CIBSE BSG Event – Updates to Part L2A – 29 September 2022

 

The CIBSE Building Simulation Group hosted a hybrid event focusing on the updates of the Part L, Volume 2: ‘Buildings other than dwelling’.

In the shift towards a Future Buildings Standard, the government has introduced a range of changes to the Building Regulations, including Part L, Volume 2: ‘Buildings other than dwelling’. This is into effect on 15th June 2022 and has introduced an uplift in standards. 

We were pleased to host Baran Tanriverdi from Mott MacDonald and Monika Potomska from Sweco, who presented the major updates to the regulations in comparison to Part L 2013, showcased a few case studies comparing the performance between Part L 2013 and 2021, and discussed what might be still missing and the potential changes that might come in the future.

The main takeaways from the presentation are: 

• The emphasis of Part L 2021 is on Fabric First Approach. We are going to be seeing new buildings which are looking much different from what we're used to, with more solidity and better façade performance being key to efficiency.
• Uplift in all building services efficiency and performance standards on reference and notional numbers will necessitate the design to focus on better-performing system solutions in the actual building. The design teams may need to test different system iterations and efficiency measures to achieve above and beyond performance. This is an interim step for FBS and aspirational for better-performing buildings.
• A real push on green technologies with Part L methodology favouring PVs and heat pumps. 
• It's going to be much harder to reach local and regional targets (especially the Greater London Authority (GLA) requirements). Although targets have remained the same it is now much harder to achieve those. Early stage design optimisation will be crucial. 
• Primary Energy (PE) became a principal performance metric along with the Emissions rates. The proposed CO2 emission factor is lower for electricity than for fossil fuels, including Natural Gas, while the proposed PE factor is higher for electricity than for Natural Gas. This may result in a high PE energy impact in some cases where electricity has been chosen as heating fuel. In some cases, a lower reduction in PE is achieved for Electricity rather than for Natural Gas. As a result, the actual building may need to include additional measures to enhance energy performance
• There's a real shift towards reporting Energy Use Intensity (EUI) rather than just using carbon emission as a metric for achieving compliance. There are currently no requirements just targets to consider but calculation methodologies such as TM54 or Design for Performance (DfP)/NABERS are gaining traction with desire to predict actual energy use. 
• The changes to Building Regulations are all based on industry standards such as RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge/LETI/UKGBC. These are interim before Future Building Standard is introduced in 2025. Understanding the key changes to current regulations gives us an insight as to what is yet to come.

For more details, see the slides and to watch the very interesting Q&A head over to Youtube. 

CIBSE Building Simulation Awards at Build2Perform 2021

The CIBSE Building Simulation Group held its Annual Prizes as part of the Build to Perform 2021 programme; the CIBSE Building Simulation Award; and the CIBSE Building Simulation Young Modeller Award.

Darren Woolf, chairman of the CIBSE BSG group, introduced the CIBSE Building Simulation Award which focuses on the use of building simulation in projects, and aims to encourage innovation in building simulation techniques. Our 6 finalists from Wirth Research, United Arab Emirates University, Cardiff University and London South Bank University, presented their exemplar projects followed by the judging panel’s brief questions. 

• Wirth Research - Covid-19 and the work environment, a multi-tool modelling approach to estimate infection risk within office spaces
• United Arab Emirates University - Design of library extension featuring a parametric dynamic facade in UAUE campus
• Cardiff University - Optimisation of modular photobioreactor retrofit
• London South Bank University - Critical evaluation of four building simulation software packages when modelling shading devices in relation to thermal retention
• Wirth Research - Multiscale computational model of existing industrial bakery, performance-based design of ventilation system with CFD

Patricia Pino, from Wirth Research, was announced the winner, for her presentation on Covid-19 infection risk modelling. Patricia presented her methodology that designers can use to understand the risk within their spaces, and where appropriate develop strategies to mitigate it. This can involve changes to HVAC systems or internal layouts and/or generating protocols for the occupancy or general use of the space. 

The two runners-up were Ketki Mehta, of Cardiff University, for her modelling of modular photobioreactors, which was commended for being such an original model; and Deema Al Qahtani, of United Arab Emirates University, for showcasing how a number of modelling tools can be joined together to provide a holistic solution.

Nishesh Jain, of University College London and Design Builder, was the recipient of the Young Modeller Award. The CIBSE Building Simulation Group was very impressed with the continuous support to the industry, academia, publications and participation in publications such as the CIBSE TM63 and TM54. All of these along with his partnership with ASHRAE and IBPSA showcase how he is advocating building simullation locally and also abroad.

Special commendations for their outstanding work have been awarded to Bahareh Salehi of Loughborough University and Thomas Avery-Hickmott of Wirth Research.

Once the finalists had completed their presentations and while the judges headed off to deliberate. Darren Woolf has chaired a panel with our sponsors - David Cocking of Design Builder, Richard Tibenham of IES, Nick Hopper of Monodraught, Fred Mendonca of OpenFOAM, Richard Szoeke-Schuller of SimScale and Alan Jones of EDSL - on the CIBSE Building Simulation Group Vision 2050.

The video of the event can be seen below.