Knowledge

A wide range of interesting articles that help you make informed decisions and deliver the best projects for your clients authored by our team of NBS subject specialists and construction industry contributors.

Sustainability

A specifier’s guide to BREEAM New Construction V7

Discover how specification can support BREEAM New Construction V7, with practical guidance from NBS and BRE on assessment requirements, evidence and more sustainable project outcomes.

Must Reads

  • heating

    The hidden cost of compliance: why architects are demanding a new era of product transparency

    Few pieces of legislation have reshaped the UK construction industry as significantly as the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA). Introduced to improve accountability, traceability and safety standards ...

  • Design and Specification

    Brick slip cladding systems – the need for robust specification

    This article from the NBS technical team outlines specification for brick slip technology, including history, technology, design, safety and testing.

  • heating

    When product data creates risk, AluK delivers the clarity and support architects need

    The need to build more homes, more quickly, has not changed. If anything, the pressure has intensified. However, the conversation around Modern Methods of Construction has evolved.

‘Sound’ advice on air source heat pump specification

One factor that may be a concern to property owners is the replacement of a relatively quiet gas boiler with external equipment that is potentially noisier. NBS has teamed up with its partner, Quiet ...

Design and SpecificationConstruction Products
NBS-LCA

Reduce embodied carbon from the start

Measure, compare and reduce upfront embodied carbon using trusted UK data and pre-built assemblies.

Microsoft make IoT play with thermostat smarts controlled by Cortana

It's been a few years since we last looked at intelligent heating controls on theNBS.com and in the intervening period things have got smarter, sleeker and more integrated. The British weather ...

SustainabilityConstruction Products

What makes a passivhaus?

In recent years the term ‘Passivhaus’ has become a byword for an ‘eco-friendly’ dwelling. The evolution of the energy-saving home has taken leads from Scandinavian and mainland European ...

SustainabilityStandards and Regulations

Gas safety regulations

The use of gas-fired heating appliances in buildings is subject to stringent regulations, and, as you'd expect, there is a wealth of information available on gas safety for householders and landlords ...

Standards and RegulationsVentilation

Feed-in tariffs: Solar scheme changes from January 2016

The government has moved to slash renewable energy subsidies with a significant cut to the feed-in-tariff (FIT) from January 2016.

SustainabilityHeating

A warm reception for intelligent heating controls

With the nights starting to draw in and the summer drizzling to an autumnal conclusion many of us will be tempted to fire up the central heating for the first time in the coming weeks.

SustainabilityHeating

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Passivhaus projects recognised at Trust Awards

A reinterpreted farmstead has become the first Certified Passivhaus in Northumberland and winner of the Small Projects Category at the 2015 Passivhaus Awards organised by the Passivhaus Trust.

SustainabilityHeating

What is a U-value?

Although the main focus of environmental performance of buildings is now on carbon usage, there is still a need to consider thermal performance of the building fabric as a contributing factor. ...

Construction ProductsVentilation

Excess heat (2/8)

This is the second in an eight-part series of articles, Climate Change Adaptation in Buildings, examining the impact of climate change on the built environment, and the responses that can be made to ...

SustainabilityVentilation

How long will components and systems last?

If you want to know how long a boiler will last, where do you start? CIBSE Guide M: Maintenance Engineering and Management is the most widely-used reference document for this topic available in the ...

Construction ProductsHeating

Condensing boilers and domestic heating controls

Heating controls with condensing boilers are almost mandatory for home installation in the UK. In this article, industry specialists BSRIA tell us more.

Construction ProductsHeating