Passive Building Technology in Practice and its contribution to reducing energy demands was the theme of a one-day seminar held by CIBSE's Natural Ventilation Group on 21 June, at UCL, London.
Hosted by CIBSE in association with UCL and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the event, which was fully subscribed, was sponsored by Breathing Buildings, Monodraught, Fläkt Woods and WindowMaster Control Systems.
International experts discussed a range of issues including the risks of energy dependency and shared their extensive practitioner experience.
The seminar focused on demonstrating the passive features that are essential if this unsustainable energy dependency is to be brought under control.
CIBSE president, George Adams, introduced the seminar. He said that 80% of heated spaces currently use gas powered boilers and pointed out that this is a real concern at a time when energy supply is vulnerable.
Adapting cities for the future to help reduce thermal discomfort and energy waste, was explored by Professor Sue Roaf, School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University, UK. Her talk
Designing Comfortable and Resilient Buildings and Cities in a Changing Climate: The Natural Ventilation Imperative echoed the sentiments highlighted by George Adams' inaugural speech as CIBSE President on the theme 'Whole Life Thinking'.
Professor Mat Santamouris, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, then discussed cities acting as heat islands and some solutions to this problem, in his presentation entitled
Cooling the Cities - Urban Mitigation Techniques.
Other presentations were given on:
Natural Ventilation: Opportunities and Constraints by Professor Brian Ford of Nottingham University;
The Impact of Glazing in the Control of Heat Gain and Loss, by Professor Michael Hutchins, School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University and Sonnergy Limited;
Developments in Cool and Reflective Materials by Assistant Professor Denia Kolokotsa, Technical University of Crete, President of the Cool Roof Council of Europe; and
Developments in Daylighting and Low Energy Lighting by Paul Littlefair, BRE.
For more information about the CIBSE Natural Ventilation Group visit
www.cibse.org/nvg
