Like many industries, the consulting engineering sector is currently experiencing a shortage of skilled workers, with women being significantly under-represented in this highly-skilled profession. Against this backdrop, the gender gap is both a cause for concern and an opportunity, says Inés Ferguson, President, European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA),in the latest issue of Building...Read More
President of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI) for the 2023-2024 term. James is the CEO of Varming Consulting Engineers, a building services engineer and a 1990 graduate from DIT Bolton Street College of Technology, DIT (now the Technological University Dublin). His first active involvement in ACEI was as a member of the...Read More
Climate change is a significant environmental issue that the world is currently facing due to unsustainable energy consumption and global warming. The use of household digesters could help to address this problem by reducing deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion and the loss of cultivable land. Greenhouse gases emitted from burning fossil fuels are major...Read More
The challenge with better lighting is that it just doesn’t happen – it must be designed. With better lighting being key to achieving the twin goals of improving energy efficiency and indoor comfort and wellbeing, specifiers – including lighting designers, installers and architects – must play a central role in driving the European Green Deal...Read More
Prior to the introduction of SBEM (Simplified Building Energy Model), Part L of the Building Regulations relied largely on the setting of minimum fabric insulation requirements to reduce heat losses from buildings during the heating season. As consecutive revisions of Part L were introduced, insulation levels increased, and later air permeability targets were introduced. As...Read More
The importance of monitoring indoor air quality became glaringly clear in the past years, marked by a worldwide pandemic and multiple lockdowns that made us all reconsider our lifestyle, as well as the buildings where we live and work. Without need for such an extreme reason, we should all be deeply concerned with the daily...Read More
With the WELL Performance Rating, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) has answered the call for a solution tailored to the needs of building owners and operators concerned about how their spaces perform and the implications for health. The WELL Performance Rating takes real data captured through sensor technology or onsite tests, and turns it...Read More
To many, the metaverse is a new word, a concept born of the internet age, a distant and scary place to contemplate visiting. In reality, however, the first recorded use of the word was in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel, Snow Crash. In the novel, the protagonist, Hiro, moves in and out of a place called...Read More
Today, light pollution is one of the fastest-growing forms of pollution on the planet. It is growing at a rate twice that of the population growth. That yellow/white hue which bleeds from a distance into the dark night sky is a familiar foe with 99% of the population in Europe and North America, writes Aimee...Read More
In our September/October edition we looked at forthcoming legislation around sustainability. Understandably some people are fearful of the obligations that such legislation will place on them, but if you are a reputable manufacturer or supplier of durable, resource-efficient goods, with a clean supply chain and low-carbon operations, upcoming legislation will benefit your business, writes Elaine...Read More
