Sustainable buildings

Download the brochure and booking form here

Why you should attend this masterclass

These days every home claims it is an 'Eco Home', every development claims to be 'built to the highest levels of sustainability'. But what does this really mean? Often the very basics of even the definitions of both these terms are up for debate, let alone the practical steps that can be made to get there.

This one day master class is for practitioners who want to gain a fundamental common sense understanding of the issues behind sustainability in the built environment. This understanding should then allow them to see though 'green wash' and 'techno babble', and so cut to the real content of any proposal with which they are presented.

Key benefits

This one day masterclass will help you:

1.  Understand the current state of the art and where the industry may go next
2.  Gain insight into the basic issues which every designer is trying to solve
3.  Understand how 'solutions' can and cannot work, and by how much.
4.  Speculate what will change in a smart energy future of 'prosuming'
5.  Think about the implications of the green deal
6. Ask questions of what actually happens in the real world

Who should attend?

• Planning consultants
• Local Authority officers
• Developers and project leaders
• Housing association officers
• Private and commercial landords
• Property Investors and funders

Programme

9.00 Registration and coffee

9.30 Welcome and introduction

9.40 The state of sustainability overview

• An update of current thinking in the industry
• Speculation on Governments current direction
• Speculation on what 'sustainability might become to mean this year

10.00 An introduction to Building physics and Zero carbon Building

• Why does a building need energy?
• Which heat losses are inevitable, which can be avoided
• How energy issues may change the way our buildings look

10.50 Coffee and networking

11.10 Renewable energy in the built environment

• What are the different renewable technologies you will find in the built environment
• What do they do and do they work 
• Do they have to look the way they do 
• The problem with district heat

12.30 Questions and discussions

12.45 Lunch

1.45 Introduction Smart home energy management

• What is Smart Home Energy Management? 
• What effect this may have on the built environment
• How municipal government can take advantage of 'city knowledge'

 2.15 Understanding Zero Carbon - What is Carbon Compliance?

• History of the code for sustainable homes 
• How this has moved to become Carbon compliance 
• Potential issues that may now arise

2.45 Understanding the principals behind the green deal

• How the green deal fundamentally changes the way debt is organised 
• What is the golden rule 
• When might your house not let you in!

3.15 Building our Zero Carbon home

Over the past 5 years Steven's family have been building a zero carbon house. This less technical talk will look at how they lived through this. Starting with finding the site, raising the money and applying for planning permission it will go through the trials of the caravan, the fun of self installing microgen and the lessons you only learn when you become a builder and pay for it yourself. And finally - does it work? Satisfy your inner geek and enter a world of monitors and spread sheets.

4.15 Panel discussion

4.30 Close

Run by Steven Harris, Steven Harris Ltd

Download the brochure and booking form here