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Power Hours

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In these fast-paced talks, from our ‘Power Hour’ events, we have a panel of speakers each with a set amount of minutes to present followed by a moderated question and answer (Q&A) panel discussion. We have a timer counting down from 1 hour and everything needs to be finished in that time.

Our past presentations can be found in the list below. These sessions are arranged by the Energy Performance Group Committee and feature special guests to present on a variety of topics.

To suggest an idea for a future presentation, either speak to the Chair or Committee members at the next meeting or email [email protected]. 

Past Presentations

Past Presentations in Detail

The electrification of buildings has been rising on the sustainability agenda in the past few years, one of the reasons is the decarbonisation of the electricity grid resulting in lower emissions than the gas grid. This has pushed the industry to look at ways that commercial buildings can electrify, and the effects this might have on the electricity grid.
We gathered three experts to talk on this subject including an overview of CIBSE’s TM 67, the importance of retrofitting with electrification in mind and the impact electrification could have on the electricity grid. There was also a panel discussion on questions submitted by the audience.

Speakers:
• Dr Tony Day, Energy Research Consultant, Tony Day
• Jennifer Elias, Principal Building Performance Engineer, AECOM
• Daniel Burke, SSE

Download the presenter's slides here. 

There has been a growing demand in recent years for accurate operational energy predictions from initiatives such as Design for Performance and the push for net-zero carbon targets. This has pushed the industry to improve standardised approaches to energy performance calculations and reduce the performance gap.
In this Power Hour, three experts talk on this subject:

  • Dr Nishesh Jain, UCL gives an ‘Overview of CIBSE TM61-64’
  • Richard Tibenham, IES,  provides ‘A software provider’s point of view’
  • Dr Ruchi Choudhary, University of Cambridge gives a case study of ‘Digital twins in the built environment’

Dr Helen Gavin, Ricardo, hosted the event 

You can see the slides used below:
Dr Nishesh Jain
Richard Tibenham
Dr Ruchi Choudhary

Currently, the lack of clear guidance and benchmarks for retrofitting properties with regard to energy efficiencies causes problems and missed opportunities to bring buildings up to the required standard to meet our Paris Agreement commitments. This is particularly so for historical or listed buildings which may be problematic to retrofit and bring up to modern standards or may be exempt from any efficiency targets.  Given that the majority of UK emissions now arise from the built environment, retrofits are important and urgently needed. There is also a need to consider embodied carbon as well as operational carbon arising from energy use.
 
We gathered together experts in the field to talk on this subject. After each speaker set out their view, there was a question and answer session moderated by Helen Gavin (Ricardo).
 
This is an event jointly hosted by the CIBSE EPG and HVAC Group in which Serene Esuruoso, Chris Train, Richard Lowes, Tom Collins and Heidi Genoni talked about “Hydrogen heating: The Future in the UK– The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
This event considered the pros and cons of hydrogen successfully displacing natural gas as the primary means of heating buildings in the UK.

Following a significant update to Part L buildings regulations that came into effect in June 2022, we invited EPG and YEPG members to join us as we took stock of the impact that these changes have had on the approach to building design.

We crafted a panel of speakers to offer perspectives from both a design and developer perspective and aim to give an overview of the updates to Part L and the impact this has had on design, whether it is challenging enough and whether there are any gaps. We discussed the developments of the Net Zero Carbon Building Standard and how this may address the potential shortcomings in regulation and ultimately drive regulation to be more ambitious.

The speakers were:

  • Richard Tibenham, Business Development Manager at IES Environmental Solutions
  • Samantha Carlsson, Senior Sustainability Manager at Derwent London
  • Nektarios D. Gkanis, Senior Manager - Commercial Real Estate Lead at Carbon Trust

Download the presentation

Watch the recording

Energy prices have increased significantly in recent times and are projected to increase at unprecedented rates over the next few years. How can building service engineers be part of the solution? Should we be retrofitting existing properties, or demolishing homes and building to new regulations? And how can we make these solutions affordable for tenants as well as property owners / managers?

In this EPG Power Hour, four experts spoke on this subject:

• George Munson, Leeds City Council talks about “Leeds PIPES: Affordable Low Carbon District Heating. Surviving Market Volatility.”
• Brogan Watkins, Hoare Lea covers “Bryn Bragl: Pioneering Energy Positive Social Housing”
• Lisa Ann Pasquale, RetrofitWorks presents on the subject of “About PAS2035: Retrofit to relieve Fuel Poverty”
• Billy Cliffen, Turner & Townsend examines “Social Housing Retrofit”

Jake Attwood-Harris, Populo Living, Ricardo, hosted the event

The built environment in the UK and around the world is increasingly committed to achieving Net Zero buildings. But what does Net Zero mean? To deliver real progress, we need to agree on what Net Zero means, in practice and in the detail. As a step towards this, and building on the work by the UKGBC, in summer 2021 LETI and the Whole Life Carbon Network, supported by the RIBA, produced a set of definitions:https://www.leti.london/carbonalignment

CIBSE and LETI are now working together to produce a set of FAQs on the definitions, and we are running a survey about it, to make sure the definitions are applied consistently in as many real-life situations are possible, and that they deliver the right outcomes. CIBSE and LETI held an event on 8 November to hear people’s views on key questions on the meaning of Net Zero.
The survey closed on Sunday 28th November 2021.
With the many, often conflicting factors that need to come together to achieve net zero carbon offices, will we be able to get there by industry leadership alone? Refurbishment contracts currently don’t incentive those involved to ensure good energy performance in use; leases between landlords and tenants are often negotiated without any reference to energy performance requirements; and often buildings have no effective monitoring system to tell them how a building is performing, let alone clear operating instructions. Can all this really change without regulation? 

We gathered together experts in the field to talk on this subject. After each speaker set out their view, there was a question and answer session using questions posed by the live audience moderated by Helen Gavin (Ricardo).
Heat networks currently account for a small proportion of UK heating systems, but low and zero-carbon networks have an important role to play in the reduction of carbon emissions from heating. They also provide an opportunity to exploit larger scale renewable and recovered heat sources that otherwise cannot be used.
So what are Low and Zero Carbon Heat Networks? How have Heat Networks evolved? What are 5G heat networks? How will data improve the performance of Heat Networks? What are some examples of best practice currently? What are the associated metering and billing regulations, and what is the direction of government support for heat networks? These questions and more were tackled over the course of the session.
 

Access the presentations: 
Antony Meanwell, Eon Energy: "Citigen Decarbonisation"
Bhav Patel, Vattenfall: "Performance of Heat Networks"
Henrietta Cooke, BEIS: "Low Carbon Heat Networks - Policy Environment"
Phil Jones, London South Bank University: "Heat Networks"

Q&A summary

This CIBSE Energy Performance Group (EPG) Power Hour 2024 (1) is entitled “Understanding and Achieving Energy Efficiency and Net Zero by 2050”. It took place from 6pm to 7pm on 26/07/2024. It was chaired by Emeka Efe Osaji FCIBSE (Chair of CIBSE EPG). It was co-moderated by him and Dr Ebrahim Salehi CEng MCIBSE (Technical Officer of CIBSE EPG). CIBSE EPG is thankful to the panel of three invited distinguished speakers that each had about 12 minutes to present. This was followed by a co-moderated question and answer (Q&A) panel discussion whereby the speakers answered questions from attendees.

The Eventbrite post for this event is available at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/understanding-and-achieving-energy-efficiency-and-net-zero-by-2050-tickets-952618265877?aff=oddtdtcreator

The CIBSE post for this event is available at: https://www.cibse.org/what-s-on/search-events/understanding-and-achieving-energy-efficiency-and-net-zero-by-2050

The CIBSE EPG Power Hour 2024 (1) Recording is available at: https://youtu.be/DptR-Josi9Q

The Speakers and their Presentation PDF Documents are:

Natalie Sarabia-Johnston ARB RIBA (Founder and Director at Southgate and Sarabia Architects Ltd.): Power Hour 2024 (1) Natalie Sarabia Johnston

Dr Monday Ikhide CEng MCIBSE (Course Director for Building Services Engineering and Degree Apprenticeships at Coventry University): Power Hour 2024 (1) Monday Ikhide

Philip Draper CEng FCIBSE (Chair of the CIBSE HVAC Systems Group): Power Hour 2024 (1) Philip Draper

The CIBSE EPG is also thankful to the following:

• Laura Quinn (Networks and Engagement Coordinator (Groups))
• The CIBSE Teams and Family
• The CIBSE EPG and its committee
• The CIBSE Young EPG (YEPG) and its committee
• The CIBSE EPG Power Hour 2024 (1) attendees

An overview of feedback received from attendees includes:

• “Awesome” (AK, 2024).
• “Fantastic presentation Phil…” (TC, 2024).
• “Fantastic presentation Phil…” (GJ, 2024).
• “Thank you everyone. Really interesting” (JK, 2024).
• “Thank you for the great presentations. Very beneficial” (AK, 2024).
• “Thank you all, very informative and interesting topics” (MH, 2024).
• “Thank you all” (EA, 2024).
• “Thank you all” (SL, 2024).
• “Thank you guys, have a good weekend!” (KS, 2024).
• “Thanks for the presentations, I found them very interesting, thought provoking and resonated strongly with my own studies/interest. Great summaries of the topics” (NB, 2024).
• “Thanks” (MB, 2024).
• “Thank you” (RA, 2024).
• “Thanks Everyone” (MI, 2024).
• “I’d just like to thank the Energy Performance Group on their Power Hour webinar” (NB, 2024).
• “The topics are all very close to my heart and frighteningly close to my (work and personal) interests” (NB, 2024).
• “I have an internal workshop/presentation to give my (mainly) architectural colleagues, so Natalie Sarabia-Johnston’s presentation was an excellent summary and has given me some pointers on how to make my own (by making it more relevant to the intended audience)” (NB, 2024).
• “I also have just recently taken on a couple of Graduate Apprentices, so Monday Ikhide’s presentation made me think more long term and strategically about their training. Some excellent points for me to mull over” (NB, 2024).
• “The first half of Phil Draper’s presentation resonated strongly with my own experience (TM39) … His implementations of TM17 are also great to see…” (NB, 2024).
• “I think this has been one of the most interesting webinars I’ve attended (from all ‘providers’, including paid for ones!)” (NB, 2024).
• “Thank you all very much!” (NB, 2024).

Contact us

The CIBSE Special Interest Groups are run by volunteers. If you have a question, or would like to make a suggestion, fill out the contact form to be put in touch with the committee.

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