CIBSE Technical Symposium 2026
March 2026 at Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of the CIBSE Technical Symposium 2026. Please select a date or location to show only sessions on that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view. For more information and to register your place please visit, https://www.cibse.org/symposium
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Session Overview | |
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Location: EHB104 This is the largest space which will be used for the keynote, opening and plenary sessions. |
| Date: Thursday, 26/Mar/2026 | |
| 9:15am - 9:55am |
1.1: Welcome and Keynote Location: EHB104 Chair: Mike Burton Opening Address by Dr. Anastasia Mylona, CIBSE Technical Director, followed by a Welcome from CIBSE Vice President, Mike Burton. Keynote Session (incl Q&A) by Professor Catherine Noakes, University of Leeds Integrating science, policy and practice for healthy and sustainable buildings Professor Cath Noakes OBE is the Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation and Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings at the University of Leeds, UK. She is a chartered engineer with substantial experience leading research into buildings and health, particularly around ventilation, air quality and infection control. She has worked closely with policy, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, including contributing to UK SAGE committee, NHS guidance on healthcare environments, WHO groups, and work with the Royal Academy of Engineering. |
| 10:00am - 11:15am |
1.2: Session 2: Managing Airborne Infection: Ventilation Limits, Emission variability and Real World Practice Location: EHB104 Airborne infection risk in marquees Limits to the Effectiveness of Ventilation for Reducing Airborne Infection Risk Due to Widely Varying Emissions “We have to freeze or be deafened”: A survey on the effectiveness of CO₂ alarms in university spaces. |
| 11:45am - 1:00pm |
1.5: Session 5: Raising the Bar: Setting Standards for Reliable and Resilient Heat Networks Location: EHB104 Chair: Ellen Salazar Heat Network Metering and Monitoring Standard: Regulating metering systems within UK heat networks Energy security, reliability and net zero investment in a heat network portfolio: Prioritising with limited data Setting Resilience and Equipment Condition Standards for Heat Networks Setting Standards for Pressure in Heat Networks |
| 2:15pm - 3:15pm |
1.8: Session 8: Rethinking Certification for Healthier, Higher‑Performing Buildings Location: EHB104 Chair: Ellen Salazar Passivhaus delivery lessons from two UK projects From Office Block to Award-Winning Residence: St Crispin’s House Champions Student Wellness Beyond Certification: Designing for Brain Health and Wellbeing through Certified Environments |
| 3:35pm - 4:35pm |
1.11: Session 11: Heat Pumps: From Models to Measured Experience Location: EHB104 A hybrid approach to predicting indoor temperature of residential heat pumps using system identification and physics-informed neural networks. Air source heat pump sizing: a sensitivity analysis Heat pump noise in schools: influence of heat pump placement on noise exposure |
| 4:40pm - 6:05pm |
1.14: Session 14: Panel Discussion Location: EHB104 Chair: Vanda Dimitriou Chair: Bill McQuade Hear from guest speaker Bill McQuade, ASHRAE President, followed by a Panel Discussion chaired by Vanda Dimitriou (Loughborough University) and Bill McQuade (ASHRAE President). Fit for 2050: Are Building Services Engineers Being Replaced, Repositioned - or Reinvented by AI?”
Bringing together leading academics, practitioners, and professional voices, the session will explore how AI is reshaping performance, simulation, wellbeing, and the future role of the engineer - challenging assumptions and inviting the audience into the conversation.
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| Date: Friday, 27/Mar/2026 | |
| 8:30am - 9:00am |
2.REG: Registration and refreshments Location: EHB104 |
| 9:00am - 9:15am |
2.15: Session 15 Location: EHB104 Opening Address by Hannah Gray - CIBSE ASHRAE Graduate of the Year Winner Designing Buildings Fit for 2050: A Next Generation Perspective This opening address reflects on what it means for buildings to be “fit for 2050”, moving beyond compliance towards real performance, resilience, and inclusive design. It highlights the role of research, data, and collaboration in delivering buildings that support both people and the planet.
Hannah Gray is a mechanical engineer at Foster + Partners and the current CIBSE ASHRAE Graduate of the Year. She is a graduate from the University of Edinburgh with First Class Honours in Mechanical Engineering. Alongside her professional practice, Hannah is actively involved in mentoring and graduate development, supporting early-career engineers through a range of industry engagement initiatives. Her work focuses on integrating technical design decisions with measurable sustainability outcomes, with a particular interest in how engineering strategies can support high-performance, environmentally responsible buildings. |
| 9:20am - 10:35am |
2.16: Session 16: Delivering Heat Networks in Practice: Costs, Integration and System Optimisation Location: EHB104 Chair: Ben Arnold Benchmarking operational energy performance of higher educational institutions in England and Wales and analysing energy use characteristics Investigating Categorisation of Hospitals for Energy Performance Evaluation Purposes in the UK Using Data-driven Approach Comparing energy use calculations from SBEM and a DSM |
| 11:00am - 12:15pm |
2.19: Session 19: Modelling Overheating Risk: Modelling, Testing and Validation Location: EHB104 Adapting the UK Building Stock to Future Heat Stress: Typology-Based Overheating Risk and Mitigation Modelling Robustness of Part O overheating mitigation guidelines to future UK climate scenarios Reliable overheating modelling in modern apartments: empirical validation |
| 1:15pm - 2:30pm |
2.22: Session 22: Mitigating Overheating: Proven, Overlooked and Emergency Strategies Location: EHB104 Chair: Jaydeep Bhadra Mitigating future summertime overheating in houses: influence of ventilation strategies Yoghurt on windows as an emergency, low-cost heatwave preparation intervention Plant or Plants? A Cross-disciplinary Investigation of Green Infrastructure's (GI) integration in Low Carbon Healthy Design |
| 2:40pm - 3:55pm |
2.25: Session 25: Smarter HVAC Sizing for Net Zero: Methods, Comfort and Early-Stage Decision-Making Location: EHB104 Bridging the Gap Between Steady-State and Dynamic Load Modelling: A Sizing Methodology for Net-Zero HVAC Design in Office Buildings Rethinking Thermal Comfort in the Middle East: Localised CLO Inputs and Sustainable HVAC Design for Open Bowl Stadia Early design sizing solutions for building services system under different uncertainties. |
| 4:00pm - 4:25pm |
CLOSE: Closing Remarks Location: EHB104 Closing Remarks by Anastasia Mylona, CIBSE Technical Director, followed by Awards and closing drinks reception. |