Case study:
COTSWOLD WATER PARK VISITOR CENTRE
This project won the Queens Award for sustainable development and was 100% funded by the DTI. The panels provide 50 kWe. The building is heated and cooled by a water-source heat pump using the nearby lake as source and sink.
Exploring Possibilities:
Sustainability has been moving up the design process agenda over recent years. HBS are aware of the adverse ecological impact of buildings on the natural environment and endeavour to provide sensitive engineering solutions.
New challenges have arisen following the implementation of the London Plan and The Mayor’s Energy Strategy whereby school developments are to incorporate “renewable energy production equipment to provide at least 10% of the predicted energy requirement”.
We introduce state-of-the-art computer modelling technology wherever appropriate and beneficial to the design process to develop low-impact engineering solutions and to demonstrate our ideas.
Our approach:
- Carbon neutral solutions
- Analyse Building Physics
- Create Thermal and Daylighting Models of the building
- Advise Architect on building form, orientation and construction elements
- Advise Team on building environmental control and system choices (heating, ventilation, illumination).
- Use computer model to predict energy use and CO2 emissions
- Design Building Services to optimise energy use for the whole life of the building
- Pre cooling outdoor air solutions
- Use of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) to smooth out temperature fluctuations
- Reclaiming waste heat
Some of the ways HBS’s designs extract energy from the environment:
- Ground source heat pumps
- Solar assisted hot water heating
- Green electricity using Photovoltaics cells
- Use of rain water collection systems for use in WC flushing
