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BUILDING CONTROLS BSEE Let’s focus on design and stay in control
veryone loves good design. It doesn’t matter what the product is, if it looks good then people will want it. But when it comes to commercial buildings we have to ask ourselves the question…is looking good the same as good design? It sounds like a very simple question; and surely with the vast array of new technology which we have on offer looking good and good design are synonymous – aren’t they?
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By Jon Belfield, President of the Building Controls Industry Associaon.
The simple answer is no because looking good and good design can quite often be polar opposites. So, while it is exciting to consider new technologies, we can never lose sight of the fundamental principles of what makes a good building and more often than not that has nothing to do with the interior design.
The principles behind a good building can differ depending on who you talk to. For those who are constructing it, a good building is one which comes in on budget, while some may judge the success once the defect liability period is over. But for the people who are managing and occupying it, a good building is one which meets their needs in the longer term – and thereby lies the challenge.
Too often in the design and construction stages of a project, the focus on upfront costs will prevail over the long-term performance of a building. This leads to what is regularly referred to as the ‘performance gap’ – buildings that do not operate as the client wants or needs.
Lifecycle costs
If we look at the lifecycle costs of a commercial building they adhere to the 10 80 10 rule
whereby 10% of the overall expenditure is invested at the construction stage; 80% is spent during the operational lifecycle of the building and the remaining 10% is accounted for in dismantling and demolition. Of that middle 80%, the majority of the budget is accounted for by the operation of building services which includes air conditioning, heating, lighting and ventilation – all under the control of the BMS.
If you consider these figures a little closer, it becomes clear that the key to achieving sustainability in commercial buildings is to focus on ensuring that the correct investment is made in the services and controls at the outset. This will ensure that building services operate as efficiently and effectively as possible during the whole life of the building.
This is an opportunity for building controls – the latest figures from the BCIA’s Market Information Services (MIS) show that a new Q1 record was set this year of £654.8 million for the total controls and BEMS market in the UK. It is clear that the role of smart building controls in achieving energy efficiency is becoming more widely acknowledged.
Value engineering
But for every commercial building which has a fully functioning control system which keeps the building operating at peak efficiency, there is another which didn’t fare quite so well because one area that is particularly prone to ‘value engineering’ is the building controls and building energy management systems (BEMS). It is not uncommon to find the numbers of sensors and zones, for example, reduced at the design stage
because this is considered a consequence-free route to reducing construction costs. The nature of the construction industry is such that we will never overcome the issue of ‘cost cutting’ but what we can do as an industry is look at the longer term approach and bear in mind the 10 80 10 rule because only by considering building controls at the design stage can we hope to reduce the amount that we spend during the operational lifecycle of a building. An investment in good building control is just that, an investment that will payback through energy efficiency and productivity many times over.
Good planning of building services at the design stage is therefore essential but planning in effective building controls is critical – if we bring this into the design stage rather than addressing it as an afterthought then perhaps ‘looking good’ and ‘good design’ will become synonymous in our commercial building stock.
www.bcia.co.uk
Simply brilliant
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BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER NOVEMBER 2018 9
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