With the recent growth in environmental concerns, more energy-efficient building are recognised as being of national importance. Energy Advisory Associates (EAA) was established in 1980 to provide up-to-date information and advice in this fast-moving field.
The practice undertakes work in the following main areas:
Energy-efficient building design is not only vital, but it is always a productive area. Through the application of proven technology, the total energy input to a building for space and water heating, lighting, cooking, electrical appliances and office equipment can now be reduced by up to 80%. A few projects which are underway, and are of a more experimental nature, are expected to achieve reductions nearer 90% vs. normal UK construction practice.
This saving is sometimes achieved without any addition to construction cost. All it involves is very careful thought at an early design stage, especially on those aspects of building design which have a critical impact on energy consumption - issues of which even building professionals are usually unaware - and meticulous attention to detail later. Percentage savings nearly as great may be made on major refurbishments, including building conversions to commercial or residential use.
EAA is a registered consultant with the government’s Design Advice Scheme (DAS), and has worked closely with many UK architects and engineers on state-of-the-art energy-conscious designs. On buildings of sufficient size DAS may be able to contribute 30% of the cost of appointing an energy expert to the design team, whether for new buildings or major refurbishments.
Monitoring of buildings on which EAA provided design advice places them among the most energy-efficient anywhere in the UK. Among these are houses in Berkshire, Oxfordshire and London and offices in Shropshire and Norwich.
Surveys of existing buildings can usually establish the scope for energy savings of 10-30%, without major capital expenditure. Sometimes, the scope is significantly greater. In addition, by taking a longer-term view, it is usually possibly to justify investing in further energy efficiency measures. These could be regarded as capital investments which deliver a steady income, in the form of energy cost savings. Viewed this way, it is rare for energy efficiency investments not to outperform other possible uses for the available funds.
David Olivier, the firm’s Principal, has presented papers on energy-efficient buildings to bodies throughout the world. The practice publishes regular technical reports and reviews of progress in the regions which lead the world. These are broadly Scandinavia, North America and the countries of central Europe. The most recent reports in this occasional series are the 1992 ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLES: RECENT EXPERIENCE ON MAINLAND EUROPE (ISBN 0-9518791-0-3) and the 1996 ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLES: RECENT NORTH AMERICAN EXPERIENCE (ISBN 0-9518791-1-1).
EAA has provided specialist briefing reports to many public and private sector organisations. Current and recent public sector clients include the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, the Building Research Establishment and the UK Dept. of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR).
In 1995, BRE commissioned EAA to conduct a REVIEW OF ULTRA LOW ENERGY HOMES. This was published by BRECSU in 1996 as General Information Reports 38 and 39. The survey produced a modest number of buildings whose performance exceeded the original target. It appeared that EAA had provided design advice to around half the buildings with good to very good energy performance. In this connection, the emphasis is on the actual, not the calculated, performance of advanced energy-efficient buildings.
In 1999, DETR engaged EAA to provide two technical reports to support the 1998-2001 review of Part L of the Building Regulations. These reports concerned guidance which should be issued to bring about improved thermal envelope design and a comprehensive review of international regulatory practice. This enabled a comparison to be made between existing overseas practice and current UK standards.
EAA is able to provide an expert witness service in cases where buildings clearly provide an unsatisfactory level of energy performance or poor internal environmental standards. This includes numerous cases where U-values significantly exceed those which were expected or predicted; this has serious implications for condensation and for energy consumption.
Other recent activity includes a project part-funded by DETR to develop a UK window energy rating system, from 1998 to 2001; a report in recent months on the new 2002 Building Regulations, supported by Oxfordshire Energy Advice Centre; and ongoing work for a firm developing windows for leading-edge, passive solar buildings.