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BRE TRUST’S Publication PROGRAMMES : Progress Reports to end September 2010
This report is a summary of progress and developments in the Trust’s publication programmesto end of September2010.
Topics covered are as follows:
- Progress Report Q2 2010/11
- Progress Report – selection of Publications for 2010/11
- Completed Publications from BRE Trust Research Programme
A Progress ReportQ1 2010/11
Current progress is as follows:-
July 2010
A concise guide to SUDS. Bregulla, Powell and Yu. NF 22. NHBC Foundation
This pragmatic guide to sustainable drainage systems is aimed at introducing the concept of SUDS and increasing the awareness of government policies and regulation in this area. Technical guidance is included for the differing options, their selection parameters, construction requirements and maintenance issues. The guide also covers relevant social and environmental issues, together with the health and safety considerations for incorporating these systems in housing developments.
August 2010
Sprinkler systems for fire protection of commercial and industrial buildings. Jackman. Digest 518
Automatic sprinklers have been used in commercial and industrial buildings for over 150 years. Sprinklers stop a small, unexpected fire from escalating into a large, uncontrolled fire. Historically, sprinklers have proved successful at reducing the cost of fires for building owners and/or occupiers and insurers. This Digest summarises the key information needed by business managers/operators, specifiers, users, insurers and approving authorities to select, design and maintain sprinkler systems.
September 2010
Quantifying the cost of poor housing. Nicol, Roys, Davidson, Ormandy and Ambrose. IP 16/10
This Information Paper summarises the results of a research project commissioned by BRE Trust to develop a method of quantifying the cost of poor housing, and the cost–benefit of interventions to improve such housing. This Paper provides feedback on some of the early practical uses of the research and, in particular, how it has been used to quantify the health benefits of energy efficiency measures that improve homes beyond the average for their age and type. The original research suggested that undertaking basic improvements to reduce the hazards in poor housing to an acceptable level could save the National Health Service some £600 million a year. Subsequent BRE Trust sponsored research reported here suggests that this saving could be doubled if more comprehensive improvements to the heating and insulation of cold homes are undertaken.
Health and productivity benefits of sustainable schools. Thorne and Halfhide. FB 27
This publication reviews evidence from international research that the environmental design of schools has a positive effect on teaching and learning. With large numbers of students in education and major investment in school buildings, the benefits of improving health and productivity in schools through environmental measures are potentially enormous. ‘Green’ schools should provide healthier and more productive environments because many of the features of ‘green’ buildings are known to contribute to health and well-being. This publication explores the potential benefits of: thermal comfort, access to fresh air, daylight and views out, acoustic performance, size and layout of teaching spaces.
October 2010
Creating a funding mechanism for UK carbon reduction projects. Rabinowitz and d'Este Hoare. IP 17/10
This Information Paper summarises the findings of BRE research to assess the feasibility of creating a funding mechanism for carbon reduction projects in the UK. It outlines the comprehensive framework for reporting of UK-based carbon reduction projects that BRE is proposing to develop. The research was commissioned by BRE Trust in response to strong demand from BRE clients to support UK-based carbon reduction projects instead of, or in addition to, traditional international carbon offsets. A full account of this research is published in a BRE Trust Report ‘UK carbon reduction projects’.
With IHS BRE Press and being edited including publications arising from BRE Trust funded research.
Design fires for use in fire safety engineering. Mayfield and Hopkin. FB 29
Design of durable concrete structures. Matthews. FB
Designing urban streets to minimise heat island effects. Smith. IP 19/10
Dynamic comfort criteria for structures. A review. Breeze. FB
Integrating BREEAM throughout the design process: A guide to achieving higher BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes ratings through incorporation with the RIBA Outline Plan of Work and other procurement routes. Cinquemani and Prior. FB
Residential sprinklers for fire protection. Williams. 2-part Digest.
Schools and energy. Young et al. IP
Sustainable housing refurbishment. An update on current guidance and sources of information for housing refurbishment. Honour. IP 19/10
Sustainable shopfitting equipment - Development of a design tool. Johnson, Lowres, Anderson, Keane, Hardy and Costa. IP
Timber cladding. Holland, Reynolds and Nash. Digest.
UK carbon reduction projects. Rabinowitz and d’Este Hoare. FB
Ventilation for healthy buildings. Kukadia and Hall. FB. Examples being added
Water mist fire protection in offices. Experimental testing and development of a test protocol. Annable and Jackman.
With IHS BRE pressand approved, but images not yet received
Biomass energy. Suttie. FB (some images received)
External fire spread performance of cladding systems on multi-storey buildings. Colwell. FB
Fire performance of external thermal insulation for walls of multistorey buildings. Colwell, Revision of BR 135
Fire performance of roofs - a guide to test methods and approvals. Colwell. DG
Performance of photovoltaic systems in non-domestic buildings. Pester et al. FB
Table showing improved page views on BRE Trust funded Building4Change.com
Overview / Sep-10 / Aug-10 / Jul-10Non-spider visits / 8,434 / 6,259 / 6,370
Spider visits / 6055 / 5,470 / 5297
Total visits / 14,489 / 11,729 / 11,667
Average visits per day / 482 / 378 / 376
Average duration per visit / 19:40 / 23:24 / 20:32
Total page views for month / 47,561 / 45,936 / 40,513
Average page views per day / 1,585 / 1,481 / 1,306
Average number of page views per visit / 3.28 / 3.92 / 3.47
Referrals from search engines / 1319 / 1146 / 1046
Building4change site:
- Has been shortlisted for IBP National Journalism Awards in website of the year category, alongside Property Week and Construction News
- Now has1003 registered subscribers for the e-newsletter
- Has 14,489 visitors a month, and 47,561 page views per month (chart above)
Other sites now linking to building4change include:
- Chartered Institute of Marketing Construction Industry Group,
- Kevin McCloud's Hab Oakus,
- Winvic Construction.
All of these inward links bring new people to BRE
The commercial potential of building4change is now being explored – the first move is likely to be in recruitment advertising, which although not commercially strong in the present market, is the simplest to introduce using a basic uploadable template.
Recent major initiatives covered include the International Sustainability Alliance and the launch of the Victorian Terrace.
B. Progress Report – selection of BRE Trust Publications for 2010/11
Following the substitutions referred to in the last BRE Trust Council report Forty Seven essay plans have been produced for the publication programme 2010/11.
Seven BRE publications and two BRE Global publications have been drafted and are going through internal reviews and approval processes before being sent to the publishers.
C, Completed Publications from BRE Trust Research Programme
If appropriate, reports from research projects funded by the BRE Trust are converted into publications. These can be in the form of Information Papers – a short summary of the research findings, Digests – a shortened version of the research report, or full length publications.
The following was published since the last BRE Trust Council meeting.
Consumer feedback on low-carbon housing. Coward and Gemmell. IP 14/10
This BRE Information Paper gives feedback from a survey of consumers that will be invaluable to home builderswho are developing low-carbon homes. Feedback on low-carbon housing is vital to understanding what consumers are looking for and what would encourage investment in these types of properties. It will help home builders to understand how best to stimulate interest and investment in the low-carbon housing market, remove the barriers and build low-carbon homes that are designed to meet more closely the needs of consumers.
Energy efficiency in new and existing buildings. Comparative costs and CO2 savings. MacKenzie, Pout, Shorrock, Matthews and Henderson. FB 26
This BRE Trust report considers the relative impact on UK CO2 savings targets of constructing new zero-carbon buildings as opposed to improving the energy efficiency of the existing stock. The work presented in this report uses existing data to explore the extent to which improving the energy efficiency of the existing UK building stock would be a more cost-effective route for achieving CO2 savings than constructing new buildings to the higher levels of energy performance required to meet low- and zero-carbon targets.
Specifying LED lighting. Littlefair and Graves. IP 15/10.
This Information Paper outlines the advantages of LED lighting and explains the parameters that need to be specified for LED installations. These include the amount and direction of the output light, glare, lifetime and colour quality. LEDs perform less well at high temperatures, so their fittings require heat sinks or ventilation to keep them cool. Organic LEDs, which are polymer sheets emitting a diffuse light, are also briefly reviewed. This Information Paper is intended for building owners and facilities managers, interior designers, electrical installers and services engineers.
Reasearch publications which are with IHS BRE Press and being edited are mentioned in Part 1 of this report
The Trustees agreed on 26th November 2009 that they wished to be alerted by e-mail of new BRE Trust publications and that they would advise the Secretary if they wished to receive a complimentary copy of any of them. Also the list of BRE Trust publications is now up to date on the BRE Trust web-site and Trustees are invited to contact the Secretary if they would like a hard copy of any BRE Trust publications shown.
BRE Trust Secretariat
October 2010
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