the buildings usability. To ensure the natural ventilation is working effectively a survey

will have to be carried out to ensure the fresh is able to move throughout the building.

Occupier’s engagement is key to the success of getting the benefits from natural ventilation. The

building management system can be used to indicate when it is suitable to open or close the

windows. But to ensure the windows are used to make best use of the natural ventilation,

mechanical windows would be a better option. This takes away the need for human input and will

mean the windows are less likely to become damaged.

The use of natural ventilation will reduce the use of the AHUs. This means they can be used on areas

that require more cooling compared to the rest of the building. Integrating the air-conditioning with

the BMS will help achieve a more precise room temperature which is important for the science

laboratories. Opening windows will reduce the energy consumption which will also improve the

environmental impact of the building.

2.7 Photovoltaic Panels

A photovoltaic panel’s offer electrical energy through a system designed to supply usable solar

power. It works by directly converting sunlight into electricity (Photovoltaic Systems, 2015). The

materials used in these systems absorb photons of light then release electrons. When the free

electrons are captured an electric current is created that can then be used as electricity. This is

known as the photovoltaic effect. (Green, D 2011)

PV Panels offer many advantages. Installing PV panels will reduce the amount of electricity sourced

from the national grid and as a result become a more sustainable building. Furthermore PV panels

have a peak production of energy when there is a high demand for energy, specifically during the

summer when air conditioning is required. The energy produced will be able to supplement the

current electrical input to help meet the demands of the air conditioning.

To get the most out of the panels they should be south facing and tilted at an angle equal to the

latitude of the Ellison Building location. A potential location for the panels to be located would be

on the south facade of B Block. This area of the building receives most of the sunlight throughout the

day compared to other areas of the building. Also as there are no mechanical parts to the panels

they will disturb any of the lectures or anyone working in that part of the building. This also means

they need little maintenance which will reduce the whole life cost of the panels and not cause

regular disruption.

The solar panels can minimize solar heat gains by shading the glazing. This will stop unwanted rises

in temperature without completely blocking out all of the natural sun light. It will also follow the

design that has been incorporated into the Northumberland building.

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Image taken by W11006322 – 09/02/15

This is an image of the south facing facade of Block A. As mention previously there is large areas of

space that could benefit from the installation of photovoltaic panels.

2.8 Blinds

Blinds are used to help prevent solar glare increasing the temperature of rooms as well as to reduce

the amount of light let into the room. The blinds used in the building are very basic and are often

seen a nuisance to open and close. As a result, they often remain closed which blocks out any

natural sunlight and prevents natural heating. Investing in mechanical blinds that are easy to operate

will mean the blinds will be used properly. This will increase the amount of natural sunlight which

will reduce the need of luminaires. As a result there will be less of an energy requirement making a

more sustainable building. Studies have shown that people generally act better to natural light

which will mean a more relaxed student (Naik, A 2011). This will naturally improve the usability of

the building as more people will feel comfortable in the building.

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3.0 Conclusion The aim of this report was to recommend improvements to Ellison building services. This is to

increase the buildings usability and improve it environmental performance.

Installing a building management system will ensure the services are operating to a predetermined

level. It will also adjust the services output to ensure they are working efficiently to improve the

environmental impact the building is having.

The building already uses a very efficient boiler system, condensing boiler, to heat the building. But

to ensure all the areas of the building make use of this system it is important to ensure all areas are

heated by radiators and not the old radiant heaters as these are inefficient and no longer effective

for meeting the building requirements.

Increasing the thermal mass of the building will help building to maintain the optimal temperature.

The high thermal mass materials will be able to store heat then release that heat gradually into the

cooler areas. This will also improve the environmental performance of the building as less energy

will be required to maintain the optimal temperature. Using a material with a high thermal mass will

mean the heat is released over time making for a more comfortable temperature within the

building.

To increase the thermal mass of the building will require additional insulation added to the exterior

face of the building. This will also help the building to be kept air tight. This is key at reducing the

amount of hot air lost through gaps in façade. Any hot air lost will result in a lowering of the internal

temperature and will require additional heating. But with improvements to the exterior façade it will

reduce the chance of it happening.

Replacing the single glazing to triple glass glazing will reduce the U – value of the windows and

therefore reduce the amount of heat lost. This will mean the radiators will not have to be kept on to

maintain the buildings temperature. An additional bounce of this is increasing the environmental

performance whilst raising the buildings usability.

Air conditioning units are in place to reduce the temperature of the building. But these only supply

the upper levels of A Block. They will not be able to meet the demands of cooling all of the additional

computer labs. Therefore additional air conditioning units have been recommended for each of the

labs. These will help to improve the room’s usability.

Solar panels will be used to help meet the energy supply of the additional air conditioning units.

They can be placed on the south façade of the A block as that will ensure they are exposed to

maximum sun light throughout the day. The panels will produce clean energy that will improve the

buildings environmental performance. They will also provide solar shading that will stop additional

rises in temperature.

Natural ventilation will cool the building and will reduce the amount of energy required to supply

the air conditioning units. It is vital that the occupiers are aware of when the windows should be

opened and when they should be closed to stop any heat being lost.

Finally by improving the quality of the blinds they will be used properly so that when there is too

much sunlight coming through the windows they can be closed to help stop the rise in room

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temperature. But it will also mean they can be easily opened on a cool day to allow natural light into

the building.

The problems faced with refurbishing the Ellison Building is that it is in constant use for teaching.

Therefore any changes made will have to be done gradually allowing the university to still use the

building for teaching without cause to much disruption.

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References

Build (2014) Mixed Mode/ Hybrid ventilation Available at: http://www.build.com.au/mixed-mode-

hybrid-ventilation (Assessed on: 09/02/15)

Boanson, J (2007) NBS, Regulation & Standards, Insulation versus air tightness; Available at:

http://www.thenbs.com/topics/Regulations/articles/airtighness.asp; (Assessed on: 09/02/15)

Boilers UK (2014) Category Archives: Condensing Boiler: Image Available at: http://boiler-uk.info/gas-

boiler/condensing-boiler/ (Assessed on: 10/02/15)

Chesire, D (2015) Resource efficiency of building services Chartered Institution of Building Services

Engineers

Design Buildings Wiki (2014); U-Values, Available at; http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/U-

values; (Assessed on: 09/02/15)

The Glass and Glazing Federation (2009); Systems design and glazing considerations for insulating

glass units

Google maps (2015) (Assessed On: 09/02/15)

Green, D (2011); Renewable Green Energy Power; Solar energy pros and cons: Photovoltaic PV

systems; Available at; http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/solar-energy-pros-and-cons-

pv-systems/#.UFtfyVEfo_d; (Assessed on: 02/09/15 )

Hagland, B (2012) Vital Signs Curriculum Materials Project, Thermal mass in passive solar and Energy-conserving buildings

MPA The Concrete Centre, (2012) Thermal mass explained. Thermal mass: What it is and how it’s

used; Available at: http://www.concretecentre.com/ (Assesses on: 09/02/15)

National Services Scotland (2012) Specialist services: Building management systems. Part A -

overview and management responsibilities. Health Facilities Scotland version 1, (Assessed on:

09/02/15)

Naik, A (2011); Net Doctor, How light affects your health: Available at:

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/wellbeing/how-light-affects-your-health.htm; (Assessed

on: 02/02/15)

Photovoltaic System (2014); Photovoltaic Systems: Available at:

http://photovoltaics.sustainablesources.com/; (Assessed on: 09/02/15 )

Render Right (2014); External Wall Insulation; Available at: http://www.renderright.co.uk/services/external-wall-insulation/ ; (Assessed on: 09/02/15)

The Usable buildings Trust (2006) Feedback and strategy for better buildings; Available at:

http://www.usablebuildings.co.uk/Pages/Unprotected/UBTWhatDoWeDo.pdf; Assessed on: 09/2/15

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Window Master Natural ventilation (2014); Hybrid ventilation; Available at:

http://www.windowmaster.com/Solutions/Hybrid-ventilation.aspx; (Assessed on: 09/02/15)

Worcester Bosch Group (2014), What is a condensing boiler; Available at: http://www.worcester-

bosch.co.uk/homeowner/boilers/what-is-a-condensing-boiler (Assessed on: 09/02/15 )