Impacts of oversizing on the performance of energy and environmental systems

Heating, cooling, and ventilation systems in buildings are often sized at capacities exceeding the demand for these services. This can result in inefficient operation, higher initial and operational costs, and larger environmental impacts. This research aims to identify the main drivers for oversizing in both primary and secondary heating and cooling as well as ventilation systems in buildings. Among the published works, there is limited guidance on how to size the components of building environmental systems to avoid oversizing while considering the uncertainties associated with the design data and the provision of the capacity for required resilience. This research aims to better understand the drivers and impacts of oversizing and develop a framework on how to take into account the uncertainties associated with data used at the design stage and how to assess the impact of these uncertainties in sizing the main components of heating cooling and ventilation systems without oversizing. The outcomes of this research can potentially contribute towards developing a strategy for the design of buildings services that contribute to achieving the net-zero carbon future in buildings.

For informal enquiries, please email Dr Mehdi Shahrestani m.shahrestani@reading.ac.uk 

Eligibility requirements:

Applicants should have a minimum of a 2.1 honours degree (or equivalent) and Preferably a Master’s degree in Engineering / Computing/ applied mathematics or a relevant discipline. Applicants will be judged on their academic experience, their understanding of the proposed research topic and their references. Experience in numerical modelling and knowledge of building services are essential. In addition, skills in programming preferably in Matlab and being familiar with Building Performance Simulation tools such as EnergyPlus and TRNSYS are desirable.