General BREEAM presentation

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Tim Bevan Centre for Sustainable Construction
Using BREEAM to Assess the Environmental
Performance of Buildings
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Introduction

• What is BREEAM?
• Drivers and users of the scheme
• Key benefits to the users
• Questions

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What is BREEAM?

• BRE Environmental Assessment Method
• Benchmarks and checklists of performance
• Positive credits - motivational and practical
• Developed in partnership with commerce and
  industry
• Progressively evolving and improving

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BREEAM aims to

• Reduce the environmental impact of construction
  and building operation.
• Recognise best practice.
• Highlight the economic benefits to stakeholders
  and clients.
• Provide comprehensive method of measuring and
  monitoring environmental performance.
• Consider all areas of Sustainability i.e.
  Economic, Environmental and Social.

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Keeping Ahead of Legislation
UK Building Stock
Environmental performance
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Different Stages of BREEAM

• All BREEAM versions
• Applicable to new buildings at design stage.
• BREEAM Offices Retail version
• Applicable to unoccupied existing buildings.
• Applicable to occupied existing buildings.

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BREEAM criteria

• BREEAM provides a set of predefined criteria
• Many of the criteria set specific performance
  targets
• Others are more subjective and harder to quantify
• Does not cover every possible design solution

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Environmental Issues
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History

• First version developed in 1990
• 1/90 New Offices
• 2/91 New Superstores and Supermarkets
• 3/91 New Homes
• 4/93 Existing Offices
• 5/93 New Industrial Units
• Environmental Standard

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Current Versions
BREEAM for Offices
EcoHomes
BREEAM Industrial
BREEAM Retail
NEAT (hospitals)
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Bespoke BREEAM
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Under development
BREEAM for Prisons
BREEAM for Schools
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Future Development
Leisure facilities
Higher Education
EU energy directive
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Key Drivers for using BREEAM

• Demonstrate the sustainability credentials to
  planning authorities, investors and customers.
• Reduced energy and other running costs.
• Improved staff productivity.
• Making buildings more lettable and potentially
  higher rental incomes.
• Making buildings more attractive to potential
  customers or tenants.
• Pre-empt legislation.
• Setting targets for improvement.
• Improved image ethical investment policies

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BREEAM Users

• Government Property Construction Panel.
• Prisons, job and pension centres, MOD, NHS, Local
  Authorities.
• Non-Departmental Public Body
• Housing Corporation
• English Partnerships
• Commercial developers
• Land Securities
• Grosvenor
• Architects, ME engineers, Directors of Estates.

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How BREEAM is used by clients

• Product labelling
• As a specification tool
• As a design tool
• As a measurement tool within EMS

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Benefits to users Building Occupiers

• Improved environment increase in building users
  productivity.
• Reduced operating costs climate change levy,
  energy, water and maintenance costs.
• Increased flexibility.

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Improved environment

• Indoor air quality
• Control of thermal environment
• Natural daylight levels and glare control
• Control of artificial lighting
• Degree of occupant control over ventilation,
  temperature and lighting
• General ambience and aesthetic environment
• Availability of transport for commuting, business
  and leisure use
• Acoustic environment
• Scale of working spaces, which can effect degree
  of ownership
• Social meeting areas, rooms and other amenities

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Wessex Water - Operations Centre
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Wessex Water - Internal Street
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Solar Shading
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Reduced Operating Costs

• Design of the building form and fabric to
  minimise system loads through use of daylighting,
  avoidance of unwanted solar gain.
• Control of heat and ventilation losses
• Avoidance of air-conditioning.
• Provision of occupier control over temperature
  and ventilation
• Interlocking between potentially conflicting
  systems such as heating and cooling.
• Specification of efficient lighting, heating and
  cooling systems.
• Zoning of heating, cooling, ventilation and
  lighting systems to take account of building
  orientation, daylighting potential, space.
• Ease of monitoring of energy and water costs
  through the provision of sub-meters to key plant
  and systems.

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Increased flexibility

• Careful zoning and adaptability of the basic
  services within a building to allow for changes
  in use patterns, and therefore loads.
• Variable scales of floor plates to accommodate
  differing occupier demands.
• Avoiding the need for inflexible internal
  load-bearing walls
• Open-plan spaces, allowing lots of air and
  natural light whilst maintaining privacy and
  quiet working space.
• Careful design of the acoustic environment to
  control background noise levels.
• at a later date to allow for subletting or
  expansion into other areas.

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Benefits to users developers

• 1) Lower costs
• 2) Improved image
• 3) Fewer construction defects

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Financial costs vs. Environmental benefit
1) Lower costs

• Energy Efficient Buildings are expensive
• True or False?

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Study findings

• Most believe that energy efficient buildings are
  more expensive to build.
• Environmental issues second only to location.
• Save capital, running costs and improve corporate
  image
• Value of hidden assets

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Specification Details - Reference Case

• 8 storey office, rectangular deep plan
• Central atrium
• 4 pipe coil full fresh air air conditioning
• designed to 1995 building regulations
• 60 glazing throughout

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Improving an Air Conditioned Building
Energy Cost (per annum)
Capital Cost
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Conclusion

• Cumulative capital cost savings of all measures
  55/m2 GFA
• Fabric costs increased by 2
• Services costs decreased by 11
• Running cost savings of 3/m2 GFA
• (this represents a saving of almost 50 !)
• This would be matched by a similar saving in CO2

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From Air Conditioned to Naturally Ventilated
Passively Cooled
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Air Conditioned to Naturally Ventilated - Savings

• Cumulative capital cost savings of all measures
  200/m2 GFA - this represents a massive 20 of
  the total capital cost.
• Operational Energy savings of 4.0/m2 GFA (50 of
  the total energy cost).
• 48 Savings in CO2 emissions

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Conclusion

• Energy Efficient Buildings are expensive.
• Not necessarily true.

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2) Improved image

• Environmental sensitivity in design
• Sensitive construction to minimise disturbance to
  ecosystems, neighbours and avoid pollution
• Measurement of impacts
• Careful and accurate reporting of impacts
• Publicising achievements

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Devonshire building University of Newcastle
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Presentation of BREEAM Certificate
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3) Fewer Construction defects

• Clear responsibilities for commissioning of
  fabric and mechanical, heating, cooling,
  lighting, plumbing, electrical and ventilation
  systems
• Sufficient time allocation for commissioning as
  above
• Consideration of off-site construction techniques

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To surmise, BREEAM

• Define the issues
• Set the standard
• Overcome barriers to opportunities to influence
  environmental improvement

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Questions?
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Tim Bevan Centre for Sustainable Construction
Using BREEAM to Assess the Environmental
Performance of Buildings