Delivering A Sustainable Built Environment - An Industry Insider'S View

The UK government has committed to reducing the nation’s carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Buildings currently use almost half of the UK’s generated energy and they are now the focus of an unprecedented drive to cut energy use in our homes, offices, schools, libraries – in fact in almost every building, public or private.

Delivering Sustainable Buildings: an industry insider’s view offers peer-to-peer insights and advice from a leading practitioner in this field and brings together in one book an overview of the main issues to consider when creating energy-efficient and sustainable buildings. A resource to dip into for practical advice, which is both highly readable and also backed up by in-depth technical knowledge, giving the important points to note and common pitfalls to avoid. Based on observations of an author with hands-on experience of dealing with the various elements of the building services engineering industry, the book gives a unique insight into the particular challenges faced by designers, project managers, contractors and installers working to deliver lower carbon and sustainable building projects and operation.

There is a lot of guidance on sustainable buildings available from reputable sources including BRE, CIBSE, B&ES, ECA and BSRIA. This book is different in that it speaks directly to contractors and practitioners, with practical messages dealing with real on-site challenges, offering practical advice based on experience. Many contractors are now faced with a business choice of offering services related to issues of the energy hierarchy, minimising energy use, providing good building automation and controls and then looking further at microgeneration/renewables. Here they must decide what technologies might be suitable for their businesses, as well as considering what level of training is required before they or their employees can start to work with these technologies.

Delivering Sustainable Buildings: an industry insider’s view will help specialist contractors and facilities managers understand sustainable buildings at the strategic level (legislation, finance, training) and then to offer practical advice on various aspects of sustainable buildings (water use, energy-efficient building services, commissioning and keeping the building maintained to optimum performance) to their clients.

Mike Malina is founder and Director of Energy Solutions Associates - a Building Services Engineering Practice in the field of Sustainable Engineering, Energy Management and Training. He has 30 years' related experience working at the start of his career in the offshore oil industry, then working in both the public and private sectors in related buildings and building engineering services sector. He is the principal trainer for the Building & Engineering Services Association (formally HVCA), Building Regulations Competent Persons Certification scheme for commercial and domestic HVACR work. Over many years Mike has conducted hundreds of building energy audits and has never been defeated in finding ways to save energy. In 2010 he won the HVR Consultant of the year award and in 2011 the Innovation and Sustainability outstanding contribution to the Industry award. Mike has spoken at many industry conferences and seminars, building a reputation for saying it as it is and cutting through all the ‘greenwash’.