Dr Jim Parker

About Dr Jim Parker

James specialises in building performance simulation modelling with a particular interest in natural ventilation and summer overheating. He is involved in a range of externally funded research and consultancy projects as well as supervising DEng and BSc students.

Dr James Parker is a Research Fellow in the Leeds Sustainability Institute. His doctoral research evaluated the environmental and financial performance of large scale retrofit in airport terminal buildings. This work used detailed calibrated dynamic thermal simulation models to analyse deep retrofit strategies and received a CIOB Digital Innovation Merit award in 2014. James is currently expanding this work to evaluate and analyse the performance of non-domestic facilities within the Leeds Metropolitan University Estate. His work with the Estates department is investigating overheating scenarios, energy and carbon performance and the role that dynamic thermal simulation can play in long-term facility management.

James has a BSc in Construction Management with first class honours, an MSc in Sustainable Architecture which was awarded with distinction and a wide range of construction industry experience, having been a company Director with organisations working in the sustainable architecture and regeneration sectors.

Research Interests

James is responsible for leading a number of externally funded projects including: a project examining and managing the energy performance of building stock owned and operated by a major UK retailer; a large scale solid-wall retrofit consortium project with major commercial partners aimed at reducing energy consumption and capital costs; and a project aimed at developing a blueprint for an innovative off-site manufactured, thermally efficient building system. He has also worked on various consultancy projects all of which have involved the detailed evaluation of building energy performance.