S I Sealy & Associates is a specialist building services engineering design, energy modelling and decarbonisation consultancy. A director within the business, David Stafford, once said that while the UK’s net zero carbon target deadline may be just under 30 years away, plans must be put in motion now for it to be achievable. The IPCC report on the state of climate change unveiled this week supports that view.
As a business, S I Sealy has been doing much to reduce the carbon footprint wherever it can and make its own contributions toward net zero. The firm usually works directly for clients or alongside an architect, structural engineer or project manager, to develop a building’s thermal envelope and services design to be as sustainable and energy-efficient as possible.
Highlighting the firm's objectives in an interview with The Parliamentary Review, Stafford said: “We design all aspects of building services including the heating, cooling, ventilation, water services, gases, power, IT, alarms and artificial and natural lighting elements of a building.
“Our approach is to identify sustainable and energy-efficient solutions. We work across all sectors: education, healthcare, commercial, industrial and residential.”
Some of S I Sealy’s most notable projects to date have included the refurbishment of the Elizabeth Tower, numerous projects at the world-class cancer hospital and research facility The Christie, and the Department for Education’s offsite modular construction frameworks for schools. So, working gradually toward achieving net zero carbon buildings has been a priority for the business for some time, and its senior leadership team will feel that this week’s climate change report will vindicate their work and serve to emphasise the urgency of what they are doing.
Stafford explained: “In 2019 the UK became the first country in the world to sign into law a target of net zero carbon emissions by the year 2050. We may have 30 years to achieve that target – but we need to focus on the target now, to stand any chance of achieving it. We take seriously our role in helping building owners and developers understand how they can move towards a net zero carbon building.”
To facilitate a move toward net zero carbon buildings, S I Sealy has built its own in-house building and energy modelling team. Their role is to product 3D models using Level 5 software programs which can undertake a range of calculations. These include dynamic thermal comfort assessments, climate-based daylight modelling, climate change adaptability assessments and detailed energy consumption modelling.
Discussing this model, Stafford said: “This enables us to advise on the optimum orientation and thermal performance criteria for the building’s envelope, so we can balance good levels of daylight and potential for photovoltaic electrical generation [south-facing] with the need to limit over-heating and reduce cooling demand [north facing].
“Our building and energy modelling informs the design to maximise passive design features [being ‘lean’] that reduce the need for energy, while our building services design engineers specify the most energy-efficient plant and systems [being ‘mean’ with energy usage] to meet the building’s reduced energy demand. Further reductions in carbon emissions can be achieved by the use of LZC [low and zero carbon] technologies [being ‘green’]. This approach is commonly referred to as being ‘Lean-Mean-Green’.”
The £33 million #DestinationBootle regeneration project is one example of “Lean-Mean-Green” in action. The build includes a mix of affordable homes for families, shared ownership and extra-care accommodation. S I Sealy’s design includes both ground source heating and solar photovoltaics, which meets 99 per cent of the site’s energy requirements and reduces carbon emissions across the site by 30 per cent.
For some buildings, however, even when following and implementing the many measures recommended in a comprehensive “Lean-Mean-Green” process, there may still be residual carbon emissions.
In such a scenario, Stafford highlights that the final step to achieving a net zero carbon development is to offset any remaining emissions, which can be done via the purchase of certified carbon credits from firms that invest in rainforests.
Furthermore, to enable a building to be truly net zero, it requires more than reductions in operational emissions. The building’s carbon footprint from its construction activities, maintenance and end-of-life activities must also be considered, according to Stafford.
“We cannot forget about a building’s carbon footprint resulting from the manufacture and transportation of building materials and labour used, as well as maintaining the building and its end-of-life activities if we are to make a development truly net carbon.”
Crucially, in order to accelerate the push toward net zero carbon buildings, Stafford stresses that more environmentally aware owners and developers across all sectors need to invest in the effort.
“We do need more like-minded building owners and developers, across all sectors and building types, to invest a small premium to strive towards true net zero carbon building. In the meantime, we will continue to encourage our clients to minimise their carbon emissions wherever possible”, he said.
With the damning conclusions of this week’s IPCC report, perhaps more investors and developers will be inclined to join the green mission sooner rather than later.
