low energy and solar solutions
Overview
low energy and solar solutions (l-e-s-s) is a small, independent consultancy that provides design input to enable the building envelope to reduce the heating and cooling loads of buildings.
l-e-s-s provides advice, backed up by project specific calculations to give confidence to the design team in the likely thermal performance of their building designs.
l-e-s-s can provide specifications which will assist designers to provide environmentally relevant performance such as good daylighting and thermal comfort whilst achieving low energy demands in all seasons.
l-e-s-s provides key services for new and existing non-domestic buildings as required in part L building regulations from April 2006. The new building regulations require an assessment of whole building performance rather than the simpler, prescriptive specifications which have been key to part L in the past.
New buildings will be assessed on their CO2 emission rate which is directly related to their energy consumption. Key to meeting the new regulations will be designing to reduce energy used for heating, cooling and lighting.
Daylighting and natural/low energy cooling in addition to techniques for preventing summertime solar over-heating represent key technologies which will be necessary to achieve compliance. Assessment for non-residential buildings will be based on calculations made with the Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) or a thermal simulation tool.
l-e-s-s has been involved in building thermal simulation since 1998, specifically in techniques to achieve low energy, thermally comfortable buildings in summer.
l-e-s-s is based in the West Midlands (Birmingham)
