E3 Consulting Engineers

This week was our final road trip to a gem of a project which is drawing to a close, at Boston Lodge works for Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways. We have been working here over the last four years, together with Architectural THREAD, Integral Engineering Design to repair and rearrange a number of the existing buildings, as well as build three new structures. The project delivers improved staff facilities and allows the railway to invite visitors to witness the inspirational work by the volunteers who maintain the rolling stock. As part of the project we replaced, reorganised and upgraded the site power and water infrastructure, whilst keeping the site operational throughout. We have also tucked away #airsourceheatpumps to deliver low carbon heat to the buildings. Go visit! https://lnkd.in/exXueZw3

We're looking for a new Practice Manager to join our talented team in Central Bristol. For more details please see the careers page on our website: https://lnkd.in/eZjTi-JS

We were treated to a backstage tour of the incredible Bristol Old Vic Theatre last week, which is just round the corner from our office in Queen Square, Bristol. And what a tour! The theatre is the oldest continually working theatre in the English speaking world, which was transformed in 2018 by a team led by Haworth Tompkins architects. A new basement studio theatre and foyer which reveals the fabulous original brickwork of the theatre. Great job. The roof space was a particular highlight, with original victorian sound effect machines including the "thunder run". Thanks to the team at the Old Vic for showing us around, and answering our questions. Really valuable precedent visit for our team designing Andover Theatre. More on the history here: https://lnkd.in/eYAn3yym

We're looking for a BIM Technician to join our team - open to full time, part time or freelance applicants. If that's you, please get in touch! https://lnkd.in/ef_nbcmB

No #gas here! (1 min read) 🔥 This year I have been working to wean my own house off the gas grid. I have switched out my gas oven and gas boiler for an electric induction range and an #airsourceheatpump. My gas meter is now removed and the supply pipe capped off.  Whoop. A few key take-aways to share: 1.      Switching from a gas boiler to a heat pump can be daunting for lots of reasons, even for me when heat pump design is my “day job”.   Do I trust the UK supply chain? Will it really heat the house effectively?  How noisy will it be?  How much will it cost to run? 2.      The UK skills base for heat pump installations is in its infancy, but maturing fast. I have been impressed with the local company who we used: Sustain Heating and Renewables, recommended by Edward Nash of Nash Partnership. Sustain are an early adopter of heat pumps in the South West. 3.      I was surprised by the amount of #redtape involved. I needed #planningpermission because I have 2 heat pumps working in parallel. This took a very long time and required drawings, form filling, acoustic calculations and patience.  This could be a big obstacle for many people. 4.      Acoustic calculations were possible only with the amazing help of David O'Neill at ION Acoustics. He rattled out the calculations quickly, helping me through planning. In reality, when the heat pump is running it’s generally quieter than a boiler flue. 5.      If you are technically curious, but not knowledgeable about heat pumps and want to understand them more, check out the amazing videos on YouTube by Heat Geek. They gave me a lot of confidence, as well as teaching me a lot. 6.      It’s great to see the major energy companies like Octopus Energy rolling out a more consumer friendly process for installing heat pumps at mass scale. Will they swamp local experts like Sustain? Watch this space... 7.      My installation was eligible for £7500 free support from the government, through the #BoilerUpgradeScheme. It’s amazing how few people I have spoken to are aware of this. 8.      For me, the key trigger point for increasing uptake on heat pump installations will be when the ratio of electricity prices to gas prices reduces. This is a particular issue in the UK, where electricity tariffs are still tethered to the price of gas. This is outdated given that wind/solar/nuclear are now the dominant energy source. Reform is in consultatation by UK Gov Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, but taking a long time! 9.      So far I have been impressed at how well my heat pump has performed, working steadily at very low temperatures to keep my house warm. It is running at a lower temperature than the design calculations predicted. If you are considering a heat pump for your own project and want to know where to start, or dive into detail about kWs, COPs, radiators and controls, I’m very happy to share more. #heatpumps

Congratulations to the whole team on the RICS award, thanks for sharing!

Great article in The RIBA Journal about The Story of Emily Museum, one of our projects in Cornwall with Stonewood Design for The Newt in Somerset https://ow.ly/eOJp50TnKTc 

We're delighted to introduce Isabel Barham, who joined us this summer as Assistant Engineer. Isabel is studying Mechanical Engineering at University of Bath and doing a placement year with us.

We're excited to be making a start on Andover's new theatre project with Burrell Foley Fischer LLP, Integral Engineering Design, Ward Williams and Charcoalblue for Test Valley Borough Council https://lnkd.in/eJzpP6Un

This is an insightful article about Edwards Court in Exeter, a #Passivhaus certified extra care facility we designed with Architype and Price & Myers a few years ago. Thanks to Kate de Selincourt for reaching out to me when you were researching the building, and for the time you took to visit the building and getting some valuable occupant feedback. I've also enjoyed reflecting on how we might have approached the design if the project was commissioned today. In a nutshell - similar but with only one blue pipe entering the building, not two pipes: blue and yellow. The building would be simple to convert to heat pumps for space heating as the underfloor heating is designed for a flow temperature of only 35 degC. Domestic hot water would be more of a challenge.