Building Services Design for Energy Efficient Buildings

Abstract

In recent decades there has been growing awareness of the environmental impact of man’s activities, and concerted efforts to identify and address the key factors that give rise to the most damaging impacts. It has become clear that buildings are one of the principal sources of environmental degradation. This is primarily due to the carbon impact of the fossil fuels used to operate buildings, which is a major contributor to climate change. There is an imperative for those practising as building services designers to influence the design of buildings, and to plan their active engineering systems, so that carbon emissions are minimised. This requires an awareness of all the factors that give rise to carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of a building. The design of buildings is a complicated process of synthesis and iteration involving a range of disciplines. Building services engineering is one of the principal design disciplines, alongside architecture and civil/structural engineering. Building services engineering is itself made up of a range of sub-disciplines, primarily mechanical and electrical engineering. Many of those entering the building services engineering profession are from traditional mechanical and electrical engineering undergraduate courses, and have usually had only limited exposure to the wider issues involved in building design more generally, and energy efficient buildings in particular. Many undertake master’s degrees in building services engineering, or similar courses, which often provide an element of conversion into their new field. For buildings to be successful, it is essential for all design professionals to work in a collaborative way with mutual respect and a clear understanding of the wider context and common imperatives. An essential feature of courses in building services engineering should, therefore, be to impart sufficient awareness of the sustainability imperative, and the nature of the design process, together with the range of interdisciplinary influences that need to be resolved and developed into a satisfactory design resolution.