About MACH Energy
As acoustic consultants, we always strive to find the best solution, which for us means the most sustainable, flexible yet cost effective solution for a building. With the launch of MACH Energy, we are now extending our consultancy to address the whole building design – including ventilation, acoustics, thermal comfort and daylighting.
Although some ventilation and heating systems for buildings can be relatively simple, the building physics occurring can be very complicated. In sustainable building design, finding the right solution quickly to a given problem can be challenging, especially when working with different consultants and teams.
Clashes frequently arise that restrict the sustainability of a design – whether a home, school, office or hospital. A SAP calculation might require a specific wall that then negatively impacts a building’s acoustics. Or a noisy site might prevent the use of window openings and necessitate mechanical ventilation, when a thermal model or façade optimisation might otherwise lead to a naturally ventilated solution.
Such clashes might take a month to solve with different teams working together – at MACH Energy we have the technical ability to arrive at the right solution much more quickly. Because we fully understand the ways in which ventilation, acoustics, overheating and daylight and energy use perform and affect each other, we can refine any design to find the ‘sweet spot’ where the building is at its most efficient and comfortable.
What does MACH Energy offer?
A highly technical yet creative, R&D led consultancy– First and foremost, we are engineers with a strong expertise in mathematics and extensive knowledge of building physics and sustainability. We relish a challenge and are always driven to find the most sustainable, aesthetic and future proof design for any building project. Our bespoke software and use of modelling means we provide risk-free, compliant designs.
A multi-disciplinary approach – We bring a holistic approach and use our own 3D building physics software to model the performance of the acoustics, ventilation, thermal comfort and daylighting in any building. We look at how each element affects and is affected by the others in combination with a building’s usage/occupants’ behaviour and changing weather, traffic and light conditions throughout the year. From this analysis, we will produce a range of risk-free, compliant solutions which balance occupant comfort with the aesthetics and sustainability in a building’s design.
When, how and why should you work with MACH Energy?
For architects, we can support a competition design, give technical support before the M&E drawings and add design insurance. Our reports will increase a bid’s winning potential providing confidence in the sustainability of a design, insuring a more comfortable building for occupants. Our fast, holistic, technical approach ensures a quick set of solutions to design challenges or clashes.
For a contractor, bringing us on board at an early stage reduces design risks, drives down energy consumption and reduces costs. We can conduct tender reviews and will work before M&E to ensure a design concept can achieve regulation compliance. By working directly with contractors, we offer greater flexibility, reliability and speed.
What’s different about MACH Energy?
· Holistic approach – Our team of highly skilled engineers are all mathematicians with sustainable building qualifications (Part L level 5, Passivhaus), so we can swiftly analyse a design to find the optimum solution
· Collaborative and proactive – We believe in the importance of communicating our findings effectively, so we use highly visual reports.
· Focused on value engineering – Our technical and detail reports remove risk and provide confidence in our designs, helping remove over-design and limiting energy costs in a building design.
