Sarah

Sarah Birchall

I decided to undertake a PhD as the idea of carrying out research into an area of global concern appealed to me. I had previously completed my undergraduate degree at the university so I knew it was a good place to study. I also enjoy living in Leeds and the fact the university is part of the Russell Group filled me with more confidence that it was the right choice.

About my research

The research I am undertaking as part of my PhD study involves monitoring the overall performance and energy efficiency of a "green" office building in Leeds. The building was awarded a BREEAM for Offices 2005 rating of 87.55% (at design stage), which is currently the highest BREEAM for Offices rating ever awarded.

The purpose of the research is to monitor the building's in-use performance and also the technologies that were integrated into its design. This will allow the overall actual performance to be determined and comparisons can then be made against the predicted/designed performance.

How my research will apply to real world applications

With the concerns over climate change and to ensure government targets and legislation are able to be met, there is a huge move to construct sustainable "green" buildings. Yet, how good these actually perform in practice is still a grey area. This study will allow provide some indication (using a flagship building as the case study) of how well these green offices of the future actual work. It will provide some feedback (of what works well and what doesn't) which can be fed back into the design stages of future projects (lessons learnt).

The best part of my research

I enjoy the uncertainty and challenges that research brings. What I like about my particular research is that involves a mixture of site work (experiments and monitoring tasks at the "green" building) and desk study.

Why I chose to undertake a PhD at the University of Leeds

I decided to undertake a PhD as it appealed as a challenge in a current area of global concern. I knew The University of Leeds was a good place to study as I had previously completed my undergraduate degree here (Civil & Structural Engineering). I enjoy living in Leeds and the fact the university is part of the Russell Group filled me with more confidence that The University of Leeds was a good choice.

My ambitions for the future

I plan go into industry once I have completed my Degree.