The University of SheffieldBuilding Performance Modeller | Building Physics Engineer
Jan. 2023 - Aug. 2023Sheffield, England, United KingdomIn partnership with Sheffcare, I am embarking on an ongoing collaborative project called "Care Homes Fit for the Future" (CHeFF). The primary objective of this interdisciplinary project is to explore how the architectural design of care homes can effectively address the challenges posed by climate change, energy transition, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on reducing the energy consumption and enhancing indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of care homes. • Gather indoor environment and user data from participating care homes. This data will serve as the foundation for validating predictive IEQ models and evaluating the effectiveness of various design strategies.
• Develop coupled EnergyPlus and CONTAM baseline models for nine care homes in Sheffield, focusing on crucial design parameters such as space heating-cooling, air quality, dynamic infiltration rates, and internal loads. These models will serve as a reference point for assessing energy performance and identifying areas for improvement.
• The performance of the care homes are tested for a change in energy use and risk of summertime overheating while maintaining a good indoor air quality in future climates for the short (2030s), medium (2050s) and long term (2080s) using future weather files developed by the PROMETHEUS project.
• Implementation of advanced technologies and interventions such as: improving the building envelope air permeability (Q50, m3/h/m2), building fabric improvement (U-Values, W/m²·°C), Demand controlled ventilation (DCV), HVAC Technologies (VRF and ERV Systems), and combined Wind and PV for NZE buildings.