UWE Bristol Engineering showcase 2015

Introduction
Stephen Callan
BEng Mechanical Engineering
The Comparison between the effectiveness of Retrofit enhancements
and Energy Management on large buildings to that of smaller
commercial offices and retail units.
The investigation aims to determine whether retrofits to improve the energy efficiency of buildings are effective and to what extent. To
do this the author will apply various energy efficient techniques and low carbon and renewable technologies to two case studies; one
model will be of a smaller dwelling or office, the other a large or commercial building such as a hospital. This will lead to a direct
comparison of energy savings for the two buildings whilst also looking at the economic and social implications of the changes.
What is Retrofitting?
Retrofitting a building or green retrofit is a
term used when describing the renovation or
modernisation of an existing building, when
said renovations are aimed at improving the
buildings overall efficiency and in doing so
lowering its carbon footprint. Retrofits can be
applied to all types of buildings from the
common household to hospitals. The are many
different techniques that can be used to lower
a buildings energy efficiency, these can be as
simple as switching to LED light bulbs or more
complex solutions such as using photovoltaic
cells or installing heat pumps. These
techniques will be explored in more detail later
in the report.
Model of Small Domestic Dwelling
Instead of using a small commercial building it
was decided that using a rural domestic dwelling
would be more suitable for this investigation.
This would mean that the two compared models
would be at complete opposite ends of the
property scale, not only in terms of size but also
in terms of use and investment potential.
The Dwelling would have its airtightness
improved, a new boiler installed and upgraded
fabric. The would also be a test simulation to see
how effective Photovoltaic Cells and 2kW roof
mounted wind turbine would work.
Model Of Large Building: N-Block
For the Large building model. It was decided that
the best option was to go with one of the university
buildings, known as N-Block. N-block was chosen
due to it being one of the largest options available,
readily available drawings and building information
to model from and was familiar to the author which
would aid in giving an accurate representation of
the building.
The retrofit of this model would benefit from the
installation of ground source heat pumps,
Photovoltaic Cells , a 6kW wind turbine, improved
fabric and an increase in airtightness.
Project Supervisor
Dr. Aruna Palipana
Project summary
The investigation aims to determine whether
retrofits to improve the energy efficiency of
buildings are effective and to what extent.
Project Objectives
• Investigate the effectiveness of retrofitting
buildings in comparison to their size.
• Learn how to use the modelling and
simulations techniques in Integrated
Environmental Solution – Virtual
Environment (IES-VE).
• Secondary aims involve looking into the
economic implications (Initial costs and
savings over time), time constraints, social
impacts and whether or not demolition
and redeveloping the building is a
better/realistic option.
Project Conclusion
In conclusion, the size and type of building
does effect what can and cannot be done in
terms of retrofitting buildings. The biggest
lesson learnt during the investigation is that
each retrofit project is different due to
investment costs associated with different
sized buildings. The most effective treatment
for small buildings is to increase thermal
efficiency through fabric changes and
airtightness. Whilst larger buildings benefit
more from improvements made to their
heating and cooling systems. This said every
building is different and should be treated as
an individual project and planned accordingly.