Joanne Robinson

Project Title: Assessing the Energy Efficiency Performance Gap. The interaction between user behaviour and non-domestic building design

Background

In 2011, I completed an undergraduate masters in Structural Engineering with Architectural Studies at the University of Sheffield. I really enjoyed the mix of technical design and more creative, social thinking design, however I wanted to further my studies to consider the environmental impact of buildings.

The MSc part of the course has provided me with a broad knowledge base of low carbon technologies as well as policies and social impacts. I completed two mini projects, the first consider the 2050 pathway of road transport. The second involved the life cycle analysis of solar power. This knowledge has proven to be invaluable in framing my current research.

PhD Research

I am considering the energy efficiency of non-domestic buildings. More precisely I am looking at the energy use performance gap, which is measured as the difference between the predicted energy use for a building and how it actually performs. To do this, I am taking a multi-disciplinary approach that considers the influence of user behaviour, building design and organisational culture on energy use. Through case studies at the University of Leeds; Surveys, interviews and modelling are conducted which provide an insight into the real-world practices and how unnecessary energy use might be mitigated.