London South Bank University (LSBU) has completed the construction of a £3m research and teaching facility, which was partly funded by M&E Sustainability, the joint venture between the HVCA and the Electrical Contractors' Association.
The Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings (CEREB) has been designed to showcase a range of renewable and low-carbon technologies, and to produce practical working information of use to contractors. The centre sits on top of the new eight-storey K2 building that forms the centrepiece of the university's campus redevelopment project.

CEREB acts as the energy centre for the rest of the building - and emits 55 per cent less CO₂ than the standard required by the 2006 Building Regulations. 'We are helping to put London in the vanguard of renewable technology development,' said LSBU's Professor Tony Day.

'For us, London is the laboratory. We are now able to get a real insight into how these technologies perform in an urban setting.'

M&E Sustainability's sponsorship money has been dedicated to the creation of a 'workplace footprint tracker' system - webbased software that provides a complete picture of energy consumption in all parts of the building, allowing researchers to measure and analyse data in a realtime environment. Troubleshooting is a key element of the CEREB project. David Frise, the HVCA's new head of sustainability, said: 'We must build up a picture of how renewable technologies work in practice, and must view things from a user's perspective.' He added that it was the practical nature of CEREB that was particularly exciting and pertinent. 'The HVCA is delighted that it has had a hand - via M&E Sustainability - in the development of CEREB, and that its members will be able to access the valuable intelligence being gathered by Professor Day and his team,' Mr Frise concluded. Further information on the CEREB initiative is available at www.cereb.org.uk