Overview

Beautiful architecture. Solid structure. What else do buildings need? Try living in one without any heating, cooling, electrical power, lighting, water or drainage. What would it be like to work in a tower without lifts? How would you manage without telephones, an IT system or an internet connection? All of these systems and many more are designed by building services engineers. They turn buildings from empty shells into spaces fit for people to use.

What could you achieve?

From the very start of a building's design, building services engineers are involved helping architects and other members of the design team to get the size, shape and configuration of the building right, as well as determining strategies for designing energy efficient buildings, making them sustainable in the long term.

Buildings are responsible for a large chunk of carbon emissions, so this work makes a critical contribution to reducing a building's impact on climate change.

Of all the disciplines working in the built environment today, the building services engineer has the broadest reach and the deepest impact, affecting virtually every aspect of building design.

This course provides a broad basis of the technological areas of building services and energy engineering, with particular emphasis on the interaction between the built and natural environments, modern industry, and the analysis of developing technologies.

Employability

Employment prospects are excellent. Construction and engineering activity is expected to accelerate in the UK, Europe and worldwide over the next 20 years and demand for building services engineers continues to outstrip supply.

Professional links

The course is based in what was formerly the National College for Heating Ventilation and Refrigeration Engineering as well as Centre for Energy Studies, and maintains extremely strong links with all areas of the associated industries. Many of the leaders in energy and building services engineering fields are former LSBU students, lending much support in guidance and industrial collaboration, placement and employment.

Accreditation

This course is accredited by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Energy Institute as meeting the academic requirements to become a Chartered Engineer (with a suitable first degree). The course is accredited on behalf of the Engineering Council.