CIBSE BSG's Vice Chair Darren Coppins discusses his perspective of the CIBSE Technical Symposium in Sheffield which was held on 25th & 26th April 2019.
As a long term attendee of the CIBSE Technical Symposium, I look forward to getting away for a few days to listen to technical papers presented by the very enthusiastic and bright minds who make up our community. This years event was held in the rather nicely equipped Diamond building of Sheffield University.
The Diamond Building - Sheffield University (Image from Sheffield University Website)
It is an event where the technically minded get together to talk much the same language. There's little in the way of sales and products but much in the way of debate, opinion and fact. With 3 parallel sessions, there has always been something to whet the appetite. The papers and presentations that go with each session are also available for delegates to download to review at their leisure. For me this is great, as you can have the paper or presentation in front of you as you are listening to the speaker. Papers of past symposiums can be downloaded here.
CIBSE Technical Symposium Chair Prof Tim Dwyer addressing delegates on Thursday Morning.
Building Simulation is normally a popular topic but this year it appeared in some form in almost every session I attended. For the first time there were some suggestions that software limitations could impact the results to the extent that more simplistic hand calculations have as much chance in predicting actual building performance as advanced simulation. These were more opinion papers or opinions of the delegates than anything based on study or fact, however, it brings to light that the more advanced modelling we do, the more we will find limitations in the software we use.
In my view, this is a good thing. If we are taxing advanced modelling software to begin to find its limits, it shows that the modelling community is stepping up to what the built environment needs to deliver better buildings. As limitations begin to become a problem, software developers will need to address such deficiencies where previously, such deficiencies have been of very little importance.
During another session and completely unexpectedly, some of my past work was presented by Dr Robert Cohen. This modelling shows some such issues but more importantly demonstrates how modelling can be used to highlight where buildings may not be operating correctly.
Dr Robert Cohen presenting some of my own work from a few years ago, comparing modeled building data with actual metered data.
The final presentation was by Susie Diamond of Inkling who presented an opinion paper addressing how to recognise competency of building performance modelers. Susie referenced some of the work by our group in pursuing certification and made a strong recommendation that the ASHRAE Building Energy Modelling Professional (BEMP) scheme is introduced to the UK and that maybe it should be administered by CIBSE.
Susie Diamond of Inkling LLP discussing how to recognise competency
As a BEMP certified modeler myself, I know that the ASHRAE scheme is heavily biased to US systems and standards. I also know that they have worked hard to identify both ability and experience, with some of the 120 exam questions presenting a set of modelling results and the candidate is expected to interpret the results, find a potential error and identify what input may have caused the error. Such abilities are vital but only grow with experience and I applaud the BEMP for incorporating such tricky questions.
The work I am doing with others in CIBSE BSG to bringing certification and recognition to this sector continues, with AM11 based training modules due this year. It is intended that basic and advanced level certifications are to follow, with my aspiration being that the advanced certification provides a similar level of difficulty as the ASHRAE BEMP and thus a higher level to aim for. Hywel Davies suggested more than a year ago that this could be a route to Chartered Engineer status, which Susie also mentioned in her paper, something I feel is vital as such a route is missing for dedicated building simulation/modeling professionals.
BEMP is a worldwide scheme, with certified modelers across the globe and thus is already available to modelers in the UK. I became BEMP certified without leaving the UK, taking the exam at a test centre near Liverpool Street Station. There is no official training course for it as it recognises existing ability, although being familiar with ASHRAE standards is essential.
Uptake of the BEMP scheme can be considered to be relatively small. As of today there are less than 500 BEMP certified modelers worldwide. This may be due to the voluntary nature and difficulty of the exam. Don't let this put you off applying and I encourage anyone wishing to demonstrate their abilities to investigate the scheme: https://www.ashrae.org/professional-development/ashrae-certification/certification-types/bemp-building-energy-modeling-professional-certification.
As ever, I left the conference enlightened by the enthusiasm and passion of everyone involved and very much look forward to the 2020 CIBSE Technical Symposium.
Darren Coppins BEng CEng MCIBSE BEMP.
