Sustainable Design

UK legislation and European law are driving forward compulsory environmental performance assessments in new and refurbished buildings upon which planning consent is conditional.

In April 2007, the Code for Sustainable Homes replaced Ecohomes for the assessment of new housing in England. The Code is an environmental assessment method for new homes based upon BRE's Ecohomes and contains mandatory performance levels in 6 key areas. Legally binding Final Code Certification is now required.

The environmental performance of commercial buildings (new & existing) is currently assessed under the BREEAM family which will also be converted to legally binding Code for Sustainable Buildings Certification in the near future.

The energy performance of a building depends on;

  • Building design
  • Building construction
  • How it is brought into use
  • How it is occupied and managed

Using our technical and commercial experience combined with sophisticated building performance software tools JWA can

  • Help establish the Planning Policy requirements for on site renewable energy technologies and other environmental benchmarking i.e. BREEAM Excellent.
  • Undertake Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM energy pre-assessments
  • Undertake environmental energy life cycle cost analysis to consider capital cost, energy costs, annual maintenance, operating and repair costs which can take account of present and predicted economic factors such as inflation and interest rates to establish Net Present Value
  • Undertake façade optimisation studies to compare different environmental energy design options including a technical performance and cost appraisal against design parameters and your Client expectations

JWA can work with your design team to help identify the key items required for intelligent use of energy, which are

  • Exploiting the potential contribution to performance offered by the site and its surroundings
  • A plan form which places functions in locations that minimise the need for applied energy
  • A shape which encourages the use of daylight and natural ventilation and reduces heat losses
  • An orientation that takes account of the potential benefits from solar gains while reducing the risk of glare and overheating
  • Effective use of natural daylight combined with the avoidance of glare and unwanted solar gains
  • High efficiency artificial lighting with effective user friendly controls
  • Natural ventilation wherever practical and appropriate, with mechanical ventilation and or air conditioning used only to the extent they are actually required
  • Good levels of thermal insulation and prevention of unwanted infiltration through the building envelope (façade optimisation)
  • Intrinsically efficient and well controlled building services, well matched to the building fabric and the expected use
  • Control systems appropriate to the organisation’s needs and capabilities, offering where possible local and preferably individual control of the internal environment and metering systems that encourage effective monitoring and management of energy use