BTS Open Day showcases why measurement must become mainstream and the benefits that can bring

BTS Managing Director Luke Smith started the day by delivering a business and market update, revealing almost 85k Pulse tests and more than 10k heat loss measurements (HTC) have now been completed using BTS kit.

He recapped government policies relevant to the industry, including the ambition Labour has with regards to new build, planning policy changes, as well as ECO4 Pay for Performance, the updated Warm Homes: Social Homes Grant Wave 3 and the Future Homes Standard.

Speaking about the need for more measurement in all of this, he said:

We don’t need net zero buildings ‘in theory’, we need to deliver buildings that truly are net zero and which deliver this performance in practice over their operational life. We must ensure buildings ‘do what they say on the tin’ and not only perform as intended but are of a lasting quality standard and a healthy place to be.

Ongoing innovation at the heart of the agenda

Technical Director, Dr Richard Jack went on to delve into the benefits of measurement and current and future measurement technology that was available to demo on the day:

• Airtightness and air permeability testing with Pulse
• Thermal performance measurement and mould risk indication with SmartHTC
• Infrared based U-value measurement with Heat3D.

He also discussed the future launch of ‘BTS Cloud’ – a single interface that links BTS measurement technologies to bring data together to tell a story of whether a building is healthy or unhealthy.

Richard said:

Measurement is dramatically improving our knowledge of buildings, allowing us to benchmark their energy performance through data. It has the power to improve and upscale retrofit, identify what energy efficiency measures will work best in a particular home, and transform understanding around whether our homes and buildings are healthy places to live and work.

The importance of basic building maintenance on a par with measurement

Expert guest speakers included Dr Zachary Gill from SOAP Retrofit and Energiesprong UK, who gave insights into his practical experiences from offering performance measurement services, including examples of surprising heritage retrofits where measurement revealed heat loss was not as high as first expected.

He explained how 60% of issues with existing buildings are found to be a maintenance problem and said: “Leaks, dust in extractor fans, cracks and blocked gutters are all easy fixes that can significantly contribute to mould risk, air quality and resident health. We cannot discount the value of property condition checks and asking residents about lived experiences in their home as part of assessments, as this can often reveal ideas and solutions that are quick fixes able to significantly improve their quality of life.”

Ever-increasing amounts of data brings its own responsibility

Purrmetrix’s Hermione Crease explained the dramatic increase in the use of housing data and the effect that building fabric, resident behaviour and weather have on property conditions.

She raised the issue that smart meter data is not currently covered by GDPR and emphasised that the industry should take care to use information correctly and confidentially. Hermione further emphasised the notion of ‘measurement for purpose’, being mindful and focussed on what data you are seeking to gather on your projects and to what end.

Meanwhile, out on the streets...

Mark Giordmaina from Gio Property Solutions gave an alternative viewpoint: his presentation focused on how his business uses Pulse for airtightness testing on a daily basis, and how its speed and ease of use is allowing him to service large contracts involving hundreds of properties. He explained how the testing compliments his wider energy assessment and retrofit assessment service offering and that there are opportunities aplenty regarding the testing of existing homes under PAS2035, new build homes under Part L as well as on behalf of heating engineers looking to enhance their BS EN 12831 heat loss calculations. .

Speaking on upcoming changes in RdSAP 10, he added that an airtightness test would add 1-3 SAP points, leading to a potential EPC rating boost for some properties before energy efficiency improvement work is carried out.

Looking to the future

This was the second open day hosted by the team at Build Test Solutions, and demonstrates growth not only in BTS, but in the energy efficiency market as a whole. With energy efficiency, building health and net zero targets at the forefront of many government policies, this growth can only continue. BTS have confirmed that there will be further events in 2025, to accommodate a larger audience and deliver even greater value to those participating and attending.

Find out more

For more information on the BTS Open Day, watch our short film. All the presentation slides from the day can also be found linked below.

To find out about Pulse, Heat 3D, SmartHTC or any other aspect of the products and services we can provide, contact us today!