Technology

Upcoming Building Research Workshop at Galway University

Posted by CJ Walsh

2013-06-08:  Looking forward to some serious, collaborative and multi-disciplinary discussions on the day … and a barrel of laughs in the process (!!) …

The Informatics Research Unit for Sustainable Engineering (IRUSE) in the Department of Civil Engineering … and The Ryan Institute for Environmental, Marine and Energy Research … both at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) … have jointly organized a 1-Day National Research Networking Workshop which will take place on Monday, 24 June 2013.

The NUIG ‘blurb’ for the day states … “Considering the importance of aggressive energy-efficiency measures in the Building Sector, together with the requirements for a safe, healthy, comfortable (and accessible) Built Environment … this NUIG Workshop will explore the topic of Integrated Modelling and Performance of the Built Environment.”

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I was very pleased to receive an invitation to make a Presentation at this prestigious event …

‘Sustainable Fire Engineering Design’  –  My Presentation Abstract

Fire Engineering … involves much more than mere compliance with building regulations and codes … whose fire safety objectives are limited, and whose performance requirements are sometimes inadequate and always minimal.  More problematically … a fundamental conflict is mushrooming between Safe Sustainable Climate Resilient Building Design and Conventional Fire Consultancy Practice.

However … Sustainable Fire Engineering Design Solutions are:

  • Reliability-based ;
  • Person-centred ;

… and above all …

  • Adapted to Local Context and Heritage (fr: le Patrimoine – see ICOMOS 2011) … geography, climate (incl. change, variability and severity swings), social need, culture, and economy, etc., etc.

This Presentation will discuss very rich collaborative research potential in the following areas …

  1. Creative Fire Engineering Concepts and Building Systems
  2. Fire-Induced Progressive Damage in Buildings
  3. Human Behaviour and Abilities in a Fire Situation
  4. Building Design for Firefighter Safety
  5. BMS – Fire Modelling – BIM

Research Output must be targeted at practical implementation in ‘real’ buildings … with actual user/construction performance carefully (i.e. reliably and precisely) monitored !

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If anybody out there is interested in attending this NUIG Research Workshop … please contact Ms. Magdalena Hajdukiewicz (IRUSE) at: hajdukiewicz1@nuigalway.ie

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POST-EVENT UPDATE:  2013-06-27 …

While it was difficult to keep the Workshop Programme, involving a series of short 10-minute presentation slots, on track … discussions during the day were engaging, energetic and extensive.

I happily look forward to a successful and collaborative outcome from the day … Multi-Disciplinary Teams producing Trans-Disciplinary Research Output … which is geared towards practical implementation in ‘real’ buildings, with actual construction and building user performance carefully (i.e. reliably and precisely) monitored !

Galway University (NUIG) Workshop Programme & Presentation Abstracts

Click the Link Above to read and/or download PDF File (193 Kb)

Galway University (NUIG) Built Environment Research Networking Workshop - 24 June 2013
Colour photograph showing the venue for the IRUSE & The Ryan Institute (Galway University – NUIG) Built Environment Research Networking Workshop, which was held in the New Engineering Building on 24 June 2013. Seen here is Dr. Harald Berresheim during his presentation on ‘The Self-Cleansing Capacity of Our Atmosphere – Limitations on Local to Global Scales’. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2013-06-24. Click to enlarge.

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CJ Walsh Presentation: ‘Sustainable Fire Engineering Design’

Click the Link Above to read and/or download PDF File (1.78 MB)

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However … and especially since the Workshop had been organized by IRUSE (the ‘SE’ standing for ‘Sustainable Engineering’) … it was indeed very strange to have to clarify the following points, among others:

1.   The Minimum Life Cycle for a Sustainable Building is 100 Years … not 50 or 60 years !

2.   Future Research Collaboration should be targeted at the multi-aspect ‘Sustainability Agenda’.  The word ‘green’ (where only environmental aspects of sustainability are considered) should be actively discouraged, if not banned entirely !

3.   With regard to Good Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) … two high-level performance indicators which have been developed with the aim of protecting human health, and are both now referenced in International Standard ISO 21542: ‘Building Construction – Accessibility & Usability of the Built Environment’ … are …

      –   Radon Activity (incl. Rn-222, Rn-220, RnD) in a building should, on average, fall within the range of 10 Bq/m3 to 40 Bq/m3, but should at no time exceed 60 Bq/m3 ;

      –   Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Concentrations in a building should not significantly exceed average external levels – typically within the range of 300 parts per million (ppm) to 500 ppm – and should at no time exceed 800 ppm.

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Galway University’s New Engineering Building

Concerning the substantive difference in meaning and scope between ‘sustainable’ and ‘green’ … there is, perhaps, no better way to illustrate this difference than to observe the atrocious ‘Accessibility-for-All’ Performance (Accessibility for People with Activity Limitations !) of the critically acclaimed (?!?) and award winning (?!?) New Engineering Building in Galway University … which flaunts its ‘über-green’ credentials …

Galway University's New Engineering Building - Inadequate Accessibility-for-All (1)

Galway University's New Engineering Building - Inadequate Accessibility-for-All (2)

Galway University's New Engineering Building - Inadequate Accessibility-for-All (3)

Galway University's New Engineering Building - Inadequate Accessibility-for-All (4)

Galway University's New Engineering Building - Inadequate Accessibility-for-All (5)

Can you believe what’s in those photographs ??   More importantly … can you believe what’s not in those photographs ????   In such a recently completed building … “incredible” is the only answer to both questions.

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Under International Law … lack of accessibility, or inadequate accessibility, to the social, built, virtual and economic environments … IS a denial and infringement of the basic human rights of people with activity limitations.  It also limits, needlessly and unnecessarily, the numbers of potential users of those environments … which makes no sense at all.

My strong recommendation to Galway University … is to immediately commission a Competent Accessibility Consultant to give the university campus a thorough going over !   You are failing the campus user population … the local community in Galway … and Irish society generally.

My even stronger recommendation to the Architects for the New Engineering Building … RMJM Architects (Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall) in Scotland, and Taylor Architects in Ireland … is to always commission a Competent Accessibility Consultant on all of your projects … small, medium and large … because you haven’t a bull’s notion about this important dimension of building performance !!

And remember folks … Accessibility has been clearly specified in the new International Standard ISO 21542 as including … ‘access to buildings, circulation within buildings and their use, egress from buildings in the normal course of events, and evacuation in the event of an emergency’.

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‘THE’ Toilet Unit – Aspects of Japan’s Fascinating Culture (II)

Posted by CJ Walsh

2013-03-09:  You may have heard about IT, but you didn’t believe any part of the story.  BUT, here IT is … up close and personal !

Not just a toilet, or a WC … and not just any old toilet unit … this is ‘THE’ Toilet Unit … the ‘all-singing all-dancing wonder of the world’ !   Found throughout Japan … in locations which are private (e.g. residences and hotel rooms), as well as public (e.g. bus and railway stations).

The Toilet Unit in a hotel room shown here, TOTO TCF 521R, is an older model.  Units in public places can have additional functions, e.g. playing music to ‘mask’ noises made by the person on the toilet.  Notice the use of graphics on the control panel, texts in two languages (Japanese and English), separate spray settings for male and female, and a facility to alter spray water pressure and pattern (uniform or oscillating/pulsating).

Afterwards, you might consider visiting the Manufacturer’s WebSite (TOTO, in Japan) … http://www.toto.co.jp/ … to examine the advanced technologies driving the development of this product.

But beware of cheap imitations which are beginning to be promoted in Europe !

Japan - Toilet Unit (1)
Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2010-04-20. Click to enlarge.
Japan - Toilet Unit (2)
Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2010-04-20. Click to enlarge.

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Japan - Toilet Unit (3)
Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2010-04-20. Click to enlarge.
Japan - Toilet Unit (4)
Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2010-04-20. Click to enlarge.

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Japan - Toilet Unit (5)
Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2010-04-20. Click to enlarge.

And just one more interesting bathroom feature from Japan … a heated section of a much larger mirror which remains clear in hot steamy conditions …

Japan - Heated Bathroom Mirror
Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-10-04. Click to enlarge.

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Building Fire Emergencies – What is a ‘Place of Safety’ ?

Posted by CJ Walsh

2009-10-24:  As I have travelled around … not just Ireland, but many other countries as well … it still remains a puzzle to me, today, why so many Fire Emergency Assembly Areas are located just outside the main entrance of a building.  These locations are not safe in a ‘real’ fire emergency … and they should not even be used for the purposes of test/drill evacuations !

Is the guidance contained in current Building & Fire Regulations, Codes and Standards on what is a ‘Place of Safety’ in a fire emergency clear, simple, direct and precise ?   Are you joking ?   No way !   Let us take a few examples close to home …

In Ireland:

When you look at the array of different Technical Guidance Documents (Building Regulations) at the same time … TGD B (Fire Safety) is way out of proportion, in size, compared to all of the others.  You would expect, therefore, to find exactly what you were looking for in that document.  Wouldn’t you ?

TGD B (2006), Paragraph #1.0.9 – Definitions

Place of Safety

A place, normally in the open air at ground level, in which persons are in no danger from fire.

Clear as mud !   If there is a fire on O’Connell Street in Dublin … a person is safe on Patrick Street in Cork !   But, how is any Building or Facilities Manager expected to work with such a vague definition ? 

In England & Wales:

No practical definition, as such, is readily provided.  The nearest thing to a definition is an amalgam of the following …

Building Regulations, Requirement B1 – Means of Warning & Escape

The building shall be designed and constructed so that there are appropriate provisions for the early warning of fire, and appropriate means of escape in case of fire from the building to a place of safety outside the building capable of being safely and effectively used at all material times.

Approved Document B: Volume 1 – Dwellinghouses & Volume 2 – Buildings Other Than Dwellinghouses

The ultimate place of safety is the open air clear of the effects of the fire.

British Standard BS 9999 : Code of Practice for Fire Safety in the Design, Management & Use of Buildings : 2008

Place of Ultimate Safety

Place in which there is no immediate or future danger from fire or from the effects of a fire.

Again … all as clear as mud !   Again … how is any Building or Facilities Manager expected to work with such vague guidance ?   Have you also noticed the additional obfuscation introduced by use of the word ‘ultimate’ in BS 9999 ?

It is hard to escape the conclusion that what is urgently needed is a fundamental transformation and re-shaping of the tired, antiquated and flawed ad-hoc assembly of prescriptive ‘solutions’ contained in current national building and fire regulations, codes, standards and administrative provisions … whatever their origin !

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Now … try this for clarity, simplicity, directness and precision …

Place of Safety (Fire Incident in a Building, No Explosion Hazard*)

Any location beyond a perimeter which is [100]* metres from the fire building or a distance of [10]* times the height of such building, whichever is the greater

and

where necessary and effective medical care and attention can be provided, or organized, within one hour of injury

and

where people can be identified.

* Where there is a Risk of Explosion … multiply the numbers in square brackets above by 4.

Was that good for you ?

Furthermore …

The Route to any Place of Safety must be Accessible for All Building Users, including people who use wheelchairs, the visually impaired, frail older people, women in the later stages of pregnancy, children, etc., etc.

Colour photograph showing a Typical Scene at a Building Fire Emergency, with Fire Service Vehicles and Personnel in operation mode. The haphazard arrangement of firefighting water hoses on the ground makes access difficult for many Building Users to a 'Place of Safety' which is remote from the Fire Building.
Colour photograph showing a Typical Scene at a Building Fire Emergency, with Fire Service Vehicles and Personnel in operation mode. The haphazard arrangement of firefighting water hoses on the ground makes access difficult for many Building Users to a ‘Place of Safety’ which is remote from the Fire Building. Click to enlarge.

With regard to an Adequate, never mind a Proper, Awareness of Disability-Related Issues at a Fire Scene … it is shocking to realize how almost non-existent this is among Fire Services … not just in Ireland and Britain … but in the rest of Europe and North America as well.

Even a hint of criticism will usually … not always … meet the Neanderthal Fire Service Response: “Have you ever been in a ‘real’ building fire ?”

My Response is: “Do you have to be a hen to know when an egg is bad ?”

This discussion will continue later … have no doubt … that is a promise !

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‘Sustainable Fire Engineering’ – Important Indian Presentation !

Posted by CJ Walsh

2009-09-08:  It is really enjoyable to be back behind my desk, here in Dublin.  Apologies for the prolonged absence.

Since the middle of June last, my travels have taken me to Turkey, France, Italy, the south-west of Ireland to attend my cousin’s wedding in Cork … and back again to Bengaluru (Bangalore) in Southern India to make an important Keynote Presentation at the 2009 Fire & Safety Association of India (FSAI) National Fire Seminar: ‘Engineering a Safe & Secure India’, which was held on Friday, 28th August, at the Leela Palace Hotel.

My Presentation Title & Abstract …

Sustainable Fire Engineering: Fire Safety, Protection & Evacuation for All

India, like other economically advanced developing countries, is at an important crossroads.  Difficult, resource-dependent decisions must be made in the next few short years concerning the rapid implementation of a Sustainable Built Environment across a vast country, i.e. one which must serve local needs and meet regional performance requirements during a long life cycle … one which will be adaptable to climate change, variability and extremes … will be in harmony and dynamic balance with the Natural Environment … and, not least, will be super energy-efficient.

Citizens of Developed Nations also have legitimate expectations.  They will express anger when they witness recently constructed buildings in seismic zones collapse, in an earthquake, like a deck of cards (China 2008, Italy 2009) … or they discover that federal/state authorities having jurisdiction, which are funded by their taxes, are ill-prepared to respond effectively to intentional traumatic disruptions to the Social Environment (New York 2001, Mumbai 2008).  Retaining the public’s confidence in national institutions is a fundamental political priority.

In the case of all new High-Rise Buildings, Iconic Buildings, and Buildings of Innovative Design or having a Critical Function … Trans-Disciplinary Building Design Teams must, at a minimum, properly respond to the Recommendations of the 2005 & 2008 NIST(USA) Final Reports on the 9-11 WTC 1, 2, and 7 Collapses.  In practice, the majority of these Recommendations should be applied to the design of all new buildings !

Fire Engineers, competent concerning the processes of ‘real’ building design and construction, must begin to understand the ‘real’ people who occupy or use buildings, every day of every week, in all parts of India … and that they each have widely differing ranges of human abilities and activity limitations.  Just as they are different from each other, they will react differently than expected in a ‘real’ building fire emergency.

Based on a Keynote Presentation before International Council for Building Research (CIB) Working Commission 14 : Fire and Sub-Committee 3 & 4 Members of ISO Technical Committee 92 : Fire Safety, at Lund University in Sweden … and his fire safety texts which have been fully incorporated into International Standard ISO DIS 21542 on Accessibility-for-All, currently under development and due for publication before the end of 2010 … CJ Walsh’s Presentation, at the FSAI National Fire Seminar in Bengaluru, will focus on ‘Fire Safety, Protection & Evacuation for All’.

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Architectural & Structural Engineering Design for Robustness !

Posted by CJ Walsh

2009-07-11:  Earlier in the year … a certain non-native English speaking colleague of mine, who is very active in European and International standardization work (and has very good English !), had never heard of the word ‘robust’.  She just could not get her head around either the word or the concept … and thought I was making it all up !

Fast forward a few months … and as a long-time member of the International Association for Bridge & Structural Engineering (IABSE), an occasional ‘freebie’ lands on my desk.  This one was a real treat !

Published by IABSE in Switzerland … Structural Engineering Document #11: Design for Robustness … was written, in language accessible to both structural engineers and architects alike, by Franz Knoll and Thomas Vogel.

The objective of these Structural Engineering Documents is to provide in-depth information to practicing architects and structural engineers, in reports of high scientific and technical standards, on a wide range of structural engineering topics.

Check out the IABSE Website … http://www.iabse.org/publications/orderform/ … and get yourself a copy … pronto !

 

In previous posts concerning Areas of Rescue Assistance in Buildings, for example, I have often referred to robust, fire resisting construction …

Robust (in the above specific context):  Structurally hardened, and resistant to severe mechanical damage during the fire and for a period of time afterwards, i.e. the cooling phase.

The further development of Fire-Induced Progressive Damage … will inevitably take place within wider considerations of Robustness.

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BER Certificates – A Proposal for What’s Next ! (VI)

Posted by CJ Walsh

2009-06-08:  The other day, I received an impassioned e-mail … an extract …

 

” We are an energy rating company involved in a campaign for enforcement.  Yesterday, we made a presentation to SEI (see attached).  It was the result of a 2-month attempt to meet with the DEHLG and SEI.  You are right in your article about them ‘not WANTING to know’.

 

My only question is: do you have any ideas on what’s next ? ”

 

 

 

The BER Gold Rush Soap Opera so far …

 

There are thousands of BER Assessors out there around the country … each having paid a ‘pretty penny’ for training, for exams, and for registration … and work on the ground is very scarce.  A significant number of those Assessors have an inadequate understanding of building construction … while some of the people who are involved in providing Validated BER Training Courses are, to put it mildly, similarly unendowed.

 

Energy Ireland (SEI) is the Issuing Authority, but it has absolutely no experience as a Control Authority.  And has anyone bothered to read the relevant Legal Disclaimer on the SEI WebSite ?   It does, however, have a large marketing budget … those smarmy, wall-to-wall radio advertisements, which refer to the ‘property game’, continue to irritate my sensitive ear drums !

 

Apparently … 20% of BER Assessments are turning out to be faulty, i.e. they have not been properly carried out by Registered BER Assessors.  In other words, 1 out of every 5 BER Certificates needs to be thrown in the paper recycling bin.  Furthermore … I have discussed in one of my first posts how there is only a very tenuous relationship between a BER Certificate and the ‘real’ energy performance of a specific building.  And in relation to ‘real’ buildings … there is a general non-compliance rate of 70% on Irish Building Sites with the minimal energy performance requirements in Part L of the Irish Building Regulations.

 

SEI’s Register of BER Assessors is unreliable.

 

What a magnificent waste of time, energy and money !

 

 

 

Some Comments on a Recent BER Certificate … 

 

Sitting on the desk to the left of my computer keyboard is a recent Building Energy Rating (BER) Certificate and its accompanying Advisory Report … issued sometime during the second half of May 2009 … for a private, single-occupation dwelling house somewhere in Leinster … and using the DEAP Version 3.0.0 computer software.  I do not wish to identify the specific Certificate.

 

This particular BER Certificate Documentation comprises:

 

–         the actual BER Certificate ;

 

Can I be sure that the correct choices were made with regard to the software input information/data ?   No.

 

–         its accompanying BER Advisory Report.

 

Not missing any marketing trick, and in stark contrast to the actual BER Certificate … there is an Energy Ireland (SEI) Logo at the top of the first page of the Advisory Report … and an elaborate footer with SEI contact information on the last page.

 

Meanwhile, there is not one single mention of Statutory Instrument No. 666 of 2006: European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2006 anywhere in the Report … nothing to explain that SEI is the Issuing Authority for the purposes of this national legislation … or that there is such a thing as a BER Register … etc, etc, etc.

 

The Advisory Information provided in the Report is too vague to be useable … and there are silly typographical errors.

 

Did the BER Assessor request any information from the owner about the house ?   It is impossible to tell whether he/she made any such request.

 

Am I assured that the BER Assessor had an adequate understanding of building construction ?   Definitely not.

 

[ Specific comments about other issues might identify the actual BER Certificate. ]

 

 

 

What’s Next ?

 

The following remarks are directed at those BER Assessors, building owners, landlords, building professionals and general punters who do wish to spend their money on something worthwhile … something which has meaning, and is useful.

 

Energy Labelling of Buildings, just as in the case of other energy using/consuming industrial products … is positive and very worthwhile.

 

The legal basis established by European Union (EU) Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 16 December 2002, on the Energy Performance of Buildings … is a good start.

 

I would much prefer if this Directive were linked in more directly to the Extensive Framework of the Construction Product Directive … EU Council Directive 89/106/EEC, of 21 December 1988, on the Approximation of Laws, Regulations and Administrative Provisions of the Member States relating to Construction Products.  The reason that this has not already happened is because of a startling lack of horizontal integration between the different Directorates-General in the European Commission.

 

If there are problems with how the BER Legislation is operating at national level in Ireland, it is not the fault of Brussels or Directive 2002/91/EC … it is our problem … and it is up to us to remedy the situation.

 

There are 3 Immediate Priorities for Building Energy Rating in Ireland:

 

–         increase accuracy ;

–         reduce uncertainty ;

–         improve reliability.

 

 

 

An Initial Proposal …

 

Without amending any legislation … and without reference to the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government (DEHLG), Energy Ireland (SEI) and the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) … none of which have shown any proper leadership in relation to these issues, but seem interested only in playing games …

 

 

1.  The BER Certificate

 

Attach a Single-Page Appendix to the actual BER Certificate which clearly shows the Input Information/Data selected by the Registered BER Assessor.  Include a Statement of Measurement/Calculation Uncertainty concerning the Energy Rating Process … and a Statement of Competence in Building Construction, with the Assessor’s Signature … at the bottom of the page.

 

Show the Page Number on the Certificate as Page No.1 of 2 … and on the Appendix as Page No.2 of 2.

 

A BER Certificate should not be valid without this Appendix.

 

 

2.  The Accompanying BER Advisory Report

 

Generally … tighten up the information provided in the Report, make it easier to understand … and make it more useable !   DO NOT TIE energy performance, or any other aspects of building performance, to the minimal – ‘abysmal’ – performance targets described in the guidance texts of Technical Guidance Documents A-M in the Irish Building Regulations.  We have to aim much, much higher !!   The European Union’s 2020 Climate Change Targets will be heavy going for Ireland, even if there is no agreement in Copenhagen at the end of 2009.  And … insert Page Numbers !!!

 

Include Additional Components in the BER Advisory Report:

 

–         Findings of a Formal Interview/Questionnaire Survey with the building owner, landlord or manager – some questions should have an open format ;

–         Results of Infra-Red Thermography and Air Seepage Testing – discussed at length in previous posts ;

–         Results of a Radon Test – as already discussed, an important indicator of Indoor Air Quality and whether or not there is adequate Ventilation in the building.

 

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Fire Evacuation of People with Disabilities – Reality Bites ?

Posted by CJ Walsh

2009-03-10:   Regarding Seán’s Comment, dated 2009-03-06.

 

Yes, the guidance provided in Technical Guidance Document B (Ireland) is inadequate … and the same can equally be said of Approved Document B (England & Wales).

 

And yes, you will find only partial answers in British Standard BS 9999, even though it was only published on 31st October 2008 last.

 

Access Consultants in Ireland and Great Britain rarely deal with any matters relating to fire safety in buildings.

 

 

 

Please allow me, therefore, to fill in some gaps for you.  The following guidance is suitable for application in any European country …

 

People with Activity Limitations (2001 WHO ICF) experience many difficulties when attempting to independently evacuate a fire building.  However, our reasoning is very simple.  If we can get things right for the most vulnerable building users, we get them right for everyone else also.

 

 

The Target Destination … whether evacuation is independent, assisted by other building users or accomplished by means of firefighter rescue … is a ‘Place of Safety’.  This term is not well defined in legislation or codes.

 

Building User ‘Place of Safety’:

Any location beyond a perimeter which is [100] metres from the fire building or a distance of [10] times the height of such building, whichever is the greater … and … where necessary and effective medical care and attention can be provided, or organized, within one hour of injury … and … where people can be identified.

 

Where there is a Risk of Explosion … multiply the numbers in square brackets above by 4 (at least !).

 

 

 

All Fire Evacuation Routes – inside and outside a building – should comply with Accessibility Design Criteria.  This is an entirely alien concept to many Fire Prevention Officers in Local Authorities, and Fire Consultants !

 

Panic Attacks, during evacuation in a ‘real’ fire incident, exist.

 

Standard Movement Times, during evacuation in a ‘real’ fire incident, do not exist.

 

 

 

People should be able to reach an ‘Area of Rescue Assistance’ inside a building with ease.  In practice, few people understand what the word ‘refuge’ means (as in … refuge point, refuge area, area of refuge, etc).  As a result, these spaces are regularly misused and/or abused in buildings.  And there is great difficulty translating a word into other languages which, in English, can have so many meanings.  In Italian fire safety legislation, for example, ‘refuge’ has been translated as ‘spazio calmo’.  How crazy is that ?

 

So … what is an ‘Area of Rescue Assistance’ ?

A building space directly adjoining, and visible from, a main vertical evacuation route – robustly and reliably protected from heat, smoke and flame during and after a fire – where people may temporarily wait with confidence for further information, instructions, and/or rescue assistance, without obstructing or interfering with the evacuation travel of other building users.

 

 

This is a notional Area of Rescue Assistance …

 

A Clear Evacuation Width of 1.5 metres on the Evacuation Staircase facilitates ‘contraflow’ in a fire emergency (shown on the lower flight of stairs), i.e. emergency access by firefighters entering a building and moving towards a fire, while building users are moving away from the fire and evacuating the building … as well as allowing sufficient space to safely carry an occupied wheelchair down the staircase (shown on the upper flight of stairs).

 

Drawing showing a notional Area of Rescue Assistance in a Building. Click to enlarge. Based on a design by CJ Walsh. Drawn by S Ginnerup, Denmark.
Drawing showing a notional Area of Rescue Assistance in a Building. Click to enlarge. Based on a design by CJ Walsh. Drawn by S Ginnerup, Denmark.

 

 

Evacuation Skills & Self-Protection from Fire in Buildings …

A ‘skill’ is the ability of a person – resulting from adequate training and regular practice – to carry out complex, well-organized patterns of behaviour efficiently and adaptively, in order to achieve some end or goal.

 

Building users should be skilled for evacuation to a ‘place of safety’, and test/drill/non-emergency evacuations should be carried out sufficiently often to equip building users with that skill.  Consideration should be given to practicing evacuation once every month or, at most, every two months; once a year is inadequate.  In the case of people with a mental or cognitive impairment, there is a particular need to encourage, foster and regularly practice the adaptive thinking which will be necessary during a ‘real’ fire incident.

 

Since Fire Protection Measures and Human Management Systems are never 100% reliable … it is necessary for frail older people and building users with disabilities to be familiar with necessary guidelines for self-protection in the event of a fire emergency.

 

 

Assisted Evacuation & Rescue Techniques …

Firefighters have two functions:

–         fighting fires ;  and

–         rescuing people who are trapped in buildings, or for some reason, cannot independently evacuate a building which is on fire.

 

People with disabilities are participating more and more, and in ever increasing numbers, in mainstream society.  It is necessary, particularly for firefighters, to become skilled in how best to rescue a person with a disability from a building, using procedures and equipment which will not cause further harm or injury to that person.

 

Manual handling of occupied wheelchairs in a fire evacuation staircase, even with adequate training for everyone directly and indirectly involved, is hazardous for the person in the wheelchair and those people – minimum three – giving assistance.

 

Generally … Powered Wheelchairs are too heavy for manual handling in any situation.

 

For these reasons, all lifts/elevators in new buildings should be capable of being used for fire evacuation.  Lifts/elevators in existing buildings, when being replaced or undergoing major overhaul, should then be made capable of being used for fire evacuation.

 

Local Fire Authorities should ensure that they possess the necessary equipment to rescue people with a wide range of impairments, and that specialized rescue equipment is regularly serviced and maintained.  Every Fire Authority should have an ‘accessible’ and ‘reliable’ Emergency Call System which is available, at all times, to the public within its functional area.

 

It is essential that every Firefighter is fully aware of this important public safety issue, and is regularly trained in the necessary rescue procedures involving people with a wide range of impairments.

 

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BER Certificates, Energy Efficiency & Climate Change (II)

Posted by CJ Walsh

2009-02-23:  The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has identified buildings as one of the five main users of energy where ‘megatrends’ are needed to transform global energy efficiency in the immediate short term, and so meet the daunting challenge of Climate Change Adaptation.  They account for 40% of primary energy (primary energy includes the energy required to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, as well as energy directly consumed on site) in most developed countries, and consumption is rising. 

                         … 2007 WBCSD Energy Efficiency in Buildings (EEB) Project

 

 

If you find that you are not responding emotionally to that … please leave your computer immediately and take a cold shower !   When you return, check out how far adrift Ireland is – even on paper – in meeting its legally binding 1997 Kyoto Protocol (UNFCCC) responsibilities.  After 2012, the European Union’s 2020 Targets will be in a different league altogether.

 

Let there be do doubt, therefore, that over the next few years … nothing less than a complete cultural shift will be necessary throughout the European Construction Sector – and this very much includes Ireland – beginning with all research and design disciplines and extending right across to any person who works on a construction site or has any part to play in managing, maintaining or servicing a building.

 

 

 

Burden Sharing in the Built Environment

 

Separate Energy Efficiency Strategies will be required to vastly improve the energy performance of:

–         existing buildings … onto which many energy efficiency measures can be successfully grafted … but they will not be cheap, and they will not be 100% effective ;

–         buildings of historical, architectural or cultural importance … the integrity of which must be protected ;   and

–         new buildings, which must therefore carry the major burden.

 

In addition … if we fully value the Agricultural Industry in Ireland, the burden to be carried by New Buildings may have to be far heavier.

 

 

 

Suggested Building Energy Efficiency Targets in Ireland to 2020

 

From the Beginning of 2012, i.e. after an Essential Transition Period involving extensive re-education and up-skilling, accompanied by ‘attractive’ incentives …

–         Require all New Buildings to achieve a Minimum Building Energy Rating (BER) of ‘A1’ … indicating a Primary Energy Consumption less than or equal to 25 kWh/m2/yr.  And require 40% of Primary Energy Consumed to be, directly or indirectly, from Renewable Energy Sources ;

–         Require all Existing Buildings to achieve a Minimum Building Energy Rating (BER) of ‘B1’ … indicating a Primary Energy Consumption less than or equal to 100 kWh/m2/yr.  And require 15% of Primary Energy Consumed to be, directly or indirectly, from Renewable Energy Sources.  Retain Incentive Measures to achieve better performance with regard to energy efficiency and/or renewable energies ;

–         Require Buildings of Historical, Architectural or Cultural Importance to achieve a Minimum Building Energy Rating (BER) of ‘C1’ … indicating a Primary Energy Consumption less than or equal to 175 kWh/m2/yr.  Retain Incentive Measures to achieve better energy efficiency performance.  No legal requirements or incentives with regard to Renewable Energies should apply to Buildings of Historical, Architectural or Cultural Importance.

 

From the Beginning of 2015 …

–         Require all New Buildings to be ‘Positive Energy Buildings’ (see below) ;

–         Require all Existing Buildings to achieve a Minimum Building Energy Rating (BER) of ‘A2’ … indicating a Primary Energy Consumption less than or equal to 50 kWh/m2/yr.  And require a Positive Energy Contribution of 25 kWh/m2/yr to be from renewable Energy Systems installed in the building ;

–         Require Buildings of Historical, Architectural or Cultural Importance to achieve  a Minimum Building Energy Rating (BER) of ‘B1’ … indicating a Primary Energy Consumption less than or equal to 100 kWh/m2/yr.  Retain Incentive Measures to achieve better energy efficiency performance.  No legal requirements or incentives with regard to Renewable Energies shall apply to Buildings of Historical, Architectural or Cultural Importance.

 

 

 

‘Effective’ Technical Control of Construction & Post-Occupation Buildings

 

Any proposed Building Energy Efficiency/Conservation and Renewable Energy Improvements must take place in a legal environment of stringent control during construction (by competent Local Authority Building Controllers and/or Independent Technical Controllers) and rigorous post-construction energy performance monitoring (using Long Wave Infra-Red Thermal Imagery, in conjunction with building roof and external wall Air Seepage Tests).  Observation of post-occupation building energy performance will also be necessary.  Introduce mandatory 5-Yearly Energy Surveying of Buildings.

 

 

 

The Paradigm for New Buildings – A ‘Positive Energy’ Return

 

Primary Energy Consumption is less than or equal to 15 kWh/m2/yr.  Renewable Energy & Heating Systems then contribute a reliable quantity of energy, per year, which covers the following:

–         the Building’s Primary Energy Consumption ;

–         an Energy Efficiency Degradation Factor which takes account of the degradation in energy efficiency normally expected during the life cycle of renewable energy and heating systems installed in the building (the rate of degradation will depend on the quality of maintenance and servicing) … and caused by wasteful patterns of building management and/or use ;

–         the energy consumed by Private Transport associated with the building ;

–         an Energy Return to an Intelligent District or Regional Grid exceeding, by a whole number multiple determined by reference to local conditions, the total energy consumed by the Building (including its Energy Efficiency Degradation Factor) and any associated Private Transport.

 

Uniquely, this more practical elaboration of the innovative concept of Positive Energy Buildings considers life cycle energy efficiency degradation.

 

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