(Published in Modern Building Services, May 2012)

Syntegra Consulting provide consultancy services including BREEAM assessment.  Further information on BREEAM assessment can also be found at http://www.syntegra-epc.co.uk/services-we-offer/breeam-assessment/ .  And for more information as to how we can assist on your project, please contact us.  Our contact details can be found at http://www.syntegra-epc.co.uk/contact/ .

Among the proposal, the CRC qualification process is shortened and the number of fuels covered is cut from 29 to 4.  The CRC will adopt new emission factors and connect it with the reporting procedure of green house gases.  The Government will modify the CRC legislation by April 2013 after the official consultation finishing in mid- June 2012.

(Published in Modern Building Services, May 2012)

Syntegra utilized it’s expert knowledge in sustainable building design to determine the appropriated energy strategy in order to meet the London Plan and Lewisham borough planning policies on building energy efficiency, CO2 emissions and environmental management. A number of options combining very good fabric specification, Low Zero Carbon technologies and passive design methods were examined carefully. PV systems were incorporated to achieve more than 25% in CO2 emissions reduction above BRUKL. Also, the option for future connection to a district heating/cooling network has been incorporated in the strategy to encourage the decentralized energy networks across London.

The BREEAM pre-assessment achieved an Excellent   BREEAM rating, which is a planning policy requirement. The development was assessed under the “Other Buildings” BREEAM 2011 scheme.

From our experience of BREEAM , it is becoming the norm for local authorities to set as a planning condition a BREEAM pre-assessment or full BREEAM 2011 assessment for new build and refurbishment commercial developments.

For more information on Energy Strategy Reports,  BREEAM 2011 and BREEAM pre-assessments, please contact Syntegra Consulting on T: 08450 091625 and Email: mail@syntegra-epc.co.uk

Under the pressure of new legislation shifting the balance from operational emission management to embodied emission management, the report emphasized the consideration of embodied carbon for helping reduce the overall carbon footprint of existing and new office buildings.  The Member States will be required by the European Directive CEN TC 3502 on legislation that ensure new buildings are designed according to the whole-life approach.  In addition, the Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are expected to be applied on all private buildings above a certain size for reinforce carbon reduction commitment.

From this report, it was indicated that the air-conditioned offices locating out of the town have the highest carbon footprint than other office types, mainly due to their in-use emissions.  Moreover, the commercial and other non-domestic buildings account for one-fifth of the operational carbon emissions in the UK, and their proportions becomes higher once the embodied carbon emissions are taken into account as well.

(Published in Specification Magazine, April 2012)

Since the FIT is connected with a 25-year energy generating life, the quality of the solar PV equipment was greatly highlighted by the government.  Merely installations with MCS certified installers and products attract funding.  NQA also agreed that it is important to ensure the MCS certification as an assurance of long-term performance of solar PV equipments, in order to secure the health and reputation of this new sector.

However, because many components for the solar PV equipments are imported overseas, a rigorous process for a broadly accepted quality certification system is significant.  Two stages are suggested for the process.  In stage one, there is the standard product testing procedure during the products being manufactured.  This is to ensure the required performance criteria are met.  The documented manufacturing quality control and assurance system used here is the Factory Production Control (FPC) that needs to meet the requirements of MSC 010.  The FPC will consider not only the products themselves, but also the suppliers for all the materials that ware used in the final products.  For this process, the quality standard ISO 9001 that satisfy the majority of the requirements for MCS certification will be used.

In stage two, the focus is on testing the product itself.  This will ensure that all the MCS scheme requirements relevant to individual technology are all satisfied for this product.  The requirements of MCS 011 must be met in this testing stage.  Once the certification is attained, the maintenance is important.  Annual audit will be required to test the products and ensure that all the standards are maintained.

(Published in Eco Building Magazine, May/June 2012)

The undertaking of an ACI (Air Conditioning Inspection) is a legal requirement according to article 9 of the Energy Performance Building Directive in England and Wales (EPBD). Air Conditioning Inspections are mandatory for all buildings with installed systems with rated cooling output greater than 12kW. The air conditioning inspection consisted of a site inspection and the production of the Air Conditioning Inspection report, which presents the site inspection’s findings and the recommendations for improving the system’s energy efficiency in order to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.

The NGK building inspected lies under the packaged cooling systems assessment since it is air conditioned by a large number of single split systems.

Syntegra consulting has managed to identify areas of improving the energy efficiency further of the building’s air conditioning system. Recommendations were made in upgrading AC controls and control methodology. In addition, Syntegra investigated in improving the AC system’s efficiency and the building’s overall energy performance further, by recommending the use of LED lighting. LED lighting is the most energy efficient lighting technology compared to conventional technologies. Furthermore, LED lighting generates minimum heat, which helps reducing a building’s cooling load from lighting. Therefore, LEDs not only reduce the lighting electricity cost, but also the AC (air conditioning) cost of electricity due to reduced heat gains (cooling load). In addition, Syntegra managed to present solutions involving energy/heat recovery systems.

Moreover, Syntegra is following a holistic approach during the ACI site surveys. This means, that during the inspection other areas that will improve the building’s energy performance are examined. Such an area is the implementation of Low Zero Carbon technologies (LZC) aka Renewable Energy technologies. More specifically the possibility of implementing PV solar panels was examined. The utilization of PV (photovoltaic) panels can generate free energy from the sun and also provide an income to the building owner through the Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) scheme.

For more information on Air Conditioning Inspections, FREE LED Lighting Feasibility Studies, PV/FIT design & installation please contact Syntegra Consulting on T: 08450 091625 and Email: mail@syntegra-epc.co.uk

The development is a series of 3-storey townhouses built code level 4 design standards with Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) technology per house.

The scope includes:

• Mechanical and Electrical design consultancy(HVAC, CCTV, Fire, Lighting, AOV, Security,

vertical transportation, Ventilation, Drainage, HWS/CWS services, Utilities)

• Above grd drainage services consultancy

• Energy strategy and feasibility reports

• SAP/BRUKL and Energy Performance Certification(EPCs)

• Renewable design consultancy

• Daylight calculations

• Hydrology report

• Ecology report

The development is a 4storey structure(with underground parking) and built to high specification and code level 3 design standards with Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) technology per flat.

The scope includes:

• Mechanical and Electrical design consultancy(HVAC, CCTV, Fire, Lighting, AOV, Security,

vertical transportation, Ventilation, Drainage, HWS/CWS services, Utilities)

• Above grd drainage services consultancy

• Energy strategy and feasibility reports

• SAP/BRUKL and Energy Performance Certification(EPCs)

• Renewable design consultancy

• Daylight calculations

• Hydrology report

• Ecology report