CASE STUDY CIBSE BUILDING PERFORMANCE AWARDS
COMMERCIAL PROJECT WINNER
The Institute of Physics (IoP) new
headquarters building, which won
the Commercial Project of the Year,
is pioneering the use of innovative
technologies as part of the IoP’s strategy
to showcase the value of physics to society
and to demonstrate the impact physics
has on the way we live our lives. The
building’s services have therefore been
designed to incorporate extensive metering
and measurement so that the IoP’s
headquarters can be a ‘Living Laboratory’.
The IoP’s intention is that by making the
building’s operational and energy data
generally available, the public will be
encouraged to investigate how the building
works and may even be tempted to make
suggestions as to how its operation could
be improved in the future.
The building is also a showcase for
innovative technologies, its sustainable
credentials include: an innovative
geothermal pile system; the use of thermal
mass to minimise cooling loads; the
use of an adaptive set-point to control
internal temperatures; and a mixed-mode
ventilation system.
In spring and autumn, the building can
be operated in natural ventilation mode. In
summer and winter, mechanical ventilation
is used to maintain comfort conditions.
To minimise energy use, fresh air rates are
controlled based on CO levels. Supply air is
heated, or cooled, using a GSHP connected
to a geothermal borehole system
incorporating GeoKOAX heat exchangers –
the first time the system has been used in
the UK.
The GSHP is the primary source of heat
for the building. It is designed to run at 40°C
flow, 30°C return. A gas-fired boiler (80°C
26 MAY 2020
flow/60°C return) provides top-up heat for
cold mornings (and heating back-up) in
addition to heating the domestic hot water.
The GSHP also supplies chilled water
to underfloor air terminal units at a flow
temperature of between 9°C and 14°C, with
a return temperature of 17°C to help keep
the o ice and public spaces comfortable.
The use of electricity to generate heating
and cooling is also prescient given the likely
move away from gas as fuel for heating
in forthcoming changes to the Building
Regulations. In this instance, the use of a
heat pump heating and cooling solution
was in response to the IoP’s wishes to
minimise emissions from gas combustion
in the building’s city centre location and
in curtailing heat rejection to the urban
environment from the cooling system.
Developing a predominantly electric
solution for the headquarters was not
without its challenges. At the time the
scheme was designed, the carbon factor for
electricity was unrealistically high (because
it failed to take into account the increased
amount of renewable generation), which
meant that compliance legislation favoured
gas.
Now, however, legislation is catching
up with decarbonisation of the electricity
grid, so that on paper the IoP building
would appear to perform significantly
better in terms of carbon emissions now
than it did at the time of its design. In other
words, it was ahead of its time - making
it an appropriate headquarters for an
organisation with a mission to showcase
the value of physics to society and a worthy
winner of a CIBSE Building Performance
Award.
For more information on the Building
Performance Awards, and all other CIBSE
activity, please go to www.cibse.org
/www.cibse.org