February 2023

On The Cover

Energy monitoring sensors have helped Toyota discover exactly which parts of its production processes are using excess energy at its plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire. The information will play a huge role in Toyota’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Pressac worked with ESCO, the Energy-reduction Support and Collaboration function of Toyota to set up initial data visualisation. ESCO have a challenge to reduce the utilities cost required to produce a vehicle by 2 per cent year on year, which, through volume increase, changed to 7.5 per cent. Back in 2020, the group had already identified which equipment consumes most energy at transformer level. What they couldn’t see was granular detail, whether each piece of equipment was operating at its optimum and expected level.

Photo courtesy of Pressac

SEE PAGE 14 for more details

FEATURES

MONITORING & METERING

13 The currency helping unlock efficiency

George Catto explains how machine learning systems can crunch years of metered data and learn what optimum building performance should look like

14 Monitoring moves through the gears

Leading UK smart sensor manufacturer Pressac has helped car company Toyota more than double its energy cost savings at its Derbyshire manufacturing plant

16 Get connected to tackle fuel poverty

24/7 monitoring helps landlords comply with new Homes Act and protects renter well-being.

Kjell Karlsson and Dr Andrew Smith say the Internet of Things may be the answer

FUTUREBUILD PREVIEW

28 Make a stand for a better environment

Futurebuild 2023 is set to provide specifiers with the ideas, inspiration and innovative solutions that will help them create net zero buildings faster, more safely and more efficiently

LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY

31 Create your own ecosystem

With the growth of the Internet of Things, we are seeing more lighting schemes take the form of product ecosystems. Julian Kay explains their benefits

32 Greater collaboration is key to net zero

A new report from the British Council of Offices underlines the importance of sharing data when designing buildings and specifying technology, including lighting, writes Debbie-Sue Farrell

REGULARS

09

A recent report from former energy minister, Chris Skidmore, has concluded that the 2050 net zero target is economically sound. What we need is leadership to get there

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CHP & DISTRICT HEATING

22 Efficiency through data for heat networks

Heat network owners and operators must think “efficiency first” to urgently tackle the triple challenge of high energy costs, carbon reduction and regulatory compliance, says Richard Harrison

25 Monitoring moves through the gears

Contractors and specifiers need to be aware of how fourth generation heat networks are going to shape the future of the industry. Ian Bradley explains

26 From algae to heating apartments

The cultivation of algae requires a huge amount of energy. But excess heat is being used to heat Swedish apartments. And the Leeds district heat network is scheduled for expansion

17

Mechanical ventilation and heat recovery is essential for achieving net zero. Gareth Veal explains the right methods of ventilating modern buildings 21

Mervyn Pilley sees that the Government is slowly beginning to recognise the need for energy efficiency. But it has to take that next step and find ways of funding investment

34 Talking Heads

Lucy Padfield examines the scale of the energy efficiency challenge facing the UK and believes funding is the key to kick-starting improvements

EDITOR’S OPINION

Get on board, the boat is leaving

Mark Thrower

Managing editor of Energy in Buildings & Industry

Rarely has a report on anything 'green' from an MP been greeted with such universal enthusiasm. More often than not there is cautious praise but with the warning ‘doesn’t go far enough.’

However, Chris Skidmore’s Mission Zero: Independent Review of Net Zero, has been praised to the rafters by environmental groups, business leaders, and trade bodies.

Describing net zero as the growth opportunity of the 21st century, Skidmore said: “We lead in areas including clean technologies, science, manufacturing and green finance –areas that, if managed right, can lead to new jobs and strong economic growth.

“My recommendations are designed to make the most of this historic opportunity, covering the length and breadth of our economy, so that people in every part of the

Energy in Buildings & Industry

PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

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country can reap the benefits of this both in their communities, and in their pockets.”

There is little doubt that the move to net zero is now being viewed as a huge economic opportunity. The Climate Change Committee forecast that net zero investment will need to rise from £13.5bn this year to £50bn by 2030, and that around 85 per cent of decarbonisation between 2020 and 2035 will involve low carbon technologies, either alone or with behavioural change.

The scale and pace of net zero investment required has led some to call into question its viability, while others have said it is the solution to reversing the UK’s recent record of sluggish growth and weak productivity.

as an economic opportunity

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Indeed the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (see page 8) found that businesses involved in the net zero economy contribute more than £71bn in Gross Value Added to the UK economy.

In addition, it is stronger and significantly more productive in the UK regions, it says, identifying 20 ‘hot spots’ across the UK. These include the Tyneside/Teesside coast, south Yorkshire/north Derbyshire, the Mersey River and Cambridgeshire. London lags behind, suggesting net zero is playing an active part in ‘levellingup’. So it’s easy to see the benefit to organisations across multiple sectors right across the country.

Although Government is inching towards embracing net zero as a growth possibility, the pace is glacial and there are inconsistencies in policies. For example, the appalling energy efficiency of our building stock is widely recognised and Government had set 2035 as a target for building stock to be upgraded to Band C (see page 9). But then allowed a get out if it was going to be too expensive for landlords. Government must realise the benefits of net zero and get on board, and quickly.

The move to net zero is being viewed

Companies with EU:ETS allowances to go energy efficient

Every company with installations anywhere in Europe, that currently receives any free or discounted allowances under the European emissions trading scheme (EU:ETS), will in future have to implement wide-ranging energy efficiency measures. In any case of non-compliance, 20 per cent of these allowances would be cancelled.

Companies will be required to implement all cost-effective recommendations stemming from the mandatory energy audits, required under the revised Article 11 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). This will now cover all sizes of European companies.

In its original form, this Article led in the UK to the creation of the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS). This requires all large and medium sized companies operating outside the UK:ETS to have triennial independent energy surveys covering all their energyconsuming activities.

Since it was launched in 2019, the UK:ETS has introduced every other significant change made to the Europe-wide scheme. So it is likely that such mandatory audits will also be required from all participants in the UK system in future.

However, it has now been agreed that within the European Union, 2027 will see the creation of two new complimentary but separate emission trading systems.

These will be covering buildings and covering road transport. Because of their relative complexity, these may not be introduced until 2028, should the current high energy prices prevail.

Crucially, EU Member States will have to use all auctioning revenues from the current ETS, plus from the two new ones, for climate action. This will provide more financing for energy efficiency and potentially be a new important driver for energy savings measures across the EU. Again, it is not yet known whether the UK:ETS will incorporate these initiatives.

‘MISSION ZERO’ RECOMMENDATIONS

Net

zero is ‘the economic opportunity of the 21st century’

The sale of any home that is not improved to at least energy efficiency certificate band C should be banned in a decade’s time to ensure Britain meets its climate change goals, the government’s net-zero tsar has urged. This would be the first time that owner occupiers anywhere in the world would be required to upgrade their premises before moving.

In a review considering whether the country’s 2050 net zero goal is a burden on businesses, Chris Skidmore (right), a Conservative MP, has concluded that in practice the statutory target was the “economic opportunity of the 21st century. He has urged his own government to cease prevaricating, and to move “further and faster” with policies designed to deliver the target. His 340-page “Mission Zero” publication contains 129 specific policy recommendations for government.

Skidmore, whose three-month review was announced by Liz Truss when she was prime minister, found

that the average household could save between £400 and £6,000 a year through the move to net zero.

“The challenge for us now is avoiding ‘not zero.’ Not zero will be more of a burden than net zero. This is an economic opportunity, but it is also a huge economic risk to the UK if we can’t keep up with other countries,” Skidmore, a former energy minister, warned.

He added that decarbonising buildings was key, and called on ministers to legislate to create “gasfree homes” during this parliament, by banning the sale of new or replacement gas boilers by 2033, two years earlier than present plans.

The report also calls for any home with an energy performance certificate of D or worse, which can use 27 per cent more gas and 18 per cent more electricity on average than C-rated ones, to be banned from sale by 2033. Government should also mandate landlords to include ‘average bill cost’ alongside any EPC rating, when letting a property out. This will help renters understand what costs to expect, while also helping to put a premium on energy efficient buildings.

Skidmore said he did not think the UK should embrace the idea of repurposing gas networks to run hydrogen boilers, a proposal that is being trialled at a pilot project at homes in Ellesmere Port in Cheshire. “Hydrogen may be needed in certain localities, but overwhelmingly this should be a transformation to cheaper electricity,” he said, adding that he wanted homes to become “gas-free” so they had no gas bill at all.

Estate agents and surveyors expect housing prices to continue to drop as would-be buyers reassess what they can afford, given the rise in mortgage rates. However, homes with a good energy performance certificate rating appear to be bucking this trend.

In the latest members’ survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) covering December, a net 42 per cent of respondents reported a decline in house prices. Further falls are predicted over the coming

three months, especially with demand waning. A net 39 per cent of agents noted a fall in new buyer inquiries last month, while a similar percentage agreed fewer sales in December.

But property professionals are trying to take advantage of the renewed focus on energy efficiency amid the cost of living crisis. Four in every ten institution members reported that sellers of more ecofriendly houses were attaching a price premium.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS, said the survey results

“highlight the emerging challenges in the housing market as buyers grapple with more costly finance terms and uncertainty over the economy.”

Consequently, homes with higher energy efficiency ratings appear to be faring better than the wider market. While house prices are generally in retreat, close to two thirds of the agents and surveyors polled reported that homes which are officially designated as highly energy efficient are holding their value.

Energy-efficient homes buck the downward house price trend

REPORT ON ENERGY POLICY

Smart meter owners ‘should be rewarded with lower unit prices’

The powerful 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs has endorsed the campaign to ensure that premises where smart meters are installed have working visual display units.

A sub committee chaired by former energy secretary, Dame Andrea Leadsom, has issued a new report on energy policy. In a hard-hitting section entitled “Completing the rollout of smart meters,” the MPs have emphasised that these are “powerful tools for customers looking to cut their overall bills.” But only half of eligible households have yet had these installed. The subcommittee wants to see those who have had

these installed rewarded with lower unit prices, as they are reducing the overall costs of energy suppliers. They also express concern regarding the limited lifespan guarantee of many of the visual display units, installed in participating homes. The MPs query the agreement made by all energy suppliers to limit the visual display units to “just a one-year warranty period.” When these malfunction, the householder is expected to repair or replace at their own expense. Citing a column in the November 2022 issue of EiBI, the subcommittee agrees that this guarantee is “very low for a simple piece of consumer electronics that

should not go wrong.”

The decision to create this 12-month limit was officially taken by the high profile publicity campaign, Smart Energy GB, which itself is entirely funded by the energy supply companies. The Conservative subcommittee wants the Government to “review this issue, to ensure that customers are being provided with high quality and reliable equipment alongside their smart meters.”

Major housebuilder to install heat pumps as standard

One of the UK’s largest house builders has announced that from now on all its new developments will be fitted with a heat pump rather than a gas boiler.

Claiming an industry first, Redrow says this decision puts it ahead of government proposals to ban gas boilers in new build properties from 2025.

Air source heat pumps will be installed as standard in its new homes in upcoming developments, with ground floor underfloor heating in detached properties. The move is expected to have the biggest impact to date on improving the efficiency of the homes it builds.

It has formed a partnership with Mitsubishi, Vaillant and Daikin for installation, with each offering their own training centre and facilities

for installers to ensure a smooth transition from gas boilers. Redrow ran a heat pump trial with Mitsubishi Electric to compare energy

consumption for heating and hot water against a benchmark home with a traditional gas boiler. The results showed that heat pumps consume significantly less energy than gas boilers, operating at an efficiency of around two to three times that of an ‘A’ rated boiler.

Matthew Pratt, Redrow’s chief executive, says its customers are asking for reassurance their homes will help them to future-proof their heating and there is only a “small increase” in the cost to install a heat pump compared to a gas boiler. “The move to air source heat pumps will ensure our future homes are ‘zero-carbon ready’ for when the grid is decarbonised and supports our goal of achieving sciencebased net-zero emissions no later than 2050 across our operations, homes and supply chain.”

to renovate all existing residential buildings before 2050.

Search for innovation in sustainability

Wates and Lloyds Banking Group are launching a competition to find sustainability innovations that can help Lloyds tackle its hybrid working and travel emissions and enhance biodiversity.

Green tech innovators and providers of sustainable solutions are invited to showcase their products for the chance to be piloted with Lloyds before potentially being rolled out at scale. This is the second time Lloyds and Wates have teamed up to seek sustainable solutions and emerging green technologies.

A competition in 2021 saw four products being piloted across the Lloyds estate. For this new campaign, Lloyds is seeking products that will:

● accelerate progress to net zero operations and reduce waste from offices and sites across a building’s life cycle;

● reduce home working emissions by supporting employees in reducing their domestic carbon footprint;

● improve sustainable and low carbon modes of transport; and

● enhance biodiversity across its estate by protecting habitats and the natural environment.

The competition aims to support Lloyds’ goal to reach net zero carbon operations by 2030. It also reflects Wates’ ambition to be net zero by 2045.

New lighting guide considers hybrid work

The EU could see a massive reduction in energy demand if it were to upgrade the insulation in all residential buildings, according to a new study from BPIE (Buildings Performance Institute Europe).

It found that improved insulation of all EU residential buildings would result in a reduction of energy demand for heating in buildings by 777TWh, or 44 per cent compared to 2020: 46 per cent in gas savings, 44 per cent in heating oil savings and 48 per cent in coal savings.

In its analysis, BPIE modelled two

renovation scenarios until 2050: The 2 per cent renovation scenario and the full renovation scenario.

The 2 per cent renovation scenario follows the goal renovation rate prescribed by the European Commission in the Renovation Wave Strategy and assumes that a 2 per cent renovation rate is reached by 2030 and remains at that level until 2050.

The full renovation scenario assumes that after 2030 the average renovation rate (now at 1 per cent) will continue to grow at the speed needed

The analysis shows that achieving a stable 2 per cent renovation rate is insufficient to achieve EU climate goals and significantly contribute to energy independence. Under this scenario, 30 per cent of buildings will be left unrenovated by mid-century and 235 TWh of potential final energy savings will be wasted.

“The results speak for themselves,” says Oliver Rapf, BPIE executive director. “Buildings must be treated as vital infrastructure contributing to EU energy security and climate neutrality. Deep renovation should be one of the EU’s highest priorities facing the energy crisis.”

The Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) has launched the latest Lighting Guide 07 (LG7): Offices, reflecting considerable developments since the previous edition, published in 2015.

The new guide considers hybrid working, addressing uncertainty around how office space will be used in the future. With increased hybrid working and the use of portable devices, people are spending less time at their desks and in the office.

This revision of Lighting Guide 7 now includes home office lighting advice.

For the first time, this guidance includes a chapter focused on the impact of embodied and operational energy.

Upgrading insulation across Europe

‘could lead to massive drop in demand’

Letter to the Editor

Dear Sir,

Can I take issue with a statement made in the Warren Report (EiBI January 2023 page 9)?

Andrew writes “At present, the capital and running cost differential between the list price of condensing boilers and heat pumps is at least double.”

This is just not correct. Back in February last year, Jan Rosenow, from the highly regarded Regulatory Assistance Project, asserted that parity in operational costs had been achieved and that, the most efficient air-source heat pump systems were actually lower cost, operationally, than a condensing gas boiler: https:// www.raponline.org/knowledgecenter/analysis-running-costs-ofheat-pumps-versus-gas-boilers/

Even allowing for the vagaries of system efficiencies of both condensing boilers and heat pumps, the days of “doubling” operational costs when transitioning to clean, electric heat pump heat are far behind us, never to return. To claim otherwise is highly misleading and is damaging to UK efforts to achieve Net Zero 2050.

Perhaps a prominent correction is in order.

Bean Beanland

Director for Growth & External Affairs Heat Pump Federation

● Andrew Warren replies: There is no attempt by me to deal with the difference in list price between a standard gas condensing boiler and an air source heat pump. And there is a fleet of empirical evidence that has concluded that the comparable running costs remain in favour of boilers. And that ignores the reality you cite in the editorial (see January 2023 page 4) regarding malfunctioning air source heat pumps. Indeed, a Financial Times (28 January 2023) article on the UK heating market endorses my initial statement in full, with a graphic detailing the total list price costs of installing and running a heat pump as precisely double that of a gas boiler. The FT additionally warns that installing a pump “may well require more insulation, bigger radiators and underfloor heating.”

Net zero economy ‘will help overcome regional inequality’

Businesses involved in the net zero economy contribute £71bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy, more than twice that of the energy sector itself, a new study finds.

The report commissioned by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) also found that 840,000 (3.2 per cent) jobs are supported by these companies, with an average wage of £42,600 compared to the £33,400 national average.

The net zero economy is also highly productive, generating £112,300 in GVA per employee, 1.7 times higher than the national average of £64,400.

In addition, it is stronger and significantly more productive in the UK regions, identifying 20 ‘hot spots’ across the UK. These include the Tyneside/Teesside coast, south

Yorkshire/north Derbyshire, the Mersey River and Cambridgeshire. London lags behind, suggesting net zero is playing an active part in ‘levelling-up’.

Tom Thackray, director of decarbonisation at the CBI, said: “This report underlines the real benefit to firms across multiple sectors – right across the country – of embracing that challenge. We can see how

Lack of long-term Government planning may condemn businesses to ‘a lost era’

A new report from Cornwall Insight warns that without long term planning from government, businesses may face a ‘lost era of progress’ in their efforts to decarbonise.

Business net zero: Making progress in a challenging economy states that the will for decarbonisation remains strong among businesses, but investment capability may be compromised without action by policymakers.

The paper echoes Tony Danker, director-general of the CBI, who

has cautioned that without a green strategy, the UK could lose the green race for growth.

With businesses currently facing significant economic headwinds, they are also having to factor in the drop in support from government for their energy bills. Many believe that the recently announced Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS), coming in from April, will not ease this pressure, as businesses see their support levels drop from the more generous scheme it replaces, whilst energy costs remain

Oil giant predicted global warming but publicly denied fossil fuel climate change

Scientists at Exxon, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel businesses, predicted global warming with “startling accuracy” decades ago but publicly denied that fossil fuels were altering the climate, a new study from Harvard University in America has concluded.

It is public knowledge that Exxon (marketed as Esso in the UK) had known all about the reality of the threat of climate change since the 1970s. But a new study published in the journal Science shows that up to 83 per cent of their internal climate projections “were accurate in predicting subsequent global warming.” It shows how Exxon

accurately predicted the pace of global heating to be around 0.2oC a decade and estimated that humaninduced heating would be detectable around the year 2000.

In the BBC documentary Big Oil vs the World, one of Exxon’s former climate scientists revealed that teams at the company in the late 1970s were developing renewable energy sources such as solar power. However, their work was shelved, and despite being armed with data-driven knowledge about the effects of climate change, Exxon and other oil giants publicly insisted that the climate science wasn’t certain enough to justify a change in their businesses. US

environmentally sustainable economic growth – for example, the development and scaling of renewable energy – will help stimulate economic activity across the UK and in turn help to reduce regional inequality.

“And while it is a challenge that businesses need to embrace, green growth is also one of the big opportunities in the coming years.”

elevated to previous norms.

As a result, there is a rising risk that corporate capital investment in decarbonisation could be overshadowed by falling business earnings and squeezed cash flows.

To address this, Cornwall Insight suggests that long-term regulatory and policy changes including:

● a boost to energy efficiency and electrification – energy efficiency awareness campaigns can provide quick wins and immediate savings.

● longer-term fiscal measures for decarbonisation progress – including levelling policy costs to incentivise process electrification.

politicians have since spoken of being misled by Exxon, with former Republican senator Chuck Hagel saying that their misinformation had “cost the world.”

● Meanwhile, the head of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil company, Sultan Ahmed Al Jabber, has been appointed president of CoP28, the annual intergovernmental climate change conference which will be held in Dubai this year. Climate activists have raised concerns that this will provide an opportunity for fossil fuel lobbyists to wield even greater influence over negotiations.

“This is akin to Al Capone running the police department in Chicago,” warned one. In addition, United Nations staff have complained about the inappropriateness of the appointment.

We can hit net zero but only if we have policies

A recent report from former energy minister, Chris Skidmore, has concluded that the 2050 net zero target is economically sound. What we need is leadership to get there

Former Conservative energy minister, Chris Skidmore, was chosen by the government to evaluate the economics of its “net zero by 2050” policy. His final 340-page report has reached an unequivocal conclusion. The 2050 target is both economically and environmentally sound. But there remains appalling inconsistency in the purposeful implementation of policies intended to achieve it.

One of Skidmore’s biggest concerns is altering the appalling energy inefficiency of the existing UK building stock. Back in 2017 the government had published its Clean Growth Strategy. The then climate minister, Claire Perry, was unequivocal about what needed to be done.

Prioritise upgrading

Using the energy performance certificate (EPC) criteria, she announced that “all building stock must be up to Band C by 2035.” She added that, given that the worst energy efficiency was to be founded in rented homes, and leased nonresidential buildings, upgrading these would be prioritised. “We are expecting landlords to upgrade these to a better, energy efficiency C standard by 2030.” (BBC Radio 4 TODAY programme, 12 October 2017).

That prioritisation had already begun. Even at that time, tenants living or working in F or G rated buildings were permitted to insist that these be upgraded. The following year, no landlords were allowed to start letting out any building either F or G rated. But then came the weasel words. If it was going to be too expensive for a landlord to undertake improvements, then the gas guzzling buildings could remain. It was up to each district council to establish whether or not such opt-outs were justified. Or

indeed whether landlords had even bothered to acquire any EPC in the first place.

Some councils have been red hot on pursuing possible breaches of the law; others sadly have scarcely bothered. Some have concentrated upon obtaining prosecutions. Others, perhaps more sensibly, have reckoned that their best role is to threaten prosecution convincingly enough to ensure the required energy

improvements are undertaken. Worries about non-existent EPC assessments have long been removed when a building is sold - a valid certificate is now an established part of the conveyancing process. But all too often tenancies can be granted on a rather less formal basis. Meaning that no EPC, whether A or G standard, manages to be formally lodged.

But taken overall, setting Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards outlawing F or G rated policies for rental properties has been deemed to be a successful policy. So back in 2020, the government went out to public consultation again on this issue. The consultation set out how properties leased out anew would have to achieve a C certificate by 2025, and that all established rental leases would need to be upgraded to that level by 2030.

Examination of portfolios

The property industry initially took these timetables seriously. Many began to look at their property portfolios, and only invest in the most energy efficient developments. Where they already owned gas guzzlers, they either sought to upgrade them. Or to sell them off to apparently less canny competitors. The market leaders, beginning with the largest of them all, Legal & General, set out to publicise their strategies, justifying their activities as a large part of their contribution to reaching net zero. Meeting precisely the policy objective of Chris Skidmore’s magisterial report.

But the months rolled on, without anybody in Government formally responding to that 2020 consultation. The published implementation timetable remained unconfirmed. Parliamentary questioners would always be told that the formal announcement would be made “in due course.” Unofficial briefings

would reference the swift turnover of relevant ministers as a delaying factoreven though that had not appreciably halted progress elsewhere.

Formal complaints begin

Last month, formal complaints emerged from the National Residential Landlords Association. Their members now face being given less than two years notice on the detail of rules that would require them to undertake significant upgrades to properties, to ensure they all met Band C or above.

Worse still, there is no clarity on whether the new rules would cap the budget landlords would have to assign for such improvements, nor whether incentive schemes would be re-introduced to help ensure the new standards are met. All of this has meant that some less environmentally conscious landlords are deliberately holding off on undertaking energy efficiency upgrades until they know whether their costs are to be capped or funding support could be on the way. Or increasingly not just when but whether these new requirements will actually be introduced.

Going 'further and faster'

That official Net Zero analysis concluded that this objective could only ever be met if the Government pursued the necessary policies “further and faster.” It is a point that the official parliamentary watchdog, the Committee on Climate Change, has been making very regularly.

So why on earth is the government adopting such a torpid stance when it comes to requiring tenants to be confident they will be living and working in reasonably energy inexpensive buildings? I do not know the true reason for such official insouciance. But I am absolutely certain we need to be told. ■

Some less environmentally conscious landlords have been holding off on undertaking upgrades

Chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation

Andrew Warren

The currency helping unlock efficiency

George Catto explains how machine learning systems can crunch years of metered data and learn what optimum building performance should look like

George Catto

Client services director at AMR DNA, an Energy Assets service

www.energyassets.co.uk

Monitoring and reporting platforms that assimilate half hourly data from automated meter reading systems are relatively commonplace. These provide a convenient way of comparing actual consumption versus benchmark parameters, enabling managers to measure the impact of efficiency programmes.

These tools, including WebAnalyser, support a customisable approach to energy reporting, whether that’s monitoring consumption by period, comparing performance to ‘standard’ operating profiles, validating and analysing usage, or automatically alerting users to unusual consumption patterns.

However, extracting ultimate value for this set-up pre-supposes that the underpinning energy performance profiles for each building possess the accuracy to be used as benchmarks.

This is why machine learning, informed by artificial intelligence (AI) is fast emerging as a favoured route to efficiency. Machine learning systems, such as AMR DNA from Energy Assets, can crunch years of metered energy data in short order and progressively ‘learn’ what optimal performance looks like for each building.

This creates pattern recognition that can spot tell-tale signs of energy waste unique to each building, resulting, for example, from equipment running needlessly or heating controls incorrectly set. As the system continuously monitors consumption data, it identifies potential areas of waste energy through a checklist of priority actions until benchmark performance is achieved. As such, machine learning can be a complementary tool to optimise the value of monitoring and reporting platforms.

Working in harmony

Getting the most from any reporting or analytical tool requires all energyrelated systems to be working in harmony.

For managers, this means:

● capturing consumption data in granular detail via automated meter reading (AMR) systems;

● monitoring and analysing data through advanced AM&T portals and setting automated alerts for unusual patterns of behaviour; and

● applying advanced tools such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify waste, set benchmarks, and optimise efficiency opportunities.

A machine learning approach has been adopted by The Energy Consortium (TEC), a Contracting Authority, owned by its members, which delivers a wide range of services in energy procurement, data reporting, risk management and cost reduction on a not-for-profit basis for the university sector.

TEC risk manages 11TWh of gas and power across 10,500 meters, and uses AMR DNA energy data service, powered by kWIQly, across a number of HE campuses. This creates datadriven consumption insights that it would take an army of analysts to achieve manually.

Pinning down energy waste and improvement opportunities over an estate of complex, multi-faceted buildings, requires rock-solid benchmarks to compare like-with-like. ‘Rubbish in, rubbish out’ is the phrase that comes to mind.

The analytics engine has several report modes to save energy managers’ time. These include establishing achievable targets by KPI and weather conditions for each meter, forecasting future use and identifying where changes have taken place; and diagnosing priority and cause of savings opportunity.

Machine learning changes

Fig. 1 compares a period of 796 days from January 17, 2020 to March 22, 2022 with a period of 298 days after the implementation of machine learning changes from March 23, 2022 to January 14, 2023.

Each period has models of consumption in response to outside air temperature for each day of the week. These are then applied to a typical annual weather pattern for the location to come up with expectations of annual performance on the new and old basis. The difference represents a saving which might be expected if the performances prior to and after changes were replicated for the

hypothetical typical year:

Before kWh = 1,522,658; after kWh = 1,044,713; energy saving 477,945kWh; saving percentage 31.4 per cent; annualised value @0.04/kWh = 19117.8.

The bottom line represents the cumulative deviation from expected consumption, where ‘up’ is wasteful and ‘down’ is ahead of expected. The turquoise section represents the period benefiting from machine learning.

Representative spread

Fig. 2 shows that a valid proof of savings requires sufficient time period to be considered, during which a representative spread of weather conditions are represented for each day of the week. The blue represents ‘before’ machine learning influence, the turquoise line is ‘after’.

Energy managers will use their professional expertise and knowledge of each building to apply machine learning data reports to assess where action can positively impact on efficiency.

Often, it’s a question of spotting improvement opportunities hiding in plain sight, but sometimes these can be the hardest to identify because they are ingrained in a building’s legacy performance and can be easily overlooked.

Doing the heavy lifting

Fortunately, machine learning, informed by AI, is particularly good at doing the heavy lifting when it comes to data interrogation, consumption pattern recognition and constructing peer-groups of buildings. It can help unpick these categories of waste by thorough historical analysis of halfhourly meter data and interpreting it in the context of how and when the build is operational, taking account of external factors (weather, occupancy levels).

When primed with meter data, weather data and occupancy forecasts, machine learning enables energy managers to fulfil their core role of optimising energy performance across their entire estate by implementing data-led energy waste and carbon reduction strategies. This approach proved particularly valuable during the pandemic, when building occupancy (both in halls of residence and in teaching environments) fluctuated. That said, with escalating energy costs, the ability to scenario plan for efficiency improvements based on rock-solid benchmarking is probably more important today in terms of budgetary planning than at any time in the recent past. ■

Fig. 1: A weekly profile showing the implementation of artificial learning

Fig. 2: Validation of savings requires a sufficient time period to be considered

Through monitoring Toyota has been able to obtain granular detail of energy consumption

clamps gave Toyota the ability to view the energy consumption of each piece of equipment, and its condition, in real time. By monitoring the currents passing through them they could identify whether they were operating at their optimum level, as well as spotting areas where machines had been left on unnecessarily.

“The size and scale of the site meant they needed an easy-to-install, cost-effective solution with a strong signal that could cover the expanse of the site.”

Making a big difference

Previously, the company had been able to view energy consumption at transformer level but did not have the granular detail about each piece of machinery – information which is already making a big difference.

Monitoring moves through the gears

Leading UK smart sensor manufacturer Pressac has helped car company Toyota more than double its energy cost savings at its Derbyshire manufacturing plant

Energy monitoring sensors, have helped Toyota discover exactly which parts of its production processes are using excess energy at its plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire. The information will play a huge role in Toyota’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Pressac worked with ESCO, the Energy-reduction Support and Collaboration function of Toyota to set up initial data visualisation. ESCO have a challenge to reduce the utilities cost required to produce a vehicle by 2 per cent year on year, which, through volume increase, changed to 7.5 per cent.

Back in 2020, the group had already identified which equipment consumes most energy at transformer level. What they couldn’t see was granular detail, whether each piece of equipment was operating at its optimum and expected level. With multiple production zones at the site, monitors had to cover thousands of square metres with many obstacles to their signal. Finally, the monitoring solution over such a vast area had to be cost-effective in terms of both product and installation.

ESCO decided to use a modular system called Ignition, which includes built-in MQTT (a standard messaging protocol for the Internet of Things). They established that Pressac’s sensors would integrate well with this system. The ease of use, cost viability and quick installation ticked all the boxes they were looking for in a sensor manufacturer and supplier.

Monitoring at machine level

Around 300 of Pressac’s wireless current transformer (CT) clamps have been installed at Toyota’s plant in Burnaston. By clipping them around individual cables, the company were able to see, for the first time, how energy was being used at machine level.

Pete Burbidge, managing director at Pressac, based in Bilborough, Nottinghamshire, explained: “The

In the case of one injection moulder, which was identified as ticking over at a high power level, changes were able to be made which have resulted in its energy consumption in nonproduction periods being reduced by 82 per cent.

Graham Lane, ESCO Group Leader, said: “We’ve been extremely impressed with the ease of installation and the lack of ongoing maintenance needed.

“There was no production downtime when they were installed and the beauty of the sensors themselves is that we don’t have to worry about their maintenance, we can just install them and let them do their job.”

The sensors, manufactured at Pressac’s headquarters, transmit their data wirelessly to Toyota’s existing building management systems via MQTT, a common Internet of Things protocol.

Lane added: “If we look back five years, small improvements may not have been as impactful as they are today. All energy consumption savings are taking us a step further towards our carbon-reducing ambitions.

“Current energy costs also means that little interventions can have hugely beneficial results. Going forward we’d like to have every single piece of kit covered, to give us a complete model of the whole production process and identify where we can make even more energy savings.”

Pressac also supplied the company with air quality sensors to help ensure the production zones provided the optimum conditions for team members to work in. ■

All energy consumption savings are taking us towards our ambitions

Conditions within social housing have been coming under increased scrutiny of late, with some high profile cases demonstrating less than adequate environments for a number of reasons. Fuel poverty is also rising in the UK, and is set to jump dramatically as new energy prices come into effect.

Struggling residents often feel heat is the one necessity on which they can most effectively economise. This financial balancing act is one that can lead to poor health and long term danger for residents. New laws, however, coupled with smart home technology are helping improve this situation for residents across the nation.

While there are plenty of good landlords who care about their tenants and take all necessary measures to ensure the houses and flats they rent out are safe and secure, some instead allow renters to live in unhealthy or even dangerous conditions.

Fortunately, The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act was established to address tenant welfare. The law requires that all new tenancies begin and remain fit for human habitation – that rented houses and flats are safe, healthy, and free from issues that can cause serious harm. The Act also includes an extensive list of criteria that dictates building requirements and what residents can claim as disrepair. Persistent mould and dampness driven by building fabric issues fall into this category.

Rise of data and analytics

With this new law in place, housing associations are turning to the internet of things (IoT) which taps into the rise of data and analytics to solve common, everyday problems. With IoT-powered monitoring, they have the means to assess tenant well-being and reinforce building maintenance and compliance efforts at the same time.

Where once hard-wired approaches were needed, WiFI now enables effortless information gathering on conditions within buildings. However, in some cases, WiFI is not available and neither is convenient power supply. Social housing environments typically face these challenges – no WiFI and no 13Amp socket to spare – so a battery-powered ‘off-grid’ solution is critical. Environmental monitoring solutions, such as the Healthy Homes Sensor (developed by ZapCarbon and powered by TT Electronics’ IoT technology), have been developed in response to this need and provide real-time feedback on conditions within the home.

Get connected to tackle fuel poverty

24/7 monitoring helps landlords comply with new Homes Act and protects renter well-being. Kjell Karlsson and Dr Andrew Smith say the Internet of Things may be the answer

www.ttelectronics.com

This sensor monitors temperature and humidity, is battery-powered, and sends data via a cell phone network. Data is transmitted to a central server where it is analysed for any unusual patterns within the home. The process makes use of artificial intelligence algorithms which sift through exceptionally large volumes of data, drawing conclusions around the state of each home. The ZapCarbon system provides a rapid alert on unhealthy

www.zapcarbon.com

and potentially dangerous conditions within the home to residents, as well as social housing associations or landlords. To simplify deployment and assure continued connectivity, the system also monitors for as long as two years on a single battery charge.

The ZapCarbon Healthy Homes programme is unique in that it couples the innovative sensor with personal in-home help. Residents are visited by an experienced Healthy Homes

Remote monitoring can advise residents on heating, ventilation and temperature

expert who guides them through practical energy-saving changes that save money and enhance health, well-being, and comfort. They also introduce the resident to the sensor and explain how it can benefit them.

Consisting of specially-designed hardware and firmware, the device detects and monitors humidity and temperature. The device operates passively and thanks to a powerful, long-life battery, the system need not take up valuable electrical socket space. SIM cellular connectivity makes WiFi a non-issue, leaving the device even less obtrusive to residents. Once the sensor is installed, nothing further is required from the resident (or the housing association), and the data is compiled in real-time, so the tenant is not bothered by manual inspections or repeated visits.

Advice for householders

With remote monitoring in place, residents can be advised on adjusting heating, temperature, and/ or ventilation to prevent issues and keep themselves safe. The Healthy Homes Sensor has additional applications in universities, museums, churches, warehouses, and a range of commercial premises.

Humidity within the home can be a real challenge in cold climates. Humidity is a by-product of living, created via a variety of actions such as showering, cooking, drying clothes, and even breathing. In cold conditions, humidity can condense leaving damp deposits on furniture, building walls and ceilings, and more broadly within the building fabric itself. This can soon turn into black mould.

Poor ventilation can further exacerbate such situations, letting unhealthy levels of humidity develop. This is an all too common occurrence, especially in homes where several people live and sleep together in the same room to keep rental and energy costs to a minimum.

Information is at the heart of solving these problems. Today, the Internet of Things is not only fuelling the collection of home environment data, it’s also accelerating analysis, decision making and action. The ZapCarbon Healthy Home sensor does so simply, affordably, discreetly, and responsibly. Thanks in large part to IoT technology, creating a home that is comfortable and conducive to living well is within reach for even the most vulnerable – delivering real social impact and change where it is needed most. ■

MD Connectivity, TT Electronics

Kjell Karlsson

Technical director, ZapCarbon

Dr Andrew Smith

The law requires that all new tenancies begin and remain fit for human habitation

For details on how to obtain your Energy Institute CPD Certificate, see ENTRY FORM and details on page 20

Mechanical ventilation and heat recovery

By Gareth Veal PhD, MEI, CEng, CEM, Certified Passive House Designer (CEPH)

Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) is a central technology for achieving net zero targets for the UK’s housing stock. This article explores the application of MVHR in pioneering buildings which meet the German Passivhaus standard¹; i.e. representing extremely low energy demand and a well-documented pathway towards achieving net zero for new build and retrofit projects.

Air leakage losses

In typical dwellings which rely upon natural (i.e. non-mechanical) ventilation, around 30 per cent of heat losses result from air leakage. These losses are known as infiltration losses. This uncontrolled air flow: is costly in terms of energy use and GHG emissions, causes discomfort and health issues for occupants, isn’t matched to occupancy patterns or demand, and can cause damage to the building fabric due to the moisture carried by the air flows. Such considerations lead to the adage of ‘build tight and ventilate right’. Building [air]tight tackles the issues associated with uncontrolled infiltration and sets the foundation for ventilating right- i.e. providing MVHR.

Building regulations assess air

This 20-page document describes best practice when designing, specifying, installing, and commissioning Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems for single dwellings4

Typical roles and responsibilities at each stage of a project are defined for the: architect, Passivhaus designer, ventilation system designer, installer, and commissioning engineer.

tightness using the metric of ‘air permeability’, which is tested by fitting a blower fan to an opening in the building, such as an entrance door, and measuring the air leakage rate. The result is described in metres cubed of air leakage per metre squared of building envelope, at a 50 Pascal pressure difference. Building regulations currently reference a ‘notional building’ with an air tightness of 5m³/(hm²) at 50Pa². For comparison, the Passivhaus standard targets 0.6 air changes per hour at 50Pa³ The Passivhaus metric references German conventions which examine the number of times the air in the building is replaced per hour by infiltration at a 50 Pascal pressure difference. Although the two metrics are not directly comparable, they often yield similar values when examining dwellings of a typical size and shape. Therefore, it is clear that significant improvements in air tightness can be achieved beyond current building regulations. The potential savings are even greater in retrofit projects, as a typical existing dwelling could have an air change rate per hour of around 15 at 50 Pascals, with even higher values not uncommon.

Excellent energy performance

At the air tightness levels required to deliver the excellent energy performance referenced by the Passivhaus standard, it becomes clear that the ability to ventilate the building will be essential for indoor air quality, and also that the ability to recover the heat from the expelled air is essential to achieving the levels of energy and GHG performance sought.

Ventilation

This is the role of the Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) system. This continuously extracts air from bathrooms, kitchens and other utility spaces, while supplying fresh air to bedrooms and other living areas, while recovering heat from exhaust air.

Primary considerations

The primary considerations when specifying an MVHR based ventilation system for a single house are now explored, with the Passivhaus Trust’s ‘Good Practice Guide MVHR for single dwellings’ being suggested further reading on the topic.

There are three fundamental hurdles to clear when installing MVHR in a dwelling; namely to ensure that the system is designed correctly, installed correctly, and commissioned correctly. Many standard buildings fail on one or more of these hurdles, leaving in use performance woefully short of what was hoped for. Hence, each of these hurdles are explored below in more detail.

The primary considerations when designing and specifying an MVHR-based ventilation system are summarised in Table 1. In many cases the equipment supplier will provide a supporting design service that can address many of these factors. If this option is pursued, it is still important to check the design against the drawings (new build) and /or the existing structure (retrofit), as well as the intended use to ensure that there are no conflicts or omissions.

Basic requirements

In terms of the basic ventilation requirements, the starting point is to define the overall fresh air flow rate. The Passivhaus rule of thumb for defining the flow rate required is to take the greater of either: 30m³/h per bedspace, or 1m/h per m of ventilated floor area, whichever is highest.

These total flow rates are then split across supplies to living areas and bedrooms on a per room basis and similarly for extract rooms such as bathrooms, utilities and kitchens. It is important to develop a ‘balanced’ design, whereby the total rate of supply matches (i.e. is ‘balanced’ by) the total rate of extract.

Once these flow rates have been defined, it is necessary to set an upper limit on the total static pressure on each side of the MVHR, ensuring that flow rates allow for aerodynamically efficient flow in ducting, thus minimising the energy consumption of the fans and the noise generated by the system. These pressure calculations are typically carried out

Basic ventilation requirements

• Overall fresh air flow rate

• Air flow rate per room

• System balance

• Total static pressure on each side of the MVHR

• MVHR installation location

• Ductwork – type and layout

• Ductwork insulation

• Air transfer paths within dwelling

• Noise: Living Rooms, Bedrooms, Utilities, Wet rooms, cross talk, and externally

Control strategy

• Number of fan speeds available

• Type of user control

• Heat recovery efficiency

• Type of air flow regulation

• Filters installed

• Pre-heater / frost protection

MVHR unit

• Summer by-pass

• Type of heat exchanger

• Intake and exhaust terminals

• Access requirements for maintenance.

by the ventilation system designer and are beyond the scope of this article. Practical considerations include defining the MVHR location, ductwork type and layout, ductwork insulation, and air transfer paths which are often via door undercuts. Each of these will have an impact upon the functioning of the system and further details for optimisation can be found in the Passivhaus Trust’s best practice guide. Finally, in terms of basic ventilation requirements, the control of noise is an essential part of ensuring the successful functioning of an MVHR system. To allow for continuous operation which doesn’t disturb

Site champion

Control of variations:

occupants, the Passivhaus standard references the following thresholds: living rooms and bedrooms ≤ 25 dB(A); kitchen, bathroom, WCs, utility rooms, etc. ≤30 dB(A); and in the space containing the MVHR ≤35 dB(A). Furthermore, ductwork should be protected from MVHR noise by primary attenuation, as well as from ‘cross talk’ between rooms by smaller ‘cross talk’ attenuators which help avoid noise transfer from one room to another via ductwork.

Defining a control strategy

Defining the control strategy for the MVHR starts by deciding upon the

Define a site champion to be responsible for quality control and gathering installation evidence.

Statement confirming that the system is installed as per the design, plus a list of any variations and the paperwork confirming their approval.

Intake/exhaust insulation: Photos and installer declaration that it is continuous, free from gaps and defects, and correctly adjoined to the internal air tightness line.

number of fan speeds available. The Passivhaus Institute suggests that at least three should be used: speed two for normal occupancy, a ‘boost function’ for speed three at higher levels of occupancy, plus a ‘low’ speed one setting for empty periods, or reduced occupancy. A starting suggestion is to set speeds one and two 30 per cent below and above the standard speed two flow rate. Options for user control of the speed setting include direct control from the MVHR unit, a wired control unit in a more prominent place in the building or even app-based control via WIFI. It is also possible to include other elements of control, such as inputs from CO or humidity sensors.

MVHR unit selection

In terms of MVHR unit selection, Passivhaus projects typically utilise a unit capable of recovering ~80-90 per cent of the heat in the extract air and returning it to the supply air. Examples of Passivhaus certified units and their basic performance parameters can be found at the Passivhaus components database⁵

The type of air flow regulation employed by the MVHR unit is also important. Simpler units run at fixed fan speeds, meaning that air flow rates can be reduced and air quality can suffer, for example if filters are not replaced regularly. It is more common however, that the fan speed of the MVHR is automatically controlled to maintain the desired flow rates. This helps to maintain the balance of the supply and extract rates and can also compensate for filters gradually becoming blocked before they are changed.

The filters installed in the MVHR are important in order to both protect the heat exchanger from being soiled and losing efficiency, and also to deliver the improved air quality associated with an MVHR. The fresh air intake from outside requires a finer filter of at least ‘ISO ePM1’. These are often referred to as an ‘F7’ filter. The filter on the air return from extract rooms such as bathrooms, kitchens and utilities should be at least of an ‘ISO Coarse’ standard, these are often referred to as a ‘G4’ filter⁶

Typical site evidence

Ductwork: Photos and installer declaration confirming that the routing matches the design, except in approved variations, and that all duct joints are effectively sealed as specified. Delivery notes and photographs: confirming that the products used on site match the design.

Low external temperatures

MVHR and component protection

Proof that all components have been kept clean prior to use. Confirmation that the MVHR unit hasn’t been run prior to commissioning.

Another important requirement is to define how the air intake of the MVHR unit will be protected from frost at times of low external temperatures. The risk is that condensate from extract air may freeze at periods when the external temperature is near or below freezing. Frost protection can be provided in a number of ways. More

Table 1: Primary considerations for the design and specification of MVHR

Table 2: Primary considerations for installation of mechanical ventilation

basic means of frost protection adjust flow rates and can lead to the system being out of balance, or flow rates being lower than anticipated. To avoid this situation, unless operating in a very mild climate, it is suggested that a pre-heater is fitted to allow the MVHR unit to maintain desired flow rates and system balance, with the pre-heater acting to avoid potential frost issues on the relatively rare occasions when required⁷

Summer overheating

At the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of external temperature, the heat recovery, which proves useful during winter, can risk contributing to overheating during summer periods. Therefore, a summer bypass of the heat recovery can be useful. The

system design should consider how this is controlled and whether it should be combined with a boost function to allow for heat to be extracted from the building at certain periods during the summer.

The type of heat exchanger specified for the MVHR will impact upon moisture control for the building and the efficiency of the MVHR unit. In certain cases, it may help to utilise an ‘enthalpy’ exchanger, as these maintain the moisture level in the building and can help avoid dry air. However, this benefit needs balancing against their lower efficiency and the fact that their characteristics mean they are not so useful in drying air if reductions in moisture are desirable. The intake and exhaust terminals which connect the MVHR to outside

are subject to some conflicting requirements, namely that minimising their length helps to improve efficiency, while the location of the MVHR needs to be practical for the building layout and the location of the terminals needs to avoid any local contamination sources outside such as boiler flues, as well as to be far apart enough to ensure they do not ‘recirculate’, i.e. causing exhaust air to be taken in by the fresh air intake. The suggestion is that terminals have at least 1m of horizontal separation, note that some proprietary terminal types and layouts can also help with these considerations.

Clear onsite responsibility

Quality control of site installation is an essential part of ensuring that

Ventilation

The performance of an MVHR system is dependent on it being set up correctly

the system is installed to match the design and that any alterations on site are checked and approved. Primary considerations during installation are explored in Table 2.

The measures described above are designed to ensure that there is a clear responsibility onsite for control of the installation, that any variations with regards to the design are appropriately managed and approved, and that the system is protected before it is used. Protection of the system during installation is essential to ensuring that ductwork is clean, not blocked, and that no dust or debris is allowed to foul the MVHR unit, particularly with reference to protection of the heat exchanger.

Finally, the performance of an MVHR unit and the wider ventilation system is entirely dependent upon it having been set up correctly. The most important reference points to ensure that this is the case are shown in Table 3.

Useful good practice guide

The commissioning process is subject to detailed guidance which is beyond the scope of this article. More information can be found within the Passivhaus Trust’s ‘Good Practice Guide for MVHR in single dwellings’, as referenced earlier in this article.

Qualifications of commissioning engineer

The commissioning engineer must understand the system design, have access to the correct documentation and manuals, and also hold relevant safety qualifications.

Room flow rates

Room flow rates must be confirmed at each fan speed using suitable equipment. Demonstration of overall system balance and performance

Measurements should confirm:

• total air supply and extract rates are balanced,

• total static pressures on the supply and extract sides of the system, and

• that noise levels are within the acceptable ranges.

In summary, it is clear that MVHR represents an essential technology for delivering net-zero ready levels of performance for the UK’s housing stock. Application of MVHR in pioneering buildings which achieve the German Passivhaus standard have shown what is possible and provide a well-documented pathway towards achieving net zero for newbuild and retrofit projects. Although the application of MVHR in dwellings is relatively novel in the UK, it has a longer history of use on the continent and its application in the UK is becoming more mainstream and will likely increase significantly over the coming decades. ■

REFERENCES

1. See EiBI November 2021 CPD article for an introduction to the Passivhaus standard: https://eibi.co.uk/cpd/

2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ conservation-of-fuel-and-power-approved-document-l

3. www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/UserFiles/File/Technical%20 Papers/BRE_Passivhaus_Airtightness_Guide.pdf

4. https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/guidance_detail. php?gId=39

5. https://database.passivehouse.com/en/components/list/ ventilation_small

6. https://www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk/product-category/ ventilation-mvhr/advice-on-mvhr-filters/

7. https://www.paulheatrecovery.co.uk/components/frostprotection/

Table 3: Considerations for the correct setting up of an MVHR system

PRODUCTS IN ACTION

HEATING NETWORK

HIUs help connect Scottish flats to local district heating network

Dunfermline’s district heating system, which supplies heat from a central source generated at the Dunfermline Recycling Centre. The system facilitates the use of low carbon renewable energy sources to benefit the environment and significantly reduce residents’ carbon footprint.

Modutherm has supplied its MTA heat interface units to the Linen Quarter development in Dunfermline, Fife, providing heating and domestic hot water to 112 two- and three-bedroom apartments, as well as a

single commercial unit. The installation is part of the regeneration of Dunfermline’s last remaining Grade A-listed linen works, creating a mixeduse neighbourhood.

The new apartment block has been connected to

Modutherm’s ultracompact MTA HIU was the perfect partner to the district heating system, offering excellent heating and DHW loads. Allan McKenna, director at AMK Mechanical Services Limited, said: “From the start of the project, we’ve been really impressed with the MTA unit, as well as the technical input and advice provided by Modutherm. The unit is also really compact, which makes it really flexible from both a design and installation perspective.”

The MTA HIU is available in four models: indirect heating and DHW (twin plate), heating only, DHW only, and direct heating and DHW. www.modutherm.co.uk

HEAT PUMPS Heat pumps installed by the book to help decarbonise council estate

Frome Library in Somerset has transformed its heating system, thanks to the installation of a new air source heat pump from ELCO Heating Solutions. Delivering zero emissions, increased energy efficiencies and reduced operating costs, the new AEROTOP L 88kW unit has replaced two ageing gas boilers as part of Somerset County Council’s drive to decarbonise its estate.

As a result of the switch from gas-fired boilers to electric heat pumps, the project has delivered impressive energy savings thanks to a COP of up to 4.0 from the AEROTOP unit. The result is an estimated 71 per cent reduction in the energy required to heat the property.

The new heat pump is also connected to an upgraded system, consisting of new double panel radiators with convectors (which have replaced single panel models), as well as several new fan convectors. All emitters accommodate a low temperature heating circuit from the AEROTOP unit, ensuring the heat pump continues to operate at maximum CoPs up to 4.0.

The new AEROTOP L reversible heat pumps are available in outputs from 54kW to 88kW, with all models supplied with flow and return manifolds for arrangements of up to four heat pumps, while 16 units can be managed by a cascade controller. www.elco.co.uk

Efficiency through data for heat networks

Heat network owners and operators must think “efficiency first” to urgently tackle the triple challenge of high energy costs, carbon reduction and regulatory compliance, says Richard Harrison.

Richard Harrison

CEO at Switch2 Energy

www.switch2.co.uk

Many existing UK communal heating systems operate at only 35 to 45 per cent efficiency. As such, there’s huge potential to raise performance to levels achieved by the best performing legacy heat schemes, which can reach 65 per cent.

Communal heating scheme managers are faced with sky high gas bills and there’s increasing risk of residents falling into fuel poverty. Raising efficiency is the most costeffective way to tackle the problem.

Currently, a typical communal heat scheme could save around £160,000 on their annual energy bill when they use specialist support to maximise efficiency of the entire network.

Investment in efficiency improvements, such as specialist, data-driven operation and maintenance, which is performance managed, can quickly pay for itself. This will continue to drive long term financial, environmental and operational returns.

Clients can pay the same for this specialist, data-informed O&M service as they would for a standard service –provided by a traditional gas engineer. The savings, both monetary and carbon, soon add up.

Expansion of heat networks

Reducing energy usage decreases carbon emissions as well as costs – helping to deliver on the UK government’s heat decarbonisation strategy and its net zero 2050 commitment. This strategy involves a huge expansion of heat network capacity from 3 per cent to 18 per cent of homes connected to communal heat schemes.

Decarbonising the UK’s existing

17,500 communal heat schemes, which are largely fuelled by natural gas boilers, is crucial to meeting sustainability goals.

These legacy heat networks must be fully optimised and operating at maximum efficiency and lower temperatures before retrofitting new low-carbon technologies, such as heat pumps, or connecting to energyfrom-waste schemes.

Communal heat suppliers must also be ready to adhere to new regulatory and technical standards affecting all areas of operation.

This demands a step change in efficiency and environmental performance, as well as better customer service and reliability standards.

Poorly performing property

Unlike standard heating systems, which use individual boilers and only operate on demand, communal heating schemes support multiple homes. This means that one poorly performing property can affect performance of an entire network. That’s why it’s even more critical to optimise network performance 24/7.

Many communal heat schemes underperform because data intelligence is lacking and there’s a failure to consider the entire end-to end operation and performance of the scheme. Maintenance tends to be reactive and piecemeal with no consideration for the overall efficiency of the heating system.

By contrast, high performing communal heating systems take a holistic approach to operations and maintenance, including:

● robust proactive maintenance;

● continuous monitoring, analysis and evaluation of performance to inform a series of targeted improvements;

● a specialist heat network operation and maintenance contractor has an expert overview of entire network performance and takes an overall view of efficiency improvements.

● driving action via extensive use

of advanced data insights – from meters, BEMS, HIUs etc. to inform interventions and maximise return on investment. Accessible data is centralised, rather than sitting in silos, as with poor performing schemes;

● incremental approach to efficient use of fuel (gas) – following a stepped improvement journey, where progress is monitored and measured; and

● relentless focus on customer needs and commitment to driving affordability and reliability.

The second phase of the Heat

Heat losses hit 60 per cent

Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) will launch in February 2023 –providing £30m in grant aid. In the first phase, Switch2 carried out multiple HNES optimisation studies across varied sites for housing associations, local authorities and private developers. We found that heat losses between the plant room and the property were commonly reaching 60 per cent, with efficiency averaging just above 40 per cent.

The impact of poor efficiency performance included:

● higher tariffs and less affordability for residents – leading to fuel poverty;

● poor reliability and customer service issues;

● high plant room and wider network maintenance costs;

● increased wear and tear on assets, shorter plant lifecycles and increased replacement costs;

● higher carbon emissions due to energy waste; and

● compliance risk of inadequate customer service and technical standards, plus poor environmental performance

Digital technologies in use Switch2’s operation and management contract for the communal heating scheme at Greenford Quay in London is using a data-driven approach to transform efficiency. The company is using digital technologies to optimise network performance at all stages of the project, which is being developed and occupied in phases.

With the energy centre fully installed to run the entire 2,000-property development, the challenges of energy losses and supply/demand misalignment on phased developments are being overcome.

The 12-month results include:

● efficiency of heat has increased by more than 40 per cent;

● CO₂ savings of 300 tonnes;

● overall thermal (heat) efficiency has improved by 30 per cent;

● property heat losses in the first apartment block were reduced by 37 per cent; and

● excellent efficiency has ensured lower resident tariff charges.

Taking a holistic, data-driven approach to long-term heat network performance improvement can yield positive results with lasting impact. Crucially, this specialist O&M service can be delivered at the same cost as standard, fragmented services. ■

Legacy heat networks must be fully optimised before retrofitting new technologies

The future is the fourth generation

Contractors and specifiers need to be aware of how fourth generation heat networks are going to shape the future of the industry. Ian Bradley explains

Ian Bradley

director

www.modutherm.co.uk

The Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) reports there are already over 17,000 heat networks in place in the UK – and nearly half a million connections to them, most of which are domestic customers. They are a particularly attractive option in dense urban areas and have been cited as a way of tackling fuel poverty while also reducing housing management costs.¹ Heat networks also form an important part of the government’s plan to reduce carbon and cut heating bills. The two main markets for heat networks are new-build and retrofit; for the latter, costs and emissions can be significantly reduced by replacing high carbon systems with the latest low emission technology. In terms of new-build, highly efficient properties can be connected to fourth generation heat networks, capable of operating at lower temperatures, which enables a wider source of low carbon heating technologies (such as heat pumps) to be utilised.

Fourth generation DH

So, what exactly is a fourth generation district heating network? Put simply, it is the fourth evolution of this system; the first generation (from the 1880s) was based on heat distribution by steam, then the second generation from the 1930s relied on pressurised hot water with temperatures above 100°C. The 1970s saw the introduction of the third generation, which was also based on hot water, but with temperatures below 100°C. However, many third generation networks suffered from poor temperature control systems. This led to the creation of the fourth generation, defined as “lower temperature heat networks designed to enable a more cost-effective transition away from fossil fuels to a future heat supply that is from local renewable and

secondary heat (environmental and waste heat) sources.”²

Fourth generation heat networks are designed to work at lower temperatures (around 50-60°C flow temperature) and enable a more cost-effective transition away from burning fossil fuels, as they use renewables such as heat pumps to maximise output and minimise carbon emissions. In fact, the industry has recently seen significant growth in the number of heat networks that incorporate commercial heat pumps on the primary system, often installed on the outside of a building. These are then connected via the heat network to next generation heat interface units (HIUs) installed within each apartment.

Changes to regulations

This practice has led to changes to the regulatory framework covering these systems. As a result, specifiers and engineers are now creating heat networks designed to maximise both the latest technological developments and manufacturers’ ingenuity in combining increasingly more efficient appliances with renewable technologies.

These fourth generation systems are further supported in the latest revisions to CIBSE’s Guide to Heat Networks (CP1 2020). Outlining the minimum standard for heat networks across the UK, the document sets the minimum requirement for best practice, as well as guidance on improving overall energy efficiency. CP1 2020 has also drawn focus on efficiency at low temperatures in response to the forecast for a rapid increase in the dominance of heat pump technologies. This has led to the recommendation that heat networks should be specified and developed with low-temperature energy sources in mind.

Powered by renewables

Manufacturers have taken heed of this advice and are already producing advanced heat interface units (HIUs) designed for heat networks powered by renewables. To measure a heat interface unit’s efficiency, and compare product performance, each unit has an annual volume weighted average return temperature (referred

to as a VWART). The lower the return temperatures, the larger the delta T, meaning lower flow rates are required to achieve the same kW delivery. Put into practice, this allows smaller pumps and pipes to be used; the smaller the pump, the lower the capital expenditure and power consumption. Plus, smaller pipework helps reduce surface area and related heat losses.

Low return temperatures have been embedded into the regulatory framework as a result of the BESA (British Engineering Services Association) UK Standard for Heat Interface Units Its key objective

is to enable the performance of different HIUs to be evaluated within the context of typical UK operating conditions. One of the key elements of these tests are the estimated annual return temperatures, particularly those used for domestic hot water, space heating and warm up functions.

Low return temperatures

Heat networks can be designed in many different ways, depending on the requirements of each specific application. By opting for HIUs with the lowest return temperatures, the most efficient level of performance will be achieved – especially if the HIUs are paired with equally efficient (and correctly sized) heat pumps. As a result, it makes sense for specifiers to work with the same manufacturer of HIUs and heat pumps, to ensure the entire system meets the required design parameters and thereby achieves the necessary level of performance.

So, there are many factors to take into account when considering the most suitable HIUs for fourth generation heat networks. Not only do they need to be compatible with low temperature heating circuits, they should also be simple to install and maintain. But more importantly, the return temperatures available need to meet the requirements of CP1 2020 and adhere to the BESA UK standard. ■

REFERENCES

1) Source: The Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) https://www.theade.co.uk/assets/docs/resources/ Heat%20Networks%20in%20the%20UK_v5%20 web%20single%20pages.pdf

2) Source: https://www.london.gov.uk/decisions/dd1454fourth-generation-district-heating-networks

Managing

at Modutherm

Engineers are creating heat networks with the latest technological developments

HIUs for heat networks need to be straightforward to install and maintain

Work begins on extending Yorkshire district heating

Construction has commenced on milestone extensions to the innovative low-carbon district heating network being rolled-out in Leeds city centre by Vital Energi, in partnership with Leeds City Council.

£3m of Heat Network Investment Project (HNIP) funding was secured by Leeds City Council to support the phase three spine extension of the Leeds PIPES project, which uses heat from non-recyclable waste at the nearby Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility (RERF) to generate reliable, affordable, low-carbon heat and hot water for nearly 2,000 flats and a dozen non-domestic buildings across Leeds. The HNIP funding will support a significant 2,500m spine extension across zones covering student apartments, residential developments, multi-storey flats, large public sector sites. Additionally,

Heat from algae cultivation heats Swedish DH network

Aunique collaboration between AstaReal, producer of the antioxidant, astaxanthin, and energy company Vattenfall, has made it possible to use excess heat from the algae cultivation process to heat homes across Gustavsberg, Sweden. Heat that would otherwise be wasted during production is being redistributed through the local grid and recycled into district heating.

AstaReal’s natural, algae-derived powder product is a key ingredient in food and cosmetics products around the world. The production process behind the company’s algae cultivation is highly energy-intensive and produces large amounts of heat as a by-product, which has historically been vented into the atmosphere.

the extension will help to strategically open up more of Leeds for future sustainable energy developments.

Demonstrating the momentum of the network, a second separate piece of work has also commenced which will see the Ministry of Justice commit to greener energy consumption for the future in Leeds.

Leeds Magistrates Court and Leeds Combined Courts are the latest in a list of high-profile city centre buildings and developments to have signedup to connect to the district heating network from the existing network along Great George Street. The Combined Court Centre will take up to 1,400kW and the Magistrates Court up to 800kW from the network.

At full build out, the heat network has the capacity to save approximately 16,220 tonnes of carbon per year.

Mike Cooke, managing director, North & Scotland at Vital Energi, said:

“By joining the network, organisations will have access to an affordable, reliable and low carbon way to provide heating and hot water and will avoid feeling as much impact from energy price increases. Meanwhile,

making the long-term shift to a more sustainable form of energy will support wider decarbonisation efforts and help take the city a step closer to reaching its net zero ambitions.” ■ www.vitalenergi.co.uk

per cent of Gustavsberg’s district heating. Fredrika Liffen Rappe, quality assurance and sustainability manager at AstaReal, commented: “We have received certified climate neutral and EPD-certified power from Vattenfall for many years, and our sustainability collaboration has now led to us having a new facility for heat recovery. Our extended partnership fully aligns with our ambition to grow the algae as sustainably as possible, and to be a positive force in society via a circular business philosophy.”

Committed to improving the efficiency of its processes, AstaReal asked Vattenfall for support in developing a sustainable solution. Vattenfall designed and installed a specially adapted on-site heat facility, one that uses pumps to recover 15m kilowatt hours of otherwise wasted heat per year. The recycled excess energy is currently being used to heat 2,500 apartments in Gustavsberg. The project, which is the first of its kind in Sweden, now makes up 20

Electrical infrastructure specialist Vattenfall Network Solutions will continue to be responsible for AstaReal’s on-site facilities, operations and administration. Via its Power as a Service (PaaS) model, the energy company owns and manages all high-voltage electrical installations on behalf of AstaReal, including transformers and switchgears.

AstaReal’s Fredrika Liffen Rappe concluded: “Our cultivation process is highly energy-intensive, because algae need powerful and uninterrupted light supply to survive and grow. This is why it is crucial that we have a stable supply of power – and that the power reserve kicks in should a power outage occur. Vattenfall’s PaaS guarantees us the energy needed for production.” ■ www.group.vattenfall.com

The recycled excess energy is being used to heat 2,500 apartments

HEATING & COOLING

Chilled beams offer a flexible solution and cut energy use

AERMEC says its next generation chilled beams can provide a more flexible HVAC solution while reducing energy consumption and reliance on fossil fuels.

The EHT hybrid induction terminal combines, cooling, heating, fresh air, ventilationonly and air distribution in one compact device for rooms with a ceiling height of up to 4m.

A fundamental feature of the EHT is its aesthetic appeal making it an ideal solution for a diversity of interiors, including offices, hotel rooms, airports, railway stations, hospital environments and any large area in general. Environmental consideration was a key part of the design process. Parallel heat exchangers maximise efficiencies

and the unit fully exploits the Coanda effect. Consideration was given to the optimisation of the finned coils, obtaining the maximum heat exchange coefficient with reduced pressure drops on the air and water side, resulting in the highest levels of comfort whilst respecting the ecosystem.

Dehumidification is addressed by the air handling unit, resulting in no condensate inside the EHT beam, eliminating the risk of mould and bacteria and other organisms that may be harmful to health.

Air of the highest quality is injected into the space – the air handling unit filters, treats and dehumidifies fresh air before sending it into the EHT. The option to be able to select the right configuration of the nozzles ensures that the right fresh air flow rate can be guaranteed for the required application.

www.aermec.co.uk

BOILER TECHNOLOGY

AIR HANDLING

Flow controllers incorporate advanced technology for measuring airflow

The TROX TVE range of flow controllers for variable air volume (VAV) systems is claimed to be the most energy-efficient to date, accommodating lower airflow velocities than any other circular VAV. Advanced technology for measuring airflow is built within the damper blade, removing the need for a separate flow grid and allowing airflow measurement in both directions. The recently expanded TVE range also incorporates numerous design features for faster, more costeffective installation and easy cleaning benefits for long life with minimised maintenance.

The TROX TVE range now includes volume flow controllers in nominal dimensions 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 315 and 400mm. The two larger dimension models were recently introduced to meet a broader range of air

Range of steam boilers designed to provide high operating pressures

Babcock Wanson has launched the FM Pack range of Steam Water Tube Boilers, for steam outputs from 4.5 to 80t/h. Suitable for applications requiring high steam output, high pressure steam or superheated steam, the FM Pack range provides steam, from dry saturated to high temperature superheated and, due to the heat exchanger design, have the ability to provide very high operating

pressures, from 10 to 95barg.

Babcock Wanson has designed these latest steam water tube boilers for optimum efficiency, durability and longevity. The casing is pressurised to maintain the flue gas outlet temperature, avoiding corrosion risk due to condensation, plus there is a complete separation between tubes and casing and minimal refractory components. All parts of the boiler have been designed

handling applications.

Energy efficiency is a key advantage of the TVE range; they can measure airflows from 13m/s right down to 0.5m/s. This large turn-down ratio allows significant reductions in airflow volumes to be implemented when rooms are unoccupied, allowing the air handling unit (AHU) to operate at lower pressure/speed than usual and then only ramp up to design parameters when required.

www.troxuk.co.uk

for easy access for maintenance. For applications where poor types of fuel gases are used, the FM Pack boiler is available in a specially constructed variant, making it suitable for use in locations around the world. This flexible approach can also be seen in FM Pack’s adaptability to different types of burners to ensure the boiler can work with different fuels in compliance with emissions regulations such as the Medium Combustion Plant Directive.

For maximum efficiency, FM Pack boilers can be connected to an external economiser

www.babcock-wanson.com

Futurebuild promises to focus on some of the most pressing challenges en route to net zero

Making a stand for a better built environment

Futurebuild 2023 is set to provide specifiers with the ideas, inspiration and innovative solutions that will help them create net zero buildings faster, more safely and more efficiently

Taking place at ExCeL London from March 7-9, Futurebuild will focus on our most pressing challenges in order to accelerate the shift to a net zero built environment.

Sustainability remains at the core of this year’s show and is why Futurebuild 2023 is also urging architects and specifiers to act now and ‘take a stand’ on an issue they passionately believe will help propel the industry towards a more sustainable future.

The Take a Stand theme is central to the Futurebuild conference programme which will bring together an outstanding line-up of expert speakers who are distinguished in their field to deliver the best possible understanding of what collectively we all need to do to meet our climate challenges. We are pleased to have two notable sponsors of this year’s conference; SNRG and Hub Brussels.

Changing current mindset

The first day will focus on Looking Forward and why we need to develop the foresight necessary to break out of our current mindset, with a fantastic Activism session entitled Act now, or face extinction chaired by Ben Goldsmith Chair, Chief Executive at Menhaden and member of the Conservative Environmental Network Board.

Examining behaviour change

On day two, the conference will explore the nature of Changing and especially ‘behaviour change’.

Dr Viktoria Spaiser, Associate Professor in Sustainability

at the University of Leeds, will chair a discussion on the Big Issue of Changing how we do things in our professional and personal behaviour to live within planetary boundaries which features Dr Niamh Murtagh on the panel.

Ideas for change

Day 3 will move on to Taking Action, hearing from those who have been doing just that and exploring plans that can take society and the construction industry forward.

Futurebuild will also be curated into eight show sections including Buildings sponsored by Steico, Digital sponsored by Zutec, Energy sponsored by Kensa Group, Sustainable Infrastructure sponsored by ACO, Interiors sponsored by Lutron, Materials and Offsite. The newly expanded Retrofit section, sponsored by Elmhurst Energy and in partnership with The Retrofit Academy CIC and Osmosis, will be showcasing the best

solutions, technologies and services, that together, can unite and strengthen the delivery of whole house retrofit at scale. It will examine the current housebuilding model and ensure we do not generate a legacy of problems for the future. The event will also feature three new spotlights; Lighting in partnership with KNX UK; District Energy in partnership with UKDEA and FutureX Innovation sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and in partnership with Ryder Architecture.

and materials, and meet the leading thinkers behind these innovations. The Big Innovation Pitch will also return and offer exhibiting companies the chance of being crowned winner in 2023.

Innovations from SMEs

Those attending can also find further inspiration at FutureX Innovation which will shine a spotlight on startups and SMEs who will bring never seen before innovations to the event. The spotlight will also include an Innovation Stage that will host the new Big Ideas Pitch.

Curated and delivered by over 90 industry leading partners and featuring a stellar line-up of over 300 speakers, the expanded seminar programme is bringing the whole industry together to debate and learn from each other.

The programme features practical and actionable CPD accredited sessions so housebuilders and developers can gain many CPD points in one visit and at the same time acquire the knowledge and skills that will help them in their day-to-day role with content delivered across seven stages. Industry leading partners and associations taking part include The Good Homes Alliance, BRE, Passivhaus Trust, Built by Nature, IOM World, RIBA and UKDEA (District Energy Association) to name but a few.

Future policy and regulations

Innovative technology

on

show Futurebuild will continue to be the industry platform for innovation and features a wealth of opportunities to showcase the most innovative technology, products and services. At the heart of this is the return of the renowned Innovation Trail that will give visitors the opportunity to explore revolutionary products, solutions

Stand out sessions from the Energy & District Energy stage include Policy and Regulations to 2030 and beyond - Impacts on the Sector curated by UKDEA on day one. Day two features a session curated by SNRG about Grid constraints and the transition to net zero for the built environment, with day three hosting what’s sure to be an engaging session on the Implementation of the Future Homes Standards: Challenges and Opportunities, curated by CABE and featuring Dr Gavin Dunn from CABE, Oliver Novakovic from Barratt PLC Group and Stuart Fairlie from Elmhurst Energy. ■

For more details, visit www.futurebuild.co.uk

ESTA VIEWPOINT

Incentivise to expand at home and abroad

Mervyn Pilley sees that the Government is slowly beginning to recognise the need for energy efficiency. But it has to take that next step and find ways of funding investment

Icontinually try to be the optimist, as the start of the year is as good a time as any to be optimistic. Unfortunately, the events of January have rather contained the enthusiasm somewhat as the economic environment for UK businesses continues to be incredibly challenging. Rising business costs, reducing customer spends, a recession and ongoing supply chain problems.

If you add in challenges for innovative SME businesses in relation to proposed changes to the R&D tax credit system, and the ongoing assault on freelance contractors via IR35 and one has to seriously question just where the Government expects the leveraged investment of £100bn from the private sector to come from, especially when their contribution hovers around £6bn. I have always struggled to see how any Government could seriously believe that they need to do so little policy wise.

I was certainly excited about the chancellor using the two magic words – energy efficiency – not Net Zero – last year, but again the £1bn earmarked for insulation projects with few incentives for the commercial

Mervyn Pilley

and non-domestic sector to invest in energy efficiency measures is disappointing.

The fact remains, as highlighted by a number of independent reports – we are not on track to meet our legal carbon reduction targets and we are equally making very slow progress compared with others on really tackling the underlying issues of the energy crisis. We look forward to playing an active role this year in relation to the Taskforce being established to investigate ways to utilise the powerful weapon that is energy efficiency to tackle the challenges. We are also going to continue to drive cross sector collaboration to ensure that energy users are fully aware of all available solutions that exist.

Incentivising investment

Long-term readers of EiBIwill be aware of my long-held belief that the tax system should be used as a tool to incentivise investment. The standard treasury argument that there is not enough money available and that the private sector has to do all the heavy lifting does not stand up in the area of energy efficiency measures where reduced costs will result in larger profits and therefore an increased tax take for the treasury. The direct incentivisation also needs to include supporting training costs for SME businesses to allow for the substantial increase needed in installer capacity to tackle the huge task of installing retrofits in the next few years.

Exports to Europe post Brexit

There has been focus again on the challenges faced by UK businesses in trying to export their goods and services to the rest of the world and especially Europe in the post Brexit environment. While in recent years the available support for trade missions from Government seems to have disappeared I do believe that more than ever this type of support is needed and should return. This could be something as simple as representatives from the Department for International Trade attending trade shows where UK companies have good opportunities to set up new export deals.

This has come to mind as I plan what ESTA is going to do to support its members export ambitions at

the forthcoming global trade show – Key Energy, taking place in Rimini, Italy, at the end of March. This show, which has broken away this year from its parent show – Ecomondo – should be a strong opportunity to increase trade in both directions with buyers and suppliers attending from many countries around the world.

I am hopeful that the DIT will send supporting attendees to the event, but we will have to wait and see. In the meantime, if any reader is interested in supporting a UK stand/presence to showcase our talents and abilities then please get in touch.

In addition to planning trade show attendances in 2023 I have also continued planning other activity for the year. Venue costs continue to be very prohibitive and I am still not entirely sure whether there is a real appetite to fully return to face-to-face activity. My gut feel is that there is but the cost and resource of companies sending staff to events around the UK may be challenging.

Hosting an ESTA event

If any organisation would be interested in hosting an ESTA event then please get in touch. Large spaces not necessarily required. Anywhere between 50 and a 100 people would be good, and it goes without saying that we would cover any associated costs such as catering. I would stress that this discussion is not just relevant to ESTA members with space available.

While on the subject of support activity I have another rather unusual ask of EiBIreaders. Many of you will be aware of our Energy Conscious Organisation (EnCO) initiative that looks to encompass human behaviour and the available technology to enhance energy efficiency savings. One very important foundation of this programme is the need for case studies to prove to the world at large that the savings are real.

If any EiBIreaders have either run, or as a company taken part, in a behaviour change-related energy efficiency project it would be of great help if you would be prepared to share the case study with us. I would stress that the client/company/organisation name does not need to be made public. If anyone is interested in supporting the EnCO programme in this way please get in touch. ■

Executive director of ESTA (Energy Services and Technology Association)

We are making slow progress on really tackling the underlying issues of the energy crisis

Create your own ecosystem

With the growth of the Internet of Things, we are seeing more lighting schemes take the form of product ecosystems. Julian Kay explains their benefits

Julian Kay www.danlers.co.uk

Managing Director at Danlers Ltd

as some data gathered by the devices) is stored in every device in the ecosystem. In other types of ecosystem, this data is stored in the cloud and accessed via a gateway.

Aproduct ecosystem is an intercommunicating network of different devices that perform a range of tasks. There are several brands of ecosystem on the market, each with its own set of strengths. Each brand uses its own communication protocol. So every device in an ecosystem must use this same protocol in order to be compatible.

A typical lighting scheme that is designed as a product ecosystem could comprise a variety of light fittings, as well as movement and daylight sensors which interact and operate as a sophisticated yet flexible lighting control system.

Wireless communication

The devices normally use Bluetooth communication (or a similar technology) to communicate wirelessly with all the other devices in the ecosystem. The devices form a communication mesh, where messages of each device’s status or sensing data are passed around the whole network. The ecosystem’s functions can be programmed via a computer, tablet or similar. With some types of ecosystems, all the programming data (as well

As the communication takes the form of a mesh (with every device exchanging information with multiple other devices) there is no “single point of failure.”

If a device drops out, or is removed from the ecosystem, the rest of the ecosystem continues to operate without it. In some types of ecosystem, any newly added devices automatically learn the ecosystem’s programming from the other devices.

A typical function performed by an ecosystem is automatic energysaving lighting control. An ecosystem may include person detectors and photocell sensors, often combined in the same device. The information on whether a person is detected by a particular device, and the information on the measured ambient light levels, are communicated around the ecosystem. Depending on how the ecosystem has been programmed, specific lights can then be switched on or off, or brightened or dimmed accordingly.

Colour-changeable LEDs

Ecosystems can also hold time and date-based instructions. So certain lights or signage can be switched on at predetermined hours. Also, where colour-changeable LED lighting makes up part of the ecosystem, the colour output of the

lights can be changed according to a schedule. In hospitality venues this can be used to create mood lighting. For general lighting, this can be used to change the colour temperature (or quality) of the lighting to suit the time of day and the use of the area. Light with a higher colour temperature includes more blue wavelengths of light. This is more akin to bright daylight and is ideal for alertness and visual clarity for detailed tasks. Light with a lower colour temperature biases more towards redder wavelengths of light. This is more akin to the light at sunset or fire light, and is more relaxing. The colour temperature of the lighting can be changed during the day or night to mirror the natural cycle of daylight.

Ecosystem-ready fittings

Many light fittings and lighting controls are now manufactured as “ecosystemready” – so that they are designed to form part of a specific type of ecosystem without any additional hardware. Similarly, there are some light fittings with built-in controls which are ecosystem-ready. With the ecosystem’s mesh communication, these devices can be programmed to operate in almost any required fashion. For example, if any office along a corridor is occupied, then the corridor lighting can be kept on at a 50 per cent “stand-by” lighting level.

Ecosystems typically bring many benefits. With ecosystems using Bluetooth communication, or similar, there is usually no need for wiring

between lighting control devices and the lights they are controlling. This saves on expensive materials, such as copper wiring, and on the time and costs of installation. When part of a building undergoes a change of layout or change of use, the ecosystem can be re-programmed by an authorized person. There is minimal, if any, need for rewiring or changes to the physical installation.

Electronically tagging assets

One key function which is possible with some ecosystems is “asset tracking”. An appropriately electronically tagged asset can be traced and located within the physical area of the ecosystem. This can be ideal for tracking pallets in a warehouse or for tracking important pieces of medical equipment in a hospital. As light fittings and lighting controls, by their nature, are usually spread across the entire floor area of a building, the lighting system provides the ideal grid via which such assets can be detected and located.

Ecosystems can normally be programmed to gather specific data. With the right analysis this can yield valuable information on measures such as energy usage and the movement of people. In retail applications, knowing how people are moving through a space can give valuable feedback on the effectiveness of store layouts and give suggestions on the best places to position merchandising displays.

As well as these examples of how ecosystems can be used for lighting applications, ecosystems can incorporate a range of other building electrical services, such as heating and cooling, CO₂ level sensing, air quality management and monitoring for security. ■

An electronically tagged asset can be traced as part of the ecosystem

LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY

Greater collaboration is key to net zero

A new report from the British Council of Offices underlines the importance of sharing data when designing buildings and specifying technology, including lighting, writes

Debbie-Sue Farrell

There is increasing evidence that effective cooperation – including the sharing of data and insight between stakeholders – is going to be essential to achieving a net-zero future across the built environment. It is a message that comes through loud and clear in a recent University College London Consultants (UCLC) report commissioned by the British Council of Offices (BCO). Entitled Delivering Net Zero Carbon in the Workplace, the study starts from the recognition that achieving net zero is now a “major component” of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies in the commercial real estate sector. This requirement, notes the BCO, is “driven by a growing expectation from businesses, their customers and ultimately the public, to respond to the effects of climate change”¹

Workplace carbon footprint

Drawing on the input of more than 100 office occupiers and building professionals, the report outlines the barriers businesses still face in reducing their workplace carbon footprint – and then goes on to suggest a host of corrective measures. These include ‘greener and longer’ leases in which office occupiers have more say over refurbishments; more rigorous sharing of data between owners and occupiers; and a greater willingness to employ sub-metering and sensors to ascertain where energy is used. Underpinning all of these recommendations is an awareness that collaboration is ‘often lacking’, and that this is having a negative impact on decarbonisation.

There is no doubt that everyone connected with the built environment is more focused on energy usage than ever before. Similarly, awareness of the need to make buildings old and

new as energy efficient as possible is at an all-time high.

More meaningful collaboration is going to be essential to all aspects –not least the selection of technology which ensures occupiers can benefit from buildings that are both functional and environmentally progressive.

From conversations with customers and our supply-chain, we know that many are now cognisant of the circular economy – in which there is an emphasis on sharing, leasing and using existing products and materials. They want it to be a central component of their operations – and this is something we urge building and energy managers to be aware of when considering suppliers and their technologies for retrofits (or indeed new projects).

Stakeholder collaboration

Circular economy principles and considerations can be applied to most types of building systems. However, as the guidance in the BCO’s report points out, it is often the design and specification of lighting – and lighting systems - that benefit from this approach. And, where there is collaboration and cooperation between stakeholders too, there are positive environmental outcomes.

‘Category A’ fit-outs can be counter-productive. The BCO report emphasises that Category A interior fit-outs can prove to be very wasteful. These typically include lighting and basic finishes, such as flooring, being installed by the building owner, only to be ripped out by the occupier in favour of something that more closely matches their needs.

Ideally, this approach would be supplanted by an early-stage dialogue between owner and occupier that eliminates the requirement for a further fit-out. But this is not always possible, and instead it’s clear that a ‘Cat A+’ model would be more effective in many cases. This approach is a mid-point between Cat A and the customisation-intensive Cat B, and priorities a policy of reuse and locally-sourced products offering lower embodied carbon.

LED lighting can deliver on multiple

fronts in the pursuit of a low-carbon future. A good collaboration between stakeholders that recognises the huge contribution to be made by the appropriate deployment of LED lighting can be hugely productive. For example, on the operational carbon side – which is concerned with the energy required to actually use the light fittings over their entire lifecycle – it is often possible to reduce energy consumption by two-thirds.

Embedded carbon implications

The implications for embodied carbon – which encompasses installation, maintenance and materials – can also be dramatic. On the basis that LED lights now afford at least 50,000 hours of operation, and the lights are used in a workplace for 10 hours per day, their lifespan could surpass 13 years.

Dialogue between owners and occupiers is vital to minimising carbon emissions over the long-term. The installation of a well-specified LED lighting system will make a massive contribution to decarbonisation throughout a building’s complete lifespan. But that doesn’t mean the dialogue between owner and occupier should stop there. Indeed,

Lighting design and specification can benefit from circular economy principles

it’s essential for both parties to keep talking so they can identify potential problems early on.

If the practical and environmental benefits of increased collaboration around lighting and other building systems aren’t adequate recommendation, then there could be extra legislative factors. For example, the Government has just announced proposals to ensure that lighting in both domestic and non-domestic buildings in England, Scotland and Wales meets minimum energy performance standards which are higher than regulations currently in place in the US or EU.²

All of which means that the need to start the technical discussion at an early stage – and then keep the conversation going – could hardly be more critical. ■

References

1) http://www.bco.org.uk/News/ News58176.aspx

2) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ leading-the-world-in-lighting-efficiencylightens-the-load-on-energy-bills

Head of wellbeing and marketing manager at Tamlite Lighting

Debbie-Sue Farrell www.tamlite.co.uk

Unlock funding for energy efficiency

Lucy Padfield examines the scale of the energy efficiency challenge facing the UK and believes funding is the key to kick-starting improvements

The scale of the energy efficiency challenge in the UK has long presented a headache for both the public and private sector. According to recent data from property data platform LandTech, 64 per cent of UK rental homes do not comply with looming energy performance certificate targets, with properties needing to meeting a rating of C or above by 2025.

Energy efficiency may not attract the same headlines as glossy new hydrogen technologies for instance, but in fact it should be approached as the first pivotal step on the net-zero journey. Fabric efficiency improvements like insulation are obvious first steps for buildings, but improving the efficiency of how they are heated is also important.

Key to decarbonistion

Heat networks are key to the UK’s decarbonisation challenge. To date, funding has focused on delivering new district heat networks, but opportunities to improve system efficiency and customer experience in existing, often aging, communal and district heating systems have often been overlooked. A 2018 study by the Competition and Markets Authority recorded over 14,000 existing communal and district heating networks but found many were in need of improvements, which was also corroborated by recent research by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Amid cost-of-living and energy crises it has never been more important to ensure heat networks are working optimally and savings are being passed onto customers.

Fortunately, the UK is now waking up to the practical implementation of

decarbonising heat and the need for large-scale investment. Launching this month, the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) will unlock £30m of capital grants over two years to part-fund the installation of cost-effective energy performance improvements, in addition to £2m of revenue funding for optimisation studies. The ambitious funding programme will be delivered by a consortium of industry experts, including lead partner Gemserv, with Ramboll acting as technical advisor. It follows the Heat Network Efficiency Demonstrator, which proved to be popular. Despite being oversubscribed, BEIS provided capital or revenue grants to 110 projects. There is therefore clearly appetite to tackle heat network improvements to help drive net zero.

While HNES will be open to both the public and private sector, the Demonstrator saw highest take-up among social housing providers (both local authorities and housing associations) who can often find themselves caught in a vicious circle of a lack of funding and the oldest, least efficient heat networks. With help from the scheme, authorities can reap benefits ranging from a reduction in network carbon emissions to reduced fuel use, distribution losses and overheating. Participating in the scheme will also help arm applicants with more detailed data to improve accuracy of billing and information that they are able to share with residents.

Pass savings on to residents

Ensuring schemes are delivering optimal energy efficiency will allow the savings to be passed on to residents. As well as reducing carbon emissions, HNES will focus on projects where

customer need is greatest, spanning residents in social housing, lowincome housing, extra care housing, care homes, supported housing and residents experiencing fuel poverty

Heat networks are complex and made up of many constituent parts. HNES is designed to be flexible to meet a diverse range of improvement measures. Applicants can apply for up to 50 per cent of the total estimated costs and there is no upper or lower limit for capital grants but each application is assessed on its own merits. Most improvement measures are eligible other than replacing the primary heat generation plant, which is covered by the Green Heat Network Fund (see below).

Pumping improvements

The most in-demand measures from the Demonstrator were improvements to pumping and pumping controls, but measures were wide-ranging in scope from how the heat is pumped out across the primary and secondary networks; control systems; and heat exchangers in the buildings themselves. Crucially, the scheme also includes aspects of the tertiary sections of heat networks up to and including what is inside peoples’

homes e.g., controls or balancing. These are not always included in heat network funding as they can also be classed as part of ‘normal’ heating systems and thus covered by routine maintenance and upgrades. Guidance on what is and isn’t eligible is now available on the BEIS website and is well worth a read.

Complementary schemes

The scheme will work hand in glove with complementary BEIS schemes, most notably the Green Heat Network Fund, a 3-year £288 capital grant fund which will support the construction of new heat networks and is focused on the switch from fossil fuel generation to lower carbon heat sources. Meanwhile HNES will directly lead to lower fuel consumption and improved heat delivery. The Demonstrator showed that reduction in fuel use was the top benefit, followed by reduction in service interruptions. Ultimately, creating new district heat networks will continue to play a major role in heat decarbonisation but it would be an oversight to not also ensure existing networks are robust.

We all know that energy efficiency is neither sexy new tech nor rocket science, and has historically been under-prioritised, but it is essential to solving the net-zero puzzle nonetheless. This is no longer theoretical - local authorities, housing associations and private owners need to get their houses in order before simply investing in the next headline-grabbing technology. The decarbonisation challenge may appear daunting, but it’s important to not overlook the obvious. ■

Lucy Padfield Director, energy, Ramboll

Energy efficiency does not attract the same headlines as glossy new hydrogen technologies