NEWS

		3 February 2011 Elm Tree Mews Field Trial report published This technical report summarises the results and monitoring data from the Elm Tree Mews Field Trial carried out by the Centre for the Built Environment at Leeds Metropolitan University on behalf of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT). This report details the technical data from fabric performance tests carried out on the completed dwellings, site observations and photographic records of the construction process and an analysis of available site documentation and drawings. Full details
		3 February 2011 Performance of heat pumps Anne Stafford, one of CeBE’s leading researchers on heat pumps, and Peter BOAIT of De Montfort University will be presenting a paper at the CIRED conference in Frankfurt on the performance of heat pumps as part of a retrofit project in Harrogate. Domestic heat pumps are a key part of the UK Government’s decarbonisation strategy and are expected to form a substantial part of national electrical demand by 2050. The paper reports on the practical performance and electrical load characteristics of a group of ten heat pumps over an annual cycle. The variation of electrical load with ambient temperature and domestic hot water usage is explored and useful opportunities for demand side management are identified. Further information on the conference can be found at: http://www.cired2011.org/pages/012/Home.en.php
		2 December 2010 Professor Chris Gorse makes a note on current research into Low Carbon Houses Looking at Professor Malcolm Bell’s recent comments in the CIBSE Journal, the Construction Industry needs to prepare itself for change. Developers claiming to produce low carbon buildings that are not low carbon are taking increasing risks. CeBE has undertaken a considerable amount of research, monitoring and evaluating the performance of both new and existing buildings. While there is much to still to learn about the assessment methods currently being used to predict building performance and a building’s actual performance, our understanding of building physics has vastly improved. In most cases we’ve found that there is a considerable gap between the designed performance of a house and that which is actually built. While most buildings under perform their designed expectation, there are a few developers, supported by research centres, that are producing houses that are more thermally efficient, result in less CO2 production and cost less to run. However, unless the industry starts to collect data on the actual performance of the houses we may be producing very ‘grand designs’ that don’t actually work. Currently, without testing, it is difficult to know whether the low carbon buildings being purchased are indeed low carbon. The environmentally aware developers are on a steep learning curve; others, using designs that do not manifest into buildings that perform to the standards that they have specified, are taking a risk, as methods of determining a building’s actual performance are available. PDF of article (copyright CIBSE Journal).
		22 November 2010 CeBE research discussed in House of Commons CeBE’s research at Elm Tree Mews has been discussed in a House of Commons debate (along with the EST HP trial) and in the Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group (PRASEG) newsletter.
		3 November 2010 Major changes in house-building industry needed if zero carbon targets are to be met Meeting the Government's zero carbon housing targets by 2016 will be extremely difficult unless major changes are made within the house-building industry, according to a new report. Low Carbon Housing: Lessons from Elm Tree Mews, looked at the features and performance of a low carbon housing scheme in York, developed by the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust.
		1 November 2010 Research Opportunities PhD and MPhil: Doctoral and Masters in Sustainability and Low Carbon Construction Students interested in studying for a PhD within the field of Sustainability and Low Carbon Construction should contact Professor Chris Gorse. We are keen to encourage and further advance knowledge in this rapidly growing field.