Building Services Engineering BEng (Hons)

You develop mathematical knowledge in differential equations and numerical methods and extend your base of techniques to solve a variety of problems which arise in engineering domains. The emphasis is on developing competence in the identification of the most appropriate method to solve a given problem and its subsequent application.

Discover the principles and practices by which efficient and effective electrical and lighting services within buildings are designed, and examine the influences that affect optimum design, under normal and fault conditions. You explore energy efficient lighting, emergency lighting, final and sub-main circuits, fire and alarm systems, photovoltaic systems, all to be designed to meet current regulations.

Develop your knowledge of the design of commercial heating and air-conditioning systems used in a variety of buildings, and your understanding of engineering issues related to the specification, design and operation of low temperature hot water heating systems including heat emitter technologies, component sizing and system selections.

You will study technology, people, policy and process change required to adopt BIM as enabler of the future of construction. 3D visualisation, Virtual Reality, Augmented reality, offsite construction, 3D prototyping and component printing as opportunities for the Construction industry to adopt. You will consider different design processes in the construction industry in the advent of BIM and information as a technological and methodological breakthrough.

Explore computer aided design techniques used to analyse the thermal performance of a commercial building, including detailed consideration of the building façade in association with the effects of thermal mass, passive solar control and variations in casual heat gain.

Develop the knowledge and skills to become an information manager, or BIM manager in your future career. You study the methodologies to manage digital BIM based projects for the construction and engineering fields, learning how to create, manage and encourage other users to work within the BIM collaboration space.

You work in teams and develop key skills required to plan and manage civil engineering/construction projects. You consider a problem-solving scenario to identify and evaluate a range of alternative options to meet the Client’s requirements and the project objectives. This includes analysis of site/project constraints, planning process, buildability and sustainability considerations.

You expand your employability skills such as group work, project management and presentation skills to support problem solving in a technical engineering context.

The module features an intensive project week, where you work solely on this group project. Key milestones are set, including progress meetings with tutors acting as clients and, where possible, meetings with professionals involved in the construction industry acting as expert consultants and offering constructive feedback on your proposals.

The demand for energy – to run electrical devices, heat and cool buildings, and maintain industry – continues to grow and places considerable strain on the natural environment. The pressures of supporting economic growth, while seeking to minimise our environmental impact, has driven the research and development of new sources of energy.

You gain the knowledge and skills to implement suitable alternative energy technologies and understand their economic, social and environmental benefits within a broader context.

You cover energy systems, solar power systems, energy conservation, passive solar heating, wind energy, ocean energy technologies, hydro and micro-hydro turbines, geothermal energy, air pollution abatement, carbon dioxide sequestration and carbon trading economics.

You explore heating and air conditioning control applied to building services engineering systems, and develop an understanding of the interaction of control elements and system behaviour. Control strategy is developed through consideration of system objectives and building performance leading to the development of plant and systems schematics. And you gain an understanding of the selection and specification of final control elements, and the appreciation of control characteristics and intelligent control systems.

You develop the knowledge and skills for effective management of projects from conception, through to the design and construction stages, into end user and end-of-life cycles. You study how to manage stakeholders, communication and information sharing. And support different groups to ensure they are working to schedule, budget and contract.

Develop your independent learning skills by investigating an area of engineering for an extended research or design project.

Get trained in technical reports for knowledgeable readers before producing a report. You also give an oral presentation, poster presentation or both.