Energy Manager Magazine Jan/Feb 2017

January/February 2017

www.energymanagermagazine.co.uk

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

7

14

40

Historic Palace Going Green to Safeguard It’s Future

ExCeL is Centered on Goodlight LED Lighting

The Rise of the Energy Challengers

FRONT COVER STORY:

January/February 2017

www.energymanagermagazine.co.uk

Getting to the Point on Reducing Energy Usage and Costs See Page 42

January/february 2017 INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

PUBLISHER: Ralph Scrivens ralph@energymanagermagazine.co.uk PRODUCTION: Lucy Drescher lucy@energymanagermagazine.co.uk ACCOUNTS: accounts@pssmagazine.co.uk PRINT: Mixam Print

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7

14

40

Historic Palace Going Green to Safeguard It’s Future

ExCeL is Centered on Goodlight LED Lighting

The Rise of the Energy Challengers

INSIDE:

5

ULTRA SUSTAINABLE “AMAZING BUILDING” FOR REDMOOR ACADEMY

8

New public sector energy company announced for Devon

16

The Smart Office – Charge of the lighting brigade

17

SPECIAL REPORT WATER DEREGULATION

44

Condensing Economizers – Below the Dew Point –

48

Variable-speed drives boost hotel water supply while reducing running costs

A refreshing new approach to water for the public sector

Single copies £10.

Some manufacturers and suppliers have made a contribution toward the cost of reproducing some photographs in Energy Manager.

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Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

News

6C Energy celebrates significant milestone 40 Calderdale organisations now reaping the benefits of unique energy initiative

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C Energy has built on a superb first year of service in the local community having helped 40 Calderdale businesses and organisations save a combined total of more than a quarter of a million pounds on their energy bills.

Launched in September 2015 by Orchard Energy in partnership with Calderdale Council, 6C is a unique energy initiative designed to help businesses and organisations across Calderdale reduce their energy overheads.

6C works with private businesses, manufacturers, schools, charities and more, and has so far helped members save in excess of £300,000 on their energy bills.

It is the first scheme of its kind in the UK.

Dru Widdowson, new business executive for 6C and Orchard Energy, said: “6C Energy’s service is uniquely designed to help businesses and other organisations across Calderdale achieve cheaper bills and lower consumption by helping them adapt their current packages to suit their individual needs.

“We are also able to pool resources with other member organisations to achieve greater buying power, resulting in significant savings on energy bills and longer-term stability in terms of package prices.”

Cllr Barry Collins, Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, said: “The

response from businesses across Calderdale to the 6C Energy initiative has been superb and, whilst we are delighted to reach the milestone of 40 members, we’re eager to connect with even more organisations in 2017.

“The 6C initiative helps businesses reduce their energy costs and during the last 15 months has helped to ensure that Calderdale’s business community is well on its way to significantly reducing its overall carbon footprint.

“The scheme is also generating a community fund, which will be put back into green energy projects through the Calderdale Energy Future Panel.”

For more information call 0844 581 0844, e-mail info@6Cenergy.co.uk, or go to www.6Cenergy.co.uk and @6CEnergy

Predictor forecasts energy use a decade in advance

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researcher has developed a forecasting tool which can predict an individual’s or an entire city’s energy needs ten years in advance to enhance the way planners achieve environmental targets and help those in fuel-poverty understand their future needs.

Moulay Larbi Chalal, a PhD candidate at Nottingham Trent University, used data from more than 6,000 households over a 17 year period to monitor how people’s requirements for gas and electricity evolve over the course of a lifetime.

The forecasting tool is based on data

taken from the British Household Panel Survey and was developed in collaboration with Nottingham Energy Partnership.

“The UK household sector consumes more than a quarter of the nation’s gas and electricity and is responsible for around 20 per cent of the county’s total carbon dioxide emissions,” said Moulay, who’s studying in the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment.

“So developing suitable ways to reduce CO2 emissions is important if we’re to meet strict environmental targets and ensure a more sustainable development of our urban areas.”

The forecasting tool can show, for instance, that the average single, non-elderly person has almost a 20 per cent chance of finding a partner and moving in with that partner within five years. Of those newfound couples, 53 per cent will go on to have a child during the same period.

Probable future energy needs can then be calculated based on this data. For instance, around 26 per cent of those couples without children will use more than 4,000 Kwhs of electricity per year.

While the same amount of energy will be

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

used by as many as 35 per cent of couples with children.

Similar calculations can be made for a variety of other demographics, such as single households, lone parents with dependent or non-dependent children, over 65s, and more.

The research was developed at the university’s Creative and Virtual Technologies Research Lab. Professor Benachir Medjdoub, a professor of digital architectural design at Nottingham Trent University, who supervised the project, said: “This research has introduced a powerful new tool which could lead to the development of innovative energy planning systems and CO2 reduction models for urban areas.

“It shows how we can predict the variation in residential energy usage patterns during different transitions of a person’s life.

“This could help predict and monitor the levels of energy consumed and the related carbon footprint for whole cities, allowing for a smarter management of the gas and electricity distribution network.” chris.birkle@ntu.ac.uk

News

ULTRA SUSTAINABLE “AMAZING BUILDING” FOR REDMOOR ACADEMY

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edmoor Academy in Hinckley, Leicestershire hosted a grand opening for their new two-storey ultra-efficient “Schoolhaus” building which forms the academy’s Business and Enterprise Centre: with 8 classrooms, a meeting space, toilets, offices and a study area for students; housing the maths department, business studies, and CEIAG (Careers, Education, Information, Advice, and Guidance) programme and enterprise initiatives.

Built by UK Energy Partners and Net Zero Buildings, the new centre was officially declared open by local politicians; The Worshipful, the Mayor of Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council, Councillor Richard Allen and David Tredinnick MP, Member of Parliament for Bosworth.

Mayor Allen said, “When I was in school in the 1960s there were no energy efficient buildings. It is brilliant to see innovations such as this. Congratulations to the school and of course UK Energy Partners on such a great building.”

Redmoor Academy is an oversubscribed secondary academy which needed to expand its capacity to accommodate more pupils. The academy turned to Schoolhaus for their solution; increasing their capacity, and allowing energy savings.

With limited capital budgets for new or replacement buildings, the new Business and Enterprise Centre was funded by UK Energy Partners on a 7-year operating lease.

Mr Tredinnick MP said, “This is a very important improvement for the school giving them an energy neutral building and a manageable financial package.”

Schoolhaus is an appealing solution for schools with its funding options, and minimal ongoing utilities and maintenance costs, in addition to the energy generation from Schoolhaus’ solar PV roof and key features: state-of-the-art Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR), LED lights and occupancy and motion sensors controlling both lighting and heating; all powered by the building’s solar PV roof.

Aesthetically appealing, cost efficient and environmentally sound, the students and staff at Redmoor Academy look forward to enjoying the many benefits of their new Business and Enterprise Centre.

Peter Johnston, Chief Executive Officer, UK Energy Partners said, “My highlight of the day was a presentation given by eight of the school’s students about why everyone should build net zero buildings – real advocates of carbon reduction! It was rewarding that much of the presentation stemmed from our factory visit these pupils undertook back in November and further demonstrated the benefit of that type of engagement.”

Jane Sulley, Redmoor Academy, Business Manager said, “Just an amazing building!

That’s the only word I can use to describe!”

Andrew Coombs, Redmoor Academy, Principal said, “I would like to thank UK Energy Partners and Net Zero Buildings who have been incredible to us. We really appreciate the way they have worked with us, especially inviting our students to the factory and helping to get the building open on time.

We are really pleased with the building.

Students and staff have been blown away by our new facilities. When you compare this to our main school building you cannot compare the technology and reduced running costs.

The quality is fantastic – as a teaching area I do not think you can better what we have here with our new build.” www.ukenergypartners.co.uk

Scottish biomass company marks major 50MW milestone

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iomass heating specialists HWEnergy, the first company in Scotland to receive Renewable Heat Incentive accreditation (RHI), has marked a major milestone by reaching 50MW of installed capacity with the completion of its latest project at Irvine Royal Academy.

The school project was part of a wider biomass rollout for North Ayrshire Council and means that installations by HWEnergy now total carbon savings equivalent to 27,000 tonnes of CO2 saved per year or 111,000,000 miles of car travel moved off the roads each year.

Established 13 years ago, the company currently has a staff of 45 and has installed more than 270 commercial-sized biomass installations to date. Installations span from Shetland to Bradford and cover a wide range of sectors including: food and drink,

tourism, rural, commercial, charities and the public sector.

HWEnergy were part of a partnership which saw North Ayrshire Council awarded the “Sustainable Scotland” award at the 2016 Scottish Green Energy Awards for their biomass roll-out programme as well as projects on solar energy and car sharing.

Headquartered in Fort William, the company also has offices in Bellshill and engineers in the north of England and Norfolk and services and maintains more than 300 sites across the country.

Bruno Berardelli, Managing Director of HWEnergy said: “Reaching 50MW of installed capacity marks a significant milestone for HWEnergy. What makes us unique is that we’ve acted as main contractor for most of this 50MW, providing full design and turnkey project installation

to our clients together with ongoing heat, service and fuel supply.

“Our aim is to work as a partner with customers from the initial idea of a project right through its lifetime of delivering locally sourced, renewable heat. Biomass heating is now playing a vital part in Scotland’s energy mix and as we enter the next era of RHI support for biomass heating I am convinced that the role of biomass heating is only going to increase.”

The company has worked on projects ranging from small district heating schemes to large hospitals and has a team of locally based engineers across Scotland.

The team received Renewable Project of the Year 2014 for their work with NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

News

Open source tool will help drive emission reduction

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new research project seeks to develop a tool to identify and reduce carbon in the construction supply chain. The project is a collaboration between the University of Edinburgh Business School and Costain Group and is funded by the Construction Climate Challenge (CCC) initiative hosted by Volvo Construction Equipment.

The Carbon Infrastructure Transformation Tool project (CITT) started from the need to solve two key problems facing the construction industry - the pressing need to reduce GHG emissions, and the highly fragmented nature of supply chains.

“In large infrastructure projects there are large amounts of emissions at stake. The supply chain is also very fragmented, with many different stakeholders. It’s important to ensure we have a consensus across the whole chain to reduce emissions,” says Dr Matthew Brander, Lecturer at University of Edinburgh Business School and Project Manager for CITT. The research project seeks to develop and implement a tool that will help

construction companies identify and reduce carbon. It will pinpoint opportunities to reduce carbon through innovation and supply chain engagement.

It will also enhance the amount of communication and dialogue across the supply chain.

“The tool will be integrated into current pricing processes and will allow us to have carbon and cost together. It will put the data in the hands of the right people at the right time in contractors’ processes which will allow them to make decisions to significantly reduce carbon. It will also push carbon further back towards the start of the design processes,” says Damien Canning, Head of Technical Sustainability at Costain Group and Industry Specialist for Carbon Management for CITT. The project is running for three years and the research will focus on carbon accounting methodologies, stakeholder engagement and social barriers to tool adoption, collaborative frameworks for efficient supply chain management, and decision analytics for project design under uncertainty. As the research is undertaken

it will feed back into the development of the tool.

There will be close collaboration between the researchers and the construction industry and live tests have been set up with real infrastructure projects. These will take place throughout the project.

“The way to really drive this is to develop something with as much input from the industry as possible. This will help to raise standards significantly, and ensure consistency across the industry,” says Damien Canning.

After the project is finished the open source tool will be publicly available and free to use, to enhance the possibility for it to be used by as many as possible.

“The key is to get the industry to use this tool. Therefore it has to be accessible and easy to understand. You can develop the best tool in the world but if the stakeholders don’t want to use it, it’s not going to have much impact,” says Dr Matthew Brander.

Peter Wallin, CCC Research Manager on +46 73 765 63 16

New White Paper - Reducing Energy Consumption from Compressed Air Usage

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CAS has produced a 16-page white paper “Reducing Energy Consumption from Compressed Air Usage” for energy and plant managers responsible for the performance of a compressed air system. It can be downloaded from www.bcas.org.uk It provides an overview of how to save energy in a typical system, highlighting areas where waste occurs, steps to minimise it and then where to go for further information.

Says Marion Beaver, Technical Officer at BCAS: “Both energy and plant managers are busy people dealing with a wide range of different building services and processes.

It is unlikely that many will be experts in managing compressed air systems, so this white paper is a starting point that aims to provide an informative overview, rather than a detailed guide.”

The white paper points out that compressed air typically accounts for 10 per cent of an industrial company’s electricity bill and for some sectors it is far

more. It also urges end users to consider the whole system and points out that every element impacts upon its energy consumption.

Marion adds: “While the largest energy consuming component in the system is the air compressor; it is the demand by users, the overall design and how well the system is maintained that will determine the demand placed on the compressor and its energy consumption.”

The 16-page guide explores finding and fixing leaks, good housekeeping and staff involvement, pipework, control and maintenance, and advice on treating the compressed air. It concludes by referring the reader to further sources of information.

Commenting in the foreword to the white paper, Lord Redesdale, Chief Executive of the Energy Managers Association wrote: “The EMA has a ratio for energy efficiency: 40 per cent is efficient kit, 20 per cent is control systems, and 40 per cent is behaviour change. This report ticks all

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

these boxes and will be a great tool for Energy Managers who are commissioning systems, maintaining the kit and training staff to use it properly.”

A copy of the white paper “Reducing Energy Consumption from Compressed Air Usage” can be downloaded from www.bcas.org.uk

News

Artificial Intelligence key technology to better balance UK’s energy market

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pside Energy and Heriot-Watt University have been awarded a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) grant by Innovate UK to maximise the opportunities presented by the emerging energy demand response market.

The project will use machine learning and distributed artificial intelligence methods to manage a portfolio of storage assets to provide real-time energy reserves to the grid.

Upside Energy’s virtual energy store will relieve stress on the grid by managing a number of distributed storage resources, thereby reducing the UK’s reliance on the spinning reserve capacity provided by traditional power stations.

Upside has developed an Advanced Algorithmic Platform (AAP), a substantial ensemble of algorithms that manage demand response of different devices to be run in parallel. Upside will work with Heriot-Watt University to optimise the existing selection of control algorithms and their use in different scenarios, using the university’s specialist skills in machine learning, artificial intelligence and stochastic optimisation.

The team from Heriot-Watt University will work closely with Upside to facilitate

the transfer of these skills and to develop a novel ensemble learning and algorithmic selection approach that will be required to support algorithm evolution within Upside’s unique open innovation architecture.

Dr Graham Oakes, Founder and CEO of Upside Energy, said: “This is a really exciting project. Both because machine learning is going to be fundamental to how Upside evolves its algorithms and hence delivers growing value to the energy system and wider society, and because it builds on the longstanding relationship that we have been developing with Heriot-Watt University.

“Our strategy is to work with academic partners to develop the intellectual property that will be at the heart of an intelligent energy system, one where resources are used carefully and thoughtfully and hence at low cost and with minimal impact on the environment.

This partnership with Heriot-Watt is a great example of that strategy coming to fruition.”

Dr Valentin Robu from Heriot-Watt University said: “Demand response is emerging as a key technology to assure the stability of next-generation power grids, and there is an increasing need for smart control strategies that enable distributed

energy storage assets to perform demand response. Techniques developed in the machine learning (ML) and distributed artificial intelligence (AI) communities will have an increasing role to play in enabling these efforts.

“ML and AI techniques can help not only in the design of control algorithms for individual assets, but also in the selection process of which of these algorithms perform the best under specific scenarios and conditions on the grid. Moreover, there is an increasing interest in advanced fusion prognostics techniques that enable real-time monitoring and accurate forecasting of the state of health of energy assets.

“Upside Energy is one of the most innovative start-ups in the UK in this area, and their Advanced Algorithmic Platform (AAP) to evaluate the performance of different demand response strategies is a truly cutting edge development. The Heriot-Watt team is excited to work with Upside Energy to help them to achieve this vision.” www.upsideenergy.co.uk www.ncl.ac.uk/press/news/2016/05/ smartgrid

Historic Palace Going Green to Safeguard it’s Future

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lenheim Palace is championing the use of alternative energy within historic properties to help protect their future.

The Oxfordshire UNESCO World Heritage Site has instigated a series of environmental initiatives in a bid both to reduce its reliance on traditional energies and its overall carbon footprint.

Among the most significant improvements are a 42% reduction in overall mains water consumption from 2013, the lowest electricity usage figures in five years and an 81% reduction in its use of heating oil.

The estate has also made major investments in upgrading its heating systems, including the installation of two bio-mass boilers in the Pleasure Gardens and its Park Farm maintenance workshop, and a phased move from a steam to a water-based heating system for the Palace.

This has resulted in the lowest gas consumption figures for three years and

a 5% reduction in the consumption per degree day - indicating the duration and severity of cold weather - from 1,110 kWh in 2014 to 1,063 kWh in 2015.

Blenheim Palace has also invested heavily in solar panels and replacing traditional lights with more energy efficient alternatives with a third of all lighting within the Palace now being LED. Heather Carter, Head of Operations said: “We are looking at every aspect of the day to day running of the Estate to see where

and how we can reduce our overall energy consumption and make use of alternative energy sources – both to reduce our running costs and minimise our environmental impact.

“To continually reduce our carbon footprint year-on-year while simultaneously welcoming more and more visitors to Blenheim is quite an achievement, but there is still a very long way to go” Heather added.

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

News

New public sector energy company announced for Devon

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pioneering new energy company, designed to deliver more efficient heat and power in Devon, has been announced. The innovative company, called Dextco, will develop ground-breaking sustainable projects to provide environmentally-friendly energy to homes and businesses across the city and its surrounding area.

The company - whose founder members and shareholders comprise of The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (RD&E), the University of Exeter, Devon County Council, Exeter City Council and Teignbridge District Council – is the first specifically Exeter-based energy company in almost 70 years.

Building on recent success of Cranbrook and Skypark’s award winning district heating scheme, plans are already in place to undertake the first project associated with the new company in Exeter. A revolutionary new network will be financed and built, designed to transport heat generated at the RD&E’s Wonford Hospital to consumers across the city. Feasibility studies for the project, which would increase energy efficiency and reduce costs, have identified that the scheme is achievable.

Future projects already earmarked include a high-level involvement in distributing heat from the Marsh Barton Energy Recovery Facility, in the south-west of the city.

These schemes are now looking to attract further funding available from central government through national

initiatives encouraging the roll out of heat networks in the UK. Over the coming months Dextco will lead the procurement of a private sector partner. If this process is successful it is anticipated that building work at RD&E could start in 2018.

The Hospital and the University value both the cost savings and carbon dioxide emission savings which will be achieved by connecting to the heat network.

Dave Tarbet, the RD&E’s Business Development Director said: “The heat network will enable the Wonford site to generate most of the electricity it uses on site which will help cut our energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions providing more resource for patient care.”

Phil Attwell, Director of Campus Services at the University of Exeter said: “We are delighted to be involved in this important partnership that will benefit the businesses and communities of Exeter.

“The University has tough targets for reducing carbon emissions and the heat network will make an important contribution to meeting these goals. But just as importantly, it has the potential to boost the low carbon energy provision across the city, which is vital for the environment, and consumers alike.”

Commenting on the launch, the Leader of Exeter City Council, Councillor Pete Edwards, said: “This is another example of joint working in the city towards a local solution to deliver competitively priced, low carbon energy to homes and businesses in Exeter, and demonstrates Exeter’s

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

commitment to a secure low carbon future.”

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Cabinet Member for Economy, Growth & Cabinet Liason for Exeter said: “Dextco is a win-win for everybody in the county. It will deliver low carbon energy projects, encourage inward investment, drive growth in the local economy, create skilled jobs and provide secure, low carbon energy at a competitive, transparent price.

“I welcome the formation of a new board and look forward to working closely with board members in the future.”

Councillor Doug Hellier Laing, Teignbridge District Council’s Executive Member for Economy, Skills and Tourism, said: “We’re delighted to be part of this new partnership, which will mean sustainable and low-carbon energy for Teignbridge in the future, and bring economic benefits to the area.

“Dextco has great potential to support the delivery of heat networks to the south west of Exeter and potential energy projects in other major development across the district.”

The Dextco Board of Directors will oversee the work of the company and is made up of: Dave Tarbet (Business Development Director) for RD&E, Phil Attwell (Director of Campus Services) for the University of Exeter, Howard Smith (Principal Project Manager) for Exeter City Council, Mel Sealey (Strategic Development and Infrastructure Manager) for Devon County Council, and Phil Shears (Deputy Chief Executive) for Teignbridge District Council.

News

CARBON REDUCTION AWARD 2016

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niversity of Cumbria was placed third in the HEI carbon league table for achieving a 50% reduction in total carbon emissions since 2007/08.

Lachlan Fulton, Environment and Sustainability Manager at the university, told us ‘we are continuing to look for ways to further reduce our carbon emissions.

Our main focus is on three key areas: Sustainable Construction, Energy Efficiency Projects and Sustainable Travel’.

These can be summarised as follows:

• •

Energy Efficiency Projects •

•

Sustainable Construction Our new teaching building in Lancaster, which is still under construction, will: • Be fitted with energy efficient LED lights and automatic controls throughout

Generate renewable energy though 50m2 of solar panels on the roof Target a Silver SKA Rating award for its sustainable credentials on the internal fitting out

•

LED lighting continues to replace less efficient lights across the existing university estate Air conditioning is limited and will increasingly be controlled by occupancy sensors to avoid wasting energy Investigate improvement options for Lancaster’s District Heating Network

Sustainable Travel •

• •

Continue to offer a cycle to work scheme to allow staff to save up to 48% on a new bike Offer bikes to rent for students for as little as £50 for the year Continue to incentivise car sharing and offer first class upgrades on Virgin rail between Lancaster and Carlisle to encourage train use.

For further information contact: Lachlan Fulton, Environment & Sustainability Manager, 01524 590880, lachlan.fulton@cumbria.ac.uk

PURE WORLD ENERGY DELIVER ENERGY COST SAVINGS AND A REDUCED CARBON FOOTPRINT

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ure World Energy (PWE), specialists in energy management, has provided an on-site clean energy solution at Woughton Leisure Centre, the largest multi-sport site in Milton Keynes. The installation of a single C65 Capstone micro turbine® combined heat and power (CHP) unit will deliver guaranteed savings of up to £210,000 for the company over the next 15 years and reduce the facility’s carbon footprint.

The installation involved a number of obstacles that the PWE team had to overcome including the removal of the old boiler which required special attention due to the asbestos content. A new flue stack was designed after a full site survey ruled out reusing the existing one.

Woughton Leisure Centre’s operator 1Life Management Solutions appointed PWE as its preferred energy partner, working in partnership with Milton Keynes District Council. PWE initially carried out a detailed site analysis to identify immediate savings for consumption and carbon emissions.

Having recently benefitted from a £1.5 million investment, including five new group exercise studios, changing rooms and Costa café area, in addition to the existing 20 metre swimming pool, four court indoor sports hall, 34 station gym and full size floodlit football pitch, this community focused leisure centre is already achieving immediate savings in energy costs and

carbon emissions, without any financial outlay or additional resource.

Investment in the new low maintenance energy system, owned and operated by PWE, will see the reduction of up to 130 metric tonnes of CO2 and generate up to 370,000 kWh of electricity and 680,000 kWh of heat per annum. The new CHP unit that replaced the old defective boiler, is also saving the centre additional repair or replacement costs.

Emma Lloyd, Contract Manager for Milton Keynes said: “The installation of a fully-funded Capstone 65 Gas Turbine is making a significant difference to our utility costs at Woughton. We’ve really valued the expertise provided by PWE and the new system gives us greater control over energy consumption, tailored to our requirements.

The CHP unit is seamlessly integrated to act as lead boiler while generating electricity displaced from the National Grid without any disruption to the service we provide to the local community.”

Steve Bambury, Operations Director at Pure World Energy, commented: “Having a progressive energy management strategy gives Woughton Leisure Centre a competitive advantage and puts them fully in control of consumption and costs. With zero upfront costs and risk-free savings, our hardware provides added peace of mind, leaving the team at Woughton Leisure Centre to concentrate on providing a highly valued leisure facility for the local community.”

PWE currently has nine CHP units installed across six 1Life facilities and also has a two-year agreement with the leisure operator to deliver outsourced energy management across all 45 facilities within the estate, supported by efficient Building Management Services and Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) delivery.

Ad hoc energy improvement opportunities are also delivered across the sites such as Building Management Systems, lighting schemes, Variable Speed Drive units and consideration of other suitable renewables.

For more information about Pure World Energy visit: www.pureworldenergy.com

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

Solar Power

Photon Energy celebrates 10 years in the business

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ast month, we celebrated 10 years of Photon Energy making us positively ancient in the UK’s solar PV industry. In the last 10 years, we’ve seen the UK’s solar PV industry develop from a small, niche industry that employed at most, 1,000 people to an industry that, at its height in 2015, employed over 35,000 people – more than the nuclear industry.

When we started, back in 2006, the UK had a total of 14.3 MW of solar PV installed.

After our first year, this had risen to 18.1 MW and by the end of 2009, just before the start of the feed-in tariff, there was around 30 MW of installed capacity.

Those early days were largely marked by a government that was unconvinced by the potential for solar, and by stop-start grant schemes such as the Major Demonstration Programme which saw the installation of around 200 systems having been billed as the UK’s answer to the German 100,000 roofs programme.

By 2007, the Low Carbon Buildings Programme had started which was originally intended to ‘establish the UK as a credible player...alongside Germany and Japan’ and was a catalyst for the establishment of Photon Energy.

In the first year of the scheme, 3.8 MW of solar PV was installed, with a further 4.4 MW added in 2008; in 2010, the final year of the scheme, a total of 40 MW was installed. This compares to the 7,411 MW installed in Germany and the 991 MW installed in Japan in the same year.

Does this lack of ambition, stop-start schemes, continual policy changes all sound a little bit familiar?

Another innovation in 2006 was the introduction of the voluntary Code for Sustainable Homes which set progressively tightening environmental criteria for new homes. It was adopted by many housing associations creating a new market for solar PV and solar thermal systems. This complemented the increasing popularity of the “Merton rule” where local planning authorities could require new commercial buildings over 1,000 m2 to generate at least 10% of their energy from renewable energy.

10

By 2008 the Planning and Energy Act enabled all councils in England and Wales to adopt the Merton Rule.

However, it was the unpredictability of the various grant schemes and the introduction of the Code for Sustainable Homes and the Merton Rule that led us to concentrate our early efforts on the new-build market – both residential and commercial. By keeping this as a major part of our client base, we have been protected from the extreme boom and busts of the feed-in tariff and ROC schemes.

Fast forwarding to 2017, the feed-in tariff has done a great job in helping to kick-start the UK’s solar PV industry: there are now over 870,000 solar powered buildings with some 3.5 GW of rooftop solar installed in the UK. Photon Energy has installed over 21 MW of roof-mounted PV and boasts an impressive array of clients in both the new build and retro-fit markets.

But what now? The feed-in tariff has been effectively scrapped, the Renewables Obligation scheme has been closed, but they have by and large done their job.

For the last 5 years, the rationale for installing solar has been to maximize the revenue from a subsidy, and so the decision to install a rooftop solar system has been a financial one and not an energy

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

one. This will change. With the value of “displaced” electricity worth between 5 and 6 times more than the generation tariff, the revenues from the feed-in tariff are increasingly irrelevant. Rooftop solar systems are now being designed to maximise on-site energy use rather than fitting as many panels as possible on a roof to maximise income from a subsidy.

Today, a 250kW system installed for £900/kWp, on a building where all of the electricity is used on site, an IRR of 7% can be achieved with no feed-in-tariff; the same calculation for a 50kW system installed for £1000/kWp gives an IRR of 5%.

The solar industry needs to be planning for a post-subsidy world and we need to be working now to ensure that we influence the landscape. Mechanisms such as Enhanced Capital Allowances for solar PV should be introduced, priority grid access maintained with guaranteed export revenues.

This would allow us to continue our journey towards subsidy free solar…and be free of the meddling and interference by politicians. www.photonenergy.co.uk

Legislation

COMPANIES UNDER THREAT THROUGH KNOWLEDGE GAP OF HEAT NETWORK REGULATIONS DIRECTIVE

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hether you are a landlord (heat network owner), consultant or contractor, you need to be aware of the new heat network (metering and billing) regulations. These came into force in December 2014 yet there are still many buildings - whether completed or under construction - and building specifications that don’t comply with these rules and many heat network owners who don’t fully understand or appreciate what’s required.

Where a heat network is installed, it is now mandatory to provide a heat meter in each dwelling, or specifically, for each final customer. It is also mandatory to provide accurate statements on a regular basis.

The regulations apply to new build and major refurbishment projects and you have to comply even if construction began prior to the regulations’ introduction date (31 December 2014).

However, the key point is just how little understanding there seems to be throughout the supply chain of the deeper implications of the regulations for the building owner/landlord.

Here’s an example: Our Company has just been asked to quote for a building with over 400 dwellings, with each dwelling needing its own heat meter. We asked about an interface with a building management system (BMS) or if some other form of remote meter reading or even billing was required.

“No, we just want the basic system,” came the reply.

Think about that. Over 400 apartments, each needing meters read on a regular basis in order to provide a MANDATORY quarterly statement and invoice.

This situation could have been resolved easily through an interface to a BMS, or if

no BMS existed, a stand-alone automatic meter reading system at relatively little extra cost. Indeed, we proposed just such a system.

Why would a company not take these steps given the burden that the landlord will, ultimately, have to take on in providing those statements? Do all landlords even know about this? Have consultants made sure that a landlord knows his or her obligations under the Regulations and the implications of these?

Have they then presented and discussed the various options?

Consequently, this landlord now has to provide a quarterly heat usage statement and invoice, and collect the payment for over 400 apartments at least every quarter (mandatory) or whatever the agreed timeframe is, and quite possibly do the same for water and electricity. And what if a meter hasn’t been working properly for some time when you he goes to read it? The whole situation is onerous and problematic.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is not an extreme example; at least 80% of specifications appear to lack some element that is either mandatory or, at least, highly preferable in providing a metering system that conforms to the regulations and that allows the network owner to fulfil their obligations as easily and effectively as possible.

Why is this happening? In our view, it is a combination of factors: • A lack of knowledge on behalf of the specifier and/or contractor • A lack of detail within a specification • Information not passed down to the end user • A deliberate omission, in some cases, in order to chase down cost and ‘win’ the business • Omission through ignorance where cost has been the key driving factor • Having the heat metering requirement fall between ‘mechanical’ and ‘electrical’ categories. The result is that various elements of a total system can get lost.

However, a heat network owner could have a system for a little extra cost that can read all the meters, for all three utilities,

identified and reported faults immediately, managed the billing and the payments without him ever being involved. Yet if a landlord doesn’t know to ask for this he is missing out on something that could significantly simplify his life.

What can we as an industry do?

Clearly a sustained effort to increase levels of knowledge around this subject is needed. Metering and billing of utilities needs to be viewed holistically.

Equipment needs to be designed and specified to ensure that the owner conforms to the regulations. Instead of specifying three separate meters, they are specified to work together to allow for common meter reading and billing systems.

The additional cost of designing an integrated system is likely to be offset by savings from fewer problems during commissioning.

The entire supply chain would benefit from an honest, open debate about this subject and we are happy to provide CPDs for individuals or groups.

For further reading on the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 directive and how it affects you see these links: • http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52013SC0448 • https://www.gov.uk/government/ uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/489373/Heat_Network_ FAQs._1.1.pdf Meters UK is a manufacturer of utility meters, based in North West England and established in 1981.

For further information contact Stewart Wiltshire, Managing Director or Katie Jenkins, Marketing Executive on 01524 555929.

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

11

Procurement/Finance

Carbon offsetting -

opportunities for local authorities to finance energy efficiency improvements

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arbon offsetting makes a significant contribution to reducing carbon emissions and meeting nationally determined targets. It also offers opportunities for local authorities to engage with their residents on issues such as climate change and provides a mechanism for financing a range of practical energy efficiency improvements and renewables that help improve the local area and residents’ wellbeing.

Jane Richardson Hawkes - Jane is a Senior Energy Specialist, at the National Energy Foundation. She specialises in sustainable energy policy and advises local authorities on sustainable energy technologies and policies in the context of land use planning and climate change strategy.

How does a carbon offset fund work?

Although the detail of carbon offset schemes might vary from one local authority to another, the fundamentals are the same. Carbon offsetting applies to major new developments and the starting point is that new buildings should be built to high environmental standards.

The local authority specifies a target for carbon dioxide emissions that is above the requirement specified in Part L of the Building Regulations. Where the developer can’t achieve this on-site, carbon offsetting enables it to be met off-site. Where this is the case, Energy Statements are used to provide the anticipated level of carbon dioxide (over the target) that each ‘as-designed’ new building will emit during its first year of use. The developer then pays a set sum for each tonne over the target multiplied by the set number of years determined by the council. In the case of smaller new developments (where there’s no requirement to produce Energy Statements) the developer pays a flat fee per unit.

The offset fund is then used to finance energy-saving schemes in the local authority area and the fund is managed according to clear principles agreed by the council.

Carbon offsetting future

Despite the UK Government having rolled back on its zero-carbon buildings policies, the Mayor of London has recently applied a zero-carbon standard to major new residential developments (i.e. 10 or more units) in the capital. These homes need to achieve at least an on-site 35% reduction in regulated carbon dioxide emissions beyond Part L of the Building Regulations. The remaining regulated carbon dioxide emissions to 100% are to be offset through a cash in-lieu contribution to the relevant borough, which is ring-fenced in order to ensure the delivery of carbon dioxide savings elsewhere.

For commercial developments, the policy objective is a 35% reduction in regulated carbon dioxide emissions beyond the Building Regulations and, where this cannot be met on-site, a cash in-lieu contribution is levied by the appropriate planning authority.

The Mayor’s Sustainable Design and Construction provides guidance on the collection and spending of the fund, with a preference for retrofitting publicly-owned property as this provides wider community

12

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

Procurement/finance benefit. Schools, council offices, public facilities and social housing are highlighted as buildings that could be retrofit most readily. Another option is to establish a borough-wide revolving energy fund, where loans are provided to local residents or businesses wanting to retrofit energy and water-saving measures.

Carbon offsetting knowledge and experience At the National Energy Foundation, we have worked at the forefront of carbon offset development for over a decade, most notably assisting Milton Keynes Council establish the UK’s first carbon offset Local Plan policy (D4) in 2008.

As the council’s carbon offset manager since then, we have kept a watching brief on national and local offsetting research and policy development, and have co-ordinated a range of locally-based carbon reduction projects. The Milton Keynes scheme is highlighted as a Best Practice example in the Mayor of London’s Sustainable Design and Construction Supplementary Planning Guidance document.

So far, its trail-blazing approach has achieved carbon savings totalling more than 6,600 tonnes. It has also generated more than £1 million for targeted carbon-saving projects that have benefited local residents and helped address wider social, economic and health issues such as fuel poverty.

We have also used our experience to help Southampton City Council develop its carbon offset policy, and our work included a review and analysis of other English local authority carbon offsetting work.

In addition, we recently completed a research report commissioned by the Greater London Authority (GLA): Review of Carbon Offsetting Approaches in London, in which we undertook a London-wide assessment of the carbon offset approaches taken by the capital’s 35 local planning authorities, and an examination of their progress.

work for the GLA, we have developed a detailed and broad understanding of all the issues around the establishment and operation of carbon offset schemes, and can provide: • Advice and support in setting up a fund and sourcing funding.

• Support in initiating ideas, programmes and schemes to reduce carbon emissions.

• Managing and delivering a fund through local carbon-saving initiatives.

• Managing a scheme’s finances and ensuring compliance with the fund’s terms and conditions.

• Verification of any resulting carbon savings.

• Reporting to the council/Carbon Offset Board on a regular basis.

As a result, we’re well-placed to offer our top tips for setting up and running a carbon offset scheme: 1.

2.

3.

Carbon price. Don’t be too ambitious on carbon price. A modest fund can pay for more measures than no fund.

Project management. Don’t be afraid to pay for decent project management. It’s a very important skill but one that’s often undervalued, until things go wrong! This is another area where we’ve had a great deal of experience and can help.

Benefits. Ensure that any benefits are widely spread. Make sure that they’re not just available to those who can

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

• • • •

• • • • •

afford to pay but also to those who are most in need or require help to access them.

Funding. Take advantage of LEEF and/or Salix funding to piggy back on good projects.

Additionality. This is also important.

Don’t fund what would have happened anyway.

Realistic. Don’t be too optimistic.

Take into account real energy-saving lifetimes and real-world savings.

Transparency. Be transparent.

Keep all your stakeholders on board.

Measures. Concentrate on proven carbon saving measures such as: Boiler cashback or scrappage schemes.

LED light bulb swaps.

Retrofitting local authority housing stocks.

Energy efficiency improvements to publicly-owned buildings – for example: libraries, town halls, schools and community centres.

Subsidised wall and loft insulation.

Landlord subsidies for energy efficiency measures.

Improvements to communal heating systems.

Project work on decentralised energy systems.

Small energy efficiency measures and advice on how to use energy better for the elderly and those in fuel poverty.

Further information about the work on the National Energy Foundation is available on its website: www.nef.org.uk

Broad knowledge and expertise enhances service provision Providing carbon offset services is enhanced by also having knowledge and expertise in related areas such as: building energy performance; energy modelling; carbon reporting, footprinting and verification; community renewables; and energy efficiency management.

This is where the National Energy Foundation can help. As a result of our long-standing experience and our recent

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

13

Lighting

ExCeL is CenterEd on Goodlight LED lighting

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ED Eco Lights today announced that CenterEd at ExCeL, London’s new meeting and training facility, is being illuminated by long life, energy efficient LED lights from the Goodlight™ range.

CenterEd at ExCeL is a state of the art facility with 29 training rooms for 20-400 delegates, coffee lounges, dedicated reception areas and its own 300-seat restaurant. Opening earlier this year, it is lit throughout by Goodlight LED luminaires, including LED panels and LED light discs.

The ExCeL has made widespread use of Goodlight LED lights since first encountering the range at a lighting event held at the Centre in 2014. The 400m North and South Galleries, board rooms, offices, public conveniences and other areas are already illuminated by Goodlight.

According to Brian Cole, Operations Director at ExCeL London, “Our aim was to create a centre that looked and felt exceptional, and lighting is an important part of the experience that we offer. Visitors to CentrEd regularly comment on the lights when being shown around for the first time.” He continued, “We chose Goodlight LED lighting because of the quality of the light and the sleek appearance of the luminaires. They offer beautiful even illumination right across the fitting, something that not all their competitors can match. The fittings are also very flat and thin, making them easy to install unobtrusively, both in new areas like CentrEd and when replacing existing lighting.”

Brian Cole added, “We are very conscious of the need to limit energy use, both from a carbon footprint and an operating cost perspective, and have been replacing fluorescent and other lamps with LED lighting for over two years. LED lights can use less than a fifth of the energy of the lamps they replace, so the economics of replacement are compelling. Since starting to use LED lighting, our experience with Goodlight has been extremely positive and we have never had to replace a lamp. They offer a five-year warranty but we’ve never needed to use it. Substituting Goodlight LED luminaires for existing lights is very straightforward.”

For further information about ExCeL London, please visit http://excel.london/

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Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

Lighting

The Smart Office

– Charge of the lighting brigade

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ight shines into the heart of most human experience. Our moods are light or dark or dull.

It is no coincidence that in the Genesis account of the beginnings of the world, light appears on the ‘first day’, before land or sea.

So it’s no surprise that it has been known or suspected for a long time that changes in the strength and quality of light are likely to affect people’s moods and their productivity at work. The famous Hawthorne studies, which started in the 1920s began to confirm this, though they also coined the famous “Hawthorne effect”, where the mere fact of studying people changes their behaviour.

It is therefore all the more surprising that it has taken so long for lighting and its impact on comfort to be fully recognised as a key factor when designing and managing building systems. Much of the focus has been to drastically reduce the energy consumed by lighting from the conversion to low energy lighting such as LEDs, or in switching lights off in unoccupied areas.

BSRIA studies have confirmed the rapid growth in lighting controls. For example a recent study of the French lighting market in non-residential buildings projected growth of almost 15 per cent, per annum in 2013 – 2017. This is almost double the projected growth rate in the market for lamps and almost 10 times the growth rate for luminaires. These, as mature markets, tend to follow the cycles in

Henry Lawson, Market Research Consultant, BSRIA Worldwide Market Intelligence

construction. BSRIA research in North America has shown a similar rate of growth for light controls.

As in other areas, it looks as if the small but rapidly growing market for smart homes solutions is having an impact on non-residential buildings. BSRIA’s earlier studies which looked at the market in 2010 and 2012 showed that lighting was the most valuable sector in most of the countries studied, often by a wide margin.

BSRIA’s current research to update these studies suggests that, while other concerns such as security are catching up, lighting remains important and is increasingly integrated with blinds, energy management and security.

In commercial buildings, there is increasing emphasis on employee comfort, and its tangible effects on performance.

Studies have suggested that lighting, like temperature and air freshness all have an impact on people’s satisfaction and productivity. A study conducted by 360 Magazine earlier this year suggested that in the UK 32 per cent of office workers are unhappy with the light intensity and only 21 per cent have any control over it.

It is also increasingly recognised that a “one size fits all” approach will not be enough. As anyone who has ever worked in an open office will know, different people have different sweet spots. There’s little point in changing the lighting to suit the 32

per cent if that simply causes problems for the remaining 68 per cent. And the same person may prefer different light levels for different tasks.

Smart technology offers potentially limitless potential for individuals to ‘customise” their own preferred levels of light and temperature. Solutions already exist where an app on a user’s smartphone can connect via Bluetooth to lighting controls and automatically adjust the lighting to that user’s preference. This has the added advantage that even if they have to work in a “hot desking” environment, they can, to some extent, carry their own personal environment around with them, especially as there are similar smart-phone connected solutions that allow you to set your own temperature.

And of course, the simple perception of having more personal control will generally have a positive effect on morale. A further benefit is that, as many individuals will want to reduce light levels, there is quite likely to be a net saving in energy.

This leads us to anticipate certain clear trends for the future. The first is that the market for lighting controls in the non-residential market will continue to grow significantly faster than that for Building Automation Control Systems (BACS) in general, which is a fairly mature market, tending to grow in low single digits, heavily influenced by overall trends in construction and refurbishment.

The second is that the advanced lighting control solutions that have spearheaded much of the early growth in smart homes will make further inroads into the non-residential markets, offering big opportunities both for the market leaders in smart lighting and for more niche suppliers.

To keep up with this trend, BACS manufacturers will need to make sure that their solutions offer the opportunity for individual users to create their own ecosystem.

Climate change is not a problem that we will crack any time soon, but we should at least be able to look forward to an office where we can make our own weather. www.bsria.co.uk bsria@bsria.co.uk

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Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

www.energymanagermagazine.co.uk

February 2017

A refreshing new approach to water for the public sector

SPECiAL REPORT:

WP-energy-manager-ad.indd 2

WATER DEREGULATION What does it mean for the public sector?

08/02/2017 12:0

Special Report - news

Stay ahead of the tide of water deregulation

A

pril 2017 brings with it the biggest reformation of the water industry in living memory. Currently, non-domestic users are only able to use their local supplier for all of their water needs, irrespective of the level of service they are receiving. Post April the water market will become deregulated, allowing businesses, charities and public sector organisations the freedom to select the water supplier that best fits their needs.

Whilst this change has been on the cards for a long time, Richard Roberts, Account Manager at IMServ Europe Limited, believes that some businesses are making the mistake of waiting until the deadline before securing their new water contract.

By seeking timely advice now, companies can secure the best deal available to them, before the big rush to make the switch next year.

“We’ve seen the success of water deregulation in Scotland already, with some companies reporting savings of up to 30% on their water bills,” commented Richard.

“However, some companies are lagging behind their competition and holding back

on signing on the dotted line. These businesses may find themselves scrabbling for a favourable deal come April and accepting a contract which is not necessarily the best fit for them.”

In order to prepare businesses and suppliers alike, Market Operator Service Limited (MOSL) is running a ‘Shadow Market’ in the run up to deregulation in April. MOSL’s role is to deliver the operational capabilities required to support the running of the deregulated market. The Shadow Market is a transition phase and will simulate live services to allow systems, processes and data collection to be trialled without commercial risk.

Deregulation is coming regardless of whether companies actively choose to take part in the Shadow Market or not.

Companies that don’t prepare, or choose not to review their water supplier, may find themselves automatically migrated onto a service which is unsuitable for their business. Additionally, as some operators are leaving the market altogether, some businesses may find that they are passed onto a service provider not of their choosing.

IMServ, one of the UK’s largest energy and data management providers, has been offering water efficiency services as part of

its portfolio for some time. It has been encouraging its customers to make the most of the Shadow Market, so that they can test the systems and processes which will come into force with deregulation.

Richard continued: “Although it is still too early to determine the long-term success that water deregulation will have on the UK market, the Shadow Market is off to a promising start. The true benefit that businesses are reaping by taking part is the freedom to test out processes and systems without commercial consequences. Water companies are able to trial how meter readings will work, experiment with tariff changes and switch suppliers, but no money will be transferred during this period as contracts will not commence until April 2017.”

“Although April may feel like it’s just around the corner, there is still plenty of time for those offering water services to ensure their customers experience smooth sailing during the switch.

Ultimately, the Shadow Market is a chance for the main participants to reassure themselves that the UK water market is prepared for this change, has looked at the effect that deregulation has had on the Scottish market and taken learnings from the process”. www.imserv.com

Ofwat sets out plans for monitoring the business retail water market

O

fwat has warned it would be closely watching water retailers when the market opens for 1.2 million business, charity and public sector organisations. And it will not hesitate to take action right from the start if it sees misconduct.

From April this year, eligible business customers in England will be able to choose who they pay for their water and wastewater retail services The UK Government has estimated the market will contribute around £200 million to the UK economy and to bring significant environmental benefits. However, these benefits will be achieved only if the market is truly competitive and efficient, with all retailers giving clear advice to customers about the opportunities to switch tariffs or suppliers.

Having learnt from experiences of other regulated markets, the energy and financial markets in particular, Ofwat has applied them to its monitoring and intervention approach.

18

Ofwat senior director Richard Khaldi says: “Introducing choice for businesses, charities and public sector organisations is the biggest change to the water sector since its privatisation more than 25 years ago. This will create the biggest competitive water market in the world.

“We want to ensure this market operates well and protection is in place to build customer trust and confidence. And we will not hesitate to take action right from the start if we see customers being missold or mislead.

“The new market offers opportunities to help you get a better deal as a customer, such as combining multiple sites into one electronic water bill or having a combined utilities provider, potentially saving money and time. If you are a small to medium sized enterprise (SME) or high street business, you can benchmark what other companies and businesses of your size in your sector are doing, which could help you save money and also save water, which is great for the environment.

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

“But with opportunity there are risks, which is why we want to ensure all customers have choice and know how to exercise that choice, so they can make informed and considered decisions.”

Ofwat plans to get a full picture of the new market by using several different methods including water retail company reports, the experience of customers and water retailers, any complaints it receives, market research and proactive checks.

It will consider intervening where there is a risk to the effective operation of the market or where there may be significant detriment to customers.

Ofwat is now asking for people to have a say on the consultation it has launched about how it monitors the market and ensure customers are protected. The consultation closes on 10 February. You can read the consultation on our website and give your feedback via email to marketmonitoringconsultation@ ofwat.gsi.gov.uk

Special Report - news

SUEZ signs national partnership with Castle Water to deliver specialist industrial water and wastewater services

S

UEZ in the UK, for its activities in industrial water solutions, has signed a National Framework Agreement with Castle Water, the UK’s largest independent water retailer, for the delivery of specialist industrial water and wastewater services. The new partnership will see Castle Water benefiting from SUEZ’s long experience in water and wastewater management to make the most of the considerable opportunities presented by the deregulation of the water market, which comes into play in England next year.

From April 2017, commercial water users in England will be able to choose their water supplier – more specifically their water retailer – allowing more flexibility and encouraging businesses to re-evaluate their entire water cycle.

This new partnership will enable Castle Water’s customers to access SUEZ’s complete range of market leading technologies, services and chemistry for the purification, treatment and management of water and wastewater. The availability of these specialist services provides businesses using industrial water with the tools needed to improve efficiencies, and

ensure they are managing water resources cost effectively and sustainably.

David Reeve, CEO for SUEZ Industry UK France, said: “We are delighted to work in partnership and to deliver our specialist services to Castle Water’s business customers across the UK. SUEZ Treatment Solutions UK provides solutions to help customers secure, operate and maintain their water and effluent systems. We use our expertise to diagnose process related performance, highlight areas that could be optimised and deliver cost efficiencies as well as ensuring that organisations can meet environmental obligations. In doing so, we can provide peace of mind for Castle Water customers, enabling them to tackle the three biggest challenges that they face: cost, performance and environmental management.”

Castle Water Chief Executive, John Reynolds OBE, said: “I’m delighted to announce our framework agreement with SUEZ. A dedicated water retailer, Castle Water has grown very quickly to become the UK’s largest independent water company. We now serve customers across all industries and work with a range of organisations with very specific technical

support needs. Our aim is to provide innovative, proactive solutions that reassure and help these customers meet their day-to-day operational challenges as well build their capability for the future.

Like us, SUEZ have a proven track record of solving issues and delivering savings for customers. There is a great synergy between our two companies. As the UK’s leading industrial water services and solutions experts, SUEZ join with us in delivering the optimal mix of insight, knowledge, skills and resources to meet our customers’ needs nationwide.” www.sueztreatmentsolutions.co.uk www.castlewater.co.uk

WATERSCAN LAUNCHES PIONEERING WATER SELF-SUPPLY SERVICE AHEAD OF MARKET OPENING

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ndependent water consultancy Waterscan has secured a Water Supply and Sewerage Licence (WSSL) to bring a new water procurement approach to the marketplace. The company’s pioneering ‘self-supply’ service will give non-household customers complete control over their water consumption and cost; enable greater savings by paying direct wholesale costs, ensure billing accuracy at source and, as a market participant, influence the marketplace – all with Waterscan’s full and independent support.

Neil Pendle, Managing Director at Waterscan, said: “Our focus remains, as always, to drive innovative ways to reduce our clients’ water consumption and costs.

Holding a WSSL will support us in maximising the many opportunities that the open market presents for our clients while ensuring that we continue to provide the most complete, independent water consultancy service in the UK. Being able to offer self-supply, in addition to our existing

procurement service, strengthens our ability to deliver our core values - save water, save cost and create value throughout the supply chain.”

With this inventive new service, Waterscan will have unprecedented real-time market intelligence to use for its customers’ benefit. By cleverly integrating its existing comprehensive Waterline© software system with the Central Market Operating System (CMOS), the company now has the unique capability to supply and receive accurate client data and to interrogate wider market data to drive savings. Furthermore, it can offer a genuine national service which will package up services across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, creating efficiencies across all multi-site operations.

Importantly, focusing on supporting clients with its self-supply or procurement tendering services, the company’s independent, customer-focused approach is retained. The implementation of strict confidentiality controls that have been

approved by Ofwat further reinforce this position. These will see the formation of separate departments, ensuring that tender information is only accessible to clients and their assigned Waterscan procurement team.

Benefits across the whole marketplace are expected; as Pendle goes on to explain: “Our ground-breaking and multi-faceted approach to water procurement will drive the market on many levels. Self-supply customers and Waterscan can together play a big part in pushing wholesale charges down. And, with direct access to market data, we can build tailored evidence-based water efficiency strategies to help clients achieve their corporate social responsibility goals, ultimately creating further opportunities for investment in infrastructure and sustainability initiatives.”

To find out call 01243 839 880 or visit www.waterscan.com

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

19

Special Report - News

Businesses in the dark about water retail competition, survey reveals

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wo-thirds of organisations remain unaware of imminent changes to the water market which will allow all non-domestic water users in England to switch suppliers of their water retail services.

Water retail services refer to all of the ‘before-the-meter’ activities such as selling the water and billing customers for it That’s according to a new survey carried out by market regulator Ofwat, which is overseeing the launch of water retail competition in April. It reveals that just 32% of firms are aware about the forthcoming changes, with the remaining 68% having not heard about them at all.

Those in the construction, retail, financial & insurance and public administration & defence sectors are significantly less likely to be aware of the upcoming changes according to the survey, which questioned 1,000 organisations of all sizes across England.

“Eligible customers – whether they are a hospital, local council, florist, factory or farmer – can, for the first time, choose the water services supplier to suit their needs,” said Ofwat chief executive Cathryn Ross.

“This is a real opportunity for these customers, but first they need to know more about the new market. Then they can use that knowledge to make an informed choice. It’s for these reasons Ofwat is working with partners and the water sector to launch an important awareness campaign next week.”

Scottish success Water retail services refer to all customer-facing activities such as selling the water, billing customers for it, and dealing with any related enquiries. This is distinct from the ‘wholesale’ activities which cover everything up to the meter such as sourcing, transporting and treating water and wastewater.

Competition for water retail competition is due to commence in England on 1 April 2017. In practice, this means that around 1.2 million businesses, charities and public-sector organisations across the country – no matter their size or level of water consumption – will be able to choose their provider of water and wastewater retail services, as they are for their energy supply.

Much of the structure and processes of England’s competitive water retail market will replicate those seen in Scotland, where the 2008 introduction of non-domestic retail competition has broadly been a success. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) – which is working with Ofwat to oversee the delivery of water retail competition in England – expects water retail competition to deliver around £200m in benefits for the UK economy.

To be eligible to switch supplier, an organisation must operate from a business premises, pay business rates, and not use a household water supply. From Ofwat’s survey, it can be estimated that just over half (53%) of all organisations in England will be eligible to switch water retail

services. This reflects the fact that most organisations in the overall population are micro businesses, about half of which are eligible (51%).

‘Right direction’ Whether or not eligible organisations will actually switch come market opening is another question: more than half (52%) of organisations surveyed by Ofwat said they would consider switching who supplies their water retail services when the market opens, with financial savings cited as the top influencing factor for switching. Around a quarter of respondents (26%) said they are unsure whether they will switch or not, while the remaining fifth (21%) said they would not consider switching.

Commenting on the survey’s findings, Tony Smith, chief executive of customer representative the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Awareness of the new non-household retail water market appears to be heading in the right direction, having been as low as 8% almost a year ago when we carried out our own customer research - that has now risen to one-third of customers.”

“But the job is not done, with two-thirds of eligible customers still oblivious to the changes and at risk of missing out on the potential benefits. With less than three months to go, our challenge to the industry is to ensure the majority of customers in England know about the new market. We want to see a vibrant marketplace where customers are well-informed about the choices they can make.” www.edie.net

SPECIAL REPORT APRIL 2017 The next special report on water management will be published in April 2017 To reserve your space, please contact Ralph Scrivens: 01933 316931 ralph@energymanagermagazine.co.uk

Special Report - NEWS

England’s water market prepares for further deregulation

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ngland’s water market for business customers will undergo further deregulation from April this year, enabling companies of all sizes to benefit from more competition and lower costs, as Nick Simpson, Marketing Director at SUEZ Water UK, explains.

Business owners across England could soon benefit from lower bills by switching water providers and buying water from other than their local supplier. In the same way that energy users can choose their supplier, so this will soon apply to most commercial water users in England. From April, the market for supplying water to businesses in England will be further deregulated, bringing it into line with current arrangements in Scotland.

England actually introduced competition for water services way back in 2003. Commercial customers using more than 50 megalitres of water per year were able to switch suppliers in the same way that many businesses shop around for gas and electricity. However, this Water Supply Licensing programme was limited in scope and did not introduce realistic financial incentives – or a suitable market structure – to create true competition.

Despite later reducing the threshold to 5 megalitres per year, the same basic restraints continued to apply to the market, meaning that the same problems persisted: non-standardised billing, complex tariffs, low levels of customer satisfaction and the high cost of handling transactions across multiple sites.

In Scotland, the water market has been fully deregulated since 2008, creating estimated efficiency savings of over £43 million and saving around 20 billion litres of water. Around 42 percent of Scottish businesses have taken the opportunity to renegotiate their water and sewerage contracts.

Scotland’s 130,000 non-domestic customers can choose between 18 retail suppliers or ‘Licensed Providers’ of water.

Each purchases water and/or sewerage services at wholesale prices from Scottish Water, which remains responsible for maintaining the publically owned water supply and waste infrastructures.

The success of water deregulation in Scotland led the Government to propose a similar scheme in England (removing the

current consumption threshold completely), and in 2009 the independent Cave Review of competition and innovation in water markets final report was published.

The Water Bill was subsequently published

by DEFRA in 2013 and passed by Act of Parliament in 2014. In anticipation of the changes, many of the water companies have established licenced water retail supply businesses, either directly owned, joint-owned or in partnership with specialised providers. In each case, contact is being made with business customers to advise them of the changes.

Courtesy of the Water Act 2014, all non-domestic business customers – plus public sector, charitable and not-for-profit organisations in England – will have the flexibility to choose their supplier of water and sewage services, regardless of where they are located in the country. With around one million eligible companies, the English market is around eight times larger than that in Scotland.

In principle, further deregulation could help companies cut their water costs by eliminating inefficiencies, reducing the complexity of sourcing across multiple sites, and providing single billing rather than multiple billing from different regional suppliers. In reality, the situation has actually become a little more complex before its intended benefits can eventually be realised, as many industrial and commercial organisations have been temporarily diverted from their core activities ahead of the deadline.

In simple terms, deregulation should allow businesses to reduce the cost of water and sewage services, either through renegotiation with an existing supplier or by transferring to a new one. In practice, there are likely to be some teething problems. For example, some companies that operate from multiple sites around the country, particularly those receiving water from different local suppliers (or that have premises where the definition of household and non-household is unclear) might experience problems.

There is also a risk that pricing structures actually become more complex, rather than more transparent. Different water retailers may have varying margins for different customer groups or volume users, for example, which may make it difficult for all customers to negotiate

worthwhile discounts.

For many customers, price will only be part of their requirement. They may, for example, place equal or greater value on factors such as single billing for multiple sites, flow monitoring, security of supply, greater water efficiency, enhanced customer or water hygiene services or carbon reduction.

To take advantage of the potential savings, non-domestic water users in England should now be developing strategies for managing vital water and wastewater services; however, this is not often seen as a core activity. And in the run-up to the 2017 deadline, essential activities such as negotiating the best deal and managing this on an on-going basis, has added to overall costs.

One answer may be to outsource responsibility for water and wastewater treatment – and factors such as cost negotiations – to an industry expert such as SUEZ Water UK. In many respects, this type of outsourcing is no different to that of many other non-core business services such as warehousing, IT or payroll.

Ultimately, such an arrangement would help a company to focus exclusively on its core business, while reducing the cost, risk and complexity of managing its water and wastewater systems.

For more information visit www.suezwater.co.uk/ industrial-water-retail/

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

21

Special Report - Cover Story

Watershed moment approaches for the public sector The 1st of April 2017 marks a significant change in the world of water.

From this date, organisations of all shapes and sizes, including many in the public sector, will be able to switch water supplier in England for the first time – one of the biggest reforms of a UK market in recent years.

It’s undoubtedly a watershed moment for energy managers, procurement teams and facilities professionals across the country. For many, it will be a completely new experience. Currently, the vast majority of organisations have to procure their water services from the incumbent provider for each region where they have operations; potentially as many as 21 different suppliers.

“T

he existing system has created a great deal of duplication and inefficiency for customers.” Explains Tony McHardy, Corporate Director at Water Plus, the largest non-domestic water supplier in the UK – see ‘About Water Plus’. “Any businesses with sites spread across the country could be dealing with anything up to 21 different water suppliers. That means dozens of sets of paperwork and dozens of different points of contact, just for starters – there are plenty of other examples.

“The good news is the introduction of competition will give companies, public sector organisations, and charities the ability to do something about that. From April, they’ll be able to consolidate all of their sites with one water supplier, along with a host of other benefits including water efficiency solutions, contingency planning, smart metering, consumption data feeding into energy management systems, water audits, benchmarking and alerts, which will

Tony McHardy, Corporate Director, Water Plus

bring about, cost, time and consumption savings for customers. Customers will finally have a choice and will be able to select a supplier that best matches their desired company values or business needs.”

The Role of Wholesalers and Retailers As part of the new market structure one of the biggest changes will be the separation of wholesale and retail functions into separate entities, operating on an ‘arm’s length’ basis.

The wholesalers, will continue to be responsible for the ongoing maintenance and investment into the main water and waste water networks and fiscal metering.

The availability and provision of the water supplied to a customer’s boundary along with compliance to the strict water quality standard will also continue to be within their remit. It will be to a large degree, a continuation of many of their previous tasks. They will continue to be operate on a regional basis.

About Water Plus Water Plus is a joint venture between two of the largest water suppliers in the UK: Severn Trent and United Utilities. The company brings together the best of both organisations to offer the value and a personal, modern, and enhanced service that business customers expect. The business is based in Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire.

22

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

Retailers, on the other hand, will take over the customer service elements of the service. They will issue customers with bills for their water and wastewater services and some will provide a range of additional support, predominantly around helping organisations cut water costs and enhance efficiency. In many cases, a retailer may also act as a representative for the customer in negotiations with the wholesaler. However, the crucial bit is that customers will be able to choose their retailer, driving competition and a range of additional benefits.

The Benefits of Competition With retailers forced to compete, customers should benefit from keener pricing, product innovation, and customer service improvements as suppliers aim to carve out their own segments in the market and retain and win more business.

For the most part, that will mean offering something new or improved in billing, data reporting, account management, and value added services around water efficiency and water management.

Switching Considerations So, with such a big change on the horizon and a range of new suppliers and services to choose from, what should public sector organisations be doing now? Is there anything they need to bear in mind ahead of April’s big launch?

Special Report - Cover Story “One of the most important lessons that came out of Scotland’s experience was the need for preparation. Customers need to get ready if they’re to make the most of this opportunity,” advises McHardy.

“Of course, they’ll still get water from the wholesaler on April 1 but they’ll soon be dealing with their incumbent retailer on billing issues and the like – the processes are going to change slightly and a number of steps need to be taken. McHardy suggests that prior to April’s water deregulation organisations prepare themselves by following these simple practices:

“Competition opens up huge possibilities for the public sector to cut costs, reduce water use, and drive sustainability.” - Tony McHardy, Corporate Director, Water Plus

Data Ready “Firstly, public sector organisations need to ensure their data is in order. That means understanding their entire portfolio of sites; checking that they aren’t paying for properties they don’t own; and ensuring that the data covers all of their current sites, with each site having its own unique Supply Point Identification Number (SPID).

It’s also a good idea to check current water consumption at each site and consider future requirements – that way you’ll have the information you need should you want to compare prices from retailers.”

“We understand that organisations may need help with their data and at Water Plus we take a personal approach. We’ll work with customers to get a clear view on their portfolio and their consumption.

We’ll review, cleanse and often enrich their information – identifying wrongly categorised sites or sites on incorrect bandings or tariffs.”

Contract Ready “The next step is to make sure you are contractually ready to switch. Make sure your details are up to date and the correct governance procedures are in place to be able to sign off on a water supply contract from your chosen retailer – there could be a number of conversations to be had internally and processes to change in advance of letting any contract.

Service Ready “Customers need to think about what’s important to their business. What services are essential and what value added services could make a real difference? Do you have any sustainability standards or targets to meet? How can you get staff on-board with water efficiency? There are a number of different water efficiency solutions available, with one of the most popular for public sector organisations being the use of

smart meters. If utilised correctly these can be a fantastic tool to understand consumption levels, costs, areas that are over consuming and where you can identify leaks and reduce water. It’s also possible to have data exported directly into energy management systems or specialist smart metering apps, however this will again vary between competing retailers.

It’s also important to check your billing and service requirements. If consolidated billing is important for your organisation, ensure you check it’s provided in the output format you require. As this is an area where some retailers are coming unstuck. To get the most out of your retailer, do your research, and ensure that you’re aligning yourself to a retailer who is best placed to help you reach your goals.”

Understand the English Water Market “Another point to consider is the difference in the margin that’s likely to be available in England – it’s not as large as it is in Scotland, meaning there’s less opportunity for retailers to pass on discounts. This will mean working with your retailer and looking at different ways to save time, save money or reduce your consumption. Areas for savings include water efficiency equipment for reducing your water usage, consolidated billing to reduce time and resources, identifying leaks to eliminate wastage and reviewing and benchmarking data so you can keep in control.

“We’re working with our customers to give them the information they need ahead of April and get them ready for the big changes ahead. Although there are still some details to be ironed out, what’s certain is that it’s an exciting time for both the industry and the public sector.

Competition presents a brilliant opportunity for public services to review their needs and get the best value for money from their water suppliers. Taking the right steps now will be crucial to realising the benefits.” www.water-plus.co.uk

Are you switch ready?

Understanding how you use water is absolutely critical to making sure you’re ready to switch.

To get the full picture Water Plus recommends you get data ready, contract ready, and service ready by: 1. Checking your portfolio is up to date, including information about all of the connected services and tariffs 2. Knowing how many sites you have, the consumption for each one, and the location of the meters 3. Looking at your likely future consumption requirements, as well as your current use 4. Thinking about what services and support processes are important to you 5. Ensuring you have the right governance in place that allows you to switch supplier

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

23

Special Report

A VIEW OF WATER DEREGULATION -

GRAND UNION WATER Co.

“W

ater supply to businesses and charities goes competitive in April 2017.

The UK Water Act 2014 established the framework to create a market that will allow millions of businesses and charities (based mainly in England) to choose their supplier of water & waste-water retail services via the new competitive market.

In Wales only consumers with a usage of 50,000 M3 a year can switch supplier.”

“The UK competitive water market actually started in Scotland and the change to the water market in England is largely an extension of the pioneering Scottish pilot phase.”

“Business and charity consumers have opportunity to reclaim billing overcharge, reduce consumption, reduce the cost of water & waste-water services, and have consolidated billing, or in other words one bill for multi- site consumers.”

“MOSL (the government owned company that will operate the market between the water companies and the new water retailers who will face the consumer) has been working away making sure the systems that facilitate supplier-switching are ready and the market will start smoothly.”

“Competition at the point of delivery for water services has undoubtedly been a long time coming, and while not as far reaching as it could have been, the updating of the water market is—make no mistake—the biggest news in the utility and procurement space in decades with the UK (not to say Scotland) leading the world.”

“In the first phase of the Scottish market, consumers made annual savings of anywhere between 2.5% and 12.5%. When the English fully market opens, multiple water & waste-water companies could be competing for consumer’s business, albeit on thinner English margins. It is reasonable to assume savings will be forthcoming, but an exact quote cannot be specifically forecasted at this point. It is not unreasonable to think that savings made thru lower water rates could be doubled or significantly amplified by accompanying consumption reduction measures.”

24

“Water Procurement Advisory space will NOT be regulated by Ofwat, just as Energy Advisory is NOT regulated by Ofgem. The lack of regulation of Energy Advisors has caused both poor and sharp practice to occur with limited recourse for business consumers. The complexity of energy offers is used by some Advisors to extract unfair value from transactions they intermediate.

And while there were moves to regulate energy advisors they were abandoned by Ofgem. Water consumers will therefore be exposed to both the good and bad sides of the energy advisors as they move into water, some of them deploying the same

cold calling, sharp and poor practice that exists in the energy market.”

“In the absence of proper regulation, the water procurement advisory space needs to regulate itself and demonstrate the highest possible level of ethics and integrity.”

“Grand Union Water Co. with support from a working peer and several major consumers shaped a deliberately simple Code of Conduct that any water procurement advisor or energy procurement advisor choosing to work also in water can sign up and adhere to.”

Www.GrandUnionWater.Com

THE PLANNED CODE OF CONDUCT FOR WATER PROCUREMENT ADVISORS (Dec-16 Iteration) 1.

No cold calls. An introductory letter must precede telephone calls from advisors.

2.

Advisors must have relevant training and qualification in client representation such as FCA, EMA or ISO accreditation or a minimum of three year’s experience of client procurement confirmed by a minimum of three business references.

3.

Advisors must be able to represent they have actually run a tender where suppliers have competed for the opportunity to supply.

4.

Advisors must be able to represent a supplier’s offer in a form that estimates the consumer’s annual budget on an agreed usage

5.

Advisors must be open and transparent on ALL fees, commissions, supplier rebates, margin shares etc. and able to estimate annual total commissions per a scenario agreed with the consumer.

6.

Notwithstanding where NDA applies, Advisors agree to provide - on demand - all communication relating to a tender process such that it can be checked by the client with suppliers

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

Special Report

Are you ready for April 2017?

W

ith water deregulation just around the corner… is your business ready?

Commencing 1st April 2017, non-domestic users in England will for the first time be able to choose their own water supplier.

This change will give businesses the opportunity to have their water usage and sewerage billed by a supplier of their choice.

The deregulation of the water market will give businesses the ability to: • Consolidate billing from one supplier across multiple sites in different regions • Achieve lower prices due to more competition • Benefit from a wider choice of tariffs • Receive greater customer service • Have a dedicated account manager • AMR Metering, installation and profile data as part of the contract • Online access to water billing data

What’s next for businesses?

Businesses with a multi-site portfolio, should be consolidating all their accounts onto one electronic billing invoice with copies of paper invoices. This will reduce the administration of processing multiple invoices. The electronic billing file can then be imported and validated via specialist software or your chosen TPI/broker, to ensure you are only paying for what you use.

The validation process will be even more important when the switch from water tariffs to contracts begins in April 2017. Once in place, a fully cost coded accounts payable feeder file can then be supplied to streamline the payment process.

STC Energy provides a bureau service to validate utility invoices and also provides access to all water cost and consumption data via our online web portal. Scanned copies of suppliers’ paper invoices are also available via a simple download. This enables our customers to view all their utilities data in one place without having to log into multiple suppliers’ websites.

Carry out a water audit Carrying out a water audit on sites with high water consumption will help to ensure that any issues are detected early on.

Typical issues found include: • Wastewater abatements: Non-return of water to the sewer • Oversized water meters – higher standing charges • Leak detection • Incorrect Meter Size Charging By identifying any issues, potential savings and refunds can be obtained. Water audits will also ensure that future charging structures are both accurate and concise for the consumer. In addition, accurate current water costs and consumption will provide long term savings. This will later ensure that all accounts are in order prior to the opening up of the market in April 2017.

The water audit process begins with an analysis of all the water invoices and charges that you currently receive from the water authority (water, waste water, surface water, fixed charges and Trade Effluent). At STC Energy, our water audit service goes above and beyond just invoice analysis, it will also follow up with a comprehensive site survey and report. From this you will be able to identify where there is potential for savings and refunds, as well as any priority areas for investigation.

Water AMR Meters & Monitoring Consumption By installing either an AMR meter or data logger onto your water supplies you would be able to monitor consumption in the same way as electricity or gas.

Water meters are sometimes installed in inaccessible areas, making it difficult to arrange meter readings without proper health and safety training. Installing a data logger or AMR meter allows easy access to usage data that can be used by the supplier to avoid estimated billing.

Our profile alerts service will also help to ensure that water is not wasted. By setting consumption targets, our software can produce exception alerts to inform you of usage outside the usual consumption.

STC’s web portal enables our clients to analyse their consumption.

Any deviations found will trigger an email alert to a nominated site contact and/ or it can be viewed on an online map-based site exception dashboard. These alerts can also be directed to and monitored by our dedicated team who will then inform the client of this change. The report will automatically highlight which sites are over target, allowing for fast corrective action.

Profile alerts are very successful in identifying energy wastage directly and in suggesting behavioural changes that can be implemented to reduce consumption.

Profile alerts work for both small and large multi-sites.

Save money with behavioural/technical changes Many of our case studies for existing clients have revealed that by implementing both behavioural and technical changes, savings can be made. One of the most common causes of high water consumption and billing is taps running unnecessarily.

It has been estimated that a running tap wastes over 6 litres of water per minute.

Leaks may be difficult to spot without analysing profile data. Our profile alerts can identify if water is being used during periods of closure. The data will then inform you of any potential leaks on your site. It has been estimated that just one leaking tap could waste around 5.5k litres per year. www.stcenergy.com

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

25

Special Report

Is the water industry prepared for the rise of the millennials?

A

s the water industry prepares for deregulation, it is taking a look at the skills and talents of its workforce. One thing that is becoming clear is that the water industry, like many other regulated industries, is predominantly populated by people who have been post for quite some time.

The Industry Skills Accord reports that 36% of vacancies in the utilities industries are hard to fill; higher than any other sector, and 14% of industry employers report internal skills gaps.

Inevitably these challenges will have to be addressed by recruiting and training the millennial generation, born between the years 1980 and 2000. By 2020 they will make up 50% of the workforce. They are more numerous than the Baby Boomer Generation that are now retiring and they will soon outnumber their Generation X predecessors.

Attracting the best of this generation will be the key to the success of the Water industry, ignoring them and failing to take account of their needs is the path to slow decline as our existing workforce ages and stagnates.

They are different to their predecessors in their expectations, ambitions and attitudes to work, they are the generation that are shaping the future of the business world, their aspirations and easy familiarity with new technologies will come to define the workplace.

A defining characteristics of this generation is their easy relationship with the digital world. As digital natives they have grown up with high speed internet and portable devices as commonplace. Their use of social media gives them an expectation of instant results. They are entering the industry with a better understanding of what can be achieved with technology than their more experienced older colleagues. This presents a particular opportunity to an industry, like water, that is going through a sea change – digital natives could give a business a great opportunity in building better customer experience and servicing opportunities.

It´s not just technology that makes them different, they have come of age during an economic crisis and their attitudes are coloured by that experience.

26

Previous generations were happy to set organisational goals above their personal goals on the basis of being rewarded later, this generation see their own needs as more immediate and important and want immediate reward.

They see rapid career progression as the norm, they expect their work to be interesting and varied and they are turned off by rigid management and organisational structures. They expect flexibility, openness and frequent feedback and encouragement. They value knowledge, learning and personal development and if they can´t progress in the organisation they are very willing to move on to another organisation where they can.

They are looking for more in life than a long climb up the corporate ladder.

They want to feel that they are making an important contribution, their ambition and optimism drives them to define success as being more than financial reward.

The water industry needs to examine, and potentially transform, culture and management style if they want to recruit millennial talent. The millennials expect the workplace to be a community with common interests and goals rather than a hierarchy that dictates actions to be blindly followed.

It goes without saying that the working environment needs to make the most of digital technology but the millennial won’t be confined to a grey cubicle. They do want to work hard, but they also value a comfortable stimulating environment that blurs the traditional hard lines between work and home life.

What should the industry do to make the most of millennial talent?

Technology They are used to being always connected, they respond instantly, they expect portable devices so the technology platforms that we use should recognise and support this.

Flexibility Of course we must have targets and be clear about what we want but we shouldn’t dictate where and how, leave room for creativity. What does it matter if they work from home as long as they complete what

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

you ask of them? The workplace needs to be a stimulating and comfortable place to be, we should abandon our traditional distinction between work and home.

Learning and Progression Make online learning and development integral to the workplace using easily accessible structured courses as well as mentoring. We need to encourage progression by developing schemes that recognise achievement and status which will let the best of them advance quickly.

Expect Churn Millennials don’t expect to be in a job for life so we must factor this in to our plans. They will leave but when they do, let´s make sure that they will recommend us to their peers as a forward thinking organisation.

Feedback We need to help this generation achieve their potential by highlighting their contributions and improvements.

We need to recognise and encourage innovations and bright ideas, embracing positive change. We must tell them when they do well, review performance often and give lots of feedback.

Attracting and recruiting this generation sets our industry a big challenge, we must embrace change, recognise their different needs and make full use of the potential that they offer.

If we don´t then we will lose the brightest and best of them to other industries, widening the skills gap and leaving us with an uncertain future.

Angela Peart, Utility People www.utilitypeopleuk.com

5468 W2B Energy Manager Magazine ad.qxp_Layout 1 30/01/2017 10:19 Page 1

Special Report

WATER TIME TO SWITCH Charley Maher, managing director of water2business, explains how businesses across England will soon be able to choose their water and sewerage retailer.

S

witching energy suppliers and shopping around for the best deal is a given these days for businesses seeking to drive down costs and become more efficient in the way they operate.

you opt for one that truly understands your business.

And now there’s about to be choice when it comes to water, with businesses of any size being able to choose their water and sewerage retailer. It’s all part of Open Water, which has been introduced by the government and Ofwat.

So what does this mean?

Well from 1 April 2017 any large or small business, council, hospital, school or even charity can choose their water and sewerage retailer. While the water supplied will still be provided by your local water company and still travel to your premises along the same pipes, most of your interaction will be with your retailer.

While a number of water retailers will be offering this service, it’s really important

April 2017

All will be aiming to attract new customers and while price will play a part it is unlikely to be the deciding factor for many businesses switching. That’s because the margins set by the industry regulator Ofwat are slim - an average of 2.5% net margin or 6% gross for retailers.

Therefore it’s likely to be the quality of the customer service, investment in innovation, and the value added services offered to your business which will set the retailers apart from each other.

At water2business we offer leading customer service and tailored water and wastewater management that will help to improve efficiency and deliver savings.

Unlike others, we’re not a newcomer to the market, instead we’re a company with extensive industry knowledge that has a proven track record and already provides business services.

So whether you’re looking for help on reducing water consumption – which in turn could reduce energy costs too – or flexible, consolidated billing for multiple sites, we can help.

You can find out more about our other added value services by calling us today on 0345 850 0714 or visiting www.water2business.co.uk

Switch your water and wastewater services to water2business.

helping

your business EHFRPH PRUH HǸFLHQW

Every day we’re helping businesses like yours save money and improve efficiency.

There’s no catch or hidden charges – it’s simply all part of the service provided by water2business.

water and wastewater efficiency advice flexible and consolidated billing for multiple sites award-winning customer service

0345 850 0714 www.water2business.co.uk

Special Report

Making water work: the Scottish experience

I

n the eight years since Scotland became the world’s first competitive non-domestic water market, customers of the largest provider, Business Stream, have saved more than £160m. However, the changes go much deeper than that, with competition driving a new complementary market of water-saving products and services, as well an unprecedented focus on customer service.

As part of Scottish Water, Business Stream was operating on day one of the Scottish market opening in 2008. That gives it a unique perspective on competition in England, which is due to begin in April 2017. Commercial Director James Cardwell-Moore says the industry has come a long way since those early days: “It’s been an incredible evolution in Scotland for what has generally been a traditional and fairly conventional utility sector. The market used to be all about unit cost but competition has changed that completely. Yes, the bottom line still matters, but our customers are placing a lot more emphasis on service and help to

reduce consumption and be more efficient. . We’re increasingly being approached for bespoke solutions to tackle with business problems or support growth ambitions and our model has evolved to fulfil that demand.”

Since 2008, Business Stream’s offering has grown to around 60 services, covering estate-wide usage audits to borehole drilling. It is also trying to educate customers that water management should be taken as seriously as energy efficiency, from sole traders looking to reduce their overheads to heavily-regulated industrial plants producing potentially harmful effluent.

As well as actual financial savings including £53 million in water efficiency savings, more than £99 million in discounts and £7 million in energy efficiency savings, Business Stream’s customers in Scotland have reduced water consumption by 24 billion litres.

Cardwell-Moore adds: “What we say to businesses is that they need to look at what else their supplier can do for them.

Competition has driven down cost in Scotland, and the margins in England for

next year have been set quite low by Ofwat, so there’s not as much scope for discounts.

To really benefit from the option to switch, customers need to find a supplier that can help them reduce and manage their water and wastewater more efficiently. Thankfully for us, that’s something we’ve had eight years’ experience of excelling at and we’re fortunate that our track record means we’re now a trusted partner to many of our clients, not just another utility provider.”

Having been one of the main advocates for greater competition based on its experience, Business Stream is well placed for next year. It already counts House of Fraser among its UK customers and has recently secured a major foothold in the English market with the purchase of 105,000 non-domestic customers from Southern Water which will make it the third largest provider.

Cardwell-Moore concludes: “This is a really exciting time now that we’re counting down to competition in England in April.

Our new scale in the market will help us to invest and innovate even further, benefiting our customers north and south of the border.”

One Planet, One Team Improving efficiency across House of Fraser’s 60 stores

THE CHALLENGE House of Fraser’s ‘One Planet, One Team’ strategy had already brought about sustainability benefits across its 60 stores, but the retailer wanted to improve its water efficiency further, reducing costs in the process. Who better to assist than Business Stream who’d already worked successfully with the company in Scotland.

THE SOLUTION We installed automated meter readers (AMRs) into a number of stores across England to record meter readings and flow rates remotely and in real-time. As a result, invoices are based on AMR data, which is more accurate than conventional meter reading, allowing the company to benchmark the performance of stores. The AMRs also helped to identify inefficiencies and monitor the progress of any remedial or efficiency measures introduced.

28

We made it simpler for House of Fraser by introducing consolidated billing for the 11 stores supplied water by us. This meant they received with a single, itemised statement. A bill validation exercise was carried out to ensure the accuracy of historic water billing for all of the organisation’s sites across England, identifying any charges billed in error by previous suppliers for cost recovery. An overall water management strategy was also developed to help improve control and reduce water consumption, including sub-metering and the introduction of water saving devices.

THE SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME •

•

House of Fraser now has a better understanding of its water usage, which in turn has enabled the company to reduce environmental impact and cut costs The accurate readings provided by

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

•

•

•

House of Fraser’s AMRs mean the number of estimated bills is reduced, providing greater certainty about usage levels and costs The consolidated billing covering the 11 stores supplied by Business Stream has reduced management time in reviewing and processing invoices We are supporting them with their long term aim to completely remove estimated readings from the billing process The ability to detect leaks has further helped House of Fraser to minimise the time and costs involved in identifying and fixing problems Speak to our team of experts by visiting business-stream. co.uk

HELPING YOU GET SWITCH FIT FOR ���� SWITCH WITH BUSINESS STREAM We’re the largest business water retailer in Scotland and have helped our customers save over £��� million since the market was created in 2008.

The most competitive market experience ahead of April 2017.

Offer a tailored service to our customers.

Relationships across all wholesale areas.

Find out how much you could save

0845 602 8855 business-stream.co.uk

Energy Overview

Electricity utilities reinvented and bypassed

“D

eath by a Thousand Cuts” was the brutal appraisal of the power generation goliaths by Jeffrey Eckel of Hannon Armstrong, the leading energy investment house, at the Barclays Future Energy Conference December 2016 in London. The Euro 1 billion/GW big-is-beautiful model for electricity utilities is being inexorably destroyed by such things as the humble LED needing almost no electricity and the energy independent electric vehicle needing no electricity at all. Local micro-generation, much of it off-grid, becomes more and more viable. See the IDTechEx report, Energy Independent Electric Vehicles Land, Water, Air 2017-2037.

Losers and winners Oil and coal are now rapidly losers and the future is wind and solar with solar costs dropping faster than predicted by the industry. In addition, electric vehicles could erode as much as 10% of global gasoline demand by 2035, according to the oil i ndustry consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Innogy sees electricity suppliers transitioning from spending more to get more over to simply spending the same to get more in a new golden age. In one example, wind power leader Vestas said cost parity of wind with gas can be expected not long after 2030 heralding the beginning of the end of gas as an interim solution. Vestas sees 3D printing as its key enabling technology for wind turbines and replacement parts in future. See the IDTechEx reports on this rapidly emerging technology. Expect taller towers and longer blades. Decommissioning “a lot of concrete and steel” in old sea towers may be an unbudgeted cost and IDTechEx notes that Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) at one tenth of the cost and accessing the more consistent and stronger wind at 300-1000 meters looks promising as an alternative

30

by Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman, IDTechEx

one day. See the IDTechEx overview report, Energy Harvesting: Off-Grid Microwatt to Megawatt 2017-2027.

Sidelining marine sources for now Wave and tidal generation were not considered important because of cost.

However, IDTechEx believes that that could eventually change with the new forms that do not involve parts rubbing together, notably dielectric elastomer generators, magnetostriction and the subject of the IDTechEx report, Triboelectric Energy Harvesting (TENG) 2017-2027.

Gas is a bridge Most of those in the electricity supply industry cite gas as a vital transitional generation fuel with thermogas and biogas growing. 90% of global trade is carried by sea and about one third of the oil and gas extracted worldwide comes from offshore sources. Both are enabled by large dedicated service fleets of varied vessel types that produce significant GHG emissions. Franco Gonzalez, head of EV and energy storage research at IDTechEx notes, “However, even here help is at hand. For example, the Corvus “Energy Orca” energy storage system from Canada brings Zero Emission Energy solutions to the maritime market. The Corvus team is working with industry leaders to help accelerate the adoption of solutions that use energy storage to reduce vessel carbon emissions worldwide”. See his new IDTechEx report, Electric Boats and Ships 2017-2027.

Nuclear rebalancing Nuclear is a constant supply backbone with France having too much and the UK having too little as replacement capacity is belatedly supplied. Nevertheless, at the event, speakers saw little place for nuclear in future due to high cost and wind and solar unstoppable despite Donald Trump,

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

this being due to low cost. ABB saw microgrids and increasingly global smart grids co-existing but IDTechEx advised that utilities need to reduce their projections of EVs as their only big opportunity for increased output to 2040: they need to deduct energy independent electric vehicles (EIVs). Utilities see EVs as usefully taking off-peak demand: 1TWhr/yr of renewable energy is currently wasted due to its timing and, outrageously, that wastage is increasing. Most EC electricity demand currently comes from motors and lighting we were told. Ironically, geothermal heat pumps – with maybe 12 million in the UK one day – constitute a significant new electricity demand they said. IDTechEx is not so sure.

Electric vehicles to the rescue IDTechEx expects EVs to create significant electricity demand in about ten years and be key to huge improvements in local noise and air pollution and in global warming reduction. See the IDTechEx overview, Electric Vehicles Change the World 2017-2037 which has number and value forecasts in 47 categories land, water and air, off road and on-road, on water and underwater. It is all one business now, with companies increasingly making parts and even vehicles for more and more sectors. It could be a trillion dollar business in about ten years and industrial and commercial vehicles are the majority by value and will remain so. See the IDTechEx report, Industrial and Commercial Electric Vehicles on Land 2017-2027. Energy harvesting and regeneration in many new forms are becoming key enabling technologies for EVs as scoped in the IDTechEx report, Electric Vehicle Energy Harvesting/ Regeneration 2017-2037.

Fuel cells and hydrogen Fuel cell companies present said that green electricity at the wrong time of day could be used in electrolysis to create

Energy Overview hydrogen, which they claim is a better storage medium than batteries as it goes straight into the gas grid to decarbonise gas and it gets used in fuel cells. However, fuel cell vehicle deployment is slow. We heard that fuel cell car price is targeted to halve to £28K one day. London has just ordered one hydrogen double decker bus we were told.

Gesture politics? Perhaps more promising were Ceres low cost steel fuel cells targeted at data centres, CHP and commercial stationary applications.

Utilities “changing rapidly” Those from utilities at the meeting argued that they have been in denial but are now changing rapidly, for example to smart grid with new tolerant power electronics, renewables and investment in promising start-ups. “Predict and provide” has been replaced by “observe, create options, invest”. The greatest need cited by those start-ups was said to be introductions to the right people to get sales: it was not investment.

Batteries one day Batteries can balance the inappropriate timing of green supply that but most speakers seemed to judge this to be uneconomic in most cases as yet. All the same, energy storage will eventually add value to PV and wind packages because they will be time coordinated to loads.

Electrovaya promoted its “non-toxic, safe” lithium-ion battery based on a proprietary ceramic separator saying its higher price is justified where intensive use exploits the excellent cycle life (not in cars) and safety.

It has bought the Evonic Daimler gigafactory in Germany. See the IDTechEx battery reports such as, Lithium-ion

Batteries 2016-2026 and Advanced and Post Lithium-ion Batteries 2016-2026: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts. Many companies such as Electrovaya, XALT and BYD have battery gigafactories, mostly under-utilised, yet Tesla belatedly building one for Panasonic to make batteries in is seen as pioneering. At the event the microgrid house with battery and solar was referred to as “the Elon Musk option” although Tesla is a follower into that as well! Of course, Tesla will seek to leapfrog in many respects but so will everyone else. It is its superb marketing that gives it an advantage.

Power electronics key

Microgrids attract

Improvements, carbon capture

Ameresco saw rapid growth in microgrids based on batteries. Indeed, microgrids were repeatedly praised. The big casinos in Las Vegas have paid millions of dollars to utilities to escape electricity supply contracts and make their own electricity. 88% of companies cite future electricity costs as a major fear, so making your own creates more certainty: it does not just remove an intermediary’s profit point. The EC expects a 24% increase in electricity prices by 2035, “the highest increase in the world”. It will not be just Las Vegas that decouples from that nonsense.

Africa has 50% of its population - over 600M people – denied electricity and just as they are leapfrogging phone line to adopt mobiles, they are leapfrogging large power stations to adopt microgrids. However, they all aspire to grid connection and maybe they need to be persuaded otherwise. This is not technology policy as in China but the sheer impracticality of draping phone and electricity lines across a continent and keeping them functioning.

the only public sector energy journal To receive Energy Manager Magazine FREE of charge, please visit www.energymanagermagazine.co.uk /subscribe

Power electronics is becoming key in power distribution because it is increasingly used instead of clunky source switching and waste for coping with the different supply characteristics of renewables into grids. Solar Edge said they have sold 576K inverters and 14.1 million power optimisers for renewables even before that new power electronics kicks in. Eliminating shading and power mismatch and early identification of failed panels can increase solar array output by up to 25% they reported. This echoes it becoming more important in EVs.

Fastest cost reduction is being seen in solar and particularly in offshore wind which starts from a high cost. Carbon capture is a hot topic but any success seems unlikely to save coal, in the view of industry insiders.

About IDTechEx IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research and Events services, helping you profit from emerging technologies. We provide independent research, business intelligence and advice to companies across the value chain based on research activities and methodologies which provide data sought by business leaders, strategists and technology scouts to aid their critical business decisions.

To discuss your needs please contact us at research@IDTechEx.com or see www.IDTechEx.com

Energy Management Software

Decisions, decisions…

The Challenges of Managing Energy

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o much of being an Energy Manager depends on making the right decisions. It’s virtually impossible to be confident in your decision making without having data and a comprehensive analytics tool to inform where to focus, make investment and then to track performance.

Here’s five key decisions you’ll make as an Energy Manager, and how energy analytics software can help you get them right…

How do I present an accurate energy target?

It is crucial to set realistic targets in order to manage expectations internally, both for financial forecasting and to ensure staff remain engaged and motivated. To be effective and achievable, energy targets must be set against an accurate baseline which reflects the varying factors that affect energy use in your business. Depending on the business, this may include variables such as production output, occupancy, time of year, temperature etc. To achieve this, a regression analysis tool is required to build an accurate profile from historical data, taking into account all the driving factors that have an impact on energy consumption.

Where do I focus my efforts to improve efficiency?

Once accurate targets have been set, the next challenge is to identify where the savings to achieve these targets can be made. An effective place to start is to break down energy consumption by location, whether that’s site, building, floor or department. This is possible with

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analytics software that enables you to compare normalised consumption for each location, so that factors such as building area, volume and production are taken into account to ensure a fair evaluation. Once the energy performance of each location has been identified, it’s then possible to look to emulate the practices of the highest performing sites, and also motivate personnel in lower performing sites to improve.

To identify inefficiencies at a more granular level, such as a faulty piece of equipment, consumption profiles can be constantly monitored on regularly updating dashboards and using visualisation such as surface-mapping graphs, so that anomalies can be quickly found.

When do I intervene?

Energy usage can legitimately vary due to a number of factors, so it’s therefore important to understand at what point to take action. Only with effective profiling can this be achieved, for example a spike in consumption due to an increased production output is to be expected, therefore an energy management system needs to be able to intelligently recognise and normalise the increase. With a multi-variable regression model in place, users can then identify the genuine anomalies in energy data and react accordingly. To maintain this at the lowest impact to the user, alarms can be set up so that a notification via email is sent when consumption is at an unexpected level. The tolerated limits for alarms can either be set up manually or against an alarm profile, which patterns the typical usage for a given timeframe and only allows data within a percentage range of that profile.

When action is taken, users can mark a change point in the data set so that any subsequent changes in consumption can be clearly monitored.

In order to make cost savings, energy managers also need the ability to verify the accuracy of utility bills.

An energy management software tool can take information from a bill, compare it to actual consumption taken

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

from the meter, and then notify users of any inconsistencies. This may be one of the easiest ways to save costs and achieve buy in from your finance department!

Which investments will improve efficiency and achieve the best ROI? Once the ‘low-hanging fruit’ savings have been identified and efficiency of existing systems and processes improved, longer term projects to maintain and continuously improve efficiency will almost always require investment. This could involve anything from equipment upgrades, further metering projects or investment in energy engagement initiatives. Before going ahead, it’s crucial to assess the feasibility of each project to ensure the best ROI in a given timeframe. In order to do this, considerations including the capital and operational costs, time to implement, payback periods and overall return must be taken into account. Software solutions with Project Tracking capabilities will allow you to visualise this information with tools such as scaled bubble charts in order to select, prioritise and implement projects against an energy savings target.

How do I futureproof my decisions?

Achieving ongoing energy savings is always a challenge, but it’s virtually impossible without the tools to analyse, monitor and target energy data to inform where greater efficiency can be achieved.

To discover the opportunities that are harder to find, but make a real difference to your business bottom-line, further metering of smaller areas or specific equipment and processes may be necessary. An energy analytics tool can help you choose where to place those additional meters, as well as monitor their performance to identify savings.

Importantly, energy management software tools also offer the full reporting capabilities to track and verify savings to assure stakeholders of a return on investment, and ultimately give your business the confidence in your decisions to ensure future investments in energy initiatives. www.eSightenergy.com

Energy Management

How can the UK public sector develop and deliver energy efficiency projects?

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ssentia, a leading sustainability consultancy in the public sector, recently held a roundtable event, which covered topics including; • How to deliver energy and resource saving projects to quickly deliver savings • Achieving long-term energy savings and infrastructure resilience • Improving routes to market and finance to expedite delivery The participants, comprised of legal, financial, strategic and technical leaders in the sector, sought to identify and address barriers to action in the context of the call-to-action from Lord Carter’s Report on operational inefficiencies in the NHS, as well as other system-wide changes, such as sustainable transformation plans (STPs).

Delivering speedy energy, resource and cost savings The group discussed the divide between those public-sector organisations that are investing for the long term, for example through energy performance contracting (EPC) and those that are taking little or no action.

Barriers identified included: • Lack of long-term thinking at operational and organisational level • Perception that up-front capital is required (it’s not!)

• Size and scale of projects can be overwhelming • Lack of internal technical resource Particularly effective ways of overcoming these barriers were identified as: • Leadership and organisational commitment to the project, which remains in place throughout • Link energy and utility costs to organisational change and aims – for example, integration into STPs in healthcare delivery • Establish energy saving projects as part of business planning – attach cost savings and commit to them • Improving awareness about access to financing available to all public-sector organisations

Achieving long-term energy savings and infrastructure resilience It can be tempting to prioritise short-term projects that deliver immediate savings, but looking long-term remains

critical for the overall sustainability of the public-sector estate. The group agreed that energy performance contracting (EPCs) remain a fundamental tool to enable long-term thinking with immediate, cash-releasing savings. By considering energy efficiency, which naturally saves money, with backlog maintenance demands and a resilient estate, EPCs offer a solution that guarantees financial savings while ensuring the organisation remains safe and fit-for-purpose.

Improving routes to market for energy efficiency and carbon reduction There is a perception that EPCs take a long time to deliver savings, and there was considerable discussion about how this could be improved. It was agreed that delays in delivery were often avoidable with good planning and communication, as well as a clear plan to monitor and verify the savings to be delivered.

Monitoring and verification (M&V) remains critical for successful EPC projects, and this must be developed in a spirit of collaboration and transparency. It is vital that framework providers and energy saving companies (ESCos) sign up to and abide by the European Union Code of Conduct for EPCs, Transparense, and that M&V plans are part of the project from the beginning. It can be difficult to meter and measure all savings, so a robust plan that all parties can be confident in can enable smoother project delivery.

The group also discussed the potential for new routes to market to help public sector clients bank savings early to deliver upon organisational expectations, while also looking long term. Essentia is working with current and prospective clients to develop this offering in 2017.

Financing energy efficiency Affordable and flexible finance was a key topic of discussion, and it was agreed that more awareness of financing opportunities is critical to furthering investment in the public-sector estate.

Financing is readily available through mechanisms such as Salix funding, as well as low interest investment opportunities from banks and investment partners.

It was discussed that key to getting organisational buy-in for financing is identifying senior champions early and keeping finance informed of options and decision making. It is also useful to identify

projects for the following year during the business planning period, so these projects can be built into organisational plans. As projects will have a savings attached to them, they are likely to be well received by senior leaders who are planning for the following year.

Accounting rules will change for the NHS is 2019 to more clearly reflect organisational debt, and this could impact on investment in energy efficiency. Those involved in the discussions agreed that it is incumbent on providers of finance to develop opportunities for the public sector to invest without bearing significant debt on their balance sheets. Energy Savings Agreements are already being put into place, which are not subject to the new accounting rules, and will potentially be a funding option of choice going forward.

When choosing a financing option, it’s critical that the long-term implications of the decision are considered, and this will require the input and engagement of the finance team.

Summary This lively and thought-provoking discussion highlighted the need to raise awareness of the extensive opportunities available to the UK public sector to develop and deliver energy efficiency projects that can: • Save money • Support business planning • Reduce carbon emissions • Improve compliance • Ensure ongoing estate resilience Essentia is working with clients across the UK to deliver projects that clearly show this is possible, and is dedicated to working for the public sector to raise awareness of the opportunities to invest and deliver substantial savings.

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

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Energy Management

Is Air-Con Burning a Big Hole in Your Bank Balance?

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hen the last person out at night turns off the lights how many of us are lulled into a false sense of security into thinking that the energy consumption of our offices or factory also switches off for the night?

Energy Monitoring Introduction We always fit energy loggers to record out-of-hours electricity consumption as part of the energy review carried out to implement the ISO 50001 Energy Management System.

The results, as might be imagined, are very mixed but on several occasions the logging equipment revealed some alarming instances where the non-working hours demands when the premises are unoccupied were not massively different from the working hours demands.

The three examples that follow were obtained from real world energy audits carried out as part of our lead assessor activities during the first phase of the UK Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).

Administration Offices The chart below (Fig.1) illustrates an example of one of our energy loggers monitoring the air conditioning consumption on just one floor of a six-storey office building occupied by a

Fig.2 pharmaceuticals company in Manchester.

The blue rectangle highlights the electricity consumption between 7pm and 6am and reveals that nearly 300 kWh were consumed by the air conditioning system for maintaining a set point temperature of 19 degrees Celsius in the offices despite the building being unoccupied.

By extrapolating the kWh result by the number of non-working hours per year the estimated wasted energy amounted to a staggering £16,640 per year and that was on just one floor of the building.

Further investigation of the air conditioning system revealed that the timer function on the local controllers appeared not to have been properly setup since the split units were installed several years previous.

Fig.1

Occupancy sensors that may be purchased as an optional extra from the air conditioning suppliers or even retrofitted switch off the AC when no people are present and can help to make a big dent in energy bills.

Pharmaceuticals Factory The Manchester based pharmaceuticals company also occupied two factories that produced nasal sprays on behalf of a multinational. The space heating in the nasal spray factory comprised of direct gas fired warm air heaters controlled from a central location.

The gas meter serving the factory had recently been upgraded to a ‘smart-meter’ that permitted the client to view their gas consumption over any period selected on cloud-based software.

The chart reprinted above (Fig.2) shows the gas consumption for a typical period

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Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

Energy Management that spans productive and non-productive hours. The graph demonstrates that significant gas is being consumed during times when the factory is closed for production i.e. at night time and over the weekend.

By extending the kWh result by the number of non-productive hours per year and then multiplying the total by the current price of gas paid by the company the estimated annual cost of wasted energy to heat the factory during non-productive time amounted to an eye-watering £20,845.

Upon close examination of the heating controller it became apparent that the heating function was erroneously set to ‘ON’ as opposed to ‘AUTO’. The heating system was being commanded to maintain a set-point temperature of 25.5 degrees Celsius in the factory regardless of whether the factory was occupied or not.

Herbal Factory An anomalous result was obtained when the energy monitoring equipment recorded the 24-hour electrical energy consumption of the Herbal Factory.

The energy logger registered a spike in consumption that commenced at approximately midnight when the factory was closed and then mysteriously disappeared at about 2am.

The unexpected result was reported to the client which prompted a lengthy investigation, it was discovered that a split air conditioning unit serving the factory

Unexpected Energy Consumption Occurring at About Midnight for 2-hours offices was erroneously being commanded to switch on for about 2-hours after midnight. The local controller was duly adjusted to take account of the correct occupancy times and the spike in consumption has been eliminated.

And for The Good News...

Keeping track of energy consumption also reassuringly confirms when things are going as expected i.e. for equipment to only consume energy during the operating

cycle and at no other times. In the following example, we monitored the consumption of an industrial dishwashing machine in the main factory for a 24-hour period.

The results confirmed that no energy was being consumed by the dishwasher until it was required by the operators to perform a cleaning cycle and once completed the energy consumption fell back to zero.

The Value of Energy Monitoring The value of regular monitoring of both electricity and fossil fuel consumption is difficult to overstate, enabling irregularities such as the spurious switching on of HVAC systems and equipment to be readily identified and remedial action to be taken if determined necessary.

Conclusion The findings of our energy investigations illustrate that significant improvement in energy performance can often be achieved with little or sometimes no capital outlay being required whatsoever. www.epsiloniom.com

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

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Monitoring/Metering

The importance of Metering and Monitoring – and Why Regulations Are Really Driving the Market in 2016

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uildings are responsible for 40 per cent of global energy use and contribute 30 per cent of total global CO2 emissions. By 2030, electricity consumption will have grown by more than 70 per cent, compared to current levels. There’s a push by both governments and businesses right now towards creating a more sustainable and low carbon economy in the UK. One that generates fewer greenhouse gases and increases efficiency. For this reason, buildings have a huge role to play in helping the UK meet its 2050 Climate Change Act targets.

Advanced metering and monitoring solutions are vital for enabling data-driven energy efficiency. Landlords and commercial building managers are becoming increasingly aware of power monitoring solutions as a way of gaining a detailed view of their energy use. This insight in turn supports energy efficiency and cost reduction efforts.

Effective metering and monitoring gives owners and operators crucial information about how their buildings are performing.

This can deliver substantial, almost immediate improvements. Energy metering can help with identifying cost cutting opportunities by detecting inefficiencies, benchmarking building performance, improving load planning and energy usage and managing demand to ensure there is minimum exposure to volatility. An effective metering and monitoring system is one with the capacity to get tenants, property managers, and owners involved in energy efficiency measures. The ability to identify and quantify energy use is often sufficient to bring about energy-saving changes in practices and behaviours, such as reducing waste and avoiding peak utility rate periods when possible.

Another element driving greater energy efficiency is the increase in energy-related building legislation globally, as well as locally in the UK and EU. These legislative and regulative changes are acting as a motivator for increased levels of metering, sub-metering and control solutions. This is across all buildings, but mostly commercial buildings where there are the most savings to be gleaned. One example of this is the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which requires all EU member states to encourage intelligent metering and control systems in new or renovated buildings. In the US, the Energy

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Policy Act of 2005 imposes stringent metering regulations on federal buildings.

A wealth of energy efficiency legislation has been implemented in the past decade to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Some legislation has specific requirements regarding metering of buildings to increase efficiency. Others indirectly encourage building owners and managers to use metering as part of an overall strategy to reduce emissions.

Across Europe, legislation has been introduced in response to EU Directives.

These include the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD 2002 and 2010) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (2012).

EPBD 2002 introduced building energy labelling and encouraged the installation of smart meters and sub meters. The EPBD 2010 included specific requirements for data collection via meters and controls to accurately calculate DEC rating. The Energy Efficiency Directive required the provision of smart meters to all customers and and the creation of energy audits for businesses.

Sub-metering and control requirements are included in the Building Regulations Part L. It covers both new buildings and retrofits. For new buildings, the regulations focus on the fact end-use categories (like heating, lighting) must be assigned to 90 per cent of building energy use. Any renewable energy systems must also have their output monitored. Buildings over 1,000 m2 must have automatic meter reading and data collection systems installed.

The Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme (ESOS) is a mandatory energy assessment scheme. It requires large UK companies to conduct regular energy audits. Companies employ over 250 people, or have an annual turnover in excess of £50 million are included in the scope of ESOS. The scheme administrator is The Environment Agency. A sample of assessments are audited every four years.

The next ESOS assessment audit is due on the 5th December, 2019.

It’s not just building legislation that is driving an increase in the installation of metering and monitoring solutions. The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is the world’s longest established method of assessing, rating and certifying the sustainability and energy efficiency of buildings. More than half a million buildings globally have been BREEAM

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

certified and over two million are registered for certification. From a metering perspective, BREAAM’s aim is to recognise and encourage the installation of sub-metering that facilitates the monitoring of operational energy consumption.

Research carried out by construction consultants Sweett Group and BRE found that developers typically invest up to two per cent more when targeting higher BREEAM ratings. Furthermore, they recover that additional investment in 2-5 years through savings in energy and water bills.

Research also found that BREEAM office buildings in London achieve a 21 per cent premium on transaction rates and an 18 per cent premium on rent. Therefore, the initial investment in a certified metering and monitoring system pays for itself and starts to provide further benefits in a very short timeframe.

As the nation progresses towards a brighter, more sustainable future, energy visibility is paramount for optimised efficiency. With this in mind, we’re expecting further regulations and legislation in line with those already in place. While more businesses are already thinking in a more energy efficient way, regulation helps push those dragging their heels toward better building efficiency. It’s not just the regulation, but also advances being made in metering, which are paving the way for businesses to gain greater insight into their energy use and make informed commercial decisions. More and more metering and monitoring packages are being sold – not just the implementation of a metering system, but also the installation of software.

Together, this is technology that collects and organises data gathered from any building’s electrical network and presents it as meaningful and actionable data.

The UK Government is committed to reducing Carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. Within that, 40 per cent of the UK’s energy consumption and carbon emissions are coming from the way our buildings are lit, heated and occupied. This means that whilst legislation and regulation is already pushing some companies and facilities managers towards installing more robust power monitoring systems, buildings still need to be doing more. Whether that’s through re-fit, expansion, or making sure energy efficiency is front of mind when completing a retrofit or building a new commercial building in the UK.

- By Poonam Walid Schneider Electric

Monitoring/Metering

Energy Assets Gets Tactical to Tackle Energy Waste This chart shows daily power usage over time, colour coded by day of the week. The lines represent an automated assessment of achievable best performance in weather adjusted context, which learns over time and with additional data. The user has selected two time periods (highlighted in green and blue) because of the obvious need to assess the step increase in consumption. As is clearly seen the blue dots appear above the line indicating deteriorating performance.

This Error chart shows performance deviation of the above consumption chart against a zero baseline.

This Before & After chart is generated automatically in response to user selection and shows that the increase in load is happening 24/7.

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nergy Assets, one of Britain’s leading multi-utility networks, metering services and control companies, has launched a tactical tool to help industrial and commercial organisations identify energy waste that could potentially be costing them millions of pounds each year.

The analytical tool, developed to complement the company’s AMRdna service, powered by kWIQly, crunches half-hourly metered gas and electricity data

to measure actual performance against what is verified to be the best possible consumption profile. This allows multi-site operators to see energy waste issues as soon as they emerge.

“Energy waste results from things as simple as not adjusting building heating or cooling systems to take account of changes in Daylight Saving Time, outside weather conditions and leaving lighting on overnight,” says George Catto, Client Services Director at AMRdna. “Our algorithm uses detailed consumption data

to ‘learn’ what optimal performance should look like within individual buildings and across portfolios – and when exceptions occur, for example when equipment is left on accidentally, the system flags a deviation.”

Energy managers have historically used automatic monitoring and targeting systems to benchmark performance, but this does not offer true insight into optimal energy performance, only variation over manually set metrics. AMRdna’s software automatically remodels energy parameters on a daily basis, using half hourly gas and electricity data to spot unusual patterns of consumption.

“When it comes to energy efficiency, energy managers have exhausted most of the easy wins, such as LED lighting, and now what they need is a simple, fast and remote way of identifying energy waste hidden within their portfolio,” says George.

AMRdna provides this information through automatic reporting or interactive web pages.

The insight provided by AMRdna is now being augmented by Energy Assets through the company’s Lynkswitch system, which provides energy managers with the ability to remotely control electrical loads, including switching off electrical loads should an unusual consumption pattern be identified.

Says George: “In one instance, our data showed a spike in energy usage in a retail outlet, which turned out to be an extractor fan running continuously. So we fitted a Lynkswitch module – and now the energy manager has remote control over the device if it needs to be switched off. When data-driven control such as this is replicated across entire building portfolios, the savings can be huge.”

Strategic analysis of energy consumption within buildings undertaken using the AMRdna tool has to date revealed potential savings of up to 15% for electricity and 30% for gas.

“Our forensic approach to energy waste is certainly gaining traction in the retail sector and is also creating a lot of interest in the public sector, where energy managers can be responsible for a portfolio of hundreds of buildings. For them, the analysis of existing consumption data provides a very effective and economical way of identifying opportunities for eradicating energy waste.” www.energyassets.co.uk

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

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Monitoring/Metering

Sub Metering: A risky afterthought during development projects

By Joanne Merry, Technical Director, CARBON2018

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ub metering is often considered to be a relatively small part of a multi-let new build / re-development project. As a result, it is usually addressed at a later stage as part of the wider electrical and mechanical systems and is not given the attention it deserves.

From an operational perspective, metering forms a critical element of the internal systems required for a property to run effectively. Without access to data relating to the quantity and distribution of energy usage across a site, it is not possible to effectively manage and minimise energy usage, nor accurately recharge tenants for their proportion of the total energy consumption. Failed or inadequate metering systems present property managers with a number risks, not least the impact this has on cash flow where there is an inability to recover the costs paid out for energy from tenants.

Due to the importance metering has on operations, it is necessary to take a comprehensive and joined up approach to the metering strategy which needs to start at design stage and be followed through to commissioning and building completion.

Input needs to be given from all of the building stakeholders throughout the process. Getting the metering design,

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installation and commissioning right prior to practical completion saves unnecessary cost and hassle further down the line.

We have witnessed a number of projects where the metering has been nothing short of a disaster, with remedial works required often costing more than the original system cost to install in the first place. The issues we have encountered cover the complete spectrum from the use of incorrect types of meters, to installation issues resulting in meters recording inaccurately, through to a complete lack of system commissioning.

One example is a new build, mixed use, multi-occupied property we surveyed in the West End. Due to the building’s mixed use nature, it would not have been equitable to recharge electricity, heating, cooling or water costs proportional to the square footage occupied due to the different operating hours and loads placed on the system by the range of occupiers.

Therefore an extensive metering system was installed comprising electrical, heating, cooling and water sub meters. However, upon inspection, more than 80% of the mechanical meters had problems including oversized meters which were therefore under recording, meters installed at the incorrect orientation to be able to record accurately, and a lack of commissioning of heat meters meaning that temperature probes and flow parts were located in the wrong pipes. The remedial work undertaken to get the system to a standard where it could be used for accurate tenant billing and management of energy in this complex building cost over £200k and included several meter replacements.

To deliver a robust and reliable metering system that avoids these problems requires many considered steps to be taken.

Firstly, to increase the attention given to metering on construction projects, the

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

approach must treat metering as a specialist system in its own right, and not just an add on to the electrical and mechanical systems. Metering needs its own full design, specification and commissioning specialist to give it the attention it deserves. It shouldn’t be tucked away into three pages of a 300 page electrical and mechanical specification. It also needs to be recognised that whilst electrical and mechanical designers and installers are extremely good at what they do, they are not generally specialists in metering. Engaging with a metering specialist for the project is paramount.

Furthermore, consideration needs to be given to metering throughout every stage of the project including design. At design stage, the strategy developed must be informed by the objectives of the building stakeholders, which can only be established by engaging with them. All too often, metering strategies are based on meeting Part L of the building regulations.

However, building regulations set only a minimum standard; simply ticking the Part L compliance box does not always address the other common objectives of metering such as tenant billing, participation in incentive schemes (like the Renewable Heat Incentive) and energy reporting. Each metering strategy should be tailored to the specific requirements of the project cutting and pasting from one specification to another will guarantee that things are missed, or as we have seen in many cases, results in a jumbled ‘shopping list’ of requirements which are not even compatible with one another. There needs to be a clear direction and strategy.

Ahead of installation, consideration also needs be given to the type of meters required. There are a myriad of meters on the market. The assessment must include factors such as the registers from which you wish to record the data, whether MID approval is required, the size of the supply

Monitoring/Metering and location. Whilst cost is also a factor, this should not be at the expense of addressing what is required to meet the objectives. Going for the cheapest option at the outset often ends up being the most expensive option in the long run as meters end up being replaced which is not only costly but is also very wasteful. Heat meters are a particularly expensive type of meter in comparison to other meters. We have witnessed numerous occasions where the cheapest heat meter option has been sought, which entails purchasing a standard low accuracy water meter as the flow part and bolting this together with a heat meter calculator. However, this solution can result in issues with compatibility between meters and data accuracy problems and consequently nearly always ends up with the meters being abandoned or replaced.

The introduction of the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations in 2015 means that where heat meters exist in multi-let buildings with communal heating

and cooling systems (or for district systems), there is a legal requirement to maintain them and use them for billing.

Abandonment is therefore no longer possible and the only option is to spend out on remedial works to get the meters up to scratch.

Having selected the right meters to be installed in the right positions, the final piece in the jigsaw is to ensure their correct installation and commissioning so the meters record accurately. Until recently, many metering systems saw no commissioning at all and issues were only identified once the system was in use. You wouldn’t install a heating system, cooling system, fresh air system etc. without full commissioning, and the same needs to be true of metering. This must include checking for the correct installation and setup of the meters themselves, point to point testing of the connectivity between the meters and AMR system, validation of the data on the AMR head end again meter

registers, review of documentation and testing of the communications for remote access to data.

In summary, implementing a best practice approach to metering which uses the objectives to inform the strategy, incorporates all relevant stakeholders’ views and includes regular reviews/updates as required throughout the project lifecycle will result in a system which delivers and meets the needs of building stakeholders once the site is operational. The key outputs derived from such systems can then include tenant billing with full and transparent backing data for tenants, energy performance dashboards indicating actual building performance against predicted, and exception reports/ alarms to highlight the occurrence of anomalies and issues in order that these may be acted upon to minimise wastage. www.carbon2018.com

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Energy Supply

The Rise of the Energy Challengers

By Aaron Slebos Gentrack Energy Market Specialist

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he energy market is changing.

New, smaller enterprises are looking to challenge the ‘Big Six’ energy companies in the UK and bring a new approach to how we buy our energy. However, challenger brands in the energy market are nothing new and many have failed in the past – so what has changed, what are the recipes for success, and what will the future of UK energy look like?

The Big Six have dominated the UK energy market for decades. They currently supply around 80% of electricity to small non-domestic users and over 90% of household energy - but their market share is reducing. Customers seem to be reacting to the price hikes from these suppliers and are looking for other options for their energy supply. Is this all about price then? Of course, price is an issue but history shows that many smaller challengers that have looked to compete on price alone have come and gone. In 2016, however, the combined market share of small and medium-sized energy companies in the UK domestic market grew from 10 to 14%. These new breed of challenger brands have learned from others’ shortcomings and are now finding the right strategy to attract customers.

On face value, not having the huge overheads of the Big Six and being able to lower costs to customers seems to make sense – but simply taking the cheapest possible route to enter the market does not give a foundation to maintain low costs and provide necessary levels of customer service. Indeed with the recent increases in the oil price and the closure of the low tariff company GB Energy, the vulnerabilities of just being a low cost supplier have never been clearer. Without investment in automation and a strategy to differentiate from others, competing only on price is a path doomed for failure.

The Big Six energy companies inherently have a high cost to serve and some are beleaguered with reputations for poor customer service. The new wave of challenger brands are well-funded,

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multi-utility operations that have invested in technologies that keep their costs to serve low and provide rich digital engagement with customers. Indeed, this new approach to the energy business is well recognised by the Big Six as a recipe for success and some are spinning off their own new business streams outside of the core organisation to follow this route to market and to protect their turf.

A New Breed of Energy Supplier To succeed, challenger brands need to be competitive and offer excellent customer service but they also need to differentiate themselves. With the dawn of smart metering, green energy, distributed generation, modern automation systems, Big Data and the Internet of Things; there are many options available for them to create their own niche in the market.

Multiple Utilities Under One Umbrella Energy suppliers no longer just provide energy to their customers. Alongside gas and electricity, many are now also offering services such as broadband, home phone, mobile phone and water. Customers are being attracted by having just one supplier to deal with, the potential savings bundled utilities present, and having a single bill that makes budgeting much easier. For this to work, however, the supplier needs to

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

combine information it collects across utilities to understand and nurture customers and to ensure an outstanding customer experience.

Rich Digital Engagement A household typically engages with an energy supplier for just nine minutes in a whole year. For a water supplier, this contact may only be made only every 13 years. Self-serving digital engagement offers a way to manage this experience effectively while keeping institutional costs low.

Automated Energy Management People tend to be incredibly poor at managing their own energy. A relationship with a supplier that includes energy management services can, therefore, be very appealing. The introduction of smart meters has been the trigger for this new type of relationship which has benefits to both sides with no estimated readings and more accurate billing.

The ability to monitor and manage energy also enables the suppliers to offer tariffs that vary depending upon the time of day energy it is consumed. This can give an incentive to change lifestyle but analysis has shown that this on its own has little effect. Automating when energy is used on a customer’s behalf, however, has much greater appeal.

Energy Supply Having a holistic view of a customer’s usage patterns enables companies to offer additional products or services. For example, it may be noted that day time energy consumption is high because the heating is being left on during the day.

Through information about mobile location, the heating could be controlled based on where a person is; ensuring they always come home to a warm house without the need to leave the heating on.

Wider Community Services Other examples where the monitoring of energy usage patterns may deliver benefits include, assistance for impoverished families to budget and control their energy bills. This may further incorporate housing associations combining rent collection with utilities so that money can be best apportioned to meet a family’s needs. In some cases it may also makes sense to restrict energy consumption on non-essential appliances to prioritise energy for cooking and heating.

Energy consumption patterns could also be used as an alarm for elderly or vulnerable people whereby changes in behaviour, such as not switching the kettle on in the morning, could trigger a phone call to make sure there is not a problem.

Green Energy The amount of solar PV used for energy collection in the UK is also on the increase as batteries for storing solar energy are improving and dropping in price at a rapid rate, making it a more robust option for energy supply. Smart technology also enables community power generation with the use of local microgrids and peer to peer energy trading whereby consumers buy, sell or swap excess solar electricity directly with each other. For both solar energy and community power projects, there are lessons to be learned from the southern hemisphere which is more advanced in these areas than the UK. In countries such as Australia and New Zealand, energy companies help customers manage their energy supply by determining when it is most efficient to run from the battery storage or from the national grid.

Customers like the benefits of using sustainable, green energy; saving money, and being in control of their own energy supply.

Modern Automation Solutions In a highly connected world, modern automation systems can bring together huge volumes of data and convert it into

intelligent, usable information. For challenger brands to achieve the freedom to innovate and differentiate they need automation solutions that will bring together real-time, distributed data about customer behaviour, pricing and cost models into a single view of the customer.

Such data driven platforms will give clear, easily accessible business intelligence that will enable analysis of consumption patterns and give the ability to provide automatic responses to customer needs in terms of service or tariffs without the need for human intervention.

Entry-level, fixed automation systems do not give the flexibility to differentiate and the overheads of traditional, custom-built legacy systems are simply too large. The path to success for these organisations lies with flexible, configurable systems that empower them to innovate and keep overheads low. Systems such as Gentrack Velocity are specifically designed to do this; providing visibility and web-based self-service functionality with integrated business and operational processes that just run. Its completely configurable work flows are designed to keep overheads low; ensure smooth, accurate day to day running of operations including billing processes, and give companies the agility they need to grow market share and remain market compliant.

technologies and the huge volumes of data they generate to better understand and meet customer needs. They are using elegant, modern automation systems designed specifically for use with multiple utilities to translate data into intelligent, actionable information and provide customer service excellence without large overheads.

It is predicted that by 2020 up to a quarter of Big Six customers will switch to more agile, medium-sized energy suppliers that offer appealing pricing, better service and creative energy solutions. This will produce a significant change in the landscape of the UK energy market with many more medium-sized businesses offering a complete mixture of utilities.

Indeed, with the continued rise of challenger brands in the energy space, the Big Six will more likely become the Big 15.

Summary Records show that success in the energy market does not come from competing on price alone but through service differentiation. Challenger brands are using the latest smart meter

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

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Energy Auditing

Getting to the point on reducing energy usage and costs

STC Energy discusses how they have helped Millennium Point save over £155k in just one year with a historic billing audit, procurement savings and capacity reduction

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pened in 2001, Millennium Point is an iconic and impactful building, which enables its visitors to explore ideas, science, education, technology and the arts. The building has acted as a catalyst for the regeneration of a large brownfield site that has seen further development over the last 15 years – forming Birmingham City’s Knowledge Quarter.

Millennium Point is owned by the charity Millennium Point Trust and is managed by its operational division Millennium Point Property Limited. It acts as a landlord to a number of prestigious organisations, and is one of the city’s best-known meeting places, hosting a number of activities which make a meaningful difference to local lives.

Millennium Point is a bustling hive of activity welcoming over one million visitors each year and is home to a number of faculties such as Birmingham City University, schools of Birmingham Metropolitan College and the Thinktank (the city’s science museum). Millennium Point’s work, focusing on S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and

Mathematics) themes, allows visitors to explore the world around them.

Background Consuming around 7GWh (7 million kWh’s) of electricity per annum, Millennium Point wanted to start looking at ways of reducing their energy costs. Since the buildings opening in 2001, minimal action had been taken to analyse its energy usage.

After also discovering that no validation of their utility bills had ever been carried out for a number of years, Millennium Point wanted to ensure they had been paying the correct amount for their electricity, gas and water.

Solution STC Energy offered to undertake an audit of historic utility billing and an analysis of the energy consumption at the site.

Copies of energy contracts and historic invoices were requested from their utility suppliers going back as far as possible.

This data, along with 30 minute profile data for their half hourly (HH) supply, was imported into STC’s energy

management and validation software ready to be analysed and maximum demand levels checked.

Results Bill Validation Millennium Point had already secured a green energy electricity contract that included a green premium in the unit rate, meaning CCL should have been excluded.

STC validated the electricity invoices dating back to the start of the contract.

They immediately noticed that CCL charges had been added to the account from March 2015 and were still being billed accordingly.

On 8th July 2015, the UK government budget statement stipulated that CCL exemptions for renewable energy were to be removed from 1st August 2015 onwards.

As a result, CCL charges should not have been applied from March 2015 to July 2015, and from August 2015 the green premium should have been removed from the unit rate and CCL charges should have been implemented. Instead the supplier had just added CCL charges to the account

energy Auditing replaced with new digital AMR meters.

STC arranged and managed the installation of the meters that have the ability to automatically send readings and 30 minute profile data to be used for tenant billing. This ensures that all tenants are charged accurately and only pay for what they use.

Having this data available online enables Millennium Point’s tenants to view their consumption and engage in energy efficiency monitoring and behavioural changes, making the building a more sustainable property.

Tenant Billing

Electricity Market Price as £ per MWh January 2015 to August 2016—Average Price and not adjusted the unit rates to reflect the removal of the green premium.

STC raised a query with the supplier and this resulted in a credit of £46k for the period March 2015 to May 2016.

Energy Procurement Millennium Point’s electricity contract was due to end in September 2016. As energy prices had just reached their lowest point for 10 years, STC recommended placing a new contract in May 2016 ready to start on 1st October 2016.

As part of Inspired Energy Group PLC, STC Energy utilised their procurement expertise to place a new fixed price electricity contract. This contract was secured in May 2015 when the cost per MWh was £36.80. This contract compared to their current one represented an annual saving of £95k and £285k over the three years of the contract.

Capacity Reduction An additional part of the audit was to examine the site’s available electricity capacity. The current available supply capacity of 3,000 kVA was underutilised.

STC analysed two years of profile data and established that the highest maximum demand was 1,357 kWh. STC recommended and arranged a reduction in the available supply capacity to 2,000 kVA from the start of the new contract which provided a further saving of £14,100 per annum.

Meter Installation Millennium Point has over 50 sub meters to monitor electricity consumption for its tenants and communal areas. All of these meters were over 15 years old and needed to be manually read. STC recommended that these should be

STC are now able to use the AMR meter readings to produce the monthly tenant charges. Using this data ensures that the tenant’s charges are both accurate and transparent and Millennium Point recoup the correct amount of tenant charges.

Summary of Savings Overall Millennium Point have saved a total of £155,100 in one year: • • •

Historic Billing Errors: £46,000 Procurement Savings: £95,000 Capacity Reduction: £14,100

If you would like to find out more or would like advice on reducing your energy consumption and costs, simply call us on 0208 466 2915 www.stcenergy.com

“STC have proven themselves to me on two occasions now. The difference between them and other firms out there is that they tailor your contract to your business. They really get to know you as a business, and then use that knowledge to get you the best deal possible. In a competitive market like the one we’re in every penny counts, so being able to save £155K on utilities is really important. I’d recommend STC to anyone looking to procure their utilities; they’ve proven time and time again their quality and most importantly their transparency.”

Ian Leslie - Finance Director Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

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Boilers & Burners

Condensing Economizers – Below the Dew Point –

Improving efficiency and reducing emissions Among the emerging technologies developed this decade, condensing economizers offer the opportunity for Process Plants, Hospitals and Large Municipal Buildings not only to reduce fuel use, but also to reduce green-house gas emissions (GHG’s), in particular carbon dioxide (CO2).

Intended to reduce energy consumption condensing economisers can also be designed to provide other functions like pre-heating air or fluid in other process’ within the plant or building — An economizer can be simply defined as heat exchanger, available for boilers, or process applications.

When employed onsite in a boiler-house, a condensing economizer can be used to reduce fuel use and pre-heat feed water. It can be connected to multiple Boiler flues to gain maximum benefit from the hot exhaust gasses as well as supply multiple process applications. In operation, water passes through the economizer on its way to the boiler, thereby, preventing flooding of the boiler with water that is too cold. By preheating the boiler feed-water with energy harnessed from exhaust stack gases, economizers help reduce energy demand and save on fuel costs.

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In fact, the installation of a condensing economizer can result in well over 10% increase in fuel efficiency and usually is still a viable option if a standard boiler economiser is already fitted. Increasing High natural gas energy prices, cap-and-trade programs and carbon taxation make the economizer an attractive option for any commercial, industrial, or municipal facility that needs to reduce CO2 emissions and become more energy efficient.

What’s the Secret to saving so much energy?

The principle is simple – As much as 19% of energy in combustion can be lost to exhaust, so capturing as much energy as possible, lost through the exhaust of the boiler, can have a dramatic effect. A large proportion of the energy in the exhaust, however is trapped within the phase change (when water changes to vapour).

To capture this large source of energy the heat exchange must bring the exhaust gas temperature below the water vapour dew point, where the exhaust gas condenses (changing the vapour to water again).

An indirect condensing economiser is designed to exchange heat down to a temperature below the dew point and is ideal to harness this latent energy as well as

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

the sensible energy above the dew point, maximising the energy that can be collected. In fact, this technology can harness almost all the available energy in the exhaust stack given the right conditions.

It sounds simple but calculating the dew point for a given application can be complicated so using a specialist in this technology is a must if you are to ensure the most economic payback with an economiser that is built to last.

Waste heat recovery represents one of the largest sources of green energy available for harvest. The Indirect Condensing Economizer is designed to maximize recovery of both sensible and latent heat from exhaust gases. The standard combustion process of most fuels combines hydrogen in the fuel and the oxygen in the combustion air chemically to form water. This water, that is created, is instantly vaporized by the heat of combustion. The vaporization process of the water consumes energy and absorbs approximately 17% of the total heat energy created by the fuel and it is normally lost to the atmosphere with the boiler exhaust gases. The Indirect Condensing Economizer will heat a cold input process water stream that is currently consuming live energy (steam, hot water, electricity, etc.) to heat, and transfer this currently wasted energy from the exhaust gas to back into your process. The condensing economiser transfers enough energy to cool the flue gas below the water vapour dew point, recovering the latent heat and creating a viable water source.

When this water vapour is condensed, the latent heat, recovered at 0.66 kW / kg

Boilers & Burners (Water) (544.88Kcal/kg), will typically save 0.0566 cubic meters of natural gas.

Given that 12% by weight of exhaust gas (at 15% excess air) is water, significant energy savings can be achieved through the recovery and use of latent heat. Moreover, every cubic meter of gas saved eliminates 2 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted to the atmosphere.

It is often the economic availability of these pre-heating sources (or heat sinks) that defines the amount of energy that can be saved on a site, however paybacks are usually around 2 years or less and will reduce CO2 and NOx as well as reduce carbon taxes too.

The key is finding the best applications to use the recovered energy whether this is, the raw water make-up, feed to the deaerator in the boiler-house, or any other process in the plant, factory or building.

All of the latent and sensible energy is transferred to the heated fluid in the heat exchanger in a single pass providing the correct outlet temperature to preheat the associated process. To maximise energy saving, multiple coils can be fitted in multiple combinations enabling the maximum savings in any given plant or building.

Simple, straightforward installation With all the energy saving happening in the heat exchanger there’s fewer parts to install with an indirect condensing economiser and with the economiser not needing to be in the original exhaust stack connections are kept simple. The deign also lends itself to occupying the smallest of footprints and can be mounted on the ground, inside or outside, or anywhere there is a supporting structure. The only things you’ll need to connect are the inlet and outlet pipe/s and the exhaust ducting from the boiler flues.

Recovering Waste Heat…

All that energy being lost through your boilers exhausts can be recovered offsetting the use of fossil fuels and

reducing GHG’s, lowering your carbon footprint and improving site wide efficiencies.

By using the waste heat in the exhaust the original fuel is reduced, increasing the thermal capacity of the boiler-house overall and with the reduction in emissions the whole package helps you to better achieve your regulatory emissions requirements.

Technology Adoption…

Condensing Economisers are now being more widely adopted across many different industries as focus on large energy reduction intensifies and the indirect condensing economiser is establishing itself as the most beneficial.

After installing an indirect condensing economiser at Toyota automotive assembly plant where the waste heat was recovered from 3 boilers and this heat was used to heat incoming boiler feed water from 42oC to 81oC recovering on average 804 kW per hour with peak savings of 1,143 kW per hour. This also saved 1127 tons of CO2 and 0.74 tons of NOx. Overall the economiser is saving £164,925 per year giving a payback of less than 1.5 years fully installed.

Once the economiser was installed at a University to pre-heat their district heating loop, average fuel cost savings of £430,395

per year are being achieved reducing CO2 by 3,432 tons and NOx by 2.25 tons. The district heating loop was heated from 16oC to 91oC saving 1,758 kW of energy per hour.

The installation paid for itself in less than 1 year.

And in a Hospital where make up water was heated by the economiser from 7oC to 88o C and a second coil on the economiser was used to heat the domestic hot water from 7oC to 60oC the reduction in energy consumption amounted to 1,512 kW per hour with peak savings of over 2051 kW per hour. CO2 was reduced by 3,209 tons and NOx by 2.11 tons saving the Hospital £386,018 with a payback of less than 8 months.

Those that have adopted the technology have benefitted from large reductions in fuel use, lower emissions and savings in associated taxations or trading. Those that have not considered this innovative technology yet, risk losing the competitive edge and a means to greatly reduce their impact on the environment around them.

Written by Grant Bailey – Managing Director, Energy Optimised Ltd

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

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Boilers & Burners

A CONSTANT PRESENCE

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As specifiers continue to seek smart and effective ventilation solutions for the social housing sector, Lee Stones, category manager at Xpelair, considers why constant volume extraction can tick all the right boxes for Local Authorities and Housing Associations.

t will come as no surprise that installing a good ventilation system has become as prevalent to social landlords as efficient home heating.

The desire to reduce energy consumption may be helping to cut the cost of heating bills for tenants, but it comes with it a greater need for more effective ventilation - particularly in the social housing sector where the onus is on landlords to provide tenants with a clean and healthy living environment.

A constant need for cleaner air HAs must recognise that while the capability requirements of ventilation solutions may not change, the way in which

they need to operate within a tenanted property – where tenants may take every opportunity to reduce costs - often does.

If a tenant refuses to open windows to avoid additional heating costs, or worse still turn off bathroom fans which they believe rack up costly electric bills, it can have a serious impact not just on the internal condition of the property – but on their health too.

A lack of adequate ventilation can increase the presence of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), mould and damp within the home, all of which contributes to poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and can lead to a monetary cost for housing associations when it comes to repair and refurbishment - particularly if left over many years.

However, more importantly, landlords could be at risk of litigation if they are not meeting their responsibility to provide a healthy living environment.

What is CV? One answer lies in a proven technology called Constant Volume (CV) extraction.

CV fans like the new Xpelair Simply SilentTM Contour CV offer decentralised Mechanical Extract Ventilation (dMEV) to meet System 3 of the Building Regulations, Part F. They operate 24/7 to constantly ventilate the property and ensure effective control of humidity, odours and mould growth. For social housing providers it provides the assurance that tenants can’t disable the appliance, reducing the risk of damage through condensation or mould growth.

Most models operate in a trickle mode, maintaining a constant volume of extracted air, and deliver a boost in line with a timer, pull cord or humidistat once it recognises changes in airflow, for example when the shower is turned on.

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Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

Constant volume for life In most cases, a CV fan will calibrate once it is switched on and the humidistat will recognise changes to this initial calibration. Xpelair’s Simply SilentTM Contour CV, however, represents a step change in CV technology. As the result of years of extensive product research and development, it is a highly intelligent solution which recognises its surroundings thanks to a unique, smart technology called Intelligent AdaptiflowTM Sensing.

Intelligent AdaptiflowTM Sensing uses an integral sensor located in the fan duct to sense changes in airflow, and adapts the fan speed intuitively to maintain a constant volume of extracted air.

It means homeowners and tenants can be reassured that the desired airflow will be achieved for the lifetime of the fan, whilst landlords and social housing providers can avoid damage to their housing stock through condensation and mould.

Unlike other models which operate based on conditions at the time of installation, this sensor calculates and records the flow rate continuously, making hundreds of calculations each second to recognise consistent changes in airflow and adapt performance accordingly.

An integral datalogger also records the fan’s daily use so that data can be gathered and interpreted by a technician.

This provides the property owner with information on whether a fan has been in operation or if a tenant has switched it off - which would, of course, increase the potential of condensation and mould growth in damp areas.

Xpelair Tel: 0844 372 7761 Email: rxsalesoffice@redringxpelair.com Web: www.xpelair.co.uk

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Product Showcase

Variable-speed drives boost hotel water supply while reducing running costs

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53 percent cut in energy use and a significant improvement in the uptime of a hot water pumping systems is the result of installing ABB drives at hotel in Warrington.

When the 200-room Daresbury Park Hotel & Spa was acquired by the Britannia Hotel Group in 2015, it soon became apparent that the existing pumping arrangement was in need of an overhaul.

The system supplies all the hot water used throughout the hotel including guest rooms, public areas and the spa.

“From day one we experienced a number of problems, ranging from intermittent changes in water pressure to banging noises in the pipes to, on occasion, complete breakdown,” explains Lol Bennett, head of maintenance for Britannia Hotels.

“What we wanted was a solution that would make the entire system more reliable, whilst reducing wear on the pumps and saving energy.”

The hotel turned to PressBoost, which installs and maintains the pump systems in all Britannia Hotels locations, to provide that solution.

Examination of the system revealed three large pumps operating in a duty-standby-standby configuration.

Although the pumps were large enough to provide more than enough hot water to meet the needs of its hotel and its guests, the lead pump was suffering from excessive wear, causing it, on occasion, to break down entirely. ”Duty-standby-standby is a bad arrangement, as it means that most of the time pump number one was doing all the work, whilst pumps two and three were mostly idle,” explains Antony Chesters, senior engineer at PressBoost.

PressBoost also discovered that while the motor driving the lead pump had been fitted with a variable-speed drive (VSD), it was no longer working. This meant that the pump ran at full speed regardless of demand, putting further strain on the motor. It also meant the VSD was not delivering the energy savings it was capable of providing.

PressBoost installed a 7.5 kW ABB drive on each of the three pumps. The drives adjust the speed of the pumps depending on the level of demand. When less hot water is required, the flow of energy from the motor to the pump is reduced. This has

enabled the hotel to cut the energy it uses to supply hot water by 53 percent.

The system was also reconfigured to work on a duty-assist-standby arrangement to reduce wear on the lead pump.

“Should demand exceed pump one’s capacity, the second pump switches on automatically to assist the lead pump.

However, regardless of demand, the pumps switch over every 24 hours in order to spread demand and reduce wear on the lead pump,” explains Chesters.

The VSDs keep water pressure constant at 3.5 bar, which also helps to reduce wear on other parts of the hot water system.

“Before the drives were installed, water pressure fluctuated between 3 and 6 bar, causing water to ‘hammer’ in the pipes. This put additional stress on the pipework, bearings and seals, which in turn contributed to the reliability issues the hotel was experiencing,” explains Chesters.

The ABB drives were installed as part of a control panel and are programmed via a PLC. In the unlikely event the PLC fails, a fail-safe programme switches the pump system to single pump, fixed speed operation until the PLC can be repaired, thereby ensuring no loss of supply.

Since the system was installed the hotel and its guests have enjoyed an uninterrupted supply of hot water. As a result PressBoost has been asked to supply the same solution for Daresbury Park Hotel’s cold water system. www.abb.com

Energy Consultancy Wins Technology Award for Outstanding Energy Efficiency Software Tool

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RP Solutions have been selected by the research team from Acquisition International Magazine as winners of their 2016 Excellence Award for the Most Outstanding Energy Efficiency Software Tool: Energy Initiator®.

The annual awards are judged purely on merit and are designed to recognise the very best in the business, whether they are a single office firm or an international conglomerate. AI Magazine state that the awards are won by the ‘paragons, the exemplars - those that are succeeding in their endeavours, innovating, growing and improving’.

The winning product, Energy Initiator®, is a software tool designed to help systematically survey industry

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infrastructure and process machinery to provide an intimate understanding of how and where energy is currently being used throughout a site or business, and more importantly how and where energy consumption may be reduced.

The software is used in conjunction with other appropriate survey methodology and uses a comprehensive and robust suite of questions relevant to the subject of the survey i.e. a building, process or individual asset, with accompanying scores and guidance notes. This enables a comparison to be made between the current energy performance and the potential energy performance of the asset, process or building using an A-G rating. The key outputs of Energy Initiator® are the details of the identified improvement

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

opportunities together with their impacts upon costs, energy and emissions.

Energy Initiator® is for use, following training, by qualified energy professionals and is available under licence.

Jes Rutter, Managing Director of JRP Solutions stated: “We are absolutely delighted to have received this prestigious award. We developed Energy Initiator® to enable organisations to maximise potential energy savings within their business which is both good for the bottom line and good for the environment. This award is independent recognition of the excellence of our product.”

For more information please contact Jane Stanbridge on 07790 888321

Product Showcase

RINNAI goes solo for continuous flow with a store…

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innai’s latest innovation in the energy efficient fast delivery of instantly useable hot water is the Infinity Solo Re-Circulator water heater.

The Rinnai Infinity Solo condensing and low NOX water heater is the first of its kind for the UK to combine the advanced technology of wall mounted continuous flow water heaters with a stainless steel storage cylinder, all in one compact footprint.

The design parameters of this product empowers specifiers, designers, installers and engineers to benefit from unique Rinnai technology in applications it was once not previously possible. For instance, the Infinity Solo will have both 35kW and 54kW sized appliances, ensuring sites with a smaller gas meter can readily use this technology. The larger Infinity Solo model will also act as a high-efficiency alternative to gas fired storage appliances that exist in today’s market.

The cylinder is stainless steel and this reduces the weight compared to glass lined models, and it makes transportation

and installation a lot easier. As well as the difference in weight, the cylinders also have extremely low heat loss figures (as low as 1.41kW/h day), so the user pays less to maintain the heat within the tank.

One other benefit of the Infinity Solo using a stainless steel cylinder is that the life expectancy of the material is far greater than that of a glass-lined equivalent as glass suffers from thermal shock causing it to crack after a period of time.

The Infinity Solo range is also renewables compatible and supplied pre-fitted with a coil, meaning that the primary energy source will always be from renewable gains and the complementary Rinnai water heater will only apply the precise amount of gas to boost the difference in temperature.

Rinnai manufactures the energy efficient Infinity range of gas fired continuous flow water heaters and space heaters. The Infinity brand carries the widest range of condensing water heaters on the market today with the most impressive efficiencies in operation, leading the field in technological innovation.

For more information on the RINNAI product range visit www.rinnaiuk.com

New Ultrasonic Heat Energy Meters

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he new Qalcosonic heat meter is MID Class 2 Approved for RHI and billing purposes for both heating and cooling applications. Meter sizes from DN15 to DN50 with BSP threaded and flanged connections, Qp values range from 0.6 to 15 m3/hr with R100 dynamic range as standard and R250 as an option covering a wide range of energy metering applications. Utilising ultrasonic technology means the meter has no mechanical moving parts, prolonging the life of the meter and ensuring long term accuracy.

The meter benefits from pulse outputs and a range of optional communication modules; including MBus, Modbus, LON and RF868 (Wireless MBus) making it ideal for AMR applications and linking with existing management systems. The Qalcosonic offers an IP67 rated protection

on the flow sensor, which is standard when purchased with the cooling application option and also with Glycol applications.

The Qalcosonic stores the energy readings for both heating and cooling in separate displays, automatically changing over when the temperatures change. Along with the energy readings the meter also logs hourly, daily and monthly values useful for monthly billing and monitoring of historical data.

As standard the meter is battery powered with a 3.6V lithium battery giving a life greater than 12 years meaning little maintenance is required. There are also options for power modules for 12-42 V DC or 12 – 36 V AC using the battery power as a back-up.

Qalcosonic heat meters offer a choice of mounting for the calculator display. It can

be mounted on the flow sensor, but where access to the meter is difficult the display can simply be unclipped and mounted on a wall, DIN rail or on a panel. 1.5m of cable from the flow sensor and temperature sensors is standard for the DN15 and DN20 sizes and 3m for the larger models with an option for up to 5m cable.

Horizontal and vertical installations are possible and no requirements for straight runs before or after the meter. Direct immersion pocket sensors are available for all sizes within the Qalcosonic range and for the smaller 15-20mm models one of the temperature sensors is mounted in the meter body, removing a portion of installation cost.

For further technical information please contact us on 0800 027 7786 or email sales@bellflowsystems.co.uk

Energy Manager Magazine • January/february 2017

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Product Showcase

VENTURE VLUMA LED LUMINAIRES OFFER HIGHEST EFFICACY

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enture Lighting Europe has just introduced a brand new range of VLUMA luminaires, designed to deliver significantly higher performance levels using the latest in LED technology.

As the top LED brand in the Venture Lighting range, VLUMA luminaires maximise energy savings and efficiency to give higher lumen output from lower system power consumption.

The VLUMA high quality lighting solution from Venture is available across a number of significant luminaires in the company’s range from interior to exterior lighting.

For office ceiling lighting, the VLUMA Edge Lit LED panels come in two versions with a power rating of 30W producing some 3000 lumens. Measuring 595mm², they can be recessed or surface mounted and are available with an emergency lighting pack.

For the warehouse and industrial market, Venture offers the VLUMA Midibay Elite and the VLUMA LED Highbays.

Available in 4 wattages of 109W, 144W,

180W and 254W, the LED Midibays have a colour temperature of 5000K and produce up to 29,000 lumens for an efficient energy saving lighting solution. The Midibays can be specified with narrow distribution or coated diffusers, with high or low level sensors, for mounting on trunking and can be DALI dimmable. Their counterparts, the VLUMA LED Highbays come in 3 wattages of 90W, 150W and 195W. The luminaires produce up to 23,000 lumens at a colour temperature of 4000/5000K and a beam angle of 120°. They are rated IP65 and can be specified with either reflectors or refractors.

The VLUMA LED Edge Lit Panels, Midibay and Highbay luminaires all have a long rated life of 50,000 hours.

Completing the VLUMA range are two versions of Venture’s successful Westminster LED street lights. These LED modules are designed to be retrofitted into almost any existing street lighting luminaire as a highly energy efficient solution. Achieving L80, B5 rating of 30,000 hours, there are both 3 and 4 way LED versions with a range of lumen outputs up

to 12,000 lumens and with efficacies up to 127 lumens per watt. This retrofit ‘plug and play’ solution can be fitted in the time it takes to clean and change a lamp and has a typical return on investment of under 3 years and comes with a 12 year warranty.

Further information on the new VLUMA luminaires is available from Venture Lighting Europe on 01923-692600, by emailing: info@venturelighting.co.uk or by visiting the company’s website at www.venturelightingeurope.com

New Fläkt Woods guide set to improve smoke control in enclosed car parks

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läkt Woods, a leading manufacturer of ventilation and air movement technology, has published a guide on how to calculate the effect of jet fans on air and smoke flow rates in enclosed car parks. Entitled ‘A Practical Guide to Smoke Control for Enclosed Car Parks’, the technical white paper aims to help designers draw up the correct jet fan solution so that in the event of a fire, smoke can be efficiently removed, rather than accumulating in or spreading to other parts of a car park.

The guide’s author, James Allen, senior fire safety and CFD design engineer at Fläkt Woods, explained: “Many enclosed car parks throughout the world employ jet fans to help clear smoke in the event of a fire with good effect. However, current practice relies heavily on air change rates when designing such systems. Although this approach goes some way in assisting designers to meet the minimum

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ventilation requirements in car parks, it doesn’t provide all the answers to ensure that a proposed jet fan system will not cause smoke to spread.”

The white paper pulls together existing academic research and sets out formulae for how to calculate the rate of air flow according to the type and quantity of jet fans used, smoke flow rate from the fire origin, and how quickly the combination of smoke and air moves when pushed by jet fans. These calculations take into account the size of a fire to determine the extraction rate required at an exhaust point for removing smoke, and can be used in conjunction with CFD modelling. The guide also outlines the steps to consider when designing smoke control solutions.

“Currently, no single definitive guide exists to show how to calculate air and smoke flow rates when jet fans are in operation,” James Allen added. “As a company at the forefront of developing ventilation solutions for fire safety, we want

Energy Manager Magazine • january/february 2017

to plug this knowledge gap and provide a foundation for further work and research to be carried out. This will in turn improve the design process and help designers to more accurately identify how much ventilation plant space a car park needs.”

Designers can download the ‘Practical Guide to Smoke Control for Enclosed Car Parks’ document free of charge from Fläkt Woods’ website: www.flaktwoods.co.uk/ about-us/media/news/technical-paper/.

Fläkt Woods develops, manufactures and distributes ventilation and air climate products, as well as system solutions, for commercial and industrial applications. Its fire safety solutions include fire compartmentation, smoke extraction, pressurisation and car park systems.

For more information on the complete range of fans and other ventilation products from Fläkt Woods, visit www.flaktwoods.co.uk

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