Description

ASSIGNMENT/COURSEWORK PROFORMA

Module
Code:
ME5521

Assessment Title:

Integration of Renewable Energy Technologies into non-
domestic Buildings

Module Leader:
Dr Z Dehouche

MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSESSMENT:
To provide knowledge and understanding of renewable energy technologies and their design integration
within the built environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ASSESSMENT:
Details of buildings (including photos, drawings and an energy report) are given and the students are
asked to carry out a feasibility study of possible inclusion of renewable energy technologies into the
CIBSE buildings.

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE
ASSESSMENT
(Refer to the appropriate module learning outcomes)

• Develop an understanding of physical,
technological and economic factors that
determine the design and use of renewable energy
systems.
• Perform an initial system design and sizing for
one (or more) renewable energy systems suitable
for buildings.
• Perform an in-depth design and analysis of
renewable energy generation systems.
• Demonstrate the ability to present results in a
structured written report.
• Demonstrate the ability to carry out internet
searches for up-to-date technical information on
renewable technological solutions, products and
pricing.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The students will be required to:
Submit an assignment written in the form of a report
to the owner of CIBSE buildings who has retained
them to provide solutions to their energy
consumption and associated CO2 emissions
problem. The report will be marked on the clarity of
your presentation, the logic underlying the
justifications of renewable energy solutions, the
accuracy of your calculations and the quality of your
discussion and conclusions. The marking criteria for
the report are the following:
1. Presentation – 10%,
(This would include the following: Structure of
report, Clarity of structure (including sections
such as exec summary, glossary notation etc),
Frequency and format of referencing,
Appropriate Length, Language – grammar,
spelling, and syntax).
2. Quantitative evaluation of the new baseline of
energy consumption after the Action Energy
Saving Report – 20%.
3. Description of possible renewable energy
solutions and design rules – 15%.
4. Analysis of the suitability of selected renewable
solution and rated power capacity – 20%.
5. Quantitative evaluation of energy and
emissions savings and corresponding renewable
energy generation cost and system payback
period. Discussion of problems for application –
15%.

A – 2

6. Solutions and recommendations to the building
owners – 20%.

ASSESSMENT METHOD BY WHICH A STUDENT CAN DEMONSTRATE
THE LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Assignment in the form of a report to the building owners.

WEIGHTING:

30% of module

FORMAT OF THE ASSESSMENT/COURSEWORK: (Guidelines on the expected format and
length of submission)
This assignment should not run to more than about 8 pages (maximum 2500 words, 1.5 line spacing – to
include everything such design diagrams, table of contents, reference list). However there will be no
penalty for submissions longer than 8 pages, but note that concise report do form a part of the assessment
criteria. Additional material in the form of calculations or information for the CIBSE buildings and/or
selected renewable energy technologies can be appended. The report should also include a title page, an
executive summary and should be bound securely.

ASSESSMENT DATE(S)/SUBMISSION DEADLINE(S)
The submission deadline is on Tuesday April 5
th
, 2022 on WISEflow at https://europe.wiseflow.net/

PENALTIES FOR LATE SUBMISSION:
The following University submission policy will be uniformly applied:
• Work submitted up to 48 hours late will receive a maximum PASS grade C-, unless the student has
accepted Mitigating Circumstances.
• Work submitted more than 48 hours after the submission deadline will be graded as Non Submission
(NS), without accepted Mitigating Circumstances. Work submitted more than 5 days late will not
normally be accepted.

INDICATIVE READING LIST:
1. Lecture notes
2. Boyle, Godfrey, Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future, 3

rd Ed. Oxford University Press, 2012.
3. Duffie, John A. and William A. Beckman, Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, 4th Ed. Wiley, 2013.
OTHER
4 McEvoy, A., T. Markvart and L. Castaner, Practical Handbook of Photovoltaics: Fundamentals and
Applications, 2nd Ed. Elsevier, 2012.
5 James F. Manwell, Jon G. McGowan, Anthony L. Rogers, Wind Energy Explained: Theory, Design and
Application. 2

nd Ed Wiley 2009,

6 Twidell, J., and T. Weir, Renewable Energy Resources, 3

rd Ed. Taylor & Francis, 2015.

7 Tester, Jefferson W., Elisabeth M. Drake, Michael J. Driscoll, Michael W. Golay and William A. Peters,
Sustainable Energy: Choosing Among Options, 2nd Ed. MIT Press, 2012.
8 Peter F. Smith, Sustainability at the Cutting Edge: Emerging Technologies for Low Energy Buildings.
Sheffield Hallam University, UK. Architectural Press 2007

A – 3

Links:
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy/
https://www.carbontrust.com/
http://www.nrel.gov/
http://energy.sandia.gov/
http://www.bwea.org/
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/

Home

https://www.inl.gov/
https://energy.gov/eere/office-energy-efficiency-renewable-energy
https://www.worldenergy.org/
http://www.iea.org/
https://www.windfinder.com/
http://www.cibse.org/

Home

https://www.energyinst.org/
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/renewableenergy
http://www.therenewableenergycentre.co.uk/biomass-and-biofuel/
www.carbontrust.com/resources/guides/renewable-energy-technologies/biomass-heating-tools-and-guidance
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/maps-tools-and-publications/tools/modelling-tools/retscreen/7465

A – 4

THE BRIEF
Energy use in buildings accounts for almost 50% of UK CO2 emissions.
Renewable technologies properly integrated into buildings are designed to
provide clean and high-grade energy, and reduce our dependence on fossil
energy sources that contribute to climate change. Renewable energy
development provides significant positive economic impacts and delivers deep
cuts in CO2 emissions.
1. This assignment is based on a real competition called ‘CIBSE Carbon
60 Competition’. The competition challenged entrants to reduce the
carbon dioxide emissions of the CIBSE headquarters building by 60%.
2. The following information is provided in the accompanied brief file:
a. Floor plans of the building marked up with usage areas and
equipment,
b. Photographs of the headquarters building,
c. A site energy report carried out under the Action Energy scheme,
which includes brief description of the following:
i. Current occupancy and schedules,
ii. Plant and controls,
iii. Operational settings.

3. The Action Energy site report on the headquarters building shows that a
33% cut in emissions could be achieved through a series of relatively
straightforward measures, with a 1.5 year payback period. You are to
assume that these improvements will be implemented in the building
before your study is carried out.
4. The table below shows the breakdown of annual energy use and cost,
and related carbon dioxide emissions of the CIBSE headquarters
building before applying the energy efficiency measures. The energy
consumption after applying the measures will provides the new baseline
consumption, which can be enhanced by the addition of intermittent
energy supplied by renewable sources.

5. You are asked to carry out a feasibility study of possible inclusion of
renewable energy technologies into the CIBSE Headquarters building.
For this you may use the help of RETScreen Suite, an interactive
software tool, which will allow you to investigate renewable energy

A – 5

strategies and explore different options in the design process for
proposed CIBSE-buildings. RETScreen Expert, provided free-of-charge,
can be accessed remotely through Horizon app at:

https://students.brunel.ac.uk/campus-news/introducing-horizon-our-
remote-access-app . However, other methods of analysis are equally

accepted.
6. You are also asked to describe the design rules which the integrated
renewable energy technology should follow to operate optimally and how
the output of conventional energy system (gas and electricity from the
grids) will need to be adjusted more often to cope with fluctuations in
renewable energy output; which renewable power sources should be
used, and why? Assume that you have power storage in this sustainable
energy system (grid-connection or battery), how would design rules
change then?
7. For annual energy consumptions of the building, and using the hybrid
(conventional and renewable) energy system design, determine:
a) The suitable and maximum capacity of renewable energy technologies
that can be incorporated into the building loads. Renewable energy
installations commonly used for building applications include:
• Photovoltaic solar system
• Solar thermal system (flat plate or evacuated tube)
• Wind turbine system
• Biomass heating technology (biomass boiler)
b) The annual energy production and savings that can be achieved with
intelligent use and control of renewables and storage system,
c) The annual energy cost with renewables, overall savings in primary
energy use and CO2 emissions,
d) The optimum power-generating efficiency, levelised cost of energy and
the payback period of the integrated renewable energy/storage systems.
Notes: In order to meet its challenging greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets, the UK
Government has developed a number of incentive schemes to encourage renewable energy production,
including:
I. The smart export guarantee (SEG) to encourage small scale, low carbon electricity generation.
SEG comes into force on 1 January 2020,
II. Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme supports biomass-fuelled heat, and combined heat and
power projects in the industrial, commercial and community sectors,
III. Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) added to the mix in 2012, incentivising generation of heat from
renewable sources at all scales.
The actual gas and electricity prices in non-domestic buildings including climate change Levy and VAT
are respectively 4.6 p/kWh and 14.2 p/kWh (BEIS).
Carbon Footprints – The actual CO2e emission factor for electricity generated in UK is 0.21233 kg-CO2e
/kWhe; and the CO2 generated by burning natural gas is 0.20297 kg-CO2e/kWhth (BEIS).
* If you require the training material associated with RETScreen, you can access some of it here: