Chris Herring, technical leader on the Denby Dale Passivhaus project will give a sneak preview of the project’s monitoring data (due to be officially launched in June) exploring the lessons learnt and what the results say about the future of cavity wall construction in low energy & Passivhaus projects.

Jonathan Hines will illustrate the approach that architectural practice Architype is taking to deliver buildings to the Passivhaus standard at no extra cost - including two of the first Passivhaus schools to be completed and certified in the UK, together with a wide range and types of passivhaus projects. He will challenge the way in which current standards such as BREEAM, Code for Sustainable Homes, and Building Regulations are, in his view, inhibiting the development of more sustainable approaches to construction, and argue instead for Passivhaus as a more logical and effective standard.

Focusing on large scale domestic, non-domestic and retrofit projects, this session will look at the advantage to increasing the size of Passivhaus developments and how
economies of scale can make this standard more achievable and better value

How many times have you heard a puzzled client say that they have a low-energy building but – looking puzzled – it uses a lot of energy!
What can go wrong?  Has the client asked for meaningful and measurable performance? Has the right team been appointed, working to a clear objective?  Does the contractor understand how to deliver it?  And do the occupants understand how to use their building for low energy?

Hear the University’s estate manager speak about the University of Bradford Sustainable Enterprise Centre. Built using timber frame, it has achieved a pre-construction score of BREEAM Outstanding 94.95% The building is currently on site and the presentation will include the latest information and photographs of the project’s progress.

two new fire stations- bury and rochdale

How can we inspire homeowners, businesses and other building owners to get involved with Green Deal? The Behavioural Insights Team at the Cabinet Office, together with DECC, is conducting several field trials to test new, innovative ways of encouraging uptake of energy efficiency measures. Drawing on evidence and methods from behavioural science, the trials are a collaboration between central and local government, and also commercial and academic partners. Interim results will be discussed, along with implications for encouraging consumers to take up the Green Deal.

With the Green Deal only a matter of months away, UK-GBC’s Richard Griffiths will outline where we’ve got to, what remains to be resolved in final development of the policy, and how we move the discussion from the meeting room to the front room.

A fabric-first approach to a 1920s refurb in Rochdale, featuring internal wall insulation, loft and suspended timber floor insulation, airtightness membranes and much more

The UK’s only entry into the 2012 Solar Decathlon competition

In this session the methods and tools for accurately predicting the economic value of solar thermal, PV & heat pump systems will be discussed. The session will show current and potential installers how, by providing customers with reliable estimates, they can gain a competitive advantage in the renewables market. It will explain the skills needed to perform quick, safe on-site surveys. It will then show how to maximise installed yield through accurate system design, optimising performance by taking into account shading, load and climate data and giving customers a realistic assessment of performance compared to costs. Finally it will show installers how to create professional reports for clients with precise data and exciting 3D graphics, for PV even including how to produce a photorealistic visualisation of the customer’s property as it would look with modules installed.

This presentation will look at how buildings in urban conservation areas can be made more sustainable.

Visitors to Greenbuild Expo 2011 will remember seeing the Dwelle house. Find out where it is now and how its creator has developed the idea for sustainable newbuild housing

This session will cover recent government briefings released on the effects of climate change and talk about what the impacts will be, especially in the Northwest, and on the urban built environment in particular – both newbuild and retrofit.

An energy-efficient refurb of a city golf club

Creating opportunity with sustainability, this session will take a look at the broader idea of ‘sustainability’, and how making our buildings sustainable can impact on sustainable communities and economies. Featuring examples from the UK’s first fully recognised and accredited sustainable trades course and qualification, launched in partnership with Procure Plus in Salford in January 2012.

As budgets tighten it can be difficult to find the capital needed for energy efficiency measures. However the drivers of CSR, rising energy costs and government legislation mean that efficiency is needed now more than ever. This topic outlines funding sources such as leasing, EPCs and off-balance solutions, with specific reference to VPO (voltage power optimisation).

Learn how the RHI is applicable to biomass, what you have to do to get it and how to maximise the return.

MCS accreditation is a requirement for all RHI and FIT schemes. Find out what’s involved in getting accredited

Despite its relatively high capital cost, installing a biomass system can prove a worthwhile investment, with reference to both new and retrofit applications

Using real examples from real people, this case study will provide valuable ‘lessons learnt’ for all those involved in installing and managing biomass applications in the public sector

With the growth of biomass as a popular fuel choice, many clients are asking the question ‘is there enough to go round’? Using comprehensive data, and drawing out the differences between heat only/CHP applications and electricity generators, this seminar will help provide the answers.

Procuring biomass can seem like a complicated business, but by using standard procedures and industry accepted terms this can be simplified in every case.

A lot is said about the potential of green roofs to provide, enhance or even create biodiversity.And it is true green roofs can deliver many benefits including biodiverse habitats. But how many green roofs are actually designed to optimise biodiversity?

Encouraging rare species on New Bond Street

Sustainability legislation and how it affects places, including buildings - how is legislation affecting the way we think about places, their design and the types of delivery strategy we put in place.

This session will cover: what an EPC tells you, major factors affecting the rating, why EPC ratings seem to be getting worse and how to achieve the best rating you can. It will also look at the Implications of recent changes to the EPC Regulations (6th April 2012).

Zero carbon buildings are coming whether we like it or not. From 2016 all new homes will have to meet the zero carbon standard, followed by new non-domestic buildings in 2019. The Government also has ambitions to transform the energy efficiency of existing building stock through the Green Deal. These targets will be implemented through Part L of the building regulations and the consultation on the latest iteration of these regulations, Part L 2013, has recently been published. This talk will outline the proposals and address where this leaves us on the road to zero carbon.

BREEAM Outstanding Showcase – these three sessions will feature some of the highest scoring buildings under BREEAM, each one having achieved an Outstanding rating. This session will feature the Shrewsbury Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre. The sessions will be led by Yetunde Abdul from the BRE.

BREEAM Outstanding Showcase – these three sessions will feature some of the highest scoring buildings under BREEAM, each one having achieved an Outstanding rating. This session will look at The Green, which is student accommodation at the University of Bradford. The sessions will be led by Yetunde Abdul from the BRE.

BREEAM Outstanding Showcase – these three sessions will feature some of the highest scoring buildings under BREEAM, each one having achieved an Outstanding rating.  This session will look at The Co-op’s HQ. The sessions will be led by Yetunde Abdul from the BRE.

An overview of how the CarbonBuzz platform is helping to give a true picture of building performance - and how it can help your buildings achieve their sustainability goals

How can businesses achieve an 18-month return by investing in energy management systems? This session demonstrates how focusing on metering, monitoring and control, as well as engaging staff, can help businesses identify inefficiencies, maximise a building’s potential, and achieve savings of up to 40%.

Reducing data centre energy use: lessons learned. Data centres a vast consumers of energy – and consumption is rising across all sectors. And yet there are simple practical ways to reduce energy demand and cost. Reductions through the IT function itself as well as through cooling and power supply. More and more organisations are tackling this issue – but many are not.”

Wind power CPD session

The Healthy Building Concept looks at how natural ventilation and solar shading can help reduce your cooling demand and improve the health and wellbeing of your occupants. A combination of background ventilation, night cooling and shading alongside an accessible thermal mass is vital. We will discuss how the Healthy Building Concept was created, the product groups and look at a recent case study were the principles were used.

The presentation explores the challenge of meeting energy targets in commercial buildings, focusing on the aspects of the Building Regulations Part L2 which relate to heating. Providing an overview of the latest technology, together with strategies for system design and implementation, delegates will gain practical and theoretical insight into the complexities of genuine sustainability

This CPD seminar looks at how PVC-U window systems offer a sustainable route to Building Regulation compliance, whether through U-value or WERs (Window Energy Ratings). Delegates looking for a solution to deal with their end-of-life PVC-U frames will also gain an insight into Eurocell recycling capabilities – currently the largest and most advanced in the UK at 12,000 frames per week. Case studies will provide specifiers with real-world examples of how sustainable window and cavity closer solutions manufactured using post-consumer recycled PVC-U can be applied to their projects.

FITS is dead - long live ROCS. This presentation will cover potential business models using alternative revenue streams in response to current governmental policy.

Conventional water heating technologies require on-going investment in gas, oil or electricity to operate the boiler. A solar thermal system on the other hand, once up and running, has the advantage of having between 50 – 70 % of the fuel (the sunshine) available at no cost and can thus pay back the initial outlay after a certain period of time. Calculations for the payback time are affected by a large number of variables and uncertainties. Gas prices for instance have increased by more than 19% in the last 5 years. But it remains almost impossible to predict future oil or gas prices as well as the change of a families hot water demand over the coming years. Even the level of government subsidy remains unclear. This presentation illustrates the savings from a solar thermal hot water system and the payback time which can be achieved on the capital outlay, based on access to the free fuel.

This workshop will be led by the Centre of Refurbishment Excellence, the independent national centre of learning and skills development based in Stoke-on-Trent. CoRE’s mission is to help the construction industry get the skills and learning it needs to achieve a low carbon UK through building refurbishment. It will explore the skills gaps that need to be addressed to ensure that the emerging multi-million pound refurbishment market can satisfy its customers and deliver the energy, carbon and water savings that the UK needs to achiever. Those attending will be able to find out about the skills gaps for refurbishment, CoRE’s plans for skills and training delivery and contribute views about how this should be scaled up to enable delivery.

How Internal Wall Insulation can make homes energy efficient
There is an existing housing stock of 7 million solid wall homes in the UK
How simple IWI is to install and how to become an approved installer

The Green Deal is not just about domestic buildings, so how can commercial building owners get involved?

s the Great British public ready for Green Deal? How can we encourage take-up and ensure our refurb targets are met?

How can social media help us achieve a more sustainable built environment? Find out at this lunchtime masterclass

How will Green Deal funding work for different types of customers? Everything you need to know!