WEBINARS

The missing link: Why HVAC controls in a building are critical to efficiency, how, if understood correctly, they can reduce the operational energy consumption of existing buildings by 20-40% and why they (and HVAC modelling) are the key to narrowing the performance gap.

With growing concerns over the progressive impacts of climate change, access to appropriate, high quality weather data is an increasingly important consideration for building performance modellers.In this webinar we are joined by Nishesh Jain and Sukumar Natarajan who will be presenting on the topics “Right weather for the right modelling application: What, How and Where?” and “Localising weather and long-term resilience” respectively.

Building performance simulation (BPS) tools employ a large number of mathematical models to simulate a building’s performance under a given set of weather and operating conditions.  Many aspects of performance can be appraised, including energy consumption, ventilation effectiveness, thermal comfort, lighting quality, etc.  The objective is to represent the significant physical processes so that the simulation provides an accurate—or at least a useful—representation of reality.

For David, one big question is, given that Passivhaus and other low energy possibilities exist, why do new buildings tend to use just as much energy as old ones? Although many seem able to list possibilities, this is very different to evidence. Particularly when we try to put numbers to the fraction each possibly plays, from poor contracts, lack of ambition to poor engineering. One of the lessons from the Passivhaus movement is that for a low energy design, one needs to start in the right place on day one. This indicates that the architect and the client need to rapidly agree on an evidence-based form, fabric and philosophy that will several years later lead to a near energy neutral building. 

Recent wider acceptance of far-field being a significant, if not primary in some circumstances, transmission route for SARS-CoV-2 has thrown a late focus on how the ventilation design and operation of our buildings might support a reduction in infection rates. We have speakers from academia and industry discussing some of the simulation and analysis tools and methods used to understand airborne infection in the built environment and some of the latest research programmes that have been designed to further improve our understanding and applications.

This webinar will explore building performance simulation methods, tools and datasets that could be employed to assess the impact of climate change on building performance, with a focus on indoor environmental conditions and energy use, and the optimisation of climate change adaptation solutions.

This part 2 of the joint event by IBPSA-England and CIBSE Building Simulation Group will present some of the latest knowledge and developments in this area with speakers from academia and industry discussing some of the simulation and analysis tools and methods used to understand airborne infection in the built environment and some of the latest research programmes that have been designed to further improve our understanding and applications.

Digital Twin technology is an emerging concept that has become the centre of attention for industry and, in more recent years, academia. The Digital Twin is defined extensively but is best described as the effortless integration of data between a physical and virtual machine in either direction. It can tackle the challenge of seamless integration between IoT and data analytics through the creation of a connected physical and virtual twin. This webinar will present some of the latest knowledge and developments in this area with speakers from academia and industry discussing the role of Digital Twinning in the built environment.

Heat pumps have an important role in decarbonising in both domestic and non-domestic contexts. This joint IBPSA-England, CIBSE Building Simulation Group and CIBSE HVAC Group webinar focus on Heat Pumps in Non-Domestic Context. Program:

1. Uncertainty-based optimal energy retrofit for building heat electrification with enhanced energy flexibility and climate adaptability by Dr Chaoqun Zhuang, The Alan Turing Institute

2. Application of heat pumps in commercial application by Phil Draper, Twenty-One Engineering

3. Optimising performance in the design of heat pumps systems by Richard Brimfield, Ridge & Partners

his webinar will explore the application of building performance simulation in improving indoor environmental conditions in care homes.

Program:
Presentation 1: Building Performance Analysis for the Attenuation of Dementia-Related Incidents of Aggression by Dr Neveen Hamza

Presentation 2: Monitoring and Modelling the Risk of Summertime Overheating in UK Care Homes by Prof Rajat Gupta and Dr Anna Mavrogianni