Building Performance Analyst (Solar House)

IMPORTANT:  This Advertiser has requested that applicants MUST be National Residents / Valid Work Permit-holders.  Other applicants need not apply.

 

This is an excellent opportunity to work directly with an innovative and forward thinking company at the forefront of zero carbon house building. As Building Performance Analyst, you will be based at De Montfort University, where the support and guidance given will allow you to complete a Masters by Research MSc and make the results of the Solar House’s performance available to the public. Upon successful completion of the Masters course, Caplin Homes hope and expect to employ the successful candidate, either on a part time or full time basis. This will be in a technical applications role.  

Background

Caplin Homes is a small company planning to make a big impact in providing new low carbon technology for the house building industry. The “Solar House” project aims to demonstrate that building zero carbon houses is both practical and affordable. An essential part of this programme is the independent monitoring and evaluation of the building’s performance which will lead to the development of generalised model for a wide range of housing types.

http://www.solar-house.co.uk/

The ‘Solar House’ is the UK’s first house to be solely heated by the sun’s energy all year round. Using novel and simple ideas, the Solar House will showcase a range of sustainable technologies. Solar energy collected in summer will be stored by heating the ground beneath the building and this energy will be retrieved through a heat pump when needed in the winter.

Hybrid solar panels will collect enough heat from the sun to provide heating and hot water and twice the electricity needed to run the system. This enables the house to achieve “Zero Carbon” status i.e. it generates more energy than it uses.
                                                                                                                                                  
The project ‘belongs’ to Caplin Homes, however the student will be registered for a Masters by Research degree in the Faculty of Technology at De Montfort University. They will be based at the university and be supervised on a day to day basis by Andrew Wright at De Montfort University. All tuition fees and project related expenses for travel to meetings etc. will be covered by Caplin Homes.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Objective

To undertake a full time one year Masters by Research MSc with De Montfort University under whose supervision the data collection and analysis will be undertaken. This will lead to the publication of academic papers and the development of a computer model of the system in conjunction with one of the project’s partner companies.

Upon successful completion of the Masters and dependent on performance, Caplin Homes are looking to employ the successful candidate in a technical applications role.

Benefits of this opportunity

The successful applicant will be involved at the cutting edge of environmental technology. By working on the measurement of energy flows around the building, he/she will gain first hand exposure to all of the elements of the system, in particular the highly original inter-seasonal heat storage.

Future employment potential and options

Upon successful completion of the Masters course, Caplin Homes hope and expect to employ the successful candidate, either on a full time or part time basis. This would be in a technical applications role.

Employer: The successful candidate will be a student at De Montfort University with all tuition fees and work related expenses paid, but they will not be an employee. They will be able to use desk space at the university. PLEASE NOTE – tuition fees will be paid at the UK/EU fee level only.

Output 1
The production of academic papers at the interim stage (April 2014) and final stage (August 2014) as the major part of the work required for the post graduate degree.

N.B - Tasks below are listed is chronological sequence not in order of importance

Key Task 1
Induction programme to include visits to partner and supplier companies to become familiar with data logging and sensor equipment, as well as the technologies used in the project.

Key Task 2
Participate in the planning and supervision of the installation and calibration of monitoring equipment.

Key Task 3
Collect and analyse data on energy dynamics under supervision of the DMU supervisor, leading to a report on the building’s performance throughout the monitoring period.

Key Task 4
Write an academic paper fully describing the results in a form that will be useful for generalised model building.

Personal Specification
Weighting: Please note that Weightings should indicate the importance of each selection criteria, the higher the weighting the greater the importance.  The weightings will be used to calculate the interview score in order to fairly assess all candidates.

Essential Selection Criteria 1     Weighting:  5
Candidates must be a graduate with a good grounding in physical science and mathematics

Essential Selection Criteria 2     Weighting:  5
Candidates must have a capacity for conceptual and analytical thinking   

Essential Selection Criteria 3     Weighting:  4
The ability to communicate well with colleagues and other participants in the project 

Essential Selection Criteria 4     Weighting:  3
An aptitude for or interest in mathematical modelling     

Essential Selection Criteria 5     Weighting:  3
Some commercial experience outside of the academic environment    

Essential Selection Criteria 6     Weighting: 3
A desire to exploit the knowledge gained from the project in a future career   

Essential Selection Criteria 7     Weighting:  3
A good working knowledge of IT office software       

Essential Selection Criteria 8     Weighting:  2
A current UK driving license    

 

For more information and details on how to apply, please visit the Change Agents UK website:

http://www.changeagents.org.uk/sustainability-jobs