EMBODIED ENERGY | HEATING SYSTEMS EMBODIED ENERGY: THE WHOLE PICTURE New CIBSE research shows that embodied energy in heating and hot-water systems accounts for up to 25% of a dwellings whole-life embodied carbon. Elementa Consultings Yara Machnouk reports on the study that will form the basis of CIBSE guidance TM65.1 N ew research for CIBSE has uncovered the significant amount of embodied carbon in heat and hot-water systems in UK homes. The study, undertaken by Elementa Consulting, revealed an average measure of 9kgCO2e per kg of product weight in the systems examined. This represents between 3% and 25% (excluding refrigerant leakage) of the whole-life embodied carbon of a building. The research is due to be published as a Technical Memorandum (TM65.1) in winter 2021. It was conducted to provide recommendations on how engineers might consider and reduce embodied carbon in MEP equipment, which has a significant embodied carbon impact when a building is first constructed, and during its lifetime because of high equipment replacement rates. CIBSE TM65, published in January 2020, has an embodied carbon calculation methodology for building services products, to be used where no Environmental Product Declarations are available. Engineers must understand the embodied carbon emissions of the systems they design and the products they specify, so informed choices can be made using whole-life carbon thinking. Supply chain collaboration is particularly important when considering heating systems of residential schemes. Study aims The study focused on heating in residential new builds with ultra-low energy building fabric (aligned with the Passivhaus fabric performance). The following residential typologies were explored: Three-bed, five-person terraced house Two-bed, three-person flat in multiresidential building of 15 units, 100 units Large development of 10 buildings, each with 200 units. Around 30 product types were explored. In total, 70 data points were collected, and 29 manufacturers provided information to enable basic or mid-level calculations to be carried out for their products. See Section 2 of TM65.1 for additional details on the data points collected. Information provided in UK heat and hot-water systems examined contain an average of 9kgCO2e per kg of product weight the TM65 manufacturer form was used to carry out a basic or mid-level calculation. In most cases, meetings were held with technical representatives of manufacturer companies, to break down the information required and explain the benefit of sharing it. Individual results were shared with each person of contact so that manufacturers could understand the embodied carbon impact of their product(s). The remaining products were kept anonymous. A range of products was selected to represent the most used heating and hotwater systems in new-build residential schemes in the UK. Equipment studied fell into the following categories: individual heat-generation systems; central plant heat generation; heat emitters and heat exchangers; heat distribution; hot-water storage; hot-water distribution; ancillaries; and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. In each instance, different capacities were requested, reasonably sized to suit the residential schemes included in this study. Advanced Air Sterilisation Reimagined The new CPA Biojet uses advanced ultraviolet technology that is scientifically proven to produce cleaner and safer indoor air. The Biojet works by drawing in untreated, potentially contaminated, air and passing it through a high output Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) chamber. The germicidal UVGI deactivates up to 99.99% of airborne mould, bacteria and viruses, including coronaviruses*. The sterilised air is then delivered back into the space, free from harmful pathogens. tel: 01501 825024 | email: sales@cpa-group.com | web: cpa-group.com Calderhead Road, Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML7 4EQ www.cpa-group.com/media/2145/technology-evaluation-report.pdf 28 November 2021 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Nov21 pp28-30 TM65.indd 28 22/10/2021 15:28 UV viru Exc to En sec En sta