Who owns the Performance Gap?

Tickets prices:

£5 for members

£10 for non-members

Free if joining online

Topics (see agenda below for more info)

Session 1 - How the Performance Gap is Affected by Modelling and Software at Design Stage

Session 2 - How the Performance Gap is affected by Overheating, Natural Ventilation and Passive Cooling

Session 3 - How the Performance Gap is Affected by Oversizing/Undersizing Equipment

Session 4 - How the Performance Gap is Affected by Heat Network Design

Session 5 - How the Performance Gap is Affected by Controls and Metering

Session 6 - How the Performance Gap is Affected by Energy Performance and POE

Session 7 - Owning the Performance Gap

Who Owns the Performance Gap?

The gap between predicted and actual building performance is one of the most persistent -and costly - challenges facing the built environment. Despite increasingly sophisticated standards, tools and technologies, many projects still underperform once occupied. But why does this happen, and where does responsibility truly lie?

Who Owns the Performance Gap? is a full‑day conference bringing together designers, engineers, contractors, operators, policymakers and researchers from all across the industry to explore how decisions made across the project lifecycle contribute to performance shortfalls - or deliver better outcomes.

The conference will examine the impact of modelling assumptions and software choices at design stage, the growing risks of overheating, and the real‑world performance of natural ventilation and passive cooling strategies. It will also address the consequences of over‑ and under‑sizing plant and equipment, the role of heat network design, and how controls, commissioning and metering can either enable or undermine operational efficiency. The day concludes with a focus on energy performance measurement and post‑occupancy evaluation (POE), asking how feedback loops can drive accountability and continuous improvement.

By cutting across disciplines and stages, we aim to move beyond problems, clarify ownership, and identify practical actions to close the performance gap -for good.

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Info: Arup paper on oversizing active research project investigating all the variables that contribute to (over) sizing and if/how they could be revised in response to actual performance feedback.

Info: Undersizing AHUs, under-supply of air, 50HZ becomes 60HZ to boost fan speed, increased energy use and shortened fan life

Info: He will discuss the Heat Network Technical Standard, with a focus on the importance of addressing key design considerations at the early RIBA stages. This could include pressurisation calculations, resilience strategies, water quality management, and designing for long-term maintainability and operational performance.

Info: Nina has delivered numerous energy retrofit projects and can present detailed, data-led case studies comparing pre-works performance, design targets, and post-implementation outcomes. Her session could focus on measured performance, lessons learned, and how actual results align with initial modelling and expectations.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

CIBSE, 91-94 Saffron Hill, London, United Kingdom

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