Recommended reading

The following titles relate to building services, and are available to buy from RIBA Bookshops.

Practical Guide to Inspection, Testing and Certification of Electrical Installations

This book covers all the basics of inspection and testing and clearly explains all the legal requirements. It not only tells you what tests are needed but also describes all of them step-by-step with the help of colour photos. Sample forms show how to verify recorded test results and how to certify and fill in the required documentation. The book is also packed with handy advice on how to avoid and solve common problems encountered on the job.

Sustainable Building Services

For sustainable operation of buildings, energy-efficient systems for heating, cooling, ventilation and the supply of power are essential. Particularly during building renovations, modifications of the building services allow great savings to be realised at relatively little expense.The book “Sustainable Building Services” explains in compact, easy-to-understand form the most important system concepts and components. It documents how each of the technologies works and shows how they interact in overall concepts. The state of development of technologies of the future such as photovoltaics, heat pumps or solar climate control is also documented.

Architectural Lighting: Designing with Light and Space

What is architecture without light? Our visual understanding of the world is defined through both material and light, but light is only revealed to the human eye through interactions with material, which in turn exsit only in the presence of light, at least to the eye. This interdependence defines every visual enviroment we inhabit, From the Pantheon in Rome, with its single ceiling oculus that admits a dramatic beam of light from the heavens, to the High Line park in New York City, where discreet lighting fixtures make the aprk appear to float over the city, light gives both exterior and interior spaces depth, atmosphere, and definition.

The Architecture and Engineering of Downdraught Cooling: A Design Source Book

Passive Downdraught Cooling is an energy efficient and cost-effective alternative to conventional air conditioning for new and existing buildings. It has been applied in many different building types around the world and represents a significant opportunity for the reduction of carbon emissions. This Sourcebook provides a global review of research and current practice and will be of particular value to architects, engineers and other construction professionals

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