With government legislation and the growing economic impact of climate change, there has never been more of a need for constructing new buildings/refurbishments with a genuine commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency.

Our creative and practical solutions are tailored to assist our clients in making the most effective decisions for constructing sustainable, energy efficient buildings that comply with current building regulations. In this way we aim to bridge the gap between architects and consultants with our holistic approach.

While services have a direct impact on factors such as CO2 emissions and water use, the principles of reducing demand (or waste) – followed by meeting the demand efficiently – should apply in all cases. Vitec engineers are highly experienced in all matters relating to energy efficiency and environmental issues, and not just those that apply to building services.

Our services include:

• Early environmental design guidance
• Building regulations Part L1 & L2 energy assessments, providing SBEM and SAP calculations and reports
• Water efficiency and rainwater/grey water recovery/harvesting systems
• Sunlight and daylight impact studies
• Dynamic 3D thermal and ventilation modelling to prove compliance and building regulations Part L
• BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes assessment and advice
• Energy performance certification
• Low and zero carbon (LZC) technologies

Our LZC approach

As part of our holistic design approach, we consider the use of all potential energy savings for a building:

• High performance insulation
• The use of solar glazing and/or shading to minimise unwanted solar gains and maximise daylight
• Exploiting thermal mass
• Natural ventilation
• Free cooling

LZC simulation

Vitec uses site-specific data for computer simulations; our software can provide useful information on how the inclusion of LZC technologies can reduce the reliance on fossil fuels for a building’s energy needs.

Examples of LZC technologies:

• Biomass boilers
• Combined heat and power (CHP)
• Wind turbines
• Solar hot water systems
• Photovoltaic arrays
• Heat pumps

The inclusion of suitable LZC technologies, alongside other energy and resource-saving measures, forms a strategy for the basis of the design to follow.

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