Get Sust! Issue 25

Low-carbon technologies - what's best for your project?

Many public projects (and private ones too) now require renewable energy technologies, and designers are left with the tricky decision of what’s best for the project.

CIBSE’s new guidance on renewable energy sources for buildings includes a simple Microsoft Excel-based software tool which designers can use to assess the most promising options, based on the limited information available at the earliest stages of design. For example, it identifies the options that are most likely to warrant further investigation or a detailed feasibility study.

Technologies covered by the software tool and printed guide include: solar thermal; photovoltaics (PVs); district heating and cooling; combined heat and power; ground source cooling; ground source heat pumps; wind power; biofuels; energy storage; inverters and synchronisation; and absorption cooling.

The printed guide explores how several renewable energy technologies can be successfully integrated into buildings and developments, providing they are considered in the early stages of the planning and design process. It is intended to be used at the early stages of a project, before factors such as orientation, building form, numbers of storeys, heating and ventilation strategy have been established.

Learn more:

	•	CIBSE Guide TM38 “Renewable Energy Sources for Buildings” (ISBN 1903287731) costs £24.00 (CIBSE members) and £48.00 (non-members). See www.cibse.org publications.
	•	The Software tool is downloadable from the CIBSE website, (log-in required).