Background

The Low Carbon Building Group has an international profile in the field of carbon counting, building performance monitoring, post-occupancy evaluation, low-carbon retrofitting and climate change adaptation of buildings and neighbourhoods. The Group also holds world-leading expertise in the study of thermal comfort, in particular the adaptive approach based on field surveys. Publications from the Group in low-carbon buildings and sustainable design are recognised international references. Other related areas of expertise include: urban energy modelling using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), low carbon communities and design of low-energy buildings in diverse climates.

Research expertise

• Carbon mapping of buildings, neighbourhoods and cities using the DECoRuM modelling approach
• Building performance monitoring and post-occupancy evaluation of domestic and non-domestic buildings, new-build and retrofits
• Evaluation of individual, household and community level energy behaviours
• Urban climate change risk assessment using probabilistic climate projections
• Climate change adaptation strategies for buildings and urban environments
• Thermal comfort surveys and the statistical analysis of data from surveys
• Guidance on low-carbon building design and retrofits, particularly using passive, bioclimatic methods combined with low and zero carbon technologies
• Building energy simulation using IES, TAS models
• Guidance on sustainable design
• Sustainable use of construction materials

Ongoing and recent research projects

• Evaluating the impact, effectiveness and success of DECC-funded low carbon communities on localised energy behaviours (EVALOC), RCUK/ESRC (with Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute), 2011-2014
• Suburban neighbourhood adaption for a changing climate (SNACC), EPSRC (with University of West of England and Heriot-Watt University), 2009-2012
• Land of Multi-Utility Service Companies, EPSRC (with University of Leeds), 2011-2014
• Assessing the potential of heat pumps to reduce carbon emissions from UK housing in a changing climate, EPSRC CASE award (with Ice Energy), 2007-2011
• Counting the 'real' carbon (CRC): Measurement and monitoring of low/zero carbon buildings, Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF4 and HEIF5), 2010-2012

• Technology Strategy Board (TSB) Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) Programme:

  • In-use BPE study of Crawley Library building (with Penoyre & Prasad Architects), 2011-2013
  • Post-construction and initial occupation study of Code Level 5 homes in Swindon (with NPS Northeast Ltd and Swindon Borough Council), 2011
  • In-use BPE study of Code Level 5 homes in Swindon (with NPS Northeast Ltd and Swindon Borough Council), 2011-2013
  • In-use BPE study of Angmering Community Centre (with Angmering Community Centre Association), 2011-2013

• TSB Design for Future Climate: Adapting Buildings programme

  • Climate change adaptation strategy for an eco-town development in NW Bicester (with Hyder Consulting and Cherwell District Council), 2010-2012
  • Climate change adaptation strategy for a secondary school in Ebbw Vale (with BDP Architects), 2010-2011
  • Climate change adaptation strategy for a hospital in Liverpool (with MAAP Architects), 2011-2012
  • Adaptation strategy for Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Hospital (with Penoyre & Prasad Architects), 2011-2013
  • Dragon Junior School for the Future (with Ridge and Partners), 2011-2013

• TSB Retrofit for the Future programme (Phase 1 and Phase 2):

  • The Oxford Whole House Carbon Reduction Project: feasibility study, implementation, monitoring and post-occupancy evaluation (with Ridge & Partners and Oxford City Council), 2009-2013
  • Low-carbon and deep retrofitting of a 1930's Semi-Detached house in Whitehaven: feasibility study, implementation, monitoring and post-occupancy evaluation (with Roland Hills Ltd. and Home Group), 2009-2013

External links

The Unit has widespread academic (research and teaching), governmental and industrial links both nationally and internationally through research projects and networks. These include:

• Research collaborations with University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute (EVALOC project), University of West of England and Heriot-Watt University (SNACC project).
• International collaborations with: the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to convene a British Council-funded UK-India conference on Sustainable energy technologies and low carbon buildings (2008); Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) India to convene two UK-India conferences on Urban sustainability and Green buildings (2009) and Moving towards low carbon buildings in India (2010); British Council Delhi to organise a major UK-India conference on Greening Events and Energy-efficient Cities for lasting legacies (2007); The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India on a 2-year European Commission funded Sustainable Habitat Design Advisor project; The World Bank, Washington on their 5th Urban Research Symposium on Cities and Climate Change held in Marseille (2009); and with Arizona State University, USA through a Visiting Fellowship for Professor Gupta.
• Collaborations with national institutions and networks include: British Standards Institution (BSI) Shadow Committee for energy efficiency and savings calculation and BSI UK PAS 2060 standard on carbon neutrality; Adaptation and Resilience to Changing Climate (ARCC) Coordination Network (ACN); ESRC Energy and Communities Programme; UK Thermal Comfort Interest Group (UKTCIG); Good Homes Alliance (GHA); Zero Carbon Hub’s (ZCH) task group on Ventilation and Indoor Air quality and Westminster Carbon Counting group
• Links with Government departments such as DECC (EVALOC project), Energy Saving Trust (EVALOC and Retrofit for the future), Technology Strategy Board on a range of programmes, DEFRA and CLG (SNACC project), as well as social housing providers such as Home Group Housing, Oxford City Council and Swindon Borough Council.
• Collaborations with industrial partners include: Penoyre & Prasad Architects, Ridge & Partners, BDP Architects, Hyder Consulting, MAAP Architects, NPS Northeast Ltd, Architype, PRP Architects, Arup, and BSRIA.

Training opportunities

The Group runs a one-year full-time or two-year part-time Master's programme in Sustainable Building: Performance and Design.

One-day CPD workshops are offered in the fields of: low carbon building design and performance; passive solar design; monitoring and post-occupancy evaluation of buildings; and carbon counting.

At present the unit has six PhD students, and we invite further students to apply.

Selected research publications

Gupta, R and Gregg, M (2011) Adapting UK suburban neighbourhoods and dwellings for a changing climate, Advances in Building Energy Research Journal. 5: 1, 1-28

Gupta, R. and Chandiwala, S. (2010). Understanding occupants: feedback techniques for large-scale low carbon domestic refurbishments. Building Research and Information 38(5): 530-548.

Gupta, R. (2009). Moving towards low-carbon buildings and cities: experiences from Oxford, UK. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies (4), pp.159 -168.

Gupta, R. and Chandiwala, S. (2009). A critical and comparative evaluation of CO2 emissions from national building stocks of developed and rapidly-developing countries - case studies of UK, USA, and India. The World Bank, Washington, USA.

Hancock, M. and Stevenson, F (2009) Examining the interrelationships of microclimate, construction performance and user behaviour, to inform design strategies, Proceedings of the 26th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Quebec, 22-24th June.

Nicol J F and Humphreys M A (2007) Maximum temperatures in European office buildings to avoid heat discomfort. Solar Energy, 81, 295-304.