Coal plant viability for refurbishment can be assessed using automatic tools.
However, they also look at what’s happened over the last year.This means we know what’s happening in the UK in terms of energy balance.
We can use that data when considering sustainability in our designs to give a very detailed, current understanding of what the electricity grid is, and what that means for buildings.. We can also use their predictions to understand how the grid is going to decarbonise over the next five to ten years.Importantly, the trajectory for that decarbonisation looks healthy.What it really comes down to is different scenarios, related to levels of investment, and what that will consist of.
Decarbonisation of the electricity grid is a very large-scale endeavour.Massive wind turbines, all the way through to the PV panels on individual homes; all of these elements contribute to the electricity carbon factor and will play an important role in creating a more sustainable future.. Net zero by 2050.
It’s true that not every building is going to be net zero at the moment.
We’re designing with the government’s 2050 net-zero carbon objective in mind, and we’re on track to meet that goal.Existing office façades and finishes may be unsuitable for more stringent lab conditions.. For most office to lab conversions façades will simply require locking of openable windows and general making good.
However, for Containment Level 3 (or BSL3) labs and above, cleanrooms, environments requiring exceptionally tight tolerances, and other more onerous requirements, façades can be quite problematic.Airtightness is a particular challenge that can make a perfectly adequate office facade ill-suited for lab use, or may result in suppliers unwilling to guarantee lab performance, or disputes during commissioning.
In such cases, rather than re-clad the building (which defeats most of the point of a conversion) a possible solution is a ‘box in a box’ lab fit-out, though this will be more expensive and will reduce net usable space..Furthermore, given how much energy labs consume compared to an office it may be sensible to improve the performance of an older façade, which will, of course, add cost and programme, and there can be other issues around cladding, for example, some systems and materials used in offices are not accepted by life science businesses and insurers for fire safety and loss prevention reasons.. Office finishes are unlikely to be suitable for lab use, and it is almost always best to complete a full strip-out of the office at the start of a project.