University of Cumbria - IES TaP

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The way IES TaP helped us to solve problems and keep to deadline means we’re set to achieve the first Outstanding rating for BREEAM 2011.

Key Facts

  • 30 three-storey townhouses
  • Project remained on target throughout
  • First Outstanding rating for BREEAM 2011
  • Achieved a score of 86.12%

GWP Project Services used IES TaP to achieve the first Outstanding rating for BREEAM 2011.

GWP Project Services was tasked with helping to transform an old industrial site into an eco-friendly student village for the University of Cumbria. Phase one of the development, consisted of 30 three-storey townhouses, and had to be completed within just eight months.

Meanwhile BREEAM, had just updated its 2008 criteria, which meant that GWP had to quickly educate the entire design team on what was required to meet the new 2011 standard, and get them to submit the required evidence to gain enough credits in time. To do this it decided to deploy IES TaP from the outset of the project.

It quickly became apparent that there was an issue with GWP’s energy strategy. Whereas it only needed to achieve an Energy Performance Rating of A under the old criteria, the team now needed to deliver a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions against 2010 building regulations. Comparing previous Outstanding builds against the new criteria showed they were only delivering half the CO2 reduction required.

The main energy consumption within the village was that required to heat cold water to a tepid temperature when it first entered the boilers. By using IES TaP to co-ordinate feedback from a wide range of boiler and energy specialists, to electrical and mechanical engineers, GWP were able to quickly identify that Alpha boilers, which use waste heat from the flu to raise the temperature of incoming cold water, reduced emissions to the extent required within the existing budget and design.

To get a BREEAM Outstanding rating, a score of over 85% was required. IES TaP helped GWP to quickly educate the design team about the new criteria, solve problems and keep to deadlines, which meant the project remained on target to achieve a score of 86.12% and was the first building to reach an Outstanding rating under BREEAM 2011.

IES TaP has made the entire BREEAM assessment process much more efficient and profitable. GWP’s clients are delighted with the high ratings they’re achieving on their behalf and now that IES TaP has been awarded the BREEAM badge of recognition GWP can export content from the tool directly to BRE without having to produce a separate report, saving even more time. The result is that their assessors can take on more projects than they could before, enabling them to increase profits.

“IES TaP has proved essential to keeping everyone focused on achieving their credits. It lets us set deadlines and chases people automatically, enabling us to spend more time advising and less time chasing.”

Barry Rankin, GWP

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