Nottingham Trent's New Building Given Carbon Negative Rating

9th November 2015

Nottingham Trent University has further reduced its estate’s carbon footprint with the construction of a brand-new Pavilion building that generates more energy than it consumes.

The Pavilion, which opened in September and is part of a multi-million pound development of the Clifton campus, is the university’s first building to be given a carbon-negative Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of A+.

The university’s Environmental Manager, Grant Anderson, said: “We have been working hard to improve our sustainability credentials and receiving an EPC rating of A+ for the new Pavilion building is an excellent achievement for the university.

“The building has been designed to be as sustainable and energy efficient as possible.  It has energy efficient glazing and a huge 94kW array of solar panels on the roof. It has also been built with great insulation properties with a high thermal mass, meaning it retains the heat to keep the building warm in the winter whilst keeping it cool in the summer months.

“It is not just about the energy efficiency: the building is also on track to achieve the prestigious BREEAM excellent award.  It uses sustainably sourced materials in the construction of the new building and ecology has been enhanced on campus as a result of the project. 

“The Pavilion has been built with lots of natural light and LED lights that switch off automatically when it’s sunny.  It is also naturally ventilated, reducing the need for energy rich air conditioning units, except in essential areas such as the computer room.  

“Attaining a carbon negative rating for the new building shows how the university is totally committed to protecting the environment by ensuring that we do not add to our carbon footprint in any of our building or development projects.” 

The main contractor of the energy efficient development is Midlands-based G F Tomlinson and the architects are Evans Vettori Architects.