NEWS

NEW EU-FUNDED PROJECT SINFONIA

LOOKS TO REFURBISHMENT MASTER PLANS

the close integration of theory and

practice. The development of intelligent
urban district concepts will, therefore,
also include instruments and methods that
will make it possible to address social and
economic obstacles.
The aim of the Sinfonia project is to
demonstrate how the high demand for
energy efficiency can be reconciled with a
high quality of life in European cities. A
key goal of the pilot cities is to achieve
primary energy savings between 40
and 50 per cent and increase the share
of renewables by 20 per cent. Sinfonia
is funded by the 7th European Union
Framework Research Programme.

nstitutions across Europe are working

together in the EU-funded project
Sinfonia in order to develop feasible energy
refurbishment concepts for cities. For the
demo cities, Innsbruck and Bolzano, master
plans are prepared and implemented at
the urban district level. The energy savings
are being monitored by the Passive House
Institute, which is also participating in the
individual refurbishment projects by providing
consulting and certification services and
by looking at the electrical efficiency in
households. Representatives of the Institute
presented key aspects of their involvement in
this project at the BAU trade fair in Munich.
Within the framework of the Sinfonia
project, over 100,000 square metres of
living space will be optimised for energy
efficiency. The EnerPHit Standard serves as

a basis for this. In addition to the extensive

refurbishment of buildings, this five-year
project will also involve the integration
of intelligent control systems for energy
grids at the district level. The models for
integrated urban district refurbishment,
which are being developed in the Austrian
city of Innsbruck and in the provincial
capital Bolzano in northern Italy, will then
be transferred to other European cities;
Seville in Spain, Paphos in Cyprus, Boras
in Sweden, La Rochelle in France and
Rosenheim in Germany are participating as
early adopter cities.
The refurbishment of buildings dating from
the 1950s to the 1980s, as well as those built
in the early 20th century, is the basis for this
project involving more than 25 partners from
eight countries. The focus will be placed on

AFFORDABLE
ENERGY-SAVING
DEVICE WINS THE
RUSHLIGHT ENERGY
ENVIRONMENTAL
AWARD

UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM HONOURS

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE FIRE & RESCUE

he organisation
behind a
simple, retrofit
device designed
to reduce home
heating bills, The
Chopping Company,
has won the
Rushlight Energy
Environmental Award 2014-15. The award
recognises the most significant achievement
in reducing the impact on the environment
from energy generation or end use.
The Chop-Cloc costs just 69.99 and pays
back in less than 12 months. It works with
any water based heating system to insert
a 15 to 45 minute off period in each
hour that the heating is on. This makes no
difference to comfort but saves households
an average of 16% on their heating bills,
with some customers saving as much
as 30%.
The Chop-Cloc is receiving increasing
recognition as a break-through invention,
shortlisted for the Ashden, Greenbuild and
Energy Efficiency & Renewables Awards
in the last year alone. Chop-Cloc was also
Highly Commended in the Innovation of the
Year category at the BusinessGreen Leaders
Awards in June 2014.

he University of Nottingham has officially

thanked Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue
Service for its hard work in keeping the
community safe during the recent fire at its
Jubilee campus.
Sir Andrew Witty, the Chancellor of the
University, presented the Chancellors Award
to the Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Wayne
Bowcock, at a ceremony on 22 January.
The award was presented in recognition of
the outstanding work done by the service
in preventing the spread of the fire at the
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Sustainable Chemistry
Laboratory at the University last September.
This is the first time that this award has
been given, and it has been created to
recognise exceptional contributions made
by individuals and external organisations
to the success of the University. As well as

For further information visit

www.sinfonia-smartcities.eu

the award and certificate of recognition, a

donation of 20,000 has been made to The
Fire Fighters Charity.

L-r: Professor Karen Cox (The University of

Nottingham) and Sir Andrew Witty (Chancellor
of the University) with Deputy Chief Fire
Officer Wayne Bowcock, Incident Commander,
Group Manager Jo Wooler-Ward, and
Operations Commander, Station Manager
Phil Revill all from Notts Fire & Rescue

IIRSM TO REPRESENT ITS MEMBERS ON CIC

he International Institute of Risk and

Safety Management (IIRSM) has become
a full member of the UKs Construction
Industry Council (CIC).
The CIC is a hugely successful and influential
umbrella body that seeks to represent
predominately UK-based construction
related professional bodies and Associations
with an interest in our built environment.
It is not a political organisation but has
significant relationships with all relevant
UK Government Departments and Agencies.
IIRSM takes a place on its Council and will
engage at all levels in all of the work of CIC.

New brand image

IIRSM is also pleased to announce that
it has a new brand image. After listening
to its members and considering current
perceptions and IIRSMs ambitions as an
organisation, it was decided the time was
right to embark on a brand refresh.
The new branding was rolled out from midFebruary and will inform the design of their
new website, launching in the spring.

BUILDING ENGINEER March 2015