Atamate Blog

The UK government's Future Homes consultation aims to improve energy efficiency in British homes but gives little attention to the problem of overheating driven by the warming climate. We call for the proposed regulatory reforms to include design to avoid overheating alongside design for energy-efficient heating.

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District heating schemes use a single powerplant to provide heating and hot water to many buildings. They have been promoted as important in decarbonising the British economy but their dependence on gas limits their carbon efficiency and heat is lost as it is distributed which causes internal gains.

In March 2020, the Chartered Institute for Building Service Engineers (CIBSE) published an update to their TM40 guidelines titled Health and Wellbeing in Building Services. It discusses principles that place wellbeing at the centre of building design and management.

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) extracts heat energy from exhaust air to pre-heat incoming outdoor air.

However, it is expensive to install and case studies found many systems are incorrectly designed and operated. In the mild British climate, there are cheaper and more efficient options.

We often specify and control electric heaters and ASHPs in projects, and thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast what each has to offer. There are 2 main points to consider, the energy efficiency of each, and the capital cost of installation and maintenance.

The government's Future Homes consultation presents air-source heat pumps as a mass-market high-efficiency heating solution. However, field trial evidence shows that in well-insulated buildings, occupancy-controlled electrical heaters are more efficient. Heat pumps may have a role in existing homes but have not...

The UK government has published a consultation document for its Future Homes policy, which is intended to update the building regulations covering energy efficiency (Part L) and ventilation (Part F) by 2025. Atamate welcomes the aim to cut the energy needs of British housing stock and particularly the preferred...

The UK government is consulting on proposed updates to the UK building regulations on energy efficiency (Part L) and ventilation (Part F). Atamate welcomes more stringent standards that will cut energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. However, we’re concerned that the solutions proposed only consider a few of...

Mobile phones, WiFi and Bluetooth produce a low-level microwave background in most buildings. Since mobile phones became widespread, there have been concerns that they might cause health problems, with particular emphasis on cancer. Two decades of research has found no evidence that low power microwaves have any...

Atamate uses the Bluetooth Mesh wireless protocol to make a building smart, which introduces a constant microwave background.While extensive research has revealed no ill effects from the powerful microwave signals produced by mobile phones, we recognise that you might have experienced doubts about the safety of...