January 2021

JANUARY 2021

PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

www.eibi.co.uk

In this issue Heat Pumps CPD Module: Monitoring & Metering Drives & Motors Monitoring & Metering Energy in the Public Sector

Flattening the curve Eliminate harmonics

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Monitoring and metering Four steps to success

A pathway to zero The role of heat pumps

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JANUARY 2021

PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

www.eibi.co.uk

In this issue Heat Pumps CPD Module: Monitoring & Metering Drives & Motors Monitoring & Metering Energy in the Public Sector

Flattening the curve Eliminate harmonics

Monitoring and metering Four steps to success

Contents

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A pathway to zero The role of heat pumps

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JANUARY 2021

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31

FEATURES

25 Heating Technology

10 Heat Pump Technology

Up to 15m homes might need to be fitted with heat pumps by 2035 for the UK to meet its carbon reduction commitments.

Max Halliwell explores how this target can be met Rapid development in technology means that heat pumps are an option for retrofitting industrial and commercial buildings, believes Garry Broadbent (12) Heat pumps aren’t an easy solution for decarbonisation, says Simon Bennett as he considers the challenges specifying air source heat pumps to meet hot water demands (13) Pressure is building to change attitudes to renewable technologies. Tony Nielsen, considers the opportunities for the heating and cooling industry (14)

21 Drives & Motors

What are harmonics, where do they come from and why does anyone care about them? Stuart Bratton has the answers A research centre is developing a new material suitable for the 3D printing of permanent magnets. And VSDs slash costs for Sri Lanka’s tea industry (22)

Charlie Mowbray looks at how the whole of a heating system needs to be considered to ensure optimum performance

26 Monitoring & Metering

Balancing demand to make sure supply effectively is going to be a key weapon in future heating, believes Adrian Barber A customisable dashboard is helping give a holistic view of energy use (27) There are four key steps to be taken to achieve efficient building monitoring. Janie Jeffries-Freer examines this strategy (28) A specialist provider of mechanical engineering services is using a flowmeter to size boiler plant (30)

31 Energy in the Public Sector Nick Kennedy believes that it is the right time to give hospitals more support in achieving carbon reductions

Work gets underway on ‘the largest ever local’ retrofit project, while two universities feel the benefit of new plant (33)

REGULARS 06 News Update Improving energy efficiency is a key part of the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan. CBI calls for exemption for green technologies from business tax rates

09 The Warren Report The potential for jobs creation in energy efficiency is immense.

But this will only be realised if it is matched by government enthusiasm behind effective policies

15 Products in Action Logistics company goes for electric forklift fleet, while a Kent primary school saves over £6,000 a year thanks to a lighting upgrade

16 ESTA Viewpoint

23 New Products

2021 is heralding a new era for ESTA as it broadens its remit to increase training services. Mervyn Pilley explains

New for the energy manager this month are a smart lighting solution and an expansion to a range of condensing units

17 The Fundamental Series: CPD Learning This month’s CPD module is sponsored by

Chris Burgess looks at metering and monitoring, one of the fundamental techniques for an energy manager

34 Talking Heads The amount of ‘carbon jargon’ has exploded in recent years. Without clarity of definition Dan Crowe is concerned businesses will become mired in confusion

Follow us, ‘like us’ or visit us online to keep up to date with all the latest energy news and events www.eibi.co.uk JANUARY 2021 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 03

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Editor’s Opinion

Follow us on @ twitter.com/energyzine and twitter.com/markthrower1

Train and reform

I

n lockdown it becomes very difficult to look forward to a time when things will return to normal. The lack of contact with friends, family and colleagues places a huge strain on all of us every day. And of course, it has been especially difficult for all those who have lost their jobs during this last year.

But there is some light at the end of the tunnel. With spring should come the first glimpses of normality and a slow and steady improvement in the economy. A top priority for the Government will be the retention and then creation of jobs. The potential for the growth of jobs in the green sector is enormous. Back in July Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out a £2bn Green Homes grant scheme, part of a wider “over £3bn” plan to upgrade homes and public buildings. When first announced, the plan was set to improve 600,000 existing homes and sustain 100,000 jobs (see page 9).

In September, Treasury Minister Kemi Badenoch announced that, by including an extra 50,000 public sector buildings improvements, and a social housing programme, this initiative “could support 140,000 green jobs.”

If these jobs, which will require skills of all sorts, are to be created, a huge amount of extra training will be required. The Government

has set out ambitious plans to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. These plans could come badly unstuck unless there are many more skilled engineers in the supply chain. The industry needs to have the confidence to invest in skills at a time when confidence is low.

And owners of buildings need to have the confidence to invest in green technologies to stimulate demand. The CBI has rightly called for Government to exempt green technologies and energy efficiency investments from business tax rates to speed up the zero carbon transition.

The organisation argues that the current business rates system actually penalises firms that invest in their property, imposing an immediate higher business rates bill. Knowledge of this often discourages firms carrying out green renovations to their buildings.

As use of buildings accounts for 40 per cent of the UK’s total carbon footprint, investments in decarbonising properties should be a major priority for companies. So business rates need reforming to incentivise green building upgrades. This could unleash a wave of investment and create more of the jobs we are all desperate to see. .

MANAGING EDITOR

Mark Thrower

www.eibi.co.uk

The EiBI Team Editorial Managing Editor Mark Thrower tel: 01483 452854 Email: editor@eibi.co.uk Address: P. O. Box 825, Guildford GU4 8WQ

Advertising Sales Managers Chris Evans tel: 01889 577222 fax: 01889 579177 Email: chris@eibi.co.uk Address: 16-18 Hawkesyard Hall, Armitage Park, Rugeley, Staffordshire WS15 1PU Russ Jackson tel: 01704 501090 fax: 01704 531090 Email: russ@eibi.co.uk Address: Argyle Business Centre, 8 Leicester Street, Southport, Lancashire PR9 0EZ Nathan Wood tel 01525 716 143 fax 01525 715 316 Email nathan@eibi.co.uk Address: 1b, Station Square Flitwick, Bedfordshire MK45 1DP

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Circulation Sue Bethell Tel: 01889 577222 Email: circulation@eibi.co.uk

Administration/ production Fran Critchlow Tel: 01889 577222 Email: info@eibi.co.uk

THIS MONTH’S COVER STORY Systems integrator, BMSI is making available MediCentre, a remote technical centre, which is enabling the company to offer a tailored package for clients.

The package provides a full lifecycle service that creates a holistic view of customers’ energy efficiency, focussing on the acquisition, analysis and presentation of energy and BEMS control data from a wide variety of sources, using its software platform, MEDIC. The Macallan Distillery in Moray, Scotland, has been utilising MEDIC to deliver a blended support maintenance service of onsite and remote PPM with a focus on resilience around reactive issues supported by a 24/7 callout facility.

See page 27 for more details Photo courtesy of BMSI

Publishing Directors Chris Evans Russ Jackson Magazine Designer Tim Plummer For overseas readers or UK readers not qualifying for a free copy, annual subscription rates are £85 UK; £105 Europe airmail; £120 RoW. Single copies £10 each.

Published by: Pinede Publishing Ltd 16-18 Hawkesyard Hall, Armitage Park, Nr. Rugeley, Staffordshire WS15 1PU ISSN 0969 885X This issue includes photographs provided and paid for by suppliers

Printed by Precision Colour Printing Origination by Design and Media Solutions ABC Audited Circulation Jan-Dec 2019 12,175

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news update For all the latest news stories visit www.eibi.co.uk

Climate change ‘set to disrupt up to 10m jobs’ The UK’s climate change targets threaten almost twice as many jobs in the Midlands and north as in London and the south east, a recently published report says.

Up to 10m jobs will be disrupted by the UK’s legally binding commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050 and 52 per cent are concentrated in the north, Midlands or Scotland, the research found.

The poorest regions could be hit hardest by the race to cut emissions. This will be a fresh blow for places that were blighted by deindustrialisation in the 1980s and 1990s, the report by think tank Onward, warns.

The authors said that the results showed the need for a government plan to “smooth the transition” for communities that rely heavily on carbon-intensive industries and face by far the greatest threat.

But as the UK goes further and faster to delivering net zero there will increasingly be geographic, political and economic trade offs that need to be better understood and mitigated.

Looking at the distribution of jobs in industries that contribute more than 2 per cent of UK carbon emissions, Onward finds that the UK’s least prosperous regions disproportionately rely on heavily emitting industries for jobs at present.

The East Midlands has the highest proportion of jobs in high emitting industries (42 per cent).

This region is closely followed by the West Midlands (41 per cent), Yorkshire and the Humber (38 per cent), and the North West (38 per cent).

In contrast, London and the South East have the lowest proportion of jobs in high emitting industries, with 23 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively.

GREEN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Efficiency at heart of Ten Point Plan Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is a key part of the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution. He is emphasising the employment potential of “making our homes, schools and hospitals greener, warmer and more energy efficient.”

During the present decade, he has committed the UK to reducing emissions by 68 per cent since 1990, increasing earlier targets by over 10 per cent.

However, within days the Chancellor of the Exchequer had issued a document which revealed in its small print that next year will see a near 90 per cent drop in size of the government’s flagship Green Homes grant programme for England.

Originally started last October, the programme is backed by £1.5bn of grant support for just the six months to this March. The Prime Minister described it in a speech to the United Nations as “huge, very, very ambitious.” It would, Mr Johnson promised, “be changing the windows, changing the boilers, changing the lagging. “Indeed, he chortled that “we will never be caught lagging on lagging.”

Some 600,000 existing homes are

officially set to be energy improved during this period This initiative is intended to stimulate investment in energy efficiency equipment at the equivalent of £3bn a year.

Installers have been urged to sign up to this programme, by becoming accredited with the TrustMark organisation. There has been much media criticism coming from householders regarding the scarcity of participating installers.

Initial reluctance to expend timing and funds to register with TrustMark had largely been due to the short-term nature of the programme, together with a convoluted qualification mechanism of primary and secondary measures.

The latter complication has led

to very few of the nation’s 10,000 glazing companies getting involved.

Announcing expenditure plans for 2021/22, Chancellor Sunak made great play of the fact that he was responding to concerns about the programme ending after just six months, by promising it would continue until the end of March 2022. What he did not emphasise is that the second scheme will have a total budget of just £325m over the entire 12-month period.

This means that the deemed expenditure and hence activity rate will be running at just 11 per cent of the first scheme, scheduled only for the current financial year. While the second year of the scheme will operate under broadly the same rules as currently, all funds allocated for the current financial year will have to be spent by the end of this March. There is no arrangement made to carry over any unspent funds to year 2021/2022.

Next year’s diminished budget may well deter many more companies from signing up as trainers and installers. Particularly as there is as yet no public commitment to continue with any scheme at all to improve UK buildings after March 2022.

ePrivacy legislation could hamper clean energy sector There are warnings that proposed ePrivacy legislation currently under discussion would hamper many new business models in the clean energy sector. These models are almost all based on the collection and treatment of data by home equipment and smart meters, warns a sustainable energy campaign group.

Consumers would need to give their prior consent to companies processing energy data from equipment installed in people’s homes. Anybody could revoke that consent at any moment, without advance notice.

“This makes data processing for innovative energy services practically impossible, even where only business data is involved,” argues smartEn, an association for digital and decentralised energy solutions. “Almost all innovative business models in the energy sector are based on the processing of consumption, condition, and measurement of data. “ The campaign’s warning illustrates a shift in the public debate about data privacy in the digital age. Concerns over data protection have until now been centred largely on people’s internet browsing behaviour, advertising, social media, and platforms such as Uber or AirBnb. With the digitalisation of electricity, the debate now firmly enters the energy realm.

“The ePrivacy concept is not just about cookies and online advertising. It could also have far-reaching

consequences for new business models in the energy sector,” said Frauke Thies, executive director of smartEn. “Innovative energy services rely on specific data, for example for energy management systems, e-mobility services and smart home applications which help consumers save money and support the clean energy transition,” she warned.

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news update For all the latest news stories visit www.eibi.co.uk

BUSINESS TAX RATES

IN BRIEF

CBI calls for business tax exemption

Crisp maker cuts emissions by 70%

Government should exempt green technologies and energy efficiency investments from business tax rates in order to accelerate the net zero carbon transition, according to the UK’s biggest business group, the Confederation of British Industry.

The CBI argues that the current business rates system actually penalises firms that invest in their property, imposing an immediate higher business rates bill. Knowledge of this often discourages firms carrying out green renovations to their buildings.

As use of buildings accounts for 40 per cent of the UK’s total carbon footprint, investments in decarbonising properties should be a major priority for companies. So business rates need reforming to incentivise green building upgrades.

With the government’s fundamental review of the business rates system, concluding this spring, the CBI wants an exemption provided to green upgrade measures that improve a property’s energy efficiency.

Implementing such reforms could unleash a wave of green investment to help decarbonise the UK’s built environment, helping support the economic recovery from Covid-19

Potato crisp manufacturer Walkers has adopted a technique it says will cut CO2 emissions from its manufacturing process by 70 per cent.

The firm has installed an anaerobic digester, which feeds potato waste to bacteria to produce useful methane. The methane is burned to make electricity for the crisp-frying process – so this saves on burning fossil fuel gas.

The new system will go a step further by taking away potato “cake” left after digestion - and stirring the brewery CO2 into it to make an enriched fertiliser which will help put carbon back into the soil as well as encouraging plant growth.

while furthering the net zero agenda, argued CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith.

“The upcoming review is a key chance to create a modern, sustainable new system that keeps pace with a changing economy and new technologies, “ she said.

“Unlocking widespread business investment can power a UK recovery, create thousands of green jobs and boost productivity post-pandemic. “ Exempting green building upgrades and technologies from business rates would also ease pressure on businesses in the wake of the pandemic. This has drastically

reduced investment in the UK by almost three times as much as the last financial crisis in 2008, according to Newton- Smith.

Business investment fell by a record 27 per cent during 2020, a much larger hit than experienced by other G7 countries.

“With companies already strapped for cash and investment, pressing go on their net-zero plans seems like an uphill struggle, “ she said. “The need for business rates reform is recognised across the board. A new rates system has the potential to power a UK green revolution and spur investment. “

Pandemic contributes to plummeting investment Investment in energy efficiency looks set to plummet by almost 10 per cent in 2020, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency.

Global primary energy intensity – a key indicator of how efficiently the world’s economic activity uses energy – is expected to improve by less than 1 per cent this year, the weakest rate since 2010, according to Energy Efficiency 2020, the latest edition the IEA’s annual update on efficiency trends. This is well below the 3 per cent annual level of improvement needed to achieve the world’s shared goals for addressing climate change, reducing air pollution and increasing access to energy.

Energy efficiency’s weakest progress in a decade threatens international climate goals and makes the next three years a critical period for reversing this worrying trend, the report says.

The disappointing trends are being exacerbated by a plunge

in investments in energy-efficient buildings, equipment and vehicles amid the economic crisis triggered by the

pandemic, the report finds. Purchases of new cars, which are more efficient than older models, have slowed, while construction of new, more efficient homes and other buildings is also expected to decelerate. In industry and commercial buildings, lower energy prices have extended payback periods for key efficiency measures by as much as 40 per cent, reducing their attractiveness compared with other investments. Overall, investment in energy efficiency worldwide is on course to fall by 9 per cent in 2020.

“Together with renewables, energy efficiency is one of the mainstays of global efforts to reach energy and climate goals. While our recent analysis shows encouraging momentum for renewables, I’m very concerned that improvements in global energy efficiency are now at their slowest rate in a decade,” said Dr Fatih Birol (left), executive director of the IEA.

Interactive map to show local policies As part of the Accelerator Cities programme the UK Green Building Council has launched an interactive map designed to showcase leading local authority policies and programmes which address domestic energy efficiency.

The map, which highlights leading local and combined authorities across the UK, is a live resource to support officers responsible for driving local retrofitting programmes, including those directing the Green Homes Grant funding. Users can navigate the map to identify relevant examples of best practice from neighbouring authorities and draw upon lessons learned from existing policies and programmes.

Heat pump roll out could falter The Government’s ambition to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028 could fail unless there are enough skilled engineers in the supply chain, a multi-year extension is given to the Green Homes Grant and making sure the devices are affordable.

The warning comes in a letter to Energy Minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, from the chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee, Philip Dunne MP, after the committee heard evidence on technological innovations and heat pumps.

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news update For all the latest news stories visit www.eibi.co.uk

Regional leaders pledge net zero target of 2045 Thirty-eight regional leaders from Edinburgh to Cornwall are pledging to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 – five years earlier than the target set by the UK government.

The cross-party group of city mayors and council leaders represent more than 20 million people from areas such as Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow and Greater Manchester.

They will sign the ‘UK100 Net Zero pledge’ that explicitly commits them to making their council’s carbon neutral by 2030.

Furthermore, they will pledge that their residents and businesses will be ‘net zero’ by 2045, meaning that virtually all emissions will have been eliminated and those that haven’t will be offset, for example by planting trees.

The pledge has been co-ordinated by the UK100 NGO, a group of local leaders campaigning for cleaner air and less emissions.

“These ambitious local leaders have pledged to do everything within their power to reach Net Zero emissions as soon as possible in a way that benefits their communities with new jobs and skills.

Local leadership, alongside funding and powers is key to winning the Race to Net Zero,” said UK100 director Polly Billington.

The local UK leaders will work together over the coming year to push for more funding and powers from central Government which will enable them to go even “further and faster” in the journey to net zero.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “We are proud to be supporting the UK100 Net Zero Pledge and making the case for urgent collective action to tackle the climate emergency.”

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT COMMITTEE

Departments lack joined up thinking The powerful House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee concluded its hearings on policies to improve energy efficiency in existing buildings with an unprecedented session cross-examining simultaneously ministers from three relevant departments. These were the Treasury’s Exchequer Secretary (Kemi Badenoch (right)), the Housing Minister (Chris Pincher), and the then Energy Minister (Kwasi Kwarteng).

It was clear that each Minister had certain absolute policy priorities.

Pincher – the tenth housing minister in the last eight years—stressed that his Ministry “focussed in large part on building new homes.” Asked directly

by Conservative committee chair Philip Dunne, “are you not engaged with retrofit?”, Pincher replied: “I am focussed on building new houses (sic), not on retrofit.”

In a general discussion about how much expenditure eco-refurbishment might each home need, Pincher said that his Ministry, covering local government as well as housing, held “no figures on the costs of energy improving existing housing. “ Responding to the same question, Kemi Badenoch, the Treasury minister said they were looking only at macro

level for buildings improvement which she put at a nationwide total £45bn, with an average cost of £3,000 per home.

This, said Dunne, was way below the figures others are citing to the EAC. He instanced a Leeds Council estimate that, in their city alone, up to £16bn will be needed to bring just Leeds’ 340,000 homes up to Energy Performance Certificate standard C. Dunne described the Treasury figure as “woefully inadequate.” Badenoch admitted the Treasury is “still very much at the beginning of the process.”

Badenoch added that the Treasury now prefers grants to loans, because the latter are “treated just like capital

spend” - even though the loan is eventually paid back to the Exchequer.

Grants “upskill fairly quickly for jobs, they are the best subsidy you can give.”

She warned: “we won’t get involved with green mortgages” and had “no plans for stamp duty rebates, but the issue is kept under review.” She stated that the Treasury again had “no plans” to reintroduce landlords’ energy tax allowances that stimulated efficiency investment.

Summarising, Badenoch stressed that the Treasury now reckoned that the best way of promoting energy efficiency investment was “regulation” for “the medium and long-term, across the entire market.”

When asked about paying for the Energy Company Obligation from taxes, she described funding via fuel bills as a “proven delivery model” that “provides confidence to the energy efficiency industry.” ECO is working as it is “reducing fuel bills.”

Kwarteng endorsed the general confidence in EPCs, instancing the Business Department’s current consultation on upgrading minimum standards to C for both the private and public rented sectors. He said there were still 16.5m homes in England below C standard.

Required decarbonisation rate continues to soar A decarbonisation rate of 11.7 per cent per annum is now required to keep warming within 1.5°C - five times greater than what was achieved prior to the pandemic (2.4 per cent), according to new analysis from PwC. The PwC Net Zero Index shows that, based on current trends in energy consumption and CO2 emissions generation, the century’s global carbon budget would be used up by the end of this decade. It sets the scene for a decade requiring unprecedented progress in solutions, investment, skills and technology transformation across business, government and society. As global economies plan their emergence from the pandemic, the Index provides a warning sign of the risks of a return to “business as usual.”

Dr Celine Herweijer (above), Global Climate Change Leader, and Partner at PwC UK, said: “Every year we underachieve on cutting carbon, the task gets tougher and the transition required is more radical. We now need decarbonisation and ultimately transformation of companies, industries and geographies at an unprecedented scale and speed. The good news is that when public policy, public interest, technological innovation and investment line up, we can see how fast systems can transform - the automotives industry today being a case in point.”

Hydrogen heating comes to Northumberland homes The first boilers in the UK to utilise hydrogen are now heating homes in Northumberland.

The HyStreet test site in Spadeadam is made up of specially built demonstration houses where over 200 tests have been completed to research and confirm the safety of switching homes and gas networks to hydrogen.

The project, which is part of

Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition H21, is headed by Northern Gas Networks with partners that include Cadent, Scottish Gas Networks, Wales & West Utilities, National Grid, DNV GL and the Health and Safety Executive’s science division. H21 is showing how current natural gas networks can be repurposed to

safely carry 100 per cent hydrogen.

The first demonstration has seen Worcester Bosch & Baxi Heating install combi-boilers into the houses on HyStreet. The programme is part of the UK Government-funded Hy4Heat programme which is also helping the development of hydrogen-ready gas cookers, fires and gas meters.

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THE WARREN REPORT

Andrew Warren is chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation

Jabs and jobs go arm in arm The potential for jobs creation in energy efficiency is immense. But this will only be realised if it is matched by government enthusiasm behind effective policies

J

abs and jobs. These are likely to be 2021’s main political issues.

Everyone involved with energy efficiency will be delighted with a roll-out of the first, as COVID 19 undoubtedly hindered investment activity during 2020.

But there is no question that everyone involved with expanding energy efficiency investments will be able to help both secure existing employment opportunities, and vastly expand the numbers of those engaged in future.

Spending on energy efficiency-related stimulus measures announced by developed governments worldwide to date is reckoned already to generate almost 2m full-time jobs between 2021 and 2023, according to International Energy Agency (IEA) analysis published in December.

But worth remembering is that previous analysis, contained in the Sustainable Recovery publication in June from the very same IEA, estimated a job creation potential for energy efficiency of 4m. So long as recovery efforts are further targeted at channelling public and private sector investment into improving buildings, transport and industry.

In other words, the actual number of new jobs which this sector can and gladly would provide, will be very dependent upon the enthusiasm behind and the effectiveness of any policies designed to promote energy efficiency.

Many statistics are bandied around regarding the potential for such job creation, sometimes differing widely. But to establish where we are going, we need first of all to ascertain where we currently are.

Fortunately, the Office for National Statistics collects the relevant UK figures. These form part of a sector of the workforce it describes as low carbon and

renewable energy economy (LCREE). The energy efficiency sector forms easily the largest component part of this sector. In 2018, it was responsible for 51 per cent of LCREE jobs, providing work for the equivalent of 114,000 full-time employees.

To put this number into perspective, there are 49,800 people employed in the renewables businesses. And just 12,400 in nuclear energy generation and (mainly) reprocessing.

Tellingly, although more than half the people in the sector are employed in energy efficiency, together they are only responsible for just 36 per cent of total sector turnover. All of which argues that either less capital is required per employee? Or the average person involved with reducing demand for energy receives significantly less pay than those involved in energy generation? Or quite possibly both.

Improve homes, create jobs How much can the numbers grow in the UK? Last July Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out a £2bn Green Homes grant scheme, part of a wider “over £3bn” plan to upgrade homes and public buildings.

When first announced, the plan was set to improve 600,000 existing homes and sustain 100,000 jobs.

In September, Treasury Minister Kemi Badenoch announced that, by including an extra 50,000 public sector buildings improvements, and a social housing programme, this initiative “could support 140,000 green jobs.”

However, by November the then energy minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, was explaining to Lib Dem spokesperson Sarah Olney that 80,000 was now anticipated to be the “number of jobs created through the £1.5bn Green Homes Grant Voucher

‘The Prime Minister wants specific, realisable projects which will deliver results during the present decade’

scheme”. And that Ms Badenoch’s number related to the entire £3bn package.

Whichever, spending £3bn to support 140,000 jobs is a pretty good bargain.

It works out at just under £27,482 per person employed - a sum that includes all the materials installed and all the administration costs.

It reflects the fact that acquiring a PhD is far from mandatory to install many energy-saving measures, and that a fair amount of the work can be undertaken by those who left school without necessarily acquiring a plethora of brilliant exam results. Increasingly, there are too few meaningful jobs around for such people, of all ages.

This is a point emphasised by one of the most astute journalists around, Camilla Cavendish of the Financial Times (she served as a senior member at No 10 when David Cameron was there). She has observed just how substantial a role energy saving plays among the Prime Minister’s strenuous commitments towards meeting zero carbon targets over the next decade.

We are entering a New Year which will close with an event which its original president, Claire Perry O’Neill, is describing as the most important of its kind to be held in Britain this century.

Boris Johnson is challenging all the other heads of Government to come to Glasgow for the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1997 Kyoto climate change treaty. He asks all attendees to arrive committed not just to delivering emission savings in a generation or two’s time.

So not theoretical flights of physicists’ dreams that can’t be realised for 20 years or more. Instead, he wants specific, concrete, realisable projects which will deliver definite results during the present decade.

In short, he wants to see the developed world implement that Sustainable Recovery agenda set out by the IEA last June. Where public and private sector investment is channelled into improving the energy efficiency of buildings, transport and industry. And where the energy efficiency employment creation potential will be measured in 4m jobs.

Rather than just the almost 2m we have now across the developed world.

Of whom just 140,000 are currently gainfully employed in the UK.  JANUARY 2021 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 09

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Heat Pumps For further information on Mitsubishi Electric visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 125

Look again at residential heating Up to 15m homes might need to be fitted with heat pumps by 2035 for the UK to meet its carbon reduction commitments. Max Halliwell explores how this target can be met

T

he world has been gripped by the impact of COVID-19 since the start of 2020, and there have been numerous calls for economic and social recovery plans to take into account the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. The government’s Summer Statement signalled that these calls are being heeded, with £3bn of funding being pledged to decarbonising homes and public buildings. The latest plans set out in November are to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028.

As part of its drive for a cleaner, greener environment, the government is also considering legislation which would mean new homes built from 2025 could not be connected to the gas grid. With this in mind, we must make a conscious effort to equip the homes of the future with renewable energybased heating systems. The pace of heat pump installations in the UK has been slower than anticipated mainly due to lack of awareness, a misunderstanding around the technology and the price associated with them. To combat this, the Government has its Renewable Heat Incentive scheme to provide funding to homeowners wishing to adopt renewable technology in their home.

However, at the end of last April, the Government announced its proposed replacement to the longstanding Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) grant – the Clean Heat Grant (CHG).

The RHI would be extended until 31st March 2022, and then replaced with this new scheme. The CHG will help households and businesses to decarbonise their heating through low-carbon solutions, primarily air source heat pumps (ASHP). The CHG would offer up to £4,000 for

Air source heat pumps can work alongside existing systems in a hybrid situation

each household that integrates low-carbon heating technology to replace traditional fossil fuel heating sources.

And why is the uptake of heat pumps so important? The Government’s independent advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), has stated that in order to reach the net-zero goal, up to 15m homes would need to be fitted with heat pumps, or hybrid heat pumps by 2035.

The scheme is similar to those seen in other European countries, such as Germany, which have proven to be successful in the large-scale uptake in heat pumps.

The CHG however has proposed that hybrids are excluded from eligibility within the proposed scheme. Hybrid systems are used in conjunction with existing, often more polluting, heating systems like oil boilers, so would

therefore reduce the effectiveness of the funding when seeking to decarbonise heat as effectively as possible.

Understanding the market The proposal suggests that industry voices and contributors to the new scheme were crucial in helping the Government to understand the market and the current uptake in heat pumps. The CHG would bring a new two-stage application and redemption scheme for homeowners, reducing prohibitive administrative burdens that critics say have limited the current RHI scheme. The upfront £4,000 per household grant also helps to address one of the key barriers to the uptake of heat pumps so far – the initial outlay. It makes it a much easier financial decisionmaking process for homeowners when considering the replacement

Max Halliwell is communications manager, residential heating, Mitsubishi Electric

of their existing heating system.

The current RHI delivers quarterly payments for seven years to help offset the cost of a low carbon heating system. The proposed upfront capital grant of £4,000 brings simplicity and peace of mind to users wanting to make a greener switch but also concerned about the initial upfront capital cost implications of doing so.

Air source heat pumps have a significant advantage over alternative systems like a ground source heat pump where there is limited space, as ground alternatives require extensive digging and very large capital costs. ASHPs can be readily fitted to an external wall, minimising surrounding disruption and installation costs.

The design and installation of ASHPs is also ideal for those in residential areas. They are suitable for almost any property and can work alongside existing heating systems in a hybrid situation if required, removing the need for an expensive re-fit.

For installers that want to diversify their businesses, there is a ready-made market for homes needing to make a switch to cheaper, cleaner low-carbon heating. With 1.6m homes throughout the UK using oil as a heating system, they are much more susceptible to fossil fuel price fluctuations. As the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and transport systems reopen, for example, the global oil price is likely to rise.

But it’s not just the running cost of a heavy fossil fuel heating system.

Each one of those boilers generates an average of 5.3 tonnes of CO2 from each house every year. That’s a total of 8,480,000 tonnes of CO2.

By replacing all oil boilers and half of the existing gas boilers with an air source heat pump, we would reduce our national CO2 emissions by 8 per cent, or nearly 29m tonnes by 2018’s standards. The Committee on Climate Change recognises that heat pumps could meet up to 75 per cent of the total residential heat demand in the UK. This amounts to a staggering number of homes that could be using truly clean, low carbon, renewable energy. 

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While 2021 heralds a new year of expectant but cautious change and positivity, one member organisation is making 2021 their year!

The Ground Source Heat Pump Association (GSHPA) is not letting the current global crisis hold it back. The recent announcements and pledges from the UK government on accelerating carbon reduction, the Green Revolution and its Ten Point Plan, ! ! !

!

! aspirations for heat pumps.

With the recent appointment of Laura Bishop as Chair of the Association, and Edward Thompson as Vice-Chair, the GSHPA represents an ever-increasing membership which encourage the growth and development of ground source energy.

Laura is a strong advocate for heat pumps and believes that heat pumps should be deployed in place of traditional fossil fuelled !

!

CIBSE Heat Network Consultant, she has Laura Bishop Stephen Bielby

! !

ultra-low temperature heat networks on local and national levels.

The Association has also taken on a new Secretariat, Stephen Bielby, to assist with its members and to support the current level of enquires they receive. In addition to this level of support and commitment, the GSHPA also provides information via its website, its webinars and telephone helplines and makes presentations to promote the ground source industry to key audiences as well as its members.

For more information about the Association, and about ground source heat pumps, please visit www.gshp.org.uk or

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Heat Pumps

Garry Broadbent is operations director at Pure Thermal

For further information on Pure Thermal visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 142

The retrofit revolution Rapid development of the technology means that heat pumps are a definite option for retrofitting industrial and commercial buildings, believes Garry Broadbent

T

he transition to low carbon electricity generation within the UK seems to have happened over an extremely short period and we are now regularly seeing carbon intensity figures for electricity generation of circa 200gCO2/kWh. A dramatic increase in the application and use of clean electricity generating systems in the form of wind and solar has made a real impact over a very short space of time reducing carbon intensity levels from over 500gCO2/kWh less than ten years ago.

Clean electricity generation means that industry and commerce now have an opportunity to use this low-carbon power in ways that may not have been practical or attractive a few years ago where electricity contained a much higher level of carbon content.

Nowhere is this more relevant than in the application of heat pumps. It is clear that if we have cleaner electricity then heating via electricity will be less carbon intensive than it would have been even a few years ago. A heat pump is the most efficient means of using this low-carbon electricity to produce heat. As a result, a definite retrofit opportunity has been created to increase carbon efficiency.

Competing with boiler In summary, a heat pump would historically have had difficulty competing with a fossil-fuel boiler based on carbon intensity. However, the application of heat pumps can make sense based on the use of cleaner input power.

The result of this is that the application scope for heat pumps has widened significantly and this is particularly relevant where commercial and industrial retrofit applications are considered.

Perhaps the title of this piece is a touch dramatic but if we take revolution as its dictionary definition meaning a ‘sudden change’ then

A 200kW 80C air source pure thermal low GWP heat pump

we could definitely say that this is the case where heat pumps are concerned.

Perceptions and ideas are quickly changing based on the capability of high temperature heat pumps that are now able to operate on a straightforward retrofit basis within existing heating and hot water systems. Therefore, it is clear that the opportunity to utilise heat pumps within existing commercial buildings on a retrofit basis offers real potential to reduce carbon and importantly utilise clean electricity.

So this leads us directly into the question of retrofit heat pump use and can these units be practically applied in this way?

Any heat pump advocate would recommend that in a perfect scenario a heat pump system be Pure Thermal OHT air source range performance

designed to operate as far down its output temperature curve as possible in order to create the highest levels of efficiency.

However, we must consider that it is not practical to work on a 45oC or 55oC maximum flow temperature basis within most commercial retrofit applications and therefore a system must be considered that is able to operate with flow temperatures of 70oC and above when necessary.

Retrofit applications Several retrofit application options are available on either a heat-pumponly or heat-pump-boiler hybrid basis. Each option can be configured to maximise value and efficiency to match the needs of the particular application using heat pumps that

are designed to operate with output temperatures to 80oC and above.

The base line with regard to any commercial retrofit application is that to modify the existing heating system infrastructure within a building can be impractical. For this reason a heat pump that can operate at the same flow temperature and conditions as an existing fossil fuel boiler can be an ideal solution.

This higher temperature capability provides a way to utilise heat pumps via very straightforward integration within an existing heating or hot water system.

As an example the OHT air-source range provided by Pure Thermal delivers 80oC high temperature capability with a low global warming potential (Low GWP) refrigerant system.

The Pure Thermal Application Team commented that they are regularly providing heat pump selections with 75oC output flow temperatures where a heat pump is required to be integrated within a heating system that has an existing boiler. They also noted that many of the systems are hybrid where a boiler is used to operate with the heat pump in ambient temperatures below for example 2oC which reduces heat pump capital costs but importantly enables the high temperature heat pump to provide primary heating duty for the bulk of the heating season.

It is interesting to note that these high temperature heat pump ranges have the ability to deliver upwards of 900kW heating capacity in a single system with an 80oC output flow which is a real step change from how heat pumps have been conventionally viewed.

The heating capacity and higher temperatures available from these ranges mean that heat pumps can now be considered as a definite retrofit option as we now enter this period where the decarbonisation of heat is a rapidly developing priority. 

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Simon Bennett is senior applications engineer at Adveco

Heat Pumps For further information on Adveco visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 126

Beware the silver bullet Heat pumps aren’t an easy solution for decarbonisation, says Simon Bennett, as he considers the challenges specifying air source heat pumps to meet commercial hot water demands

W

ithin the Government’s ten-step plan for a ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ is an aggressive target to install 600,000 heat pumps by 2028, “to make homes, schools and hospitals greener, warmer and more energy efficient.”

Air source heat pumps look to be the preferred choice due to their relative ease of installation compared to ground source systems.

Able to draw and transfer thermal energy from air, under the right circumstances ASHPs represent an efficient way to significantly reduce the carbon emissions of a building.

However, with ASHPs offering greater efficiencies in lowtemperature systems, the hightemperature demands of domestic hot water (DHW) for commercial applications can be a challenge.

High temperatures need greater compression of the refrigerant, requiring more electrical input which results in lower efficiency or Coefficient of Performance (COP).

Achieving 60°C in a calorifier is a basic requirement for a commercial DHW system, but means the working flow temperature from the ASHP would need to be at least 65°C. As well as struggling to achieve these temperatures year-round in the UK, the COP drops very low meaning you lose the value of deploying ASHPs. A working flow of 55°C is certainly attainable from current generation ASHPs and this is why when designing commercial DHW systems it is preferable to use a hybrid approach that uses the ASHP as preheat and combines it with either gas-fired or electric immersion top up to achieve the required hot water temperature.

Additionally, ASHPs are likely to increase the size of a system.

When connected to a traditional indirect water heater the lower flow temperatures generated by an ASHP lead to around a 50 per cent

The high temperature demands of domestic hot water for commercial uses are a challenge for ASHPs

drop in energy transferred as ASHPs will typically have 5 K temperature differential (55°C flow vs 50°C stored) compared to 20 K Delta (80°C flow vs 60°C stored) of gas-fired boilers.

Different approach required Deploying ASHPs for DHW therefore requires a different approach if we want to avoid operating at less than full capacity. Rather than using a calorifier, an ASHP system would be better suited by employing a plate heat exchanger (PHE) with low temperature hot water (LTHW) and DHW buffers. By using a PHE, with its larger heat transfer area, the system capacity is no longer limited by the size of the coil, and using a LTHW buffer as a neutral/ mixing point means flow through the PHE can be reduced, reducing pump and pipework sizes. While the temperature differential across the PHE will increase compared to the heat source, it will normalise once mixed in the buffer tank. Using this design principle, it is now possible to transfer all the energy that the heat pump can produce whatever the weather.

Commercial DHW applications using heat pumps are going to be complex, and compared to gas-fired alternatives are going to have higher up-front costs. Designing the system

System designers should give close attention to the Ecodesign European temperature zones when assesing the suitability of a heat pump

for peak efficiency, and therefore sustainability, is a must to help offset this additional capital investment when compared to traditional gas-fired systems. This brings us to the most important aspect of applications that incorporate heat pumps – correctly establishing efficiency and calculating reductions in CO² emissions.

When analysing the value of an ASHP in terms of reducing CO² emissions the carbon intensity figures from SAP10 should be used.

Electricity can be evaluated as being like-for-like with natural gas - once the operational efficiency has been factored in. The advantage of ASHPs

is that their performance is greater than 100 per cent as they extract additional energy from outside of the building’s metered systems.

This gives significant carbon savings but, when describing the efficiency of an ASHP, working flow water temperatures of 35°C are often cited. It needs to be recognised that this temperature is insufficient for commercial applications. Even if a commercial building has achieved Passivhaus standards, and this remains a rarity, 35°C is not going to be hot enough to safely provide DHW and will struggle to support underfloor heating in the UK’s winter months. For this reason, it is recommended to calculate emissions at a working water temperature from the ASHP of 55°C. This is then hot enough to provide realistic levels of preheat for a commercial DHW system.

Attention also needs to be given to the Ecodesign European temperature zones when assessing the suitability of a heat pump to serve a building’s heating load. For most of the UK the relevant defined temperature zone is ‘average’, where the annual reference temperature for the ASHP’s Seasonal Coefficient of Performance, or SCOP, is -10°C. For some southern and western UK regions, the ‘warmer’ Ecodesign temperature zone can be applied for modelling, where the lowest the reference temperature will only fall to 2°C. These differing temperature regions can have a significant impact on the SCOP. Therefore it is important to ensure the values entered into an assessment are both relevant and accurate for the installation.

While typically deployed for space heating and cooling, heat pumps can provide a far more sustainable way to meet DHW demands.

Commercial projects do however come with added complexity, meaning heat pumps alone are not yet a ‘silver bullet’ response to a sustainable future. 

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Heat Pumps

Tony Nielsen is UK marketing manager at Panasonic

For further information on Panasonic visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 127

A pathway to net zero?

Pressure is building to change attitudes to renewable technologies. Tony Nielsen, considers the opportunities for the heating and cooling industry

T

he UK government has recently set out its proposals to accelerate progress on the road to wide availability of low carbon heat. With initiatives such as the Green Homes Grant, there is significant potential for the installation of energy efficient air source heat pumps.

The Committee for Climate Change’s report “The Sixth Carbon Budget: The UK’s path to Net Zero”1, published in December 2020, sets out the pathway to achieve net zero carbon targets. It asserts that we are in a crucial decade: with effective action starting now, by 2030 the UK will be firmly on track to Net Zero. The report also puts numbers behind this claim; approximately 19m households could adopt renewable technologies by 2050, with current predictions of approximately 1m heat pumps installed by 2030, resulting in the UK meeting its net zero target by 2050.

However, consumers will need to be encouraged to change their behaviour and embrace heat pump technology in order to meet these net zero targets. The good news is the government has announced plans to extend the existing Domestic RHI scheme to the end of March 2022, with a new scheme set for 1st April 2022 called the Clean Heat Grant.2 The current Green Homes Grant, runs from 1st October 20 through to 31 March 2022, and provides homeowners with the option to apply for a grant to cover up to two thirds of the cost of upgrading the energy efficiency of their home.

Vouchers will be provided towards the cost of installing one or more energy saving measures, including the installation of an air source heat pump3.

Air source heat pumps currently on the market are very reliable and can potentially provide up to 500 per cent4 energy efficiency when compared to oil-fired boilers or

from, the Aquarea Range offers a very wide choice to ensure the most appropriate system for all sizes of properties and comes in three different versions: Monobloc, Bi-Bloc and All-in-One.

Access and collate data

electric heaters. Further efficiencies can be achieved when linked to smart controllers to produce significant savings for heating and domestic hot water (DHW) provision. While initial investment may be higher than other technologies, running costs are far cheaper and with a short payback period on initial cost.

Added sustainable solutions When we start to come out of the pandemic and the road to recovery begins, manufacturers are increasing their offering of sustainable energy solutions designed for residential applications. An example is the Panasonic Aquarea air-to-water heat pump range, which is one of the widest ranges on the market, with options to suit most sizes of property and output requirement.

These heat pumps, together with smart remote control, monitoring, fault diagnosis and fault rectification technology provide a comprehensive and energy efficient solution for heating and domestic hot water provision.

Panasonic is currently running an additional incentive for installers: The Green Install Cashback Scheme. Under this new scheme, qualifying installers can claim

cashback of £800 after the successful installation of five Panasonic Aquarea A2W heat pumps with a Smart Cloud Controller, during the period from 1 October 2020 to 31 March 2021. At the same time, homeowners replacing oil-fired, LPG, electric or mains gas boilers will be able to claim up to £600 via the Green Homes Cashback Scheme (conditions apply). Installers can therefore offer their customers this added cashback bonus.

Panasonic’s Air-to-Water heat pump range, Aquarea, is an innovative low-energy system that uses the lower GWP refrigerant (R32) and provides heating and hot water, even when outdoor temperatures are extremely low. With many sizes, capacities and options to choose

By providing useful data over the web to remote PCs, tablets and smartphones, it is now possible to access and collate data from heating and cooling systems remotely. This data can be stored in the cloud and made readily available for collation and analysis to improve energy management. The increased accessibility of the system can improve maintenance and repair regimes, as well as helping endusers reduce their costs and energy consumption. The Smart Cloud app provides access to home owners and users, and the Aquarea Service Cloud provides access for installers.

Simplicity and clarity are key factors in giving end-users a clear understanding of how their system is operating. With an intuitive interface (like that of popular apps) the Aquarea Smart Cloud provides a familiar feel making it easier, faster and more user-friendly when compared to traditional controls.

To help installers make the right choices for their customers energy efficiency needs prior to installation, Panasonic have also recently developed the online Aquarea Designer Tool. This program allows heat pump installers to identify the correct heat pump for a particular application. 

References

By providing data over the web, it is possible to collate data from heating systems remotely

1) https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2020/12/The-Sixth-CarbonBudget-The-UKs-path-to-Net-Zero.pdf 2) https://www.gov.uk/government/ publications/changes-to-the-renewableheat-incentive-rhi-schemes 3) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/applyfor-the-green-homes-grant-scheme 4) https://www.carbontrust.com/zh/ node/577

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Products in Action For further information on products and services visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter the appropriate online enquiry number

Forklift fleet makes the move to electric DBL Logistics made a decision to improve business performance while enhancing its green credentials by converting part of its forklift fleet from LPG to electric. Hoppecke Industrial Batteries helped the business to achieve this goal in partnership with CAM Fork Lift Trucks.

An analysis of fuel costs showed that DBL Logistics could save more than £15,000 over a five-year contract by switching some of its LPG gas trucks to electric.

To meet the family-owned transport company’s requirements Hoppecke worked closely with CAM Fork Lift Trucks to arrive at a cost-effective and ecologically sound solution.

Five of the 80-volt TCM FBH25-FI fourwheel counterbalance trucks in use at DBL’s Sheffield warehouse have been fitted with Hoppecke’s 49.6kW Trak Uplift Air batteries. The materials handling solution also incorporates Hoppecke’s energyefficient TCHF Air chargers.

Gus Whyte, Hoppecke’s sales director-UK and Ireland, said: “A number of equipment suppliers focused on the provision of lithium battery-powered electric machines without carrying out any detailed analysis of the DBL Logistics operation. CAM Fork Lift Trucks took a different approach and called us in to examine actual power requirements and help develop a solution that capitalises on the latest innovations in vented lead-acid battery technology.”

Lewis Fox, sales manager at CAM Fork Lift Trucks, added: “For some applications a lithium battery solution is absolutely the correct call, yet for others it might not deliver the best combination of power availability and service life at a sensible price.”

The battery/charger solution developed by Hoppecke in partnership with CAM Fork Lift Trucks allows for programmed opportunity charging during busy days and peak requirements. In this way it guarantees to support the DBL Logistics operation, which includes pallet networking, general haulage and bespoke warehousing.

Perfect humidity for plants and seeds An obsolete desiccant dehumidifier has given way to a more energy-efficient solution at Floranova, a specialist in the breeding and supply of ornamental hybrid plants and open pollinated seeds.

For over 30 years a Munters MD300 dehumidifier controlled humidity in their most critical seed store. Creating the right environment is essential to prevent any germination or damage ahead of shipping and planting. “The biggest issue is humidity,” says Stuart Walpole, process manager at Floranova. With the MD300 now obsolete, Munters recommended and supplied its ML270 desiccant dehumidifier as the most suitable alternative.

The temperature in this store is maintained to 12-15°C, with the ML270 maintaining relative humidity to 27-33 per cent.

“Reliability is key,” adds Walpole. “We opted for a direct replacement and didn’t even consider using anyone else. This is our most critical storage area, and as such we need a system we can trust.

The new system is far more energy efficient. It easily does exactly what it’s required to do, and it is exceptionally reliable.”

ONLINE ENQUIRY 103

ONLINE ENQUIRY 101

Floor standing boilers at Herts care home ELCO Heating Solutions has returned to Alban Manor care home in St Albans to upgrade its commercial heating plant with the latest floor-standing boiler technology.

The installation of two TRIGON L PLUS 170kW units was part of the complete refurbishment of the heating and hot water system at the Hertfordshire care home, which has dramatically reduced NOx emissions by 86 per cent, CO2 emissions by more than 28 per cent, and gas consumption by 26 per cent.

The project involved the removal of three Regency boilers that had previously been installed under the MHS Boilers name. After two decades of reliable operation, they had reached the end of their lifecycles and had become inefficient to run.

Farnborough-based heating contractors, Plant and Pipewerx Ltd (appointed by project managers Netheat), undertook the refurbishment of the care home’s heating systems. Commenting on the installation, Craig Cooper, contract manager, said: “By increasing individual boiler outputs, we’ve managed to reduce the total number of boilers in the plant room from three to two – which saves a bit more space.

Discussing further improvements to the system, Cooper continued: “At the moment, the boilers are working in cascade using an existing control system, but we’re liaising with ELCO so we can switch them to the built-in cascade manager, as well as add weather compensation to the system.”

ONLINE ENQUIRY 102

LED upgrade slashes costs for Kent school West Borough Primary School in Maidstone, Kent, is set to save £6,300 a year following a £43,000 LED lighting upgrade financed by the SALIX SEELS Fund for Maintained Schools. The estimated carbon reduction is 17.76 tonnes of CO2/pa with a lifetime (20 years) carbon savings 444 tonnes.

Although much of the lighting has been upgraded, this had taken place some years ago and prior to LED being available. Indeed, there was still some strip lighting in the infant school and corridors were particularly poorly lit.

The SEELS programme is one of a number of Salix Finance programmes that provide Government funding to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions within the public sector.

This solution offered by Energys Group proposed the installation of a standard LED Lighting upgrade across entire school, including outdoor lights and upgrades to LED of all existing emergency lights & standalone units. The list of installed lighting types includes: IP Rated LED Batten Fixtures, LED Panels, LED Wall lights, LED Downlight, Outdoor IP65 LED Wall light, Flood lights and Emergency Lighting.

Energys Group advised that this work would be undertaken over a two to three week period. To minimise disruption to teaching schedules the work was undertaken during the 2019 summer holidays and was completed within two weeks.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 104 JANUARY 2021 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 15

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ESTA VIEWPOINT

For further information on ESTA visit www.estaenergy.org.uk

New year, new opportunities 2021 is heralding a new era for ESTA as it broadens its remit to increase training services and looks to attract expert energy professionals to a new group. Mervyn Pilley explains

H

appy New Year. 2020 was supposed to be the first year of the 2020s. A decade that in turn was supposed to be key for focusing on saving

the planet.

Unfortunately, 2020 was not the year we expected. In some ways what transpired focused the mind of every one of the importance of the climate emergency and its much longer effects when compared with the pandemic and its relatively shorter impact. However, 2021 marks a new era for ESTA as we join the Energy and Utilities Alliance and grow our influence in the sector.

COP26 is now happening in November.

Some may have been concerned by the recent report that Alok Sharma. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is too busy doing his day job to carry out an effective role as chair of COP. It has also been the case that a joined-up plan for Government action in advance of the COP has been very slow in coming with the Energy White paper making an appearance only as this column was being written. In the absence of COP in 2020 I was hugely impressed by the excellent Mock COP26 coordinated by the educational charity, Students Organising for Sustainability.

This crowd-funded event brought together many young people from around the world. Their input throughout the event coupled with their post-event policy announcement was truly inspiring and we really must not ignore the voices of young people. In many ways their approach is refreshing in an age when politicians around the world seem to be getting more and more cynical and polarised politically.

Our last virtual conference of 2020 focused about making energy efficiency a priority. I was pleased to confirm the launch of this new ESTA-driven campaign and at the same time announce further initiatives to make this happen. We have created the Commercial Energy Efficiency Alliance, a group of Trade Associations and Professional bodies looking to share knowledge and innovation. This alliance will cover all areas of commercial buildings

‘The launch of several new qualifications will happen in 2021’ including retrofit which up to now seems to have solely been targeted at people’s homes.

It is disappointing that PAS 2038 development work has been delayed by BSI until September 2021 as retrofitting commercial buildings has not had the push behind it as it deserves.

However, I was pleased to be able to confirm at the event the launch of a new category of ESTA membership for individuals. The ESTA Experts Group is for all highly qualified and experienced professionals who are not in any way competing with our ESTA Consultants group nor working for any company that could be an ESTA member. Competitively priced at £100 plus VAT per year the group should also attract those allied professionals in the commercial buildings and energy space that have an active interest in energy efficiency. In addition to accessing the ESTA membership and some of the member benefits, there will be plenty of opportunities for group discussion and debate. I hope to welcome many EiBI readers to the group in due course.

Our new Energy Efficiency in Buildings group jointly run with the Building Engineering Services Association – BESA will be meeting for the first time this month. I am also discussing

Mervyn Pilley is executive director of ESTA (Energy Services and Technology Association)

similar joint groups with other likeminded organisations to speed up the dissemination of energy efficiency solutions for the UK commercial sector.

I am also excited to announce the launch of ESTA Certification, a new training, qualifications and CPD certification service for any training company providing training in the energy sector anywhere in the world. The launch of several new qualifications and certifications will be happening in the first few months of 2021. If your company is offering training and would like to have a sensibly priced, recognised certification model for successful students/delegates please email me at mervyn@estaenergy.org.uk. It has been frustrating that so many energy related certifications have emanated from the US and this has allowed a situation to arise where restrictions of all kinds have been placed on the availability of qualifications in the UK. We are also launching several new training products in various areas hoping to take advantage of new 2021-2022 training budgets. We will of course continue to offer CMVP and EnCO training at discounted rates for ESTA members (free in the case of EnCO).

As I mentioned in my last column of 2020, we are focusing our efforts on becoming an effective global association. I was pleased to get several enquiries about membership in December from international companies.

Energy efficiency is needed worldwide and ESTA will continue to seek out opportunities for ESTA members looking for overseas opportunities at the same time as helping International companies tap into the UK market. Helping ESTA members to get work will remain my absolute priority in 2021.

Having launched last year our energy efficiency behaviour change programme – the Energy Conscious Organisation - we are keen to build up our global network of consultants and practitioners together with energy-conscious organisations. There are plenty of sponsorship and discounted training opportunities available and if any readers are interested please get in touch with me. 

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ering & Monitoring

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The consumption.

This is especially important when a new potential improvements in the a compromise should be reached to cable colours can be swapped within In many systems it is als replacement meter is fitted or a meter efficiency of energy use. improve accuracy. The switch should the wiring network with colours not to produce graphs and key value rolls over back to zero.

Monitoring is essentially be metered with a smaller range matching the phases resulting inaimed the carbon and cost as the crit If you need to add a number of at establishing existing metering system rated at say 250A with electricity meters the reading low. pattern as kWh. This is becoming m meters to get to a total then the ofMeters energywith consumption, whereas alarm levels set within the metering a pulsed output have and gives some interesting percentage accuracy of each meter systems such that if the actual demand additional problems withof a when comparing fuel type will also be added. If poorly specified targetingpotential is the identification approaches the 250A level in the future contact missed pulses. which This Once some historical da or installed this overall accuracy could level ofbounce energyorconsumption then an alarm would be instigated and can be avoided if modbus or similar accumulated then it is pos be very poor. It is not recommended to can be set as a goal for the energy new 1000A metering CT’s could be multi register meters are used where looking at energy use usin add meters together to get to a total. It is management fitted. Unfortunately, most electrical the actual meterstrategy. register is read back methods; such as regressio better to measure the main supply and and targeting should and fluid metering systems are installed andMonitoring pulses are not counted. and CUSUM to identify tren split the main meter output in relation In the of mechanical meters systems have this capabilit to the percentage of the total supply form ancase essential part of the energy to meter the maximum capacity of the installation the actual load on such as water or gas theor meters allow the user to set target by each subthe meter.

By doing this theelectricity, strategy for any size type are of with meter - typically, requiredand fornot performance standards thesuch system large inaccuracies. almost always oversized of the system accuracy is maintained as the organisation, whetheror industrial, natural gas, water or heat metersenergy targets can be very asgiving ISO50001 and organisational Another potential problem is meter wrong type resulting in poor accuracy. as using the best historical accuracy of the main meter. This is true commercial or public sector. The with a digital interface, commonlyor typical month’s data as t carbon footprints compiled in zeroing and rollover. If there is a small Some mechanical meters are good for for electrical and fluid metering. primary objective of M&T is to gain number a simple pulsed output. compliance with ISO14064; of available meter registerand continuous flow but very inaccurate Once you have installed your Then an target. Whatever targeting a better of Correct how automatic meter • provide visible feedback supportmetering digits on the meter relative to theto actual when the understanding flow is intermittent. system and havereading started (AMR) used the accuracy and rep load, then the numbers will rollover meter specification and installation collecting yourwhich data the next objective energy is used. When correctly is system reads the metered the metering system data i staff awareness campaigns. very quickly the register filled. It is essential if the best accuracy to be of the success of the system. must be to make the best use of the data. applied M&T helps identifyissigns consumption (typically over Smart as meters may is benefit important to use the largest numerical achieved.

In order to do this you must have avoidable energy waste and other 30-minute periods) and stores the It is now very economic domestic energy consumers by register available.

Electrical and mechanical system intelligent metering system specified the metering and metering opportunities to reduce energy data ready to be analysed. Metersallow the user control their increasing the visibility of energy Some monitoring systems allow the metering accuracy is generally a system correctly and also built in to the consumption, but energy savings are user canrequirement be hard wired to the meter use by knowing exactly ho costs and their consumption profile.software to manually enter the actual meter problem as the metering system the necessary achievedis only if appropriate reader, but wireless technology using their energy and how In the non-domestic sector values if required, in order that the devices targeting accuracy normally described asactions a and data management actual physical meter and the displayed percentage of full scale.

This means routines.

Thesemore should include total are taken based on the correct is often practical and cost is costing across the variou with communication capability that if the meter isofoversized the their business. It is always interpretation the M&Tthen results. effective. together with analysis software accuracy will be low. For example, a small and build up the syst The output from a well-designed Fig.are Third, there are sensors or other nowofcommonplace, enabling 5 Display site daily Co2 generated by electricity consumption.

3 per cent error on a meter sized for meters when they are requ M&T 3scheme will will enable the energy data input facilities to record the the best results and not me systems to be configured to 3/hr. /hour of flow be 3m If the 100m manager parameter that “drives” energy sake of it. These systems a automatically measure, analyse and actual flow to: rate is only 10m3/hr then the • detect avoidable waste consumption, such as external easy to expand and provid report energy consumption. meter accuracy will beenergy 30 per cent of that the actual flow rate. remain Most meters are not specified and installed corr might otherwise hidden; temperature or production Checking fiscal energy meters and truly linear areas and if operating out with the • identify for investigation and throughput in a manufacturing supply many years of relia utility bills as a cost control measure linear band they will be very inaccurate. about their business in a si action prompted by unexpected environment. might once have been considered In many cases the existing system understand manner. It is be patterns energy consumption; The final part is analysis software a basic form of monitoring but now load is veryoflow relative to the installed appropriate systems for ap Fig.automatic 7 Display of site energy costs per student • quantify theinstallation savings achieved - there is a variety of software M&T has evolved into a capacity of the especiallyby uses. A mixture of meterin where the systemprojects has beenin designed energy-saving a manner available with different levels of sometimes be advantageo mature area of business with a wide for future expansion.

The metering that accounts for factors such as sophistication in terms of the depth range of products and services from system installed is usuallytemperature rated at variations in external or of analysis and facilities such as Acknowledgements different suppliers.

• CIBSE for technical inform the maximum capacity of the system levels of production output; energy dashboards using real-time tables even though the load is much smaller.

Four parts of an aM&T scheme • improve carbonswitch budget data displays, cost and carbon • Scotia Energy Ltd for the For exampleenergy a1000Aor electrical setting; reporting and databases to recordand There are four parts making up an board with a 100A load on it. The metering system would normally be • improve the collection of data energy reduction projects. Often • The Carbon Trust for use automatic M&T scheme starting

Energy metering and monitoring

E

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the software sits in the cloud and is DULE 08 | Metering & Monitoring

accessible via the web which means the user only requires an internetenabled PC. In a manufacturing setting, where processes and site services are often controlled using a SCADA system, it is worth investigating the possibility of integrating metering into the existing control system - additional energy analysis software may be required.

The fundamental step in the M&T analysis is carried out to establish the relationship between the dependent variable (i.e. energy consumption) and the independent variable (i.e. variables that influence energy consumption - sometimes referred to as the energy driving factor).

A standard statistical technique called regression can be used to establish the relationship if there is a single independent variable for each consumption stream to be monitored.

Any measurable independent variable can be used provided there is a genuine relationship between it and energy consumption.

Typical energy driving factors are production output for energyintensive manufacturing processes, degree days for space heating or mileage for a vehicle fleet.

To illustrate the analysis, data can be shown graphically. Generally, when energy consumption is plotted against an appropriate driving factor, a straight-line relationship normally exists. This can be represented by an equation of the form: y = m x + c where ‘m’ is the gradient of the line and ‘c’ is the intercept with the y-axis.

The values of ‘m’ and ‘c‘ are

gain. The obvious answer here is yet about exactly who will be activ cheaper bills. But with current competing for business come Apri indications suggesting retail 2017. margins will be 2.5 per cent net, A number of the large existing SERIES 18 | MODULE 06 | METERING & MONITORING straightforward price discounts companies have made it clear they will offer relatively thin pickings. intend to compete, but even here, Saving money through better exactly what form remains to be se future period using the relevant SERIES 14 | MODULE 08 | Metering & Monitoring water management should be United Utilities and Severn Trent, f degree day value.

So once established, considered in addition to simple instance, havethemade it known they characteristic line can be used as a volumetric discounts. There could be taking anforactive role for the last ‘performance target’ the future

operation of the heating system by also besystem efficiency savings to be years, but it was only in the last few use. The accuracy depends e comparing the predicted value with

very much on the specification and the actual metered consumption installation of the metering. If the wrong to determine whether an over or size or type of meter is specified or if under consumption has occurred. the meters are wrongly installed then the system accuracy will suffer badly.

Any significant deviation in fuel It is estimated that over 30 per cent of consumption should be investigated all installed meters are either wrongly and prompt corrective action sized or wrongly installed. In most cases taken as necessary to maintain the the monitoring system has to interface performance of the system. with existing meters many of which are The same type of calculation can wrongly specified but are uneconomic to replace. be performed to establish an annual Three phase electricity meters budget for space heating energy, require that the L1, L2 and L3 phase by using the number of degree currents and voltages are correctly days for an average datum year Fig. 6 Display of site cost breakdown by energy type identified and wired to the meter in the formula.

Or to establish an correctly in phase. This is often not budget forvalue process Thedovalue the line intercepts significant as can bethe seen byasusing at 1000A which willannual give very case the cable colours not wheresized in theenergy energy monitoring system consumption by using thedashboard annual read the same. theare vertical the value ‘c’ inatthe space heating as an guarantee example. that Gas the phases accuracy the actual working in the axis, is poor or energy load of 100A. In these circumstances correct sequence as theequation, phases. The This is especially production output figure in the important when a new and represents the fixed consumption for space heating a compromise should be formula. reached to colours can be swapped within replacement meter is fitted or a meter demand or base load consumption will normally exhibitcable a straight-line improve accuracy. the wiring network withi.e. colours not at zero-degree value rolls over back to zero. gas used days The switch should relationship with heating degree be metered with a smaller range matching the phases resulting in the If you need to add a number of Correlation coeff icient when the space heating load should days. The gas consumption and metering system rated at say 250A with electricity meters reading low. meters to get to a total then the be zero. degree day data can beMeters plotted as Regression analysis is typically alarm levels set within the metering with a pulsed output have percentage accuracy of each meter The with base load consumption a graph. Each point on the graph evaluated using awill correlation systems suchcould that if the actual demand additional potential problems also be added. If poorly specified be the result standingthe 250A level is gas consumption during coefficient (R2) which is a measure approaches in the future contact the bounce or missed pulses.

Thisof boiler or installed this overall accuracy could then an alarm and scatter canday, be avoided if modbus or similar be very poor.energy It is not recommended to losses or other loads which are would be instigated monitoring period (i.e. week or of the degree of the new 1000A CT’sdata could be from add multi register used where included in the metering data,metering but month) shown on the vertical (y)meters axis are points the meters line of together best fit to get to a total. It is fitted. Unfortunately, most electrical the actual meter register is read back measure the main supply and which are not dependent upon and the number of degree days for and is calculated better by thetospreadsheet and fluid metering systems are installed and pulses are not counted. split the main meter output in relation external temperature such as the identical period shown on the software. The range is 0 to 1, with to meter the maximum capacity of the In the case of mechanical meters to the percentage of the total supply gas usedare for domestic hot water horizontal (x) axis. such as water or gas the 0 representing nobyrelationship andBy doing this the installation and not the actual load on meters each sub meter. heating or catering.the The slopegiving of the The mathematicalalmost functions within 1 meaning an exact fit (the modelis maintained as the system large inaccuracies. always oversized or of the system accuracy Another potential is meter wrong type aresulting incharacteristic poor accuracy.line (the accuracy ofFor the main meter. This is true value of ‘m’ in problem spread sheet software include explains all the variability). zeroing rollover. is a small Some mechanical good forindicates forR2 electrical theare equation) theand increase inIf there statistical analysis tool called ‘least meters energy analysis an aboveand 0.8 fluid is metering. number of available register regardedOnce continuous flow but very you haveof installed your gasinaccurate consumption for each degree day.meter squares linear regression’ and this generally as evidence a digits on the meter relative to the actual when the flow is intermittent. Correct metering system and have started The formula for the characteristic can be used to calculate the formula reasonable relationship. load, then the numbers will rollover meter specification and installation is collecting your data the next objective line represents heating energy for the ‘best fit’ line to represent A filled. wideItscatter of points bethe due quickly as the register is is essential if the best accuracy is to be thevery must be to can make best use of the data. performance over a historical time the relationship between gas to poor quality or inconsistent data important to use the largest numerical achieved.

In order to do this you must have period that is analysed and can be consumption and degree days.and Themechanical but could be due specified to inadequacy or and metering register available.

Electrical system the metering Some monitoring systems allow the of the meteringto accuracy system correctly and also built in to the used toacalculate an estimate of best fit line is often referred as the is generally malfunction heating system user to manually actual meter system software requirement the expected consumption for anyenter the characteristic line. problem as the metering controls.

The correlation may also bethe necessary values if required, in order that the accuracy is normally described as a targeting and data management actual physical meter and the displayed percentage of full scale. This means routines. These should include total that if the meter is oversized then the Figure 1: shows an example set of energy consumption and degree day data accuracy will be low. For example, a 5 Display of site daily regression Co2 generated by electricity consumption. and the graphicalFig. results of the linear analysis.

3 per cent error on a meter sized for 100m3/hour of flow will be 3m3/hr. If the Gas kWh Degree day actual flow rate is only 10m3/hr then the Month Apr 199 77,558 meter accuracy will be 30 per cent of 147 64,663 the actual flow rate. Most meters are not M ay 69 53,222 truly linear and if operating out with the Jun 73 53,034 linear band they will be very inaccurate. Jul Aug 37,701 38 In many cases the existing system 85 60,443 load is very low relative to the installed Sep Oct 183 Fig. 7 Display of site energy costs per student 70,551 capacity of the installation especially Nov 250 76,352 where the system has been designed D ec 325 89,394 for future expansion. The metering Jan 298 94,679 system installed is usually rated at Feb 310 85,368 the maximum capacity of the system M ar 274 81,874 even though the load is much smaller.

Apr 232 75,502 For example a1000A electrical switch M ay 186 63,155 board with a 100A load on it. The metering system would normally be

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gain. The obvious answer here is yet about exactly who will be actively key dependency, how much w cheaper bills. But with current competing for business come April you use, how many sites you h indications suggesting retail 2017. how much wastewater you dis margins will be 2.5 per cent net, A number of the large existing where you are geographically SERIES 18 | MODULE 06 | METERING & MONITORING straightforward price discounts companies have made it clear they many other factors. There is ev will offer relatively thin pickings. intend to compete, but even here, in provision for businesses to sel Saving money through better exactly what form remains to be seen. should they wish to. poorSERIES if heating14 accounts for only08 a | Metering & Monitoring proprietary M&T software packages | MODULE water management should be United Utilities Trent, for available, notThe pace small proportion of the fuel demand. all of them areof activity as the m What are degree days andand howSevern do you A reasonable characteristic line can,to simple designedgears to provide M&Tcompetition is he considered in addition instance, have made it known they will upfullfor calculate them? however, usually be produced but analysis. Some software supplied volumetric discounts.

There could be taking an active role for the last few Among issues to watch ove this does not mean that the heating with automatic meterthe reading Degree days can be described as the summation of temperature differences

system is operating efficiently, hardware may do little more than of the duration extremity outdoor also besystem efficiency savings to over be time and a reflection years, but itand was onlyofin the last few coming are: use. The accuracy depends energy used daily, weekly andmonths monthly merely that its performance is display demand-profile charts and very much on the specification and

consistent with analysis period. installation of the the metering.

If the wrong Toormonitor trends in performance size type of meter is specified or if athe simple caninstalled help tothen make metersbar arechart wrongly the system accuracy willthe suffer badly. comparisons against previous It is estimated that overpatterns, 30 per cent of year’s consumption all installed meters are either wrongly although this does not account for sized or wrongly installed. In most cases different weather between the two the monitoring system has to interface years if looking at space heating with existing meters many of which are or different production outputs if wrongly specified but are uneconomic to replace. looking at a production process.

Three phase electricity meters the A better method to represent require theenergy L1, L2 and L3 phase data tothat show consumption currents and voltages are correctly trends more clearly is to use what is identified and wired to the meter known as CUSUM analysis. CUSUM correctly in phase. This is often not is the usual abbreviation the case as the cable coloursfor do the not CUmulative SUM deviation analysis. guarantee that the phases are in the correct sequence thealso phases.

The CUSUM analysisas can be used cable coloursenergy can be swapped to calculate targets within and the wiringfor network with colourswhich not savings energy projects matching the phases resulting in the are normalised for factors such as electricity meters reading low. different weather or production Meters with a pulsed output have figures.

There are problems several references additional potential with available whichorexplain in detail contact bounce missed pulses.

This can be avoided or similar CUSUM so thisifismodbus not covered here. multi register meters are used where Numerous energy suppliers the actual meter register is read back provide online energy monitoring and pulses are not counted. and reporting tools. Using these can In the case of mechanical meters offer a cost-effective stepare to such as water or gas thefirst meters identify potential savings tothe justify almost always oversized or of wrong type resulting in poor accuracy. further investment a larger M&T Some mechanical meters are good for programme.

continuous flow but very inaccurate when the flow is intermittent. Correct Start with spreadsheet meter specification and installation is For smallifsingle sites or buildings, essential the best accuracy is to be those responsible for energy could achieved. start with their own spreadsheet Electrical and mechanical system metering using accuracy is generally a analysis electricity supplier problem as the metering system half-hourly data or even manual accuracy is normally described as a meter readings. If proprietary M&T percentage of full scale. This means software or an integrated system that if the meter is oversized then the is preferred important to a accuracy will it beislow.

For example, select software suitssized the level 3 per cent error onthat a meter for 3/hourand 3/hr. If the of flow will be 3m of analysis features needed; 100m the actual flow ratesophistication is only 10m3/hr then unnecessary means meter accuracy will be 30and per cost cent of additional complexity for the actual flow rate. Most meters are not the user. truly linear and if operating out with the Theband initial challenge forinaccurate. an energy linear they will be very manager implement In manywishing cases theto existing system wide M&T is to to evaluate the load isscope very low relative the installed capacity of the especially availability of installation data and to develop a where the system hasEnergy been designed metering strategy. data for future expansion. Themight metering aforsite or organisation be held system installed is usually rated at in a variety of different locations, the maximum capacity of the system systems andthe formats - spreadsheets, even though load is much smaller. building management systems, For example a1000A electrical switch internet connected or even board with a 100A loaddevices on it. The metering system would normally be

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temperatures.

The temperature difference used is that between a fixed reference temperature and the varying outdoor air temperature. This reference temperature is known as the base temperature which, for buildings, is the balance point temperature i.e. the outdoor temperature at which the heating (or cooling) systems do not need to run in order to maintain comfort conditions.

Published degree day figures are calculated from daily maximum and minimum air temperatures, using the daily difference between the mean and base temperatures. The daily temperature deficits (for heating) or excess (for cooling) are aggregated over each day, week or month to give a total for the period. The formulae are adjusted to allow for days when the outside air temperature falls either side of the base temperature.

and methods to allow comparison other energy accounting against the previous year’s data. software may lack itthe analytical Where possible should includeand targetfunctions somesetting typical key ratio’s todiscussed allow the above. consumption to be compared against key operating parameters such forer Turnkey solutions onasoff example; outside temperature using Some M&T companies offer turnkWh/degree day, production in kW/ key solutions to supply and install unit of production, sales in kWh/unit all theoccupancy aM&T components of turnover, in kWh/manwhilst provide single components hoursothers or kWh/unit of floor area.

If used correctly, key ratiosassembles can producethe and these the end-user usefulcomplete information about how system.

Thiswell canthe require a energy is being compared degree ofused metering andwith IT expertise previous years and other facilities or to piece it all together and there are Fig. 6 Display of site cost breakdown by energy type departments within the organisation. obvious installation risks and cost Normally various graphs can beinconfirmed. paper invoices. implications tothe consider. sized at 1000A which will give very be produced to show increaseTo ensure value the energy monitoring system Within industry and most at basic metering strategy or energy continued meter data integrity the poorThe accuracy the actual working or decrease in corrected energy dashboard read the same. load of 100A. these circumstances Thismanufacturing is especially important when a new environments, whereconsumption. would be toInobtain data from system must be maintained. This a the compromise shouldHowever, be reachedthe to systems it is also possible replacement meter fitted or a meter processes and is site services are often In many fiscal meters. is typically done through a service improve accuracy.

Thedata switch should graphs andwith key ratios using costs rolls over using back toazero. controlled SCADA system, it to produce granularity of this only provides value contract often additional be metered with a smaller range carbon and cost as the criteria as well If you need to add a number of is worth investigating the possibility insights at a site-wide level. For for important software updates. metering system rated at say 250A with as kWh. This is becoming more popular meters to get to a total then the of integrating metering into the smaller premises sites this might percentage Ansome alternative is to outsource the alarm levels set withinor the metering and gives interesting information accuracy of each meter SCADA system although whenentire be as deep as M&T go but willexisting or part the M&T activity to systems such that if theneeds actual to demand comparing fueloftypes. also be added.

If poorly specified additional analysiscould software Once there are advantages a bureau or energy management approaches the 250A levelto inbe thegained future some historical data has been or installed thisenergy overall accuracy then an alarm would instigated andand be very accumulated then it is possible to start poor.toItbe is not recommended to is likely required. in automating thebeM&T process specialist company.

These new 1000A metering CT’sadditional could be sub- add meters looking at energyoffer use using statistical together to get a total. It is As noted above fortosimple collecting data from providers a range of additional fitted. Unfortunately, most electrical such as regression analysis better to measure the main supply and situations it is feasible to develop methods; meters to improve coverage and services beyond energy M&T and and fluid metering systems are installed and CUSUM to identify trends. Most split the main meter output in relation M&T software in-house, using the data granularity down to individual to the carbon reporting such as invoice to meter the maximum capacity of the systems have this capability and also percentage of the total supply typesub of basic analysis allowvalidation, services to a clearer tenant billing and energy installation andgive not the actual picture load on of by each the user to set targets.

These meter.spread-sheet By doing this the discussed above. how energy is consumed. procurement. the system giving large inaccuracies. energy targets can be very simple such system accuracy is maintained as the Another is meter as usingMonitoring the best historical typical week accuracy of the main meter.

This is true However, since proprietary In this potential case theproblem sub-metering and targeting zeroing andneeds rollover. there is a small month’s data as the ongoing for software electrical and fluid metering. is readily available it may or typical strategy toIfbe developed provides mechanisms for the longnumber of available meter Whatever targeting method is and Once youconsidered have installed your not be cost effective to target.term to account for areas ofregister significant management of energy digits on the meter relative to the actual used the accuracy and repeatability of metering system and have started develop bespoke in-house systems. consumption particularly where if correctly applied can help save load, then the numbers will rollover the metering system data is essential to collecting your data the next objective The of metering and the success a clear ‘driving be It is energyofand cut costs. However, it is very quickly as thefactor’ registercan is filled. the system. must benumber to make the best use of points the data. the way information is collected established.

For example: important to adoptto the appropriate important to use the largest numerical It is now very economic install In order to do this you must have does, the however, need be carefully intelligent • buildings: sub-metering boilers, levelmetering of M&T whether the choice is register available. systems which specified metering andto metering Some monitoring systems the allowbespoke the user control theirM&T, energy system correctlyto and also built in to the considered avoid the system lighting, HVAC and acrossallow individual in-house a turnkey user to manually enter the actual meter knowing howservice. they are software the necessary beingrequirement under-utilised, especially if it use bysystem floor consumption; orexactly a bureau values if required, in order that the and how much it of M&T targeting andexcessive data management requires amounts of data using their • industry/manufacturing: subTheenergy effective application actual physical meter and the displayed is costing across the various areas of routines. These should include total when a few important indicators metering of hot water and steam provides the cornerstone of any their business. It is always wise to start would suffice. Over-detailed boilers, condensate return, management smallenergy and build up the systemstrategy by addingby Fig. 5 Display of site daily Co2 generated by electricity consumption. reporting can cause staff to miss or meters compressed air, ventilation, chilling allowing theare energy manager when they required to get to: ignore vital information. as well as process lines; and • monitor energy consumption the best results and not metering for the and it. These systems energy are generally The ability to respond quickly is sake of • multi-site portfolios: monitoring detect avoidable waste; expand and provided they are use and an important factor in the success easy to building services across sites.

• identify unexpected energy and installed correctly will of any M&T system. Data collection specified A typical building energy to enable responsive and effective supply many years of reliable data and input should be as near real-time management system will remedial action; about their business in a simple to as feasible and practical. Exception understand incorporate some form of • help manner. quantifyItthe resulting is best to selectsavings; reports indicating excessive monitoring function with • identify further appropriate systems for productive appropriate lines of Fig. 7 Display of site energy costs perand student A mixture of metering systems can consumption should be generated uses. investigation; customisable dashboard be advantageous. speedily to allow early action and it sometimes graphical interface alongside the • provide feedback for staff

real time monitoring and control of building services plant. This could offer a cost-effective M&T solution but the ability to perform analytical functions such as regression should

is necessary for the energy manager awareness; Acknowledgements to establish how the organisation • improve target and budget setting; • CIBSE for technical information in will respond to whatever the M&T tablesand process highlights.

• undertake • Scotia Energy Ltd meaningful for the use of graphs; Although there are many and benchmarking.

• The Carbon Trust for use of data.

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status are shown in the table.

Think about what kind of supplier will dep Think about what you want to appeals. We do not have full clarity busines gain. The obvious answer here is yet about exactly who will be actively key dep cheaper bills. But with current competing for business come April you use SERIES 18 | MODULE 03 | SEPTEMBER 2020 SERIES 17 indications 09 MARCH 2020 suggesting 2017. how mu SERIES 18 | MODULE 06 | JANUARY 2021 retail ENTRYFORM FORMwill be 2.5 per cent net, margins A number of the large existing where y ENTRY straightforward price discounts companies have made it clear they many o SMART GRIDS SPACE HEATING How to obtain a CPD accreditation METERING & MONITORING Please mark your answers below by placing a cross in the box.

Don't forget that some will offer relatively thin to compete, but even here, in provisio Please mark your answers below by placing a cross in the box.

Don't forget that some pickings.

How the tointend obtain aInstitute CPD accreditation might have more than one correct answer.

You may find forget it helpful to some mark the Pleasequestions mark your answers by placing a cross in the box.

Don't that questions might have below more than one correct answer.

You may find it helpful to mark the from Energy answers in pencil first before filling in the final answers in ink.

Once you have completed through better from the exactly what Institute form remains to be seen. should questions might have more than one correct answer.

Youmoney may it helpful tocompleted mark the answers in pencil first before filling in theSaving final answers in ink.find Once you have Energy thein answer return it to theinaddress Photocopies are you acceptable. answers pencilsheet, first before the finalbelow. answers in ink. Once have completed etering & Monitoring the answer sheet, returnfilling it to the address below.

Photocopies are|acceptable.

SERIES 14 MODULE 08 | Metering Energy in Buildings Energy& inMonitoring Buildingsand andIndustry Industryand andthe theEnergy EnergyInstitute Instituteare aredelighted delightedto to water management United Utilities and Severn Trent, forto have The p the answer sheet, return it to the address below.

Photocopies are acceptable. should be have up you this Professional Development Energy in Buildings and Industry and the Energy Institute are delighted haveteamed teamed upto tobring bring you thisContinuing Continuing Professional Development initiative. teamed up to bring you this Continuing Professional Development initiative. considered in addition to simpleinitiative. instance, have made it known they will gears u QUESTIONS QUESTIONS This ininin the eighteenth series and focuses onon Smart Grids. It & This the ninth module the seventeenth series and focuses Space Thisisisisthe thethird sixthmodule module the eighteenth series and focuses on Metering monitor every energy stream ■ To 1) The establishment of the main Facilitate the connection of distributed ■ QUESTIONS volumetric discounts.

There could be taking an active role forquestions. the last few Among is accompanied by a set of multiple-choice questions.

Heating.

It is accompanied by a set of questions.

Monitoring.

It is accompanied by a multiple-choice set of multiple-choice 1. Which is the most common heating 6. produce Which iscomplicated thegeneration ‘deliveryreports end’ ofvariable athat vapour no-one reads transmission grid began in whichmedia in ■ To renewable and loads To qualify for aaaCPD certificate readers must submit at eight of

To qualify for CPD certificate readers must submit atleast least eight ofthe the wet systems? compression heat pump system?

1) What step in the M&T process achieves To qualify for CPD certificate readers must submit at least eight of the ten decade? such as electric vehicles and heat pumps To estimate expected consumption vs ■ also besystem efficiency savings to be ten years, but it was onlytoin the last few coming use. The accuracy depends EiBI energy savings? tensets setsof ofquestions questionsfrom fromthis thisseries seriesof ofmodules modulesto EiBIfor forthe theEnergy Energy energy used daily, weekly an ■ 1940s actual consumption to identify over or under

sets of questions from this series of modules to EiBI for the Energy Institute to to allow comp The evaporator very■much on the specification and and methods Institute to Anyone at of correct on Institute tomark. mark.

Anyoneachieving achieving atleast least eight out often tenanswers correctanswers answers on consumption.

7) does the abbreviation VPP stand for?

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20 24 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | SEPTEMBER MARCH 20202020

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This month's CPD module is sponsored by 03/09/2020 03/03/2020 17:25 22:44

energyzine.co.uk/enquiries Enter 19 fEBruary 2017 | ENErGy IN BuILDINGS & I t +44 (0)121 327 7771 w mwatechnology.com

14/01/2021 14:41

Stuart Bratton is applications manager at Danfoss Drives

Drives & Motors For further information on Danfoss Drives visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 128

Why harmonics matter so much With electrical systems come harmonics. But what are harmonics, where do they come from and why should we be so concerned about them? Stuart Bratton has the answers

I

n a perfect world, if you looked at the current and voltage waveforms in the electrical supply network, they would be perfect sine waves at the supply frequency, which is usually either 50Hz or 60Hz, depending on where in the world you live. In reality however, those waveforms are almost never perfect sine waves – they are almost always distorted to a greater or lesser extent.

And that distortion, provided that it’s periodic, can be described in terms of harmonics.

In fact, any repetitive waveform can be built up from a sine wave at the fundamental frequency, to which ‘harmonics’ are added. These are simply sine waves with frequencies that are whole-number multiples of the fundamental frequency.

In electrical power systems, the fundamental frequency is the supply frequency. For simplicity we’ll take that to be 50Hz, but all of the arguments work just as well for 60Hz or any other supply frequency.

So any distorted waveform on a 50Hz system can be described as a sine wave at 50Hz, which is the fundamental, plus another at 100Hz (2 x 50Hz), which is the second order harmonic; another at 150Hz (3 x 50Hz), which is the third order harmonic; another at 200Hz (4 x 50Hz), which is the fourth order harmonic; and so on.

In theory, the harmonic orders go on forever but, in practice, as the harmonic order increases the level of the harmonic usually falls so high order harmonics can often be ignored. But not always! There are circumstances where it may be necessary to take account of harmonics up to the 100th order, e.g.

100 x 50Hz or 5000Hz. It is, of course, impossible to look at a supply waveform and decide ‘by eye’ which harmonics are present, except in a very approximate way, and only then after much practice.

Fortunately, there is a mathematical technique – known as a Fourier Transform – which changes the familiar waveform display into a

frequency spectrum.

On the screen of an instrument used for measuring harmonics, this spectrum typically looks like a series of spikes, one for each harmonic. The height of the spike shows the level of the harmonic that’s present in the waveform under investigation.

Some instruments also provide a digital readout of the level of each harmonic, either as a percentage or as a voltage or current.

The origin of harmonics Where do harmonics come from?

The short answer is that they’re produced by non-linear loads connected to the supply system. A non-linear load is any load that draws a non-sinusoidal current from the supply. There are many examples including office equipment such as power supplies for computers and printers, fluorescent lighting, battery chargers, welding equipment and variable speed drives.

Typically, you can expect any

piece of equipment that produces DC from an AC supply to produce harmonics, but the mix of harmonics depends on the type of load. An unbalanced non-linear three-phase load generates even-order harmonics (second, fourth, sixth, eighth and so on), whereas single-phase non-linear loads like computer power supplies generate harmonics with orders that are odd multiples of three (third, ninth, fifteenth and so on). These are often called the ‘triplen’ or ‘zero sequence’ harmonics.

Balanced three-phase non-linear loads like variable speed drives generate odd-order harmonics but those that are multiples of three cancel out. This leaves harmonics of the fifth, seventh, eleventh, thirteenth, seventeenth orders etc.

In three-phase systems, harmonics ‘rotate’ just like the supply phases.

They can rotate in the same direction as the supply phases, when they are known as positive sequence harmonics; in the opposite direction

to the supply phases, when they are known as negative sequence harmonics; or they can be stationary (not rotating at all) when they are known as zero sequence harmonics.

The table below shows the directions of rotation for harmonic orders up to the 27th.

Depending on their direction of rotation, harmonics produce very different effects. For example, negative sequence harmonics tend to reduce the torque of three-phase motors, which can lead to problems if a heavily loaded motor is started direct on line. Positive and negative sequence harmonics sum to zero and produce no current in the neutral of a three-phase installation, but zero-sequence harmonics add to each other, producing a neutral current that is three times that of the harmonic current in each of the phases. This is a common cause of unexpected and, of course, unwanted heating in neutral conductors.

So why do they matter? In fact, we have already mentioned two reasons: they can reduce the torque capacity of motors and they can lead to excessive heating in neutral conductors. They can also have many other deleterious effects such as preventing the correct operation of electronic equipment, reducing the working capacity or potentially overloading power transformers, tripping circuit breakers, making lights flicker and even increasing energy bills.

The important takeaway message is that in power systems, harmonics are always undesirable. 

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Drives & Motors For further information on products and services visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter the appropriate online enquiry number

Research into 3D printing to lead to lighter motors VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is leading a European consortium 3DREMAG which is developing a new material suitable for 3D printing of permanent magnets, which can be utilised in electric and hybrid vehicle motors. The aim in the long run is to develop a fully 3D printable electric motor, one that would be approximately 30 per cent lighter than today’s motors.

The new permanent magnet material being developed for this purpose will promote cleaner traffic and help reduce the environmental impact of traffic. The global number of electric cars is expected to reach 125m by 2030.

More than 90 per cent of electric vehicle motors are based on permanent magnets, which provide high power in small volume. Unlike electromagnets which require continuous electrical current in order to maintain their magnetism, permanent magnets do not require an external magnetic field. The strongest permanent magnets are based on a combination of neodymium, iron and boron (Nd-Fe-B).

Today, the production of fully dense permanent magnets is limited to simple shapes. The Nd-Fe-B powder developed under the 3DREMAG project will enable the production of magnets through 3D printing. 3D printing can be used to optimize the size of magnets and to improve resource efficiency. This is important because neodymium is a rare raw material with limited availability.

Nd-Fe-B powder can be used to produce fully dense metallic and resource-efficient permanent magnets for electric and hybrid vehicle motors, electric bicycles and consumer electronics, as well as for wind turbine generators.

“In the long run, our goal is to construct a fully 3D printable electric motor that would be approximately 30 per cent lighter than today’s motors. Achieving this goal requires multidisciplinary cooperation and combining different technologies,” says Joni Reijonen, research scientist and project manager at VTT. 

ONLINE ENQUIRY 130

VSDs offer ventilation specifiers a holistic solution Ventilation specifiers can access fully compliant high-temperature fan packages complete with a variable speed drive (VSD), according to Elta Fans’ Applied Technology division.

By testing its high-performance smoke fans alongside various VSDs in accordance with BS EN12101-3:2015, the division aims to offer the market a more competitive holistic solution.

Elta Fans is hoping to develop highly efficient impellers that provide an economic way of moving high volumes of air at low to medium pressures. By incorporating the VSD with the fan itself, system specifiers and designers are offered a streamlined approach to compliance.

The highly fans were tested at BSRIA’s testing facility in Bracknell, for F300 (300°C 2Hr) and F400 (400°C 2Hr). Having the fans running with VSD during the test means that the fans and VSD can be used together without the need for bypassing or fitting filters to the VSD in fire mode.

Bradley Crisp, applied technology

sales engineer at Elta Fans Applied Technology said: “With urbanisation becoming an unrelenting trend across Europe, the limitation for space is leading to the construction of more midrise to high-rise buildings. In turn, this is driving an increase in demand for highperformance equipment compliant with stringent government regulations

to ensure the safety of people and property. While there are different ways to ensure the systems are compliant, the most effective and optimal way for our customers is for our fans and VSDs to be tested together, hence why we have sought the BSI accreditation.” 

ONLINE ENQUIRY 129

Drives help cut costs for Sri Lanka’s tea production process

Nearly 50 per cent of energy consumption in Sri Lanka’s tea manufacturing is through the withering process – the method used for drying tea leaves.

The costs of this process have been almost halved in many cases, along with the industry’s impact on the environment, thanks to the use of variable frequency drive technology.

In 2018 hundreds of Invertek’s Optidrive Eco drives were installed and commissioned in many tea plantations

throughout the country as part of a project, led by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through greater efficiencies.

Tea withering uses fans to remove moisture from the black tea leaves, drying them up to 40 or 50 per cent during a 12 to 18-hour period.

Previously, fans would run at a constant speed blowing air through dampers to dry the leaves. The dampers would be manually controlled to

adjust the airflow. The introduction of the drives meant the airflow could be controlled more accurately and efficiently by varying the fan speed rather than adjusting the dampers. This considerably reduced energy usage.

Working with Invertek’s sales partner in Sri Lanka, Hayleys Aventura Pvt. Ltd, the existing starters were replaced with the Optidrive Eco drives.

“The quality of the produced tea will mainly depend on the withering process. Withering troughs use DOL or Star/Delta Starters to start its fan and use dampers to control the air flow to obtain the withering of tea leaf in the existing system,” said Anushka Chandrasoma, assistant manager, Hayleys Aventura Pvt. Ltd. “While replacing the traditional starter with VFDs, operators can control the airflow by reducing the fan speed through a VFD, which enables savings of around 20-25 per cent of the energy used in the withering process. We used Optidrive Eco VFD’s with IP66 enclosures, which have the maximum protection against dust and water.” 

ONLINE ENQUIRY 131

22 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JANUARY 2021

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New Products For further information on products and services visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter the appropriate online enquiry number

Smart solution embedded in luminaires Sylvania has introduced SylSmart Connected Building, a smart lighting solution for new build and retrofit in indoor commercial applications.

Unlike traditional control systems, SylSmart Connected Building embeds intelligence in each luminaire. This contrasts with most lighting control systems which are based on a centralised system architecture which can result in a single point of failure then affecting the whole system. SylSmart Connected Building has no central controller, operating in a decentralised way. This avoids a local problem causing a complete system shutdown.

The system uses Qualified Bluetooth mesh and smart sensors within Sylvania luminaires. This solution is ideally suited for control, monitoring, and automation systems where tens, hundreds, or thousands of devices need to communicate with one another reliably and securely.

Sylvania is working on this initiative with Technology Partner Silvair, a leading contributor to the development of the Bluetooth mesh standard.

Retrofit of SylSmart Connected Building luminaires is simple – no additional wiring is required just a simple swap-out. Traditional luminaires can be easily replaced with highly efficient, controlled, SylSmart-enabled fixture.

Each luminaire contains a motion sensor providing precise control and optimum comfort to occupants. The SylSmart Connected Building system also provides maximum flexibility if the layout and demands of the office space is changed.

Digital floor plans and configurations can be created off-site via a web-based platform. On-site implementation is accelerated with an intuitive mobile app, minimising disruption, and ensuring the security and reliability of the system.

This app also supports regular maintenance with no in-depth training required.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 107

Turnkey solution to cutting lighting costs Thorn Lighting has launched the Energy Service Solution to help customers as a complete turnkey solution to reduce lighting costs. Rising energy costs and increasing pressures to reduce energy consumption are making the need to become energy efficient more of a strategic necessity than an option for the environmentally conscious.

Dedicated to auditing, designing, supplying, installing, and maintaining energy efficient lighting systems as a full turnkey package, Energy Service Solutions is intended to be a hassle-free service for customers across all industry sectors.

Planning a lighting scheme and incorporating the most energy efficient products, like the latest LED luminaires, can yield significant savings, reduced maintenance intervals and minimal interruption for the foreseeable future. By using automatic controls which take advantage of natural sources of light and presence detection, the luminaires are only on when needed.

An optimised correctly adapted lighting control system could help reduce energy consumption by up to 82 per cent by the efficient application with the use of a daylight-, presence- and time-based lighting control ONLINE ENQUIRY 108 system.

Expansion of range of condensing units Pressurisation questions answered online Spirotech has launched an easy-to-use online selection tool to help installers and engineers with questions around pressurisation and which products to choose.

The tool focuses on the company’s SpiroPress range, with numerous possibilities in respect of system design, helping ensure the right solution is selected so that systems can be kept running at their best while minimising the need for maintenance.

Rob Jacques, Spirotech’s national key accounts and technical sales manager, said: “Solving pressurisation issues in complex heating and cooling systems can be a real headache for installers and engineers.

“Most problems within HVAC systems are closely related to air being introduced into the system as a result of poor pressurisation.

“A badly designed, installed or maintained pressurisation system can lead to negative pressures around the circuit. Air is drawn in through automatic air vents, gaskets and micro leaks and water may be emitted through pressure relief valves, leading to frequent refilling.

“There might be many possible solutions depending on the system design, but how do installers select the one that’s best to keep a particular system running at its best, while keeping costs down?

“In just a few steps, it guides the installer or engineer to the most suitable solutions, including product specs, and with one click the product information can be saved on a computer or sent via email.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 109

Panasonic is expanding its range of environmentally friendly CO2 condensing units for commercial applications with the introduction of its medium-sized unit with a cooling capacity of 7.5 kW (medium temperature).

The latest addition to the efficient CO2 condensing unit line-up joins the existing larger 16kW and smaller 4kW units. Like its larger counterpart, the medium sized unit also has a heat recovery connecting port.

The CO2 condensing units offer energy savings for commercial users by utilising CO2 natural refrigerant and offers low noise levels at 35.5dB(A) (at 10m), ideal when displaying chilled and frozen goods in customer areas.

The units can be installed in a variety of applications, such as for showcases in supermarkets, convenient stores, and petrol stations, as well as in cold rooms to keep food fresh and safe such as in hotels, schools and hospitals.

The new capacity is compatible with Panasonic’s CO2 Refrigeration Designer - an online calculator designed to ensure the best solutions and results are achieved and eliminate calculation errors. The latest software updates introduce the new 4HP (MT) unit in the calculation and contains EU Declaration of Conformity documents. It also facilitates the design process and improves user-friendliness. In addition, the cooling capacity range for extended outdoor ambient conditions and the evaporating temperature conditions have been enlarged.

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New Products For further information on products and services visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter the appropriate online enquiry number

Presence detectors use Casambi 4G connectivity for improved BMS access A 4G connectivity pack which enables a reliable and secure internet connection to Priva building management systems is now available in the UK. This latest launch from building automation company Priva, will be welcomed by users who struggle to manage building services on sites where there is no internet connection. With the Priva Connectivity Pack 4G, connection to a BMS can be established quickly and simply. The inclusion of two external antennas ensures optimum signal reception and data transfer speed.

The pack is completely ‘plug and play’ and is supplied with a router and an activated SIM card so that it works straight out of the box. It is designed to connect automatically to the most suitable network (EU roaming automatically establishes a connection to the most suitable network in range). Just like Priva’s other online applications, the 4G Pack is updated automatically.

The hardware supplied with the pack – which includes a router with DIN rail mounting clip; an ethernet cable; a power supply adaptor and two antennas; plus the activated SIM card - is durable and rugged to ensure maximum reliability. If, for any reason any part of the pack fails, Priva will send a replacement component free of charge.

The Priva Connectivity Pack is available to Priva’s network of Partners and end-user customers on an annual subscription; users simply pay a fixed amount per month for the 4GB data bundle. The price is based on fair use - which means there is no issue for those who occasionally exceed the data limit.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 105

CP Electronics is launching a new range of PIR presence detectors that provide a wireless solution for a variety of applications, all utilising Casambi technology. The detectors also incorporate relay and DALI output control, as well as presence and lux sensing.

Casambi provides state-of-the-art wireless technology that enables smartphones, tablets and even smart watches to become lighting controllers. This lighting control technology is integrated into luminaires and control devices to create a highly functional wireless lighting control solution with minimal cost and installation effort. The distributed and symmetric architecture allows any unit to go offline and catch up from others when they return back online. This control solution is powered through the Casambi App on iOS and Android devices.

The CP Electronics range includes three detector options (Compact, Mid-Range and High Bay) that offer a solution to a variety of installations: • the Compact detectors are low profile IP40 rated, ceiling flush mounted units that offer 360 degree detection in typical 2.8m ceiling heights; • the Mid-Range detectors are ideal for larger office areas and incorporate concentric lens facets to provide detection for open plan spaces; and • the High Bay detectors have been designed for lighting control in areas with demanding spaces and increased mounting heights.

The CP Electronics Casambi series of detectors incorporate smart automatic joining to mesh network on power up; thus removing single point of network failure, plus rugged de-centralised control, full flexibility to group or re-group and configure advance daylight and occupancy and time control regimes.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 111

Chillers provide solution for hospitals, universities Mitsubishi Electric has launched a new Climaveneta-branded NX2 range of air source scroll chillers, expanding the NX2 family and offering improved energy efficiency and sustainability.

As a plug-and-play solution with low noise levels the chillers are the ideal solution for HVAC plants within hotels, offices, leisure centres, hospitals, and universities.

The new chillers complete the NX2 range, offering a two and four scroll compressor version with a capacity range from 40 to 376kW. Both options are available with the lower-GWP R454B refrigerant, ensuring high levels of energy efficiency alongside quality comfort cooling, as well as R410A. The complete range is Eurovent certified and far exceeds the minimum seasonal efficiency level of 2021 imposed by EcoDesign Directive.

The systems have been designed for perfect acoustic wellbeing, and operate at lower noise levels than the previous range, helping them to achieve one of the best sound power levels in the market, while maintaining the same performance and footprint as the standard acoustic version.

They are also designed with high levels of seasonal efficiency in mind, and achieve excellent SEER values that are over 11 per cent higher than the previous range. These values could be boosted by selecting the optional UP kit (Ultra Performance kit), achieving top efficiency levels on the market.

The new ranges are also equipped with additional state-of-the-art options, including optional smart controls such as night mode, which brings sound levels to a minimum by reducing resource activity during low load periods, and leak detection.

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Charlie Mowbray is product manager at Ideal Heating Commercial Division

Heating Technology For further information on Ideal Heating Commercial Division visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 143

Protect, separate and treat Charlie Mowbray looks at how the whole system needs to be considered to ensure optimum performance

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hen installing condensing commercial boilers, it is vital to think in terms of the whole system and ensuring you get the most out of it. After all, high efficiency boilers are only as good as the system they are installed within.

For example, it is counterproductive to install new boilers onto an old system that is contaminated with debris and dirt. So-called dirty water is an inevitable consequence of an aging system but if it is circulated through a new boiler it could affect its ability to run efficiently and can lead to boiler breakdowns and even early failure.

Within the UK’s commercial heating industry, due to the maturity of the market, older open vented systems are relatively common. This can mean that there are pollutants in that system that present a risk to the new boilers. When retrofitting new boilers onto older buildings the main threat can be caused by the sludge and dirt that has accumulated in the system often as a result of oxygenation.

Within the boiler heat exchanger waterways any contamination such as limescale, system dirt and magnetite can result in hard residue on the heat exchange surfaces.

This can reduce the heat exchange capacity and affect the output of the boiler and therefore the system.

Protection or separation can sometimes be taken out of tender proposals to reduce on initial installation cost. This is a potentially risky move when considering the long-term operation of the system.

To ensure that a boiler’s longevity is maintained we encourage installers to consider system protection and separation. Doing this helps add protection to the internal parts from corrosion and built-up of scale over time. There are a number of methods that can be used to address this such as; filters or strainers, air and dirt separators, low loss headers, magnetic low loss headers and plate heat exchangers.

A plate heat exchanger needs to be accurately sized prior to installation

By hydraulically separating the boiler from a secondary system a low loss header adds a huge benefit to an installation. The boiler can operate independently to a system where the load is likely to be variable and the operating range for the system may not be ideally suited to the boiler. For the boiler, if it was installed directly to the system pipework, a variable flow rate may lead to minimum flow rates for the boiler not being maintained.

Not only can low loss headers help the boiler and system to work well together, they can help preserve the working life of the boilers. As the flow rate through the low loss header is very slow it allows entrained dirt or

Low loss headers can help the boiler and system work well together

other particles to fall out of the flow and they collect at the bottom of the low loss header for safe removal via a drain valve.

Capturing magnetite particles Another approach would be the use of a magnetic low loss header which combines the benefits of a low loss header with the addition of a magnet inside it, capturing the magnetite particles as well.

The advantage of installing a plate heat exchanger onto a system is that they do more than simply protect the boilers from potentially poor in quality water. The boiler circuit and secondary circuit can operate at different temperature profiles

provided the plate heat exchanger is specified correctly, the two systems can operate at different pressures, or the fluid within the secondary system could be a process or food grade fluid that could not be heated directly by a boiler.

Something to take into consideration when looking to install a plate heat exchanger would be the heat transfer capacity and the temperature profiles on each side of the plate. These parameters will have a direct impact on how effectively the plate heat exchanger will function, therefore the plate will need to be accurately sized prior to installation to achieve and maintain these parameters.

Plate heat exchangers are typically offered in two types, gasketed and brazed. gasketed plate heat exchangers comprise a series of plates fitted with elastomeric gaskets which are retained in a frame whereas brazed plate heat exchangers eliminate the gasketed joints, allowing for higher design pressures and temperatures.

While protecting and separating the installation mechanically will help the boilers to reach their full potential it makes sense to treat the water within the systems to ensure all parts of the installation are chemically protected as well.

Protection and separation are crucial with retrofit installations in commercial settings; however they could be redundant if the water is left untreated.

Fresh untreated water used to initially fill a system can contain oxygen and other compounds that if left untreated would present a risk to the longevity and efficiency of the system. Cleansing the system prior to installation and suitable post installation water treatment is considered as good practice.

Obviously modern boilers and systems can comprise a number of different materials, so always seek the advice of a competent water treatment specialist to ensure that the appropriate chemicals in the correct concentrations are used. 

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Monitoring & Metering For further information on Prefect Controls visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 133

The balance of power Balancing demand is going to be a key weapon in future heating policy for the UK’s commercial buildings, believes Adrian Barber

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here appears to be some confusion as to what the UK Government’s position is on the phasing out of fossil fuel-fired boilers. The Clean Growth Strategy launched in 2017 proposed plans to stop the installation of oil or coal heating systems from the mid 2020s where gas isn’t available, and to Improve standards on the 1.2m new boilers installed every year in England. Philip Hammond, the then Chancellor, announced in his spring statement of that year: “We will introduce a Future Homes Standard, mandating the end of fossil-fuel heating systems in all new houses from 2025.” He may have been quoting the Committee on Climate Change which recommended that new homes and commercial premises from 2025 should not be connected to the gas network and that by 2035 installation of gas boilers be phased out. The committee also recommended that the government concentrates on several other issues including lowcarbon retrofits, energy networks and green infrastructure.

However, there is no reference to a fossil fuel ban, in the Government’s own summary of the Spring

Statement. Instead, there is a commitment to, “future-proofing new-build homes with low-carbon heating and world leading levels of energy efficiency”. At the time of writing, mid-December 2020, a further news release announced a ‘mix up’ when 2023 as a pledge to ban gas boilers from new homes from Boris Johnson was withdrawn from the Downing Street website.

So, since 2012 the timescale quoted has ranged from 2023, through 2035 right up to 2050 when the UK is committed to bringing all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero!

Whatever the timescales, it can be assumed that any such heating policy will also be applied to commercial buildings such as the UK student accommodation estate which currently comprises over 660,000 rooms.

Plan the transformation The largest single source of carbon emissions, responsible for more than one-third of the total, is space heating. Although student accommodation is only a relatively small number, compared with 29m homes, owners and providers should begin planning the transformation

of their old stock by switching from fossil-fuelled boilers towards low-carbon heating sources. This will help with decarbonisation and, as importantly, maximise their effective use of energy.

One of the hurdles that such upgrades will face is electricity supply. Accommodation that was built in the 70s and 80s with a reliance on fossil fuels for heating will have an electricity supply that, at the time, was adequate for powering the lights, kitchen equipment and power sockets. But roll on 30-40 years, and the cost of upgrading the supply to run a fully electrical heating system could prove inhibitive.

The benefits of new technologies and cleaner, greener energy make controllable electric heating systems more attractive than on/off wet systems. But the additional electrical load this will place on supply must be a consideration that is taken seriously before a refit is given the green light.

Estimating the maximum demand for electricity in a building is an important calculation from both an operational and an energy efficiency perspective. This is a particular issue if a building is being re-purposed or

Adrian Barber is marketing manager at Prefect Controls

major renovations are afoot.

Heat loss calculations will indicate the size of heaters required for each zone, but what if this adds up to a greater draw, than the building’s electricity supply can manage?

A second consideration is procurement. Organisations that are big consumers of electricity will negotiate their tariff directly with their energy provider. Estimating their usage is a balancing act – if they estimate too much they will be paying for unused capacity, too little and they face penalties for going over the agreed limits – in much the same way one predicts annual mileage when negotiating the monthly payments on a new car. Metering will provide the total consumption of power but, it is a blunt instrument when it comes to calculating the ebb and flow of demand.

Prefect Controls have overcome this conundrum with software they have developed and integrated with Irus – their central control heating system designed specifically for student accommodation.

It is unlikely that all electrical equipment i.e. heaters, cookers, lights etc. will be in use simultaneously. However, Irus steps in if demand rises unusually. Irus is able to use line metering data to calculate the total demand for the site. Nodes connected to each panel heater and water tank communicate with the central control unit. Energy managers access data through the web-based portal and they can adjust parameters accordingly. This provides complete control over room temperatures and water heating.

Irus will automatically lower power input to non-essential heaters, such as those in corridors or stairwells and water tanks - or switch them off completely, if the pre-set maximum demand limit is being reached.

This technology means sites that previously were unsuitable for electric heating can now benefit from the efficiencies of appropriately sized panel heaters without the need for huge investment in a power supply upgrade.

Once again this proves that smart use of energy control provides efficiencies that are far beyond simply using less, but by balancing the demand to ensure supply is used effectively. 

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Metering & Monitoring For further information on products and services visit www.eibi.co.uk/ enquiries and enter the appropriate online enquiry number

Dashboard helps provide customers with holistic view Systems integrator, BMSI is making available MediCentre, a remote technical centre, which is enabling the company to offer a tailored package for clients.

The package provides a full lifecycle service that creates a holistic view of customers’ energy efficiency, focussing on the acquisition, analysis and presentation of energy and BEMS control data from a wide variety of sources, using its software platform, MEDIC. “The beauty of the Medic dashboard is that it features a customisable interactive display for viewing metering, energy, weather, wellbeing and BEMS information, all on one place,” says Steve Culshaw, MediCentre Manager. “Online access to MEDIC means that you don’t need to download, store and manage PC-based software, or have a dedicated PC. This enables our customers to have 360o visibility and real-time analysis of their data like never before, helping businesses to lower their operational costs and be mindful of creating a sustainable business model for the future.”

MEDIC can be used to manage and analyse data, build and schedule reports and configure notifications. It’s a flexible, scalable solution, suitable for multi-site, multiutility, corporate customers as well as standalone, single-site installations.

The Macallan Distillery in Moray, Scotland, has been utilising MEDIC to deliver a blended support maintenance service of onsite and remote PPM with a focus on resilience around reactive issues supported by a 24/7 callout facility. This allows data streams to be hosted in one place, giving an accurate, 360o view and analysis of the building that is able to inform key business decisions and protect against possible future-faults in real-time.

The Remote PPM preview report provides the client with a smart-based solution to deliver cost effective maintenance and energy optimisation. This enables BMSI to profile this data, analyse the performance of the building and include analysis on control loop performance, fault prediction and issue ONLINE ENQUIRY 135 correlations.

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Monitoring & Metering For further information on eSight Energy visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 134

Janie Jeffries-Freer is CEO at eSight Energy

Achieving efficient monitoring There are four key steps to be taken to achieve efficient building monitoring. Janie Jeffries-Freer examines a strategy to move from setting objectives right through to fine tuning your estate

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very organisation is keen to cut the energy costs of the buildings they operate – but few actually have monitoring tools and infrastructure in place to facilitate the delivery of information that will enable them to do so.

At most they know how much they spend and what energy they use but beyond that, little else is considered. The intricacies of energy usage, overall performance and energy productivity never come up.

For any organisation looking to cut the energy costs of its commercial building(s), the first step is to understand how much energy is being used – in essence, having an energy monitoring strategy.

But how can organisations achieve efficient building energy monitoring? What needs to be done? There are four key steps to achieve efficient energy monitoring.

Step 1: Create energy policies and objectives Before the implementation of any kind of holistic energy management software, you need to first set detailed energysaving policies and objectives to determine a plan for improving energy performance across the specified commercial buildings.

What does the organisation want to achieve? Reduce energy consumption by 3-5 per cent year on year? Improve energy productivity by 5-10 per cent by 2021/22? Outlining and documenting aims and objectives will ensure that energy managers, directors and stakeholders are aware of the objectives and are held accountable.

Having agreed on the energy policies and objectives, you can then devise a plan to achieve these targets. Of course, before deploying the plan of action, understanding energy consumption and

The first step in reducing energy costs is to begin building an energy monitoring strategy

performance across the enterprise is vital. Most organisations have solutions in place to capture energy data but are those solutions connected to provide an end-to-end view of energy consumption across the enterprise?

At this juncture, some form of energy management software (EMS) to connect data points across the enterprise and energy conservation measures (ECMs) must be put in place to help provide enterprise-wide visibility and reduce energy consumption.

Step 2: Implement your plan

The next step in achieving efficient building energy monitoring is implementing a plan based on the policies and objectives – but rather than applying it across all of your commercial buildings at the offset, run a test phase or ‘pilot’ scheme across a few buildings.

Think of it as a trial run. Use it as an opportunity to determine just how effective the energy reduction and performance improvement plans are and whether your energy saving policies and objectives are feasible.

For example, implement energy conservation measures, such as replacing the building’s traditional lighting system with more energy-

efficient LED lighting, across a few buildings to see if it reduces energy consumption.

The result is lower upfront expenditure (as the plan is only applied to a few buildings) and rapid identification of what works.

As you continue to improve and complete your plan, utilising the data obtained from your test sites, you can deploy the finished plan across the other commercial buildings using a ‘lift and shift’ model. This systematic and scalable approach will allow rapid replication of the positive results achieved at the test sites, as well as creating building benchmarks to essentially compare your buildings relative to others.

Step 3: Develop actionable reports When it comes to your building’s energy monitoring and reporting – it’s vital to report on the most valuable and actionable metrics to the business. The problem is that while most organisations have data loggers and systems across commercial buildings to capture energy usage, performance and consumption data – instead of filtering the information and extracting the most actionable parts, it is all compiled into a single

large and very complex report.

But to effectively achieve efficient energy monitoring for your commercial building, you need to focus on the energy metrics that matter. Prioritise the metrics that can be utilised by your business to help meet energy policies and objectives, as well as improve energy performance, rather than those that only show the current state of the building but offer no insight to how you got there or what to do next.

For example, reporting on things like cost per unit of energy, energy productivity or total energy consumption across your commercial buildings, will provide a better understanding of overall energy performance.

As you continue to compile more actionable reports more and more people will buy into the process and support driving down energy consumption.

Step 4: Determine the correct approach There is no one-size-fits-all approach to effective energy monitoring. What works for one building might not necessarily be applicable to another. For example, a small organisation operating just a single commercial building might want to quickly deploy energy conservation measures as a shortterm strategy, whereas a large organisation operating multiple commercial buildings might want to use one of its buildings as a test site, deploying several energysaving measures, to see what works and if the strategy can be used at other sites over the long term.

What’s important, however, is to determine the approach that best fits with your organisation’s requirements, resource, budget, and the needs of your commercial building. All of these elements are key in any successful energy management or energy saving project, so it’s vital that you consider them equally. 

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Metering & Monitoring For further information on products and services visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter the appropriate online enquiry number

Compact, lightweight heat meter

Flow meter sizes complex boiler plant

The Superstatic 789 Heat Meter is one of the latest editions to the Sontex range. Distributed in the UK by DMS Metering Solutions, the meter offers a composite meter body, providing high accuracy while remaining compact and lightweight and providing a financially beneficial alternative to the usual brass body.

The lightweight construction and lower costs add to the list of benefits that all Superstatic Meters carry. The 789s use the Fluid Oscillation Measuring Principle and have been tested to meet the requirements for MID Class 2.

The 789s are available in sizes QP1.5 15mm, QP1.5 20mm, and QP2.5 20mm (15-20mm) and are battery powered with a lifespan of six or 12 years.

The Sontex Superstatic 789 is suitable for both domestic and commercial installations, and can also be used for RHI and billing applications. The temperature range covered is -5oC to 90oC. Four communication outputs are available- M-Bus, pulsed, radio, and wireless M-Bus. ONLINE ENQUIRY 136

A specialist provider of electrical and mechanical engineering services to the commercial, industrial, and public sectors in the south west recently use a Micronics flowmeter to measure the flow of water through a pipe for a multinational manufacturing company. A requirement was to not have to shut the plant down by tapping into the pipe.

A design consultant recommended Micronics flowmeters to James McGinty, director of Plymouth-based Drew & Company. He felt that the ease of installation and the maintenance and service benefits delivered by this non-contact technology would be ideal for his immediate requirements. “We were able to hire the Micronics Portaflow 330 and found that it performed perfectly. It did everything we wanted and enabled us to correctly size some complex boiler plant.�

The specialist Micronics product, used for clean liquid monitoring, with its integral logger and software and non-invasive measurement represented significant savings on installation costs and less disruption than when installing an alternative in-line meter.

The Micronics clamp-on flowmeter for liquids is portable and easy to use and offers continuity and long term reliability. It is robustly constructed and provides a quick and reliable means of measuring flow accurately.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 137

MWA offer a

5 year warranty

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 9

Nick Kennedy is operations director at Kingspan Energy

Energy in the Public Sector For further information on Kingspan Energy visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 138

Getting the net-zero treatment

As much as 20 per cent of energy used in hospitals is wasted. Nick Kennedy believes that it is the right time to give hospitals more support in achieving carbon reductions

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ven in more normal times, hospitals must function 24/7 across the year and will be constantly running a diversity of energy intensive equipment. At the same time, many of the buildings are outdated and poorly insulated, increasing their energy demand and potentially presenting health and wellbeing risks to patients and staff. As the UK moves towards a net-zero built environment – supporting NHS Trusts in upgrading their facilities should be our highest priority.

The NHS is estimated to spend over £500m per year on energy in England alone, with major uses including building services, medical tools, IT services and catering. Research suggests that as much as 20 per cent of this energy use is wasted1. This ongoing loss ultimately limits the ability of Trusts to focus investment in other key areas.

This issue is not unique to the NHS. A report from ARUP estimated that if the global healthcare industry were a country, it would be the fifth largest emitter of carbon2. Here in the UK, progress has been made to reduce carbon intensity and energy demand. In Scotland and England, for example, emissions have fallen by 26.9 per cent3 and 18.5 per cent4 respectively since 2007. Despite this, the NHS is still estimated to account for around 5.5 per cent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions2.

Steps are now underway to accelerate progress in this area.

Earlier this year, NHS England’s Sustainable Development Unit sent out a call for evidence to help it to develop a plan to reach net-zero emissions “at the earliest possible point”. The expert panel of climate and healthcare specialists received over 600 pieces of evidence and are expected to publish their interim report this June5.

Addressing the energy performance of NHS facilities can be expected to be a central focus within the expert report. A dizzying array of options are available to NHS

Hospitals present some of the most significant challenges when it comes to reaching net-zero targets

Trusts which can make it difficult for facilities managers to know where to invest first. The whole building approach taken within PAS 2035 provides a useful starting point. While this specification has been developed to guide energy improvements to homes, many of its recommendations are just as applicable to the healthcare sector.

Different challenges Central to the whole building approach is the acknowledgement that all properties present different challenges (whether it be the construction, condition, location, orientation etc) and that measures need to be selected as part of a cohesive response to these specific factors. PAS 2035 also highlights the need to carefully phase work to achieve the best results as changes in one area may impact others.

Building Energy Modelling (BEM) can help to inform these processes, both on new builds and refurbishments, allowing designs to be tweaked to achieve optimal performance and scheduling.

For many healthcare buildings, improvements to the building fabric will also provide considerable benefits. Modular approaches, such as insulated panels, can help to achieve this with limited disruption to hospital operations.

Combining a metal façade, insulation and waterproofing in a single component, their highly insulated core and airtight jointing can greatly reduce heat demand and, when combined with an effective ventilation scheme, allow greater control of thermal comfort.

Once a clear plan is in place to limit a facility’s energy consumption, it should be possible to identify suitable onsite generation technologies to offset as much of the remaining demand as possible. In many cases, the large roof spaces of healthcare facilities will provide an ideal location for photovoltaic (PV) arrays.

To get the most from these, it makes sense to work with a supplier who offers tailored design services.

Using BEM, they should be able to produce an optimal system configuration, taking into account factors such as potential shading, orientation, system pattern and appropriate battery technologies.

In addition to optimising system performance, suppliers can also help to offset initial costs through a Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). A PPA, is a long-term renewable electricity supply agreement between a power producer and an energy consumer. They can take many different forms but typically a third-party developer will design, supply, install, operate and maintain a solar PV system installed on the customer’s property. The customer will purchase the energy generated by the solar PV system often at a reduced energy price for a specified period, offsetting the cost of the installation. At the end of the contract, the system will then usually become wholly owned by the customer.

Hospitals present some of the most significant challenges when it comes to reaching net-zero targets, nevertheless, by adopting a whole building approach and taking advantage of schemes such as PPA, it should be possible to cut energy waste and emissions and create buildings which support staff and patient wellbeing and allow future investment to be focused where it matters most. 

References 1) Energy in the NHS, BRE (https://www. bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=2627) 2) Health care’s climate footprint, ARUP (https://www.arup.com/perspectives/ publications/research/section/healthcaresclimate-footprint) 3) Scotland’s Carbon Footprint 1998-2016, NHS Scotland (https://www.hps.scot. nhs.uk/publications/hps-weekly-report/ volume-53/issue-51/scotlands-carbonfootprint-1998-2016/) 4) Natural Resource Footprint, NHS Sustainable Development Unit (https:// www.sduhealth.org.uk/policy-strategy/ reporting/natural-resource-footprint-2018. aspx) 5) Over 600 responses to call for evidence, NHS Sustainable Development Unit (https://www.sduhealth.org.uk/news/707/ over-600-responses-in-net-zero-call-forevidence/)

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Accelerating investment and decarbonisation of the public sector estate

Re:fit is the framework of choice for the public sector. It enables change to be delivered at scale and pace, supporting you with the preparation and implementation of programmes of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. This helps reduce carbon emissions, create income and improve the operational performance of your buildings, whilst helping accelerate the journey towards achieving net-zero.

Co-owned by the Greater London Authority and Local Partnerships, the Re:fit 4 Energy Performance Contract Framework offers a swift procurement route with an OJEU compliant framework of 16 providers. It is underpinned by a performance guarantee, providing certainty to organisations and de-risking projects, protecting the client and their investment.

cost and maximise savings and assist in appointing the best contractors for the project.

Local Partnerships is proud to be part of the public sector family. We are a joint venture between the Local Government Association, HM Treasury and the Welsh Government.

We work solely for the benefit of the public sector.

Our experts provide trusted, professional support. We bring public and private sector experience that provides confidence, capability and capacity, helping public sector organisations achieve sustainable targets and a path to net-zero.

To find out how Rachel and her team can help email rachel.toresen-owuor@ localpartnerships.gov.uk or call on 07825 963 218. If you’re based in London please contact retrofitaccelerator@london.gov.uk

As a managed framework, dedicated expert support is provided to all organisations, through every stage of the project. We help minimise

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Energy in the Public Sector For further information on products and services visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter the appropriate online enquiry number

‘Largest ever’ local energy retrofit gets underway Work is set to get underway on the UK’s largest-ever local energy retrofit project of its kind. 700 homes in Swansea will benefit from the installation of renewable energy, energy storage and smart energy management technology.

The homes, in the Penderry area of Swansea, are owned and managed by Pobl, Wales’ largest provider of affordable housing. The holistic decarbonisation of a whole local community has not been undertaken at this scale before.

Pobl is delivering this transformative retrofit scheme in partnership with renewable energy technology and service supplier, Sero. It is anticipated that the innovative scheme, supported by £3.5m EU funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Welsh Government, will see the community generate as much

as 60 per cent of their total energy requirements, reducing bills as well as carbon emissions by as much 350 tonnes per year.

Sero will install individual or communal

batteries for all homes that will harness power generated via linked solar panels, so that renewable energy is generated and can be stored for use by the community. Every home will also have

new smart thermostats and intelligent heating controls, managed through Sero’s digital app, to deliver energy bill savings for residents while also balancing demand from the grid so that stored energy is used at peak times.

Sero managing director, James Williams said: “The project will make a compelling case for turning existing housing stock into low carbon, generative homes, creating properly sustainable, connected communities, and cutting energy bills for residents in the process.

“There is huge potential for real environmental gains to be made by taking a strategic and optimised approach to retrofitting our existing homes - to reduce their current 20 per cent contribution to UK carbon emissions. This project will be an early exemplar of how that potential can be realised.” 

ONLINE ENQUIRY 139

Improved control for university centre

Heating for new university building Following extensive investment, the School of Education building at Liverpool John Moores University is ready to receive new students.

With a 300kW cascade system delivering a turndown ratio of 24:1 addressing the heating load of the building, the users are assured the most energy efficient response to their heating requirements. The boilers are controlled via volt free demand contact by BMS. Radiators around the building are served via the VT (variable temperature) circuit, and the CT (constant temperature) circuit serves the Silox cylinders and additional an air handing unit.

The Nesta Chrome cascade system installed has been configured in linear formation and has been designed to be low profile as standard, optimising plant room space whilst still allowing room for boiler servicing.

The two 600 litre Silox stainless-steel, twin-wall cylinders were sized to supply hot water to the whole building. The twin-wall concept used in the Silox cylinder is a combination of two tanks, one inside of the other. DHW is produced when the heat from the outer primary cylinder is transferred to the inner DHW cylinder, utilising the full surface area of the tank. The Silox 600 litre cylinder has a large heat transfer area of 2.8m² per cylinder, therefore can utilise more heat than a standard coil cylinder, resulting in less boiler cycling reducing boiler wear.  ONLINE ENQUIRY 140

The University of the West of England in Bristol has recently carried out a refurbishment project to improve the control of temperature levels in its exhibition and conference centre.

The plan was to replace two unreliable, variable pitch axial fans which had limited capability to deal with changing temperature levels within the centre.

When the centre was fully occupied during a conference and exhibition, the ambient temperature could rise significantly and it would take some time to reduce to more comfortable levels. Conversely, when the centre was occupied by a much smaller number of people, particularly during winter, it would take time to heat up.

The solution was to install an array of Nicotra Gebhardt’s high-efficiency RQM MultiEvo fans (with IE5 permanent magnet motors with integrated drivers), nine on the supply side and nine for extraction. The fans installed on the supply side are capable of providing a duty of 30m³/s at 1,800Pa and are able to achieve a static system efficiency of up to 78 per cent. This is up to 10 per cent more efficient than the next best direct save fan technology available.

The like-for-like energy saving (at full operation) on the supply side is circa 20 per cent. This equates to a static system efficiency (fan) of 76 per cent, unrivalled in the HVAC fan market. The extract side shows savings of 32 per cent. Overall, the replacement fans are projected to deliver energy savings of around £18,000 per

annum, compared to the old ones.

Because the ventilation system modulates (via the building management system) according to demand requirements, the RQM MultiEvo fans provide improved energy saving at lower operating levels. This is because of the improved part load efficiency levels of the IE5 motor compared to the existing IE1 motor part load efficiencies.

Mike Kingdon, mechanical engineer for estates and facilities at UWE Bristol, said: “As well as the environmental and financial savings, the replacement project has provided improved reliability, markedly better system resilience and a reduction of noise in the centre’s halls.” 

ONLINE ENQUIRY 141

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TALKING HEADS Dan Crowe

Dan Crowe is optimisation manager at Inspired Energy

Cut the jargon around net zero The amount of ‘carbon jargon’ has exploded in recent years. Without clarity of definition Dan Crowe is concerned businesses will become mired in confusion

B

usinesses have been crying out for clarity around net zero since it was set into law. Despite setting out plans for a ‘green industrial revolution’, and the recent publication of the Energy White Paper, no all-encompassing net zero road map has been published by the government, creating a sense of frustration for many organisations. In the meantime, the market is abuzz with a whole new vernacular. From net zero to carbon neutral, the amount of ‘carbon jargon’ has exploded over the last year. Combined with a lack of guidance on the topic, it adds up to a confusing landscape for businesses.

Our recent research into attitudes to net zero found two thirds of business energy professionals were confused by the amount of carbon jargon and, despite the fact 88 per cent of organisations are working towards carbon reduction strategies, only half said they ‘fully understand’ the term net zero.

This confusion is exacerbated by the lack of a single reference point for businesses: left with room for interpretation, some organisations are focusing on emissions elimination whereas others are investing heavily in carbon offsetting. Businesses are taking vastly different approaches to planning and measuring their progress on decarbonisation, fuelled in part by their desire to act swiftly to satisfy customers, shareholders and stakeholders despite a lack of clear government rules or widely adopted independent guidance. In fact, 86 per cent believe it is in danger of becoming a meaningless term unless a consistent approach is adopted.

Growing pressure from shareholders, stakeholders and clients is driving decarbonisation up the board agenda, and 60 per cent of businesses supported the idea of ‘green strings’ attached to any government support to help organisations recover from the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sustainability has never been more important. While detail is yet to materialise, government itself has acknowledged the need to ‘build back greener’ by investing in, and incentivising, the low-carbon technology that many

‘Two thirds of business energy professionals were confused by the amount of jargon’ Crowe: 'combined with a lack of guidance on the topic, it adds up to a confusing landscape for businesses'

businesses will need to transform every element of their energy, heating, building and transport to achieve net zero.

It’s clear that businesses want to plan and adapt their operations to create long-term plans, but they need clarity and consistency to enable this to happen.

One of the contributors to Inspired Energy’s Cutting the Carbon Jargon report, Dr Grant Wilson from the University of Birmingham’s Energy Institute, explained that “given the role that businesses must play...and the timelines involved to ensure sufficient time to prepare, plan and invest in decarbonisation, clarity is essential to avoid additional confusion or delay and promote a consistent approach across organisations. The sooner this is set out, the sooner organisations can begin or continue their efforts towards decarbonisation with the knowledge that they are basing this on a set of consistent definitions.”

A major concern of confusion hindering progress is that it risks leaving some organisations behind: while some firms are forging ahead with their own strategies and setting goals, other businesses could find themselves with a steeper or costlier journey to emissions reduction because of the delay that this lack of clarity has caused.

Net zero requires a long-term strategy: despite the need for clear and consistent guidance, businesses can still begin to create plans to significantly reduce their emissions and work towards achieving net zero in the medium to long term.

Getting a firm grip on emissions data is vital to create targets, identify priority areas and establish a baseline. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scopes 1, 2 & 3 are internationally recognised and provide businesses with the information they need to understand both the emissions they create directly and indirectly, and the extent of control they have over them. This is needed before any meaningful target can be established.

Our research found almost two thirds of businesses were concerned their emissions reduction targets could be seen as ‘greenwashing’ - fuelled in part, no doubt, by the lack of definition around net zero and the myriad of measurements and benchmarks being interpreted across the market. Science Based Targets (SBTs) stand up to scrutiny, requiring businesses to set goals that clarify how much and by when they plan to reduce emissions.

We eagerly await the SBT Initiative’s forthcoming guidance on Net Zero Science Based Targets; which will hopefully provide a globally recognised standard for committing to and confidently demonstrating Net Zero emissions.

Our own Carbon Action Programme creates a structured framework through which to create and deliver net zero for all types of organisations.

Cutting through the carbon jargon is vital if organisations are to overcome the barriers to progress with net zero plans.

Whilst we wait for robust and widelyaccepted standards on Net Zero, businesses can still move forward with expert guidance and following recognised carbon reduction frameworks that stand up to scrutiny.

Much more detail is needed - and expected - to interpret net zero and what must be done to achieve it. However, the direction of travel is set: finding ways to move forward with confidence is vital for all businesses to unlock the financial and environmental benefits that a net zero strategy can deliver.  • More information about Cutting the Carbon Jargon and a copy of the report is available at www.inspiredenergy. co.uk/carbonjargon

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