Scientific survey on Trusts’ roof
Murat Basarir, an MPhil student at the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, has recently completed research commissioned by the Close the Door Campaign to quantify the energy losses in retail outlets.
Murat, who graduated from Queen’s University (Kingston, Canada) with a BSc. and MSc. in Mechanical Engineering, studied energy usage at two shops in Cambridge city centre – Rymans the stationer and the independent Cambridge Toy Shop - by deploying a wide range of wireless sensors, one of which was positioned on the balcony of the Trusts’ second and third floor premises in Sidney Street, in order to monitor the main factors that affect energy consumption in a store.
The study showed that keeping a door closed in winter could reduce a shop’s energy bills by 50 per cent whilst also cutting their carbon emissions. A shop’s carbon usage could be reduced by up to 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by shutting doors – the equivalent of three return flights from London to Hong Kong – according to the research. Energy usage at Rymans was reduced by 54 per cent when doors were kept shut for a day, while the Cambridge Toy Shop saved 30 per cent.
The published results of the findings will enable retail building owners and local authorities to determine the benefits of various energy saving measures, and encourage retailers to take positive steps for both economic and environmental reasons while enhancing their corporate reputation.