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Dr Tim Sharpe
Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit
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Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit
Based at the Mackintosh School of Architecture
Over 14 year track record of high quality research into environmental architecture.
Operates at a unique interface between architectural design, science based research and
human factors.
User-centred, low energy, eco-sensitive architecture
Large number of projects that have undertaken monitoring
16 Projects in progress
1m research contracts completed or in progress
9 currently in development or proposal stages
Trebling research capacity over last 3 years
MEARU
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Mastic pointing on
foam backer topanel gap
Panel gap
joint to lintol
panel/wall panel
line of in-situ slab
warmairrises andventsthroughrooflight
externalairdrawninthrough
lowerlevels
windpassingoverrooflightsassistsventilation
temperature
sensorswitches fanoff
SUMMER
, , ,
. .
. .
First generation wireless (+manual) TRV system
The Danfoss RA Plus-w
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Context
A typical new-home built in Britain this year will
be 55% smaller than one built 80 years ago.
There are now 20 per cent more rooms than a
quarter of a century ago
Fewer large rooms and more small ones.
Minimum standards for ceiling heights have
reduced by 21%
Windows have reduced from 1/10th of the TFA
to 1/15th, which in combination with reduced
floor area, is a 70% drop
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Problems
Improvements in thermal standards have improved the performance of houses
But not by enough
Unintended negative consequences
Post Occupancy Evaluation reveals:
Homes often consume energy at up to 2-3 times predicted rates
Measured environmental performance in housing has been consistently poor: high temperatures
poor air quality - high relative humidity, high CO2 levels
reduced daylight and sunlight
Existing and increasing evidence that this is leading to problems of asthma, dust mites,
fungal spores and mould, reduced well-being
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Developing Methodology Comparative performance using monitored
occupancy scenarios.
Occupancy overnight and out during the day
2 periods of heating:
Reasonable hot water use
Occupancy within specified limits Pairing of activities between houses
Monitoring
Temperature, Humidity and Air Quality (CO2) sensors all occupied
rooms
Temperature and Humidity in halls and bathrooms
Electrical consumption, inlet and outlet temperature and humidity
for the MVHR
Gas and Electricity Consumption
Spot readings wall surface temperatures
Thermography
External Weather
Recording of activities - cooking, window opening, washing
Detailed diaries
Interview and Survey
Observations
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House ALiving RoomAverage 18.7
Peak 24.3Minimum 13.3
House BLiving RoomAverage 20.4
Peak 24.9Minimum 14.1
Finding the stories
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Heating and Ventilation
Week 1, 2 periods of heating a day, thermostat set to 210C, TRVs set to 4 Resulted in it being uncomfortably hot - one house responded by opening windows
In House A this was to the sun-space
Week 2 TRVs set to 2, more manageable temperatures, less window opening Comparisons of a single day from week 1 and week 2 - classic window opening noted. Not seen under the same
conditions in week 2 when there was a greater degree of thermal stability and improved comfort levels.
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Heating and Ventilation
Week 1, 2 periods of heating a day, thermostat set to 210C, TRVs set to 4 Resulted in it being uncomfortably hot - one house responded by opening windows
In House A this was to the sun-space
Week 2 TRVs set to 2, more manageable temperatures, less window opening Comparisons of a single day from week 1 and week 2 - classic window opening noted. Not seen under the same
conditions in week 2 when there was a greater degree of thermal stability and improved comfort levels.
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So, its occupant behaviour...
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Air Quality
Overall poorer than expected air quality - High levels of CO2 concentration. Expected that MVHR would provide good air quality
Efficiencies of the MVHR systems are 96.7% and 79.1%.
Good in relation to heat recovered from extracted air.
Low measured flow rates for the system - worst case the scenario 6.36 l/s
Equal to 0.91 l/s per person (recommended minimum of 8 l/s per person)
Accessibility of MVHR for maintenance
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Air Quality and occupant response
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CO2Concentra7on
Tempe
rature,
Rela7veHumidity&
VapourPressure
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Flat"9I6,"Living"Room"Condions"I"17.03.11"to"12.04.11"
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Air Quality and occupant response
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Occupant Control
Thermal images with control setting at lowest, then and hour later at highest
Unintuitive controls
All windows in the flat open
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Occupant Control
Thermal images with control setting at lowest, then and hour later at highest
Unintuitive controls
All windows in the flat open
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Occupant Control
Thermal images with control setting at lowest, then and hour later at highest
Unintuitive controls
All windows in the flat open
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Occupant Control
Thermal images with control setting at lowest, then and hour later at highest
Unintuitive controls
All windows in the flat open
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Effects of Laundry
Widespread use of passive indoor drying - wet clothes on radiators, but little control of
ventilation
Poor indoor air quality - raised RH and CO2 levels
Moisture, visible mould and mould spores the indications are that slowly drying
fabric has an association with relatively high spore counts
Thermal energy impact of passive indoor drying
Electrical energy impact of washing, tumble drying and iron
Primary energy used by tumble dryers was found to be significantly more than added
thermal loads from passive drying
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Conclusions
Problems arising from both technical and sociological factors
Technical include: Changes in house size, volume and provision for heating and ventilation - smaller, tighter,
lighter (and cheaper)
Lack of robustness
Some construction systems, materials and technologies not performing as expected
Oversized heating provision
Poor controls Lack of Building Performance Evaluation to close feedback loops back into design
Sociological include: Changes and variation in occupancy habits - e.g. small sizes leads to use of bedrooms
as living spaces, more intense use by the elderly, less storage and more clutter
More washing, laundry and internal clothes drying, but not provided for in design
Expectation of comfort over performance
Poor user understanding of systems But systems not designed for ease of use or intuition
Houses designed to standards (costs), rather than for users in
respect of environmental control
gh + gs + gi = [A
x U + 0.33 n x V]
[Ti To] (Watts)
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Conclusions
Problems arising from both technical and sociological factors
Technical include: Changes in house size, volume and provision for heating and ventilation - smaller, tighter,
lighter (and cheaper)
Lack of robustness
Some construction systems, materials and technologies not performing as expected
Oversized heating provision
Poor controls Lack of Building Performance Evaluation to close feedback loops back into design
Sociological include: Changes and variation in occupancy habits - e.g. small sizes leads to use of bedrooms
as living spaces, more intense use by the elderly, less storage and more clutter
More washing, laundry and internal clothes drying, but not provided for in design
Expectation of comfort over performance
Poor user understanding of systems But systems not designed for ease of use or intuition
Houses designed to standards (costs), rather than for users in
respect of environmental control
gh + gs + gi = [A
x U + 0.33 n x V]
[Ti To] (Watts)
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Designing in Resiliency
Sensible prediction
Design for occupancy
Natural ventilation - strategy and design
Mechanical ventilation - performance and control
Controls
Thermal mass
Sunlight access
User guidance
Building Performance Evaluation and feedback
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Designing in Resiliency
Sensible prediction
Design for occupancy
Natural ventilation - strategy and design
Mechanical ventilation - performance and control
Controls
Thermal mass
Sunlight access
User guidance
Building Performance Evaluation and feedback
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Solutions
Sensibleprediction Compliance tools should not be used as predictive tools
Include realistic and appropriate occupancy and behaviour
Make allowance for differences in theoretical and actual fabric performance
If you want to predict, use prediction software or calculations
And use performance data
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Solutions
Designforoccupancy Better understanding of occupant behavior, expectations, behavior and knowledge
Design how people will use the house, particularly heating and ventilation
Ergonomics for operation
Base provision on design for operation, not compliance (e.g mm2 opening/m2)
Robustness for varying occupancy
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Solutions
Naturalventilation-strategyanddesign What is the purpose - remove, stuffiness, odours, moisture, heat?
How can problems be avoided thermal mass
passive pre-heat from sun-space
laundry activities - drying space
Design for operation Is the trickle vent accessible? How do you open it when the curtains are closed?
How will air circulate in the room
How does provision for ventilation relate to heating?
Laundry External and internal drying space
Moisture buffering (through fabric or volume)
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Solutions
Mechanicalventilation-performanceandcontrol Ensure systems are well specified for the tasks
All mechanical systems fail - what is the mode of failure
and repair
MVHR placement of unit for maintenance
sized for wet extract or whole house boost control - measuring what and where?
duct routing
placement of registers
short circuiting
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Solutions
Controls
Required whatever heating and ventilation
system is used
A significant problem, not solved by smart
meters - a speedometer is only any good if you
have a brake
Better designs + smarter systems (Conserve)
For ventilation more than heating
Sophistication vs reliability
Placement of sensors
Better if control is passive
Design of information for users - dont rely on
the manual Not the cheapest part of the system
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Solutions
Controls
Required whatever heating and ventilation
system is used
A significant problem, not solved by smart
meters - a speedometer is only any good if you
have a brake
Better designs + smarter systems (Conserve)
For ventilation more than heating
Sophistication vs reliability
Placement of sensors
Better if control is passive
Design of information for users - dont rely on
the manual Not the cheapest part of the system
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Solutions
EnvironmentalStability Hard to keep small environments stable
Thermal mass
Mean radiant temperature - comfort
Locks heat into fabric, allows more liberal natural
ventilation
Controls overheating
Needs to be well placed
Does not necessarily prevent use of timber frame
Moisture buffering
IAQ
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Designing in Resiliency
Sunlightaccess Free heat sun buffer, direct gain or preheat ventilation
Sunspaces provide thermal buffering and ventilation reservoir in winter
Anti bacterial effects
Psychological and physiological benefits
Amenity value
Drying space
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Designing in Resiliency
Userguidance Better information of how homes work
Handover
Occupant Guidance
Additional and future occupants
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Designing in Resiliency
BuildingPerformanceEvaluation Evaluation to assess all of these and feed
back to the beginning
Post Occupancy Evaluation undertake
as a matter of course
Improve performance of the homes
Better understanding of performance
Better design
Policy change
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Building Performance Evaluation
TechnologyStrategyBoard-BuildingPerformanceEvaluation-KeyFacts
Competition open from May 2010 for approx. two years
Rolling competition with assessment of applications at 3-4
monthly intervals
Open to domestic new build and
non-domestic new build and major refurbishment
Potential follow-on studies to evaluate changes in design,
construction practice, operating strategy etc.
Monitoring and evaluation must be completed by 2014 (exact date
to be advised).
Next application deadline September 2011
BuildingPerformanceEvaluation-afurthercallforfunding https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/building-performance-evaluation-a-further-call-for-
funding
https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/building-performance-evaluation-a-further-call-for-fundinghttps://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/building-performance-evaluation-a-further-call-for-fundinghttps://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/building-performance-evaluation-a-further-call-for-fundinghttps://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/building-performance-evaluation-a-further-call-for-fundinghttps://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/building-performance-evaluation-a-further-call-for-fundinghttps://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/building-performance-evaluation-a-further-call-for-funding8/3/2019 BSRIA Salford
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Conclusions Policy
Space Standards
Performance Standards energy + IAQ
Health
Funding
Mainstreaming
Close the loop between design
and performance
ww Contact
0141 353 4658
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]