BSRIA Salford

8/3/2019 BSRIA Salford

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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

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rature,

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Flat"9I6,"Living"Room"Condions"I"17.03.11"to"12.04.11"

Liv ing"Rm"C""""" Liv ing"Rm"ppm""" "


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Air Quality and occupant response

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CO2Concentra6on

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Living"Rm"C""""" Living"Rm"%"RH""" Living"Rm"ppm""""


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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





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Occupant Control





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Occupant Control





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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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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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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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Userguidance Better information of how homes work

Handover

Occupant Guidance

Additional and future occupants


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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-funding


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Conclusions Policy

Space Standards

Performance Standards energy + IAQ

Health

Funding

Mainstreaming

Close the loop between design

and performance

ww Contact

[email protected]

0141 353 4658
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

BSRIA Salford

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