Welcome to NBS

NBS topic areas

 

Keep up to date with industry developments

NBS solutions

 

Products and services for all construction projects

Sustainability

Sustainable development

Security
Shops
Site investigation

Site management
Solar Power
Sound insulation

Security

Legislation - UK

General Acts 2004 Ch 22 Sustainable and secure buildings act 2004, 2004
Amends the Building act, and others, with regard to sustainable construction practices and conservation of historic buildings. Also states the general nature of security provisions which should be in place at the construction stage and beyond.
View in The Construction Information Service

Shops

Building Research Energy Conservation Support Unit

Good Practice Case Study 148 Energy management - J Sainsbury plc, 1994
View in The Construction Information Service

Good Practice Guide 190 Energy efficient action pack - for retail premises, 1996
View in The Construction Information Service

Good Practice Guide 201 Energy efficient refurbishment of retail buildings, 1996
View in The Construction Information Service

Good Practice Guide 210 Energy efficient lighting in the retail sector, 1997
View in The Construction Information Service

Building Research Establishment

Report 207 BREEAM/ Version 2/91. New superstores and supermarkets. Environmental assessment for new superstores and supermarkets, 1991
View in The Construction Information Service

Report 366 Sustainable retail premises: an environmental guide to design, refurbishment and management of retail premises, 1999
The primary objective of this environmental guide is to reduce the impacts of retail premises and shopping centres on the environment, whilst at the same time bringing enhanced business return for developers, investors and retailers.
View in The Construction Information Service

Site investigation

British Standards Institution

BS 5930:1999 Code of practice for site investigations, 1999
Looks at the investigation of sites for the purposes of assessing their suitability for the construction of civil engineering and building works and of acquiring knowledge of the characteristics of a site that affect the design and construction of such work and the security of neighbouring land and property.
View in The Construction Information Service

Building Research Establishment

Report 380 Environmental site layout planning: solar access, microclimate and passive cooling in urban areas, 2000
The main objective of this publication is to produce comprehensive design guidance on urban layout to ensure good access to solar gain, daylighting and passive cooling. The aim is to enable designers to produce comfortable, energy-efficient buildings surrounded by pleasant outdoor spaces, within an urban context that minimizes energy consumption and the effects of pollution.
View in The Construction Information Service

Environment Agency

Technical Report P005-065/TR-I Technical aspects of site investigation. Volume I (of II) Overview, 2000
Provides technical guidance on the investigation of contaminated sites. This volume gives an overview of good practice and further sections describe key issues in relation to the principal site investigation activities.
View in The Construction Information Service

Technical Report P005-065/TR-II Technical aspects of site investigation. Volume II (of II) Text supplements, 2000
Provides technical guidance on the investigation of contaminated sites. This volume gives an overview of good practice and further sections describe key issues in relation to the principal site investigation activities.
View in The Construction Information Service

Site management

Building Research Establishment

Information Paper 30/79 Site accounting for waste of materials, 1979
View in The Construction Information Service

Information Paper 21/01 Sustainability indicators for utilities, 2001
Developed with the support of the Construction Industry Directorate and through consultation with the industry, incorporating economic, social and Environment to support the achievement of more sustainable activities at the local level of utilities work.
View in The Construction Information Service

Building Services Research and Information Association

Advanced Construction Techniques 9/2000 Innovative M and E installation, 2000
Provides an overview of the key findings from the Innovative M and E Installation research project. Identifying, highlighting and promoting the adoption of new techniques and procedures that have the potential to improve site productivity by assessing and highlighting the barriers that may restrict the use of innovative systems and procedures. The report together with the Innovative M and E Installation Data Sheets (ACT 5/2000), provides independent information on a range of innovative systems and components.
View in The Construction Information Service

Chartered Institute of Building

Recycling waste from the construction site, 1995
The objective of this study was to examine in detail waste material produced on a variety of construction sites, and with the help of waste management companies, to examine which surplus materials occur in sufficient quantities to make recycling a viable proposition.
View in The Construction Information Service

CIRIA

Publication C503 Environmental good practice - working on site, 1998
Identifies the key actions that can be taken during construction that mean the difference between good and bad environmental practice.
View in The Construction Information Service

Publication C528 Environmental handbook for building and civil engineering projects. Part 2: Construction, 2000
The main sections of this part of the Environmental Handbook comprise: tendering; project planning and contract letting; site set up and management including traffic; groundwork; foundations; structural work; building envelope; mechanical and electrical installations and their interface with civil and building work; trades; landscaping, reinstatement and habitat restoration and creation; site reinstatement and handover.
View in The Construction Information Service

Project Report PR 83 Tools for measuring and forecasting waste generated on site, 2001
This report details the results of a scoping study to determine the feasibility of developing a tool or mechanism to measure and forecast the production of waste on construction sites. It was based on consultation with industry members, a workshop and review of published data from Europe. The study concludes that there is a need for a tool that can help to identify priority waste streams and develop appropriate and effective waste minimisation plans to address these. It is recommended that the tool should include an electronic element for forecasting waste, a database of industry benchmarks, guidelines for developing a waste management plan, and an electronic method for monitoring waste generation.
View in The Construction Information Service

Special Publication SP 133 Waste minimisation in construction: site guide, 1997
The waste you create on site is no longer wasted if you or others can reuse or recycle it. The amount of waste that you need to think about can itself be reduced by careful storage and handling of materials. Every year in the UK our industry generates some 70 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste - much of which is driven off site and dumped in a landfill. This is not very cost-effective because landfill is expensive, and the addition of a landfill tax makes it even more costly. Indeed, time and money are wasted all along the line - buying materials that are wasted, storing the resulting waste, transporting and dumping it. Additionally, you lose the income that would have been gained by salvaging it. It is also environmentally irresponsible to produce excessive quantities of waste. It is easy to make excuses for not changing the way we do things. This handbook clearly identifies the choices available for dealing with specific construction and demolition wastes, showing what can be effectively reduced, reused or recycled - and how to take action now.
View in The Construction Information Service

John Wiley and Sons

Identification of cleaner production improvement opportunities, 2006
Presents a practical how-to manual for implementing the pollution prevention strategies that are economical and efficient for eliminating costly end-of-pipe treatments.
View in The Construction Information Service

Solar Power

Architectural Association Press

Solar Energy and Housing Design, 1993
Demonstrates how available sunshine can be used as part of site planning and architectural design to reduce fuel consumption for heating and to enhance the environment. The topics covered in the first volume include: site layout; building form; internal planning; the design of windows and opaque elements; ventilation; heating systems and controls; and conservatories. The second gives detailed examples of buildings to which these principles have been applied.

Architectural Press

Solar house: a guide for the solar designer, 2004
Covering the full life span of the project, from siting issues through specific design features to maintenance of the property and equipment, this is a comprehensive guide to designing, planning and building a solar house. Each of the technologies of the house, such as space heating and cooling, domestic hot water and electric power technologies, are critiqued from the point of view of the owner/resident, with the author using his thirty years experience of living in a solar home.
Buy this title from RIBA Bookshops

Birkhauser Press

Solar radiation and daylight models for the energy efficient design of buildings. 2nd edition, 2004
The cost of operating a building far exceeds the cost of constructing it, and yet until recently little attention was paid to the impact of solar radiation on the costs of heating, cooling and ventilation. There are many different models and techniques available for calculating the distribution of solar radiation on and in buildings, and these algorithms vary considerably in scope, accuracy and complexity. This book demonstrates which of these predictive tools gives the best results in different circumstances, including explaining which models can be best used in different parts of the world.
Buy this title from RIBA Bookshops

Transsolar: climate engineering, 2003
One of the most successful climate engineering firms is Transsolar Energietechnik in Stuttgart. This book provides an aesthetic overview of Transsolarīs integrated building and energy concepts. It shows in detail the different areas of application which include the load-bearing structures, heat and ventilation systems, light planning, and facade construction. Includes contributions by architects who have made use of Transsolarīs concepts as well as project characteristics with the scope of the climate's integral approach, aims and tools.
Buy this title from RIBA Bookshops

Building Research Energy Conservation Support Unit

General Information Leaflet 16 Using solar energy in schools, 1993
View in The Construction Information Service

Building Research Establishment

Digest 489 Wind loads on roof based photovoltaic systems, 2004
There is a little information and no authoritative guidance about wind loads on roof-based photovoltaic (PV) systems available to the designer. In the UK, determining wind loading on PV systems and their component parts tends to be based on experimental data, extrapolation of wind loading data intended for other building elements, or from design guidance for PV installations in other countries where the wind loads or construction practice can be quite different. Reviews the wind loading information appropriate for roof based PV systems and gives recommendations and guidance for the design of roof-based PV systems for wind loads.
View in The Construction Information Service

Centre for Alternative Technology

Solar water heating: a DIY guide, 2006
An invaluable reference guide for anyone with basic plumbing and woodworking skills interested in constructing their own solar collector. A detailed and fully illustrated how-to approach allows the reader to construct either a radiator or clip fin type of solar water heating system. The systems described have an expected pay back time of as little as five years.
Buy this title from RIBA Bookshops

Tapping the sun: a guide to solar water heating, 2006
Covers all the elements of adapting a conventional domestic water heating system, from likely costs and equipment to basic mechanical principles and legal issues, and cuts through the technical jargon showing how the changes can be made. With energy savings of 1000 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year (translating to roughly GBP100), solar water heating is one of the best ways a household can help reduce global warming and preserve fossil fuel resources.
Buy this title from RIBA Bookshops

Chelsea Green Publishing

Passive solar house: using solar design to heat and cool your home, 1997
Describes a technique for building homes that heat and cool themselves using ordinary building materials and methods familiar to building contractors and do-it-yourselfers. Explains how to build and use the author's formerly patented design for a solar heat exchanger built into the foundation of a house, with chapters on the passive solar concept.

Department of Trade and Industry

Photovoltaics in buildings. Testing commissioning and monitoring guide, 1998
This document is concerned with the testing, commissioning and monitoring of building integrated, grid connected photovoltaic systems, referred to in this document as 'PV systems'.
View in The Construction Information Service

Green Books

Schumacher Briefing 10 Solar world: climate change and the green energy revolution, 2003

James and James (Science Publishers)

Solar manifesto, 2005
In this fully updated edition, Hermann Scheer once more attacks the lack of political will to find answers outside of the conventional frame of reference. Climate change, pollution, deforestation, destruction of the ozone layer, poverty and the population explosion are all problems created or exacerbated by the use of conventional energy. Champions the replacement of fossil and nuclear fuels with solar energy as a real solution to the threat to the environment and associated social consequences.

New Society Publishers

Photovoltaics: design and installation manual: solar energy international, 2004
With this manual, Solar Energy International has made available the critical information to successfully design, install and maintain PV systems. The book contains an overview of photovoltaic electricity and a detailed description of PV system components, including PV modules, batteries, controllers and inverters. It also includes chapters on sizing photovoltaic systems, analysing sites and installing PV systems, as well as detailed appendices on PV system maintenance, troubleshooting and solar insulation data for over 300 sites around the world.

Sound insulation

Architects' Journal

AJ Focus Insulation and energy conservation. AJ Focus 03.2000, 2000
Describes the ranges of new materials which are appearing in response to the demand for more energy efficient and environmentally friendly buildings. Also mentions prefabrication of buildings; use of photovoltaics and insulation. Gives details of costs of the materials and manufacturers' data.
View in The Construction Information Service

British Standards Institution

BS 8233:1999 Sound insulation and noise reduction for buildings - Code of practice, 1999
Recommendations for the control of noise in and around buildings. Incorporates the results of research and experience gained over the last 20 years. Provides up to date information on the rating of noise and the rating of the sound insulation of building elements.
View in The Construction Information Service

BS EN 12354-1:2000 Building acoustics - Estimation of acoustic performance of buildings from the performance of elements. Airborne sound insulation between rooms, 2000
View in The Construction Information Service

BS EN 12354-6:2003 Building acoustics - Estimation of acoustic performance of buildings from the performance of elements. Sound absorption in enclosed spaces, 2003
Details are given for a calculation model that estimates the total equivalent sound absorption area or reverberation time of enclosed spaces in buildings, based on measured data that characterises the sound absorption of materials and objects. It describes the principles, application and restrictions as well as listing the relevant quantities of the calculation model.
View in The Construction Information Service

Building Research Establishment

Digest 337 Sound insulation: basic principles (1994 revision), 1994
There appear to be many different constructional techniques available to provide a reasonable standard of sound insulation between dwellings. They are all based on a few simple principles and once these are understood the designer will be able to adapt designs to particular requirements. The Digest explains the terminology and basic principles of the subject.
View in The Construction Information Service

Digest 338 Insulation against external noise, 1988
This Digest explains how the external envelope of a building (the windows, walls and roof) affects the level of noise that is transmitted from outside to inside. It depends on a number of factors: the mass of the envelope, its continuity and the extra insulation afforded by double-leaf construction. There are also certain planning measures that will minimise the exposure to outside noise. The proportion of wall area that is occupied by window glazing has an appreciable effect on the overall performance of the window/wall area unless the windows are designed to a standard that matches the wall construction. Open windows greatly reduce the overall performance. It is therefore necessary to consider the ventilation needs of buildings in noisy locations.
View in The Construction Information Service

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Building Regulations 2000: Approved Documents E Resistance to the passage of sound, 2002
This edition of Approved Document E replaces the 1992 edition. The main changes are; E1 Protection against sound from other parts of the building and adjoining buildings; E2 Protection against sound within a dwelling-house etc; E3 Reverberation in the common internal parts of buildings containing flats or rooms for residential purposes; and E4 Acoustic conditions in schools.
View in The Construction Information Service

BackToTop

Email Updates

Receive regular email
updates from NBS