Bringing Buildings Alive with CIBSE Ireland

The move to smart buildings represents a fundamental shift in the construction and engineering industry. The core challenge is understanding how to deliver intelligent assets that genuinely serve their occupants and owners over the long term, moving past the idea that a smart building is merely a collection of advanced products.Success hinges on early, collaborative design, setting clear goals, and ensuring every disparate system can communicate effectively. This is the difference between a building that is 'smart' on paper and one that is intelligent in operation, with its true performance measured long after the ribbon is cut.The conversation explores the practical side of smart building delivery, highlighting why the definition of a "smart building" must be a process focused on user needs and data-driven outcomes. It details the necessity of developing common language standards, known as ontologies, and how the role of the MEP consultant must evolve to embrace this cohesive, data-centric view. Host Stephen Weir from Hereworks is joined by David Hegarty, Associate Director and Smart Buildings Lead at Arup, who shares his decade of experience delivering intelligent projects across Europe and his vision for the future of the built environment.THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUTSmart building is process, not productDefine use cases before technologyEarly engagement is vital for valueCommon data language (ontologies) is keyBuilding success measured post-completionGUEST DETAILSDavid Hegarty is an Associate Director and the Smart Buildings Lead at Arup. He specialises in integrated building systems, data science, and technology deployment in the built environment. David's experience spans delivering intelligent projects across Europe, focusing on the essential trifecta of value: building systems, technology, and people.PUBLIC CONTACT DETAILS:Social Media:linkedin.com/in/david-hegarty-arupMORE INFORMATION:CIBSE (the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) is the professional body that exists to advance and promote the art, science and practice of building services engineering. Their mission is to invest in education and research, and to support their community of built environment professionals in their pursuit of excellence. Find out more: CIBSE WebsiteBringing Buildings Alive was produced by dustpod.io for CIBSE IrelandQUOTESA smart building is a process and not a product. It's a process to ultimately result in a building or an asset that's enabled to make data driven decision making ultimately yields the client's best interest. - David HegartyThe idea of a digital building, or smart or intelligent building is those things are thought about so early on in design that it becomes seamless. - David HegartyUltimately, you need to ensure that we're not just creating and storing data for data's sake. So keep coming back to the why. It keeps coming back to the use case. - David Hegarty KEYWORDS#SmartBuildings #MEPConsultant #BuildingServices #DataOntology #DigitalBuilding

The Irish heat sector faces a monumental challenge to decarbonise, requiring innovative solutions to meet ambitious climate action targets. This is especially true for buildings, which traditionally rely on high-carbon heating systems.Discover how one extraordinary project is tackling this head-on by capturing unused heat from a data centre to supply low-carbon heating to a university campus, council offices, and 133 homes. This conversation details the technical ingenuity of the Tallaght District Heating Scheme, the essential public-private collaborations required, and the national policy that is now supporting the next wave of district heating networks across Ireland.We are joined by John O'Shea, the Heat and Electricity Lead at Codema, Dublin's energy agency. John brings expertise in district energy, energy master-planning, holistic and integrated energy systems, and policy development.THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUTTallaght waste heat to low-carbon solutionCollaboration delivers key project valueGrid connection challenges and new rulesAnchor loads build feasible networkNational funding and public awareness vitalGUEST DETAILSJohn O'Shea is the Heat and Electricity Lead at Codema, the energy agency for Dublin. He specialises in district energy, energy master-planning, holistic and integrated energy systems, and policy development. John was instrumental in the delivery of the Tallaght District Heating Scheme, which uses waste heat from a data centre to supply low-carbon heating.PUBLIC CONTACT DETAILShttps://www.codema.ie/about-us/contact-us/Social Media:linkedin.com/in/john-o-shea-47a906b8MORE INFORMATIONCIBSE (the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) is the professional body that exists to advance and promote the art, science and practice of building services engineering. Their mission is to invest in education and research, and to support their community of built environment professionals in their pursuit of excellence. Find out more: CIBSE WebsiteBringing Buildings Alive was produced by dustpod.io for CIBSE IrelandQUOTESWhen you're trying to do anything that hasn't been done before, there's probably a fear that might not work out, or why hasn't it been done before? Is there something we're missing? But I guess we've proven now that it can be done. - John O'SheaHat tip to South Dublin County Council for driving it as well. You know, we're there kind of as technical advisors and kind of providing advice along the way.  - John O'SheaI think the changes that are coming down the line in terms of timed use connections and things like that will definitely be  a big consideration for us going forward. - John O'SheaKEYWORDS#DistrictHeating #TallaghtScheme #WasteHeat #Codema #ClimateAction

Bringing Buildings Alive, the new flagship podcast from CIBSE Ireland, is your monthly tactical briefing on the future of our profession. New episodes each month will give you;The Technical Edge: Master the complexities of AI integration, next-gen heat pump technology, and the evolving WELL Building standards.Market Intelligence: Stop wondering where the market is heading and hear directly what standards and design requirements are "coming down the line."Legacy Perspective: Move beyond the immediate Revit model to discuss our responsibility for buildings that must perform for the next 50+ years.Expert Access: Concise, high-level conversations with the specialists driving sustainability and smart building innovation.Click ‘Follow’ now to catch the debut episodes and share why building services is the most exciting field in engineering today.