28 Keeping cool naturally
Alex Hill from Whitecode Consulting looks at fabric-based approaches to balancing thermal performance and comfort in UK school buildings, in the context of a range of challenges
in the design of limiting solar gains through windows and providing adequate opening areas to remove excess heat.
Matters are made worse by the fact that we are facing a climate emergency. In 2022, our highest temperature was 40.3°C which exceeded the previous record of 38.7°C. We have now arrived at the point where the purpose of energy efficiency is to drive down heating costs and we are looking to mechanical cooling to deal with our overheating problem, which should not be the first port of call.
These temperatures we have faced are comparable to a Spanish summer. The Spanish prevent overheating by keeping doors and windows shut to keep out hot air in the middle of the day, shutting blinds and utilising mechanical cooling in the evening to lower inside temperatures. We are experiencing temperatures that you expect from Spain, and yet we are not adjusting our architecture to accommodate this.
Given the current climate crisis, it is imperative that we adapt our current approach to building design
W
e are currently experiencing unprecedented levels of heat in the UK, and British buildings are not designed to accommodate this. According to official sources, Western Europe’s 2022 heatwave may have caused 20,000 excess deaths. In England and Wales 3,271 excess deaths were recorded from the start of June to the 7 September (Office for National Statistics), this is 6.2% higher than the five-year average with Covid-19 deaths excluded. The government’s introduction of new overheating regulations should warn the industry of the severity of this issue, and suggests that the industry needs to change its approach. Commercial buildings must comply with CIBSE’s TM59 to reduce overheating. For domestic dwellings, all previous regulations on overheating have been brought together into Approved Document O, to highlight the importance
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
The Spanish approach to preventing overheating In the UK it is imperative that we design the building in a way that is sympathetic to the higher temperatures that we have been experiencing in our recent summers. Spanish designers consider high temperatures in building design. Their buildings feature hard ceramic floors and hard concrete ceilings to reduce the heat. Moreover, ‘persianas’ or exterior shutters, used as an external shading solution are commonplace. This Spanish approach to keeping buildings cool would be an excellent start to dealing with our overheating problem and meeting the relevant standards. It is pertinent to start having a discussion within the built environment about exterior shading for buildings and moveable shutters that you often see on Spanish apartment buildings, as these features could be the solution to the British overheating problem.
ADF MAY 2023
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
