July/August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019

PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

www.eibi.co.uk

In this issue Monitoring & Metering CPD Module: Water Management CHP & District Heating Demand Side Response

Just how accurate is PUE? An alternative is on offer

Busting the myths Why CHP still has its place

A fast-changing market But DSR can still bring rewards

EIBI_0719_002-052 Edit_Layout 1 08/07/2019 14:24 Page 2

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JULY/AUGUST 2019

PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

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In this issue

Contents

www.eibi.co.uk

Monitoring & Metering CPD Module: Water Management CHP & District Heating Demand Side Response

Just how accurate is PUE? An alternative is on offer

Busting the myths Why CHP still has its place

A fast-changing market But DSR can still bring rewards

JULY/AUGUST 2019

24

41

FEATURES

12

33 Combined Heat & Power

Monitoring & Metering

Ian Hopkins corrects two common preconceptions about combined heat and power

Justin Vroone explores the complexities facing meter technicians when installing smart meters in commercial premises Heat network metering, billing and payment is about to go digital, says Anthony Coates-Smith (14) Power Usage Effectiveness is used to express data centre energy performance. But Vilnis Vesma challenges its accuracy and suggests an alternative formula (18) Measurement is the key to understanding and managing power quality issues, says Will Darby (21)

22

Energy Management Standards

Damian Shevloff looks at the role CHP can play in improving the energy efficiency of university campuses (34) Combined heat and power offers a highly efficient, economic option for sites like Penrith Leisure Centre says Mark Gibbons (36) The Life4HeatRecovery project is looking to use waste heat to warm our homes and supply our hot water (38)

42 Demand Side Response

The Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) will have a dramatic impact on demand side response, explains Jack Christie

A Netherlands-based material handling specialist has successfully used ISO 50001 to meet increasing customer expectations

30 Water Management

It’s time the spotlight shone on water system construction and maintenance, says Steven Booth

Organisations need to adapt to the fast-changing market for demand-side response. Graham Oxley explains (44) Don’t be daunted by DSR. Vincent de Rul explains why all energy managers can consider taking part in demand side response activities (45) Energy and operational services are beginning to meet demand side response, says Michael Phelan. Collaboration between technology suppliers will follow (46)

REGULARS 06 News Update

Time is running out for a new UK emissions trading scheme while Brits are confused over climate change action

25 The Fundamental Series: CPD Learning

10 The Warren Report

The UK is now committed to a zero carbon society by 2050. But would it be wise to set a ’30-by-30’ target as Theresa May suggested just two years ago?

40 Purchasing Energy

24 Products in Action

Chillers help cool retailer’s head office and monitoring for Essex data centre

Paul Stevenson examines what steps organisations should take to ensure successful water management

Corporate power purchase agreements might not be a new phenomenon, but the size and frequency of the deals have picked up in the last five years, says Kathrine Stene Bakke

41 ESTA Viewpoint

External pressures including legislative changes, Brexit and

just staying in business leave organisations with little time to focus on the zero carbon target

47 View from the Top

Colin Calder explains to EiBI that it’s more efficient to use domestic boilers as peaking plant

48 New Products

Innovative wireless light management system and software that offers cooling performance recommendations

50 Talking Heads James Tiernan explains how he’d like to help the next generation of graduates wake up to energy saving

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 JULY/AUGUST 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 03

editor’s opinion

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

The short road to 2050

T

he Government has achieved the simple bit. Now comes the difficult bit. The hard

them close to zero carbon.

There is little doubt that shock waves have rippled

work on delivering Theresa May’s legacy

throughout some of the suppliers to the industry.

on committing the UK to a net-zero target

Developments in technology will mean that some

by 2050 begins now.

Some have argued that 2050 might be too little,

skills in the industry currently don’t exist but may be common in ten to 15 years. There will be huge

too late, especially in the light of Norway and

opportunities in smart buildings, battery storage

Finland’s pledges to be carbon neutral by 2030 and

and solar. Some of the long-established suppliers

2035, respectively. The good news is that there is

of technology we have known for generations will

support for the policy across the political spectrum.

have to adapt or die. Boiler manufacturers, for

And with a country so divided over that other issue

example, are looking nervously around. There is a

it is something that has attracted almost universal

school of thought that we shall switch to a hydrogen

support. Despite the UK having a get-out if other

grid and all will continue but the cost of hydrogen

countries fail to make the same pledge, it is perhaps

could be three times that of gas. Colin Calder, CEO

a unique opportunity for a long-term plan to be set

of PassivSystems, tells EiBI (see page 47) that hybrid

with the support of the whole of Parliament. This

heating systems will be the future in our homes. The

will give confidence to investors right across the

boiler will be used to a minimum and through the use

renewables and energy efficiency sectors.

of smart controls it will become a peaking plant. Just

Government does need to come out with a plan of what policies funding, regulations and actions will

one possible scenario.

Although the road to 2050 is through uncharted

be needed. And quickly. As far as the UK’s buildings

territory it does hold enormous opportunities for

are concerned there has to be an immediate

energy efficiency. But it will require innovative

tightening of building regulations. Most of the

thinking, products, services and an ability to adapt.

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 Social Media Assistant Sam Jackson tel: 01889 577222 Email: info@energyzine.co.uk

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

classified sales

so minimising their energy consumption when built

MANAGING EDITOR

Sharon Nutter Tel: 01889 577222 Email: classified@eibi.co.uk

will minimise further effort down the line to make

Mark Thrower

circulation

buildings that will be built now will still exist by 2050

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 The national smart meter roll out began in 2016 and is set to finish in 2020. Completing the roll out is a logistical and technical challenge for the energy industry, involving visits to around 30m homes and small businesses, and installing about 53m new meters. With 2020 coming ever closer, the Government will issue fines if businesses do not comply.

Meter operators like IMServ are working with utilities and smart meter providers to maximise the speed of the roll out to ensure targets are hit and ensure these businesses avoid penalties. However, not all sites are quick and simple to convert.

See page 12 for more details Cover photo courtesy of IMServ Europe Ltd

04 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

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 2018 12,179

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

New Sheffield research centre A new £21m Translational Energy Research Centre at the University of Sheffield will support the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy, delivering the cleaner growth at the heart of government’s industrial strategy.

The new centre will develop next generation carbon capture technologies that are affordable and sustainable. The centre’s stateof-the-art facilities will support the long-term competitiveness of the UK in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) as well as facilitating research and development into areas such as renewable energy, bioenergy and smart grid technologies.

The Translational Energy Research Centre will form part of the University of Sheffield’s newly launched Energy Institute, home to more than 300 academics.

Researchers in the Energy Institute work with industry partners to find solutions to the biggest challenges facing the energy industry. Its research is interdisciplinary with innovation and collaboration at its heart. This enables researchers in the institute to provide sustainable solutions and advice for governments and the energy industry.

Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, Chris Skidmore MP, from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), said: “Cutting edge technology to capture carbon will cut emissions as we work towards a net zero economy, while creating new jobs – a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy. The Translational Energy Research Centre represents a major milestone in efforts to rollout carbon capture at scale by the 2030s.”

Funded by £7m from BEIS and £10m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the centre will give global companies and new technology start-ups access to advanced testing facilities and the opportunity to collaborate with leading academics in low-carbon energy research.

Through industrial and academic partnerships, companies will use the research centre to test, optimise and demonstrate their technologies at a commercial-scale.

SURVEY REVEALS UK VIEWS ON ENERGY SAVING

UK confused on climate priorities British people are very confused about what they should most usefully be doing, in order to assuage any guilt they might feel about damaging the climate. But saving energy tends to come way down the list of possible practical response under consideration, according to a survey of 2,000 people undertaken by Opinium Research.

The most popular response is to “avoid throwing away food”. This is followed by various moves to reduce plastic wastage – buying plasticpacked groceries, single-use plastic bottles, using plastic shopping bags- or simply not recycling enough.

Only 22 per cent of those questioned felt that “leaving lights on at home” might be affecting the climate. And just 17 per cent of us think that “leaving the heating on too long” might be detrimental. Only a handful mentioned better insulation or using more energy-efficient goods.

Conversely, around a quarter of people said they don’t feel guilty

about the impact they have on the environment at all.

Steven Day, co-founder of Pure Planet, which sponsored the opinion survey commented: “It is great that the majority of people are thinking more about their impact on our environment. But it looks like they are feeling guilty about the smaller things

– not the biggest-impact activities causing the greatest harm.

This contrasts with similar surveys undertaken twenty years ago, admittedly when overall awareness of the threat of climate change was far lower. Then the vast majority of people would respond about the need to save energy, in line with the overwhelming priority given the need for greater energy efficiency promoted by all climatologists. This also coincided with regular publicity about the importance of reducing energy wastefulness.

However since 2010 there have been no publicly funded awareness campaigns supporting energy efficiency funded by central Government. Their abandonment directly followed the privatisation of the two main public advice agencies, the Energy Saving Trust and the Carbon Trust. This may well have damaged the perceived link between energy consumption and climate change.

Staffordshire university turns to demand side response gridIMP, a provider of demand management and load shifting technology, is installing its intelligent Demand Side Response (iDSR) system at Keele University, Staffordshire. The initial installation will be complete

by August 2019, and early estimates suggest that as much as 250kW of power may be made available for demand side response.

Implemented as part of the university’s commitment to its Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND) project – Europe’s first ‘at scale’ demonstrator that aims to trial new energy technologies in real world scenarios – the gridIMP fit-out, will see its AI-driven software deployed using hardware supplied by Staffordshire based Assured Systems, enabling Keele to benefit from unparalleled AI driven insight into its power consumption, while also creating additional revenue by freeing up excess power to sell back to the grid via load shifting.

Through the SEND project, Keele is able to capitalise on its unique perspective as a campus university with its own privately owned and

06 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

managed infrastructure - using its 600 acre site as a test bed for designing and implementing smart energy systems, storage and clean energy generation.

The gridIMP ‘impHubs’, will be incorporated into Keele’s existing Building Management Systems (BMS) that control facilities across the campus, and, harnessing the AI technology behind the gridIMP system, will be able to fully automate the load shifting process. In practice,

this means that end users wishing to load shift for either energy efficiency or revenue generation may do so without manual inputs into the BMS. Richard Ryan, commercial director, gridIMP, said: “Working alongside Keele University in the SEND project is a unique opportunity to deploy gridIMP technology across multiple sites at a single location where the impact on the local network infrastructure can be measured and appreciated.”

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

INDEPENDENT UK EMISSIONS SCHEME

IN BRIEF

Time running out for trading scheme

Autumn dates for energy summit

There is insufficient time to create an entirely independent emissions trading scheme operating in the UK alone. It has long been the government’s preferred option to replace all UK involvement within the European emissions trading scheme (EU:ETS), when the current phase ends in December 2020.

The Committee on Climate Change was appointed by Climate Minister Claire Perry this spring, to examine how a domestic scheme “linked” to the existing EU scheme might be created. The Committee is set to report back to her in late July.

It will conclude that the only feasible option will be to adopt a UK scheme that effectively mirrors precisely how the present EU:ETS operates.

All 12,000 UK participants will be expected to transfer over by 2021 into the new UK-only scheme. Each will incur significant transaction costs. Subsequently, they will have to continue to operate under precisely the same rules as their European counterparts, although the UK government will no longer have any formal say in future as to how these are processed or altered. According to one large trade body, UK companies will effectively become rule-takers rather than rule-makers.

The Energy Management Summit, a two-day event which allows senior energy management professionals to meet with innovative and competitive suppliers to the industry is to take place 30 September - 1 October 2019 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, London Stansted.

Supported by EiBI, this free-toattend event will provide energy managers with an itinerary of prearranged, face-to-face meetings with suppliers who match requirements and upcoming projects.

During the course of the event, energy managers can also attend seminars from industry thought leaders. In addition, there are opportunities to network with likeminded peers.

Overnight accommodation, all meals and refreshments, plus an invitation to a networking dinner are also included. Simply register your place here https:// energymanagementsummit.co.uk/ delegates-booking-form/.

• To find out more about attending the Energy Management Summit, contact Nick Lipinski on 01992 374075 or email n.lipinski@ forumevents.co.uk.

• If you’re a supplier to the sector, contact Lisa Rose on 01992 374077 or email l.rose@forumevents.co.uk to find out about the range of event partner packages.

As a non-member of the European Union, the possibility of being able to continue in full membership of the EU:ETS, although financially better value, is deemed to be politically unacceptable.

The same will apply to the continuation of involvement in any emissions trading scheme European or UK - should the UK leave the EU without a fully agreed deal this November. Were this to occur, a new UK Carbon Emissions Tax will be immediately introduced, at the anticipated rate of £16 per tonne of carbon.

There is as yet no guarantee that current arrangements, compensating energy-intensive

industries for the indirect costs of the EU:ETS, will remain in place to compensate for the new tax burdens.

Now in its 15th year of operation, the EU:ETS has been successful in altering the balance of electricity generation towards less polluting fuels- although it might be argued that the Contracts for Difference scheme has probably been the main catalyst. But there is little positive evidence that it has had much impact upon end-use energy efficiency, even among the energyintensive industrial sectors also involved.

The real question must becomedoes the UK really require any emissions trading scheme any more?

Luxury brand targets reduction in greenhouse gases Luxury brand Burberry is targeting a significant reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions after adopting two new goals that have been approved by the Science Based Target (SBT) initiative.

The SBT is a joint initiative from the Carbon Disclosure Project, the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute and the WWF. It aims to support companies in establishing science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, which will contribute to global efforts to ensure global warming doesn’t exceed 2°C by 2050.

Burberry has said it is aiming to reduce its absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 95% by 2022.

It will take 2016 as the base year for this target. This covers emissions from its direct operations, including those caused by its stores, offices, internal manufacturing and distribution sites.

Its other target is to reduce scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030, again taking 2016 as the base year. This area is more complicated as it relates to indirect emissions from the group’s extended supply chain, which takes into account the impact of sourcing of raw materials and manufacturing of finished goods.

Unveiling these targets, Pam Batty, Burberry vice

Self-generation set to increase

president of corporate responsibility, said: “At Burberry, we are passionate about building a more sustainable future and setting these new targets in line with the latest climate science is an important milestone for us. For the first time, we are setting targets for greenhouse gas emissions that apply to our extended supply chain, which is a significant addition to our already ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral in our own operational energy use by 2022.”

Four out of five businesses already generating energy on-site plan to increase the amount they selfgenerate over the next five years, essentially becoming the ‘power plants of the future,’ according to a new survey by Centrica Business Solutions.

The most forward-thinking businesses are those taking control of their energy supply, with energy security seen as one of the fastest growing business risks - over a third (32 per cent) viewing it as a substantial risk to their long-term success.

Businesses are ready to respond to the need for new energy capacity, with seven in ten recognising the need to be more flexible with how they generate and use energy.

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 07

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

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SYSTEM CLAIMED TO HALVE LIFT POWER CONSUMPTION

Power for lifts on the way down A new system has been developed which is claimed to can halve the power consumption of lifts.

Usually, the counterweight needed to operate a lift consists of the weight of the elevator, plus half of the payload. This allows the lift to recover energy both when it is loaded going down, and when the empty lift is driven up using the elevator motor.

This power is lost when braking systems are used.

Consequently, Estonia-based electricity storage specialists Skeleton Technologies has developed a regenerative ‘Kinetic Energy Recovery System’ that uses graphene battery and ultracapacitor technology.

Working together with Spanish electronics firm Epic Power, both are

now claiming that they can slash the energy use of elevators.

Their system enables electricity created while the lift is operating to be stored and recirculated in the ultracapacitor. This can then be recalled when the elevator requires power again.

The storage system, which typically has a capacity of up to 15kW, can

be applied either to new elevator installations or retrofitted to existing lifts. Multiple systems can be installed in parallel if higher demand for stored energy is needed.

Around the world the European Commission reckons there are 8.5m lifts in use. They are estimated to use up to 8 per cent of a building’s energy.

The average age is over 20 years.

“There are around 640,000 passenger elevators and 110,000 freight elevators in use in Germany alone,” said Skeleton Technologies CEO Taavi Madiberk. “Even with cautious estimates, hundreds of millions of elevator trips take place every day - an enormous electricity requirement that should be supported by modern storage systems.”

Renewable energy to land at London City Airport UK Power Networks Services and London City Airport are to install renewable and sustainable energy technologies to ensure the long-term resilience of the airport.

London City Airport is undergoing a £500m development programme that will transform the airport, accommodating for a huge increase in demand.

The upgrade will almost double the airport’s electricity capacity (from 3.6MVA to 7MVA) by installing new electrical substations and solar panels and connecting a combined heat and power unit. The electricity network will also be ‘smart’ thanks in part to a new SCADA (supervisory control

and data acquisition) system that will remotely control the electricity network. The fully integrated solution will enhance the security and resilience of the network, reduce the

cost of infrastructure and improve air quality around the airport - while decarbonising in line with London City Airport’s commitments.

A priority for London City Airport is to deliver this growth sustainably, and to date it has achieved a 28 per cent reduction in its carbon emissions per passenger since 2013, holding the Level 3 Airport Carbon Accreditation, with the target to become carbon neutral by 2020.

UK Power Networks Services is also supporting the joint development of London City Airport’s wider energy strategy, aligning the benefits of new technologies to future needs, such as electric vehicle infrastructure.

Zinc hybrid battery system ‘is a first for the UK’ Birmingham-based renewable energy company, Bryt Energy, has collaborated with Eos Energy Storage and Connected Energy to develop and roll out the EU’s first zinc hybrid battery system. It will be tested under UK conditions before being targeted at universities for research purposes.

It is expected that the first EU certified system will be provided to the UK industrial and commercial market next year.

The Eos system has a high energy-to-power ratio, enabling greater flexibility during peak load periods, and is long lasting and safe. Its low hazard risk makes it particularly suitable for COMAH sites (Control of Major Accident Hazards) as well as the industrial and commercial market. It’s also ethically sourced and environmentally friendly; at the end of its life, parts can be reused, recycled or safely disposed of.

08 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

As well as the safety and ethical benefits, customers can take advantage of the battery’s economic potential, which includes grid service income, peak shaving and capacity charge avoidance. The technology allows more renewable energy onto the grid, reducing energy prices and helping the move towards a low carbon future.

Bryt Energy will provide the Eos battery system to the UK market as part of a package, supplying zero carbon, 100 per cent renewable electricity with options for on-site generation and optimisation solutions. Together they can be combined to maximise the value for customers. The battery system is also being developed to integrate with electric vehicle charging and demand side management solutions.

US-based Eos Energy Storage has been developing zinc hybrid batteries at its New Jersey facility since 2008.

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

GOVERNMENT BLAMES EU LAWS

VAT to rise on solar battery systems The rate of Value Added Tax upon home solar battery systems is to be increased from 5 per cent to the full rate of 20 per cent. The Government has blamed EU tax laws for the planned rise, because they now rule out lower VAT rates for all energysaving equipment (see EiBI May 2015).

Meanwhile, the VAT taxation upon all forms of energy use continues to benefit from a VAT rate of just 5 per cent. This is a distortion that leads to energy conservation being taxed at four times the rate of energy consumption.

The changes were introduced on the same day that the House of Commons formally approved revisions to the 2008 Climate Change

Act. These are intended to ensure that future governments have a statutory requirement to achieve a net zero carbon economy by 2050.

The Renewable Energy Association (REA) said the rise “contradicts the government’s commitment to tackling climate change.” It also warned that the move would push back the take-up of solar-battery

systems by years even as the UK works towards becoming a net zero carbon economy by 2050. Nina Skorupska (left), the REA’s chief executive, said the increase would “create a barrier to British homes and businesses who are seeking to take action on climate change and reduce their bills.”

In practice, that barrier has been there ever since 1997, when the VAT rate upon fuel consumption was lowered to just 5 per cent. The 20 per cent rate has always existed for households that wish to improve their boiler system, to install double glazing or even to install insulation in their lofts. The differential rate is only material for those businesses unable to reclaim VAT.

Domestic smart meter installations take a tumble With the domestic smart meter rollout deadline just 18-months away, the install rate is declining, according to Cornwall Insight’s Domestic Smart Metering Market Report.

The report shows that the installation rate would now need to quadruple to meet the current 2020 target – an equivalent of installing 51,000 meters every day.

Oliver Archer, analyst at Cornwall Insight, said: “The drop-off in installations will come as no surprise to many, especially given the ongoing issues with the transition to SMETS2 meters. Meeting the current deadline now looks incredibly challenging.

Even an extended target of 2023 presents difficulties - install rates

would still need to increase by close to 6,000 meters a day to reach this.

“As the industry finally moves over to SMETS2, technical issues are also beginning to make themselves felt. The north of England, which has

historically seen higher penetrations of smart meters, saw installations fall 14 per cent following the SMETS1 end date as suppliers reported difficulties connecting meters to the region’s communication network.”

Government backs largest carbon capture scheme The UK’s largest carbon capture project to date, removing 40,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year, could be up and running by as soon as 2021 thanks to government backing.

Nine companies have secured £26m of government funding, in addition to industry backing, to advance the rollout of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) in the UK. Tata Chemicals Europe’s plant in Winnington, Cheshire, the UK’s only manufacturer of soda ash and sodium bicarbonate, is being awarded £4.2m toward the construction of a facility to capture and utilise 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year – the equivalent of 22,000 cars.

When operational in 2021 it will be the largest carbon capture plant in the UK, removing 100 times more CO2 from the atmosphere than the country’s current largest facility.

Eight more projects are being awarded between £170,000 and £7m as part of two programmes – the £20m Carbon Capture and Utilisation programme (CCUD) and the £24m Call for CCUS Innovation programme.

Last November the Government released its Carbon Capture Usage and Storage Deployment Pathway, setting out the next steps government and industry should take in partnership in order to achieve the Government’s ambition of having the option to deploy CCUS at scale during the 2030s.

ESTA launches initiative to boost SME energy efficiency take up Behaviour change within the small to medium enterprise (SME) sector must be encouraged in order to improve energy efficiency in business and industry.

This was the primary message from speakers at the recent ESTA conference in Birmingham. The organisation’s members heard how more action is sorely needed to promote changes in attitudes within companies.

Mervyn Pilley, executive director at ESTA, stated that SMEs are a huge part of the economy and therefore hold great potential

for energy efficiency. “Owners of SMEs are human beings. They may have children or grandchildren and so will have reasons for not simply dismissing the possibility of achieving net-zero or implementing energy efficiency measures.”

Pilley says that early conversations have been made with trade organisations in order to use their communication channels to reach SMEs, while the possibility of providing a locally-based community support network of energy professionals was also discussed.

The event, which featured

talks from a number of energy professionals on the issue of engagement within SMEs and business in general, also updated members on ESTA Energy’s ongoing behaviour change programme, Cognitive Energy.

Pilley added: “Due to rises in energy prices, even if energy managers are carrying out efficiency upgrades companies are still seeing energy bills rise, which creates scepticism and doubt. We need to get the mindset right and examine the psychology around that to make sure that action is still taken to reduce

energy expenditure.”

Dr Matthew Laurie, chartered psychologist, Culture Regeneration Associates Ltd, claimed that behaviour change can be overlooked through auditing and that organisations must dig deeper in order to maximise their potential for energy efficiency and reduction.

“An organisation is like society, meaning that you look at what other people are doing to see what’s acceptable. If you join a new organisation how do you know the right way of doing things? It’s not all in the induction manual,” he said.

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 09

07/8.19

THE WARREN REPORT

Andrew Warren is chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation

Net zero by 2050?

Let’s get to 30 by 30 The UK is now committed to a zero carbon society by 2050. But would it be wise to set a ’30-by-30’ target as Theresa May suggested just two years ago?

T

his month the UK formally becomes the first G7 nation to adopt as a legally binding commitment that we shall be living in a net zero-carbon economy in 30 years’ time.

It is a clear and bold commitment, that has rightly been lauded practically everywhere.

The few cynics have concentrated upon the undeniable fact that practically all of the politicians taking the plaudits will long since have quit the public stage, well before the magic year of 2050. And therefore won’t be around to face any difficult questions. Or indeed to accept the congratulations that will be due.

That is undeniably a fair point.

Doubtless a good reason why many are calling for more immediate targets to be created. Like the ‘30 by 30 Energy Efficiency Act.’ What is this? Put simply, a firm commitment and programme to ensure that around 27m homes and 3m nonresidential buildings will be made completely energy efficient. Completed by 2030. Hence the slogan: 30 by 30.

Already we have the genesis of this, created by Theresa May, who ceases being Prime Minister just this month.

Back in 2017, she launched the Clean Growth Strategy for the next 30 years.

This identifies the enormous economic potential for business to save fuel. At least one-fifth could very cost-effectively be saved. Interestingly, the vast majority of this potential (over 80 per cent) was to be released not so much by improving industrial processes but by improving the way buildings are run.

Doubtless that was one of the main motivations why as Prime Minister she launched last summer her “Buildings Mission” in a speech at the Jodrell Bank observatory complex in Cheshire.

She promised that within 12 years - in other words, by 2030 - energy usage in all new construction will be “at least half” of that permitted under current building regulations. “Heating and powering buildings accounts for 40 per cent of our total energy usage.

“By making our buildings more energy efficient and embracing smart technologies, we can slash household energy bills, reduce demand for energy, and meet our targets for carbon reduction”, promised Theresa May. “By halving the energy use of buildings, we could reduce the energy bills for their occupants by as much as 50 per cent.”

Subsequently, the Government has confirmed that while such calculations will for the first time include energy usage from appliances within their calculations, they will not include transport usage.

Presumably that caveat is to remove any recharging of electric vehicles from assessments.

Describing her initiative as the “catalyst for new technologies and more productive methods,” which she maintained could be “exported to a large and growing market”, acknowledging the enormous potential to improve the existing building stock.

Halve the energy costs As part of the “clean growth and grand challenge mission,” the Government is also aiming to halve the energy costs for the existing building stock - both

‘This is an ambitious project as the majority of buildings we will be living and working in by 2050 have been built’ 10 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

domestically and commercially by “reaching the same standards in existing buildings too.”

And not just delivering ecological benefits. The social benefits of the 30 by 30 programme are uniquely broad. Fusing the public’s clear rejection of continuing austerity and cuts with the growing desire to tackle climate change, it makes this the key capital infrastructure investment priority.

It provides occupants with comfortable living conditions in cold winter and high summer. It requires a massive training programme, resulting in a wide range of jobs, both skilled and unskilled.

Already far more people are employed in manufacturing, distributing, installing and maintaining energy efficient equipment than in any other part of the energy sector.

The programme offers new business and investment opportunities in every single constituency. And it will, at last, abolish the scourge of fuel poverty forever.

We know the technical potential exists to cut energy consumption levels by over 50 per cent. Achieving this target will require the adoption of world-leading quality standards for retrofitting and constructing buildings.

This is a genuinely ambitious project.

After all, the vast majority of buildings we will be living and working in by 2050 have already been built. Upgrading these has been likened by civil servants charged with delivery as being much akin to the challenge set in President Kennedy inaugural speech in 1961. This was to see a man walk on the moon before the decade was out.

At that point, nobody knew with any precision how this noble objective would be achieved. But that speech became the catalyst. It ensured that in July 1969, a man named Armstrong would walk upon the moon.

I don’t really think that realising this buildings’ Mission is anything like as difficult. Unlike with space research, we do already have practically all the technologies around to achieve our goal.

It is the delivery techniques we have to improve upon. Do that and we shall have knitted together one of the most effective social and environmentally beneficial programmes. So, 30 by 30 it must be. 

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Environmentally responsible, low cost heating: Vitocal 200/222-A

One of the quietest monobloc units of its kind thanks to Advanced Acoustic Design Heating and cooling with a single appliance thanks to reversible circuit Up to 40% CO2 and 20% fuel saving compared to a gas condensing boiler Energy efficiency class: A++ / A (Type 221.A04: A+ / A) Internet-enabled with Vitoconnect (accessory) and free ViCare App Easy to operate Vitotronic control unit with plain text and graphic display No minimum distances between indoor and outdoor unit High DHW convenience thanks to 220-l integral DHW cylinder (222-A) For more information please see www.viessmann.co.uk/vitocal222

Viessmann Limited Hortonwood 30, Telford, TF1 7YP Telephone: 01952 675000 E-Mail: info-uk@viessmann.com

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Monitoring & Metering For further information on IMServ visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 125

The smart meter technical challenge As the smart meter roll out advances Justin Vroone explores the complexities facing meter technicians installing smart meters in commercial premises

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he national smart meter roll out began in 2016 and is set to finish in 2020.

Completing the roll out is a logistical and technical challenge for the energy industry, involving visits to around 30m homes and small businesses, and installing about 53m new meters. With 2020 coming ever closer, the Government will issue fines if businesses do not comply.

Meter operators like IMServ are working with utilities and smart meter providers to maximise the speed of the roll out to ensure targets are hit and guarantee these businesses avoid penalties. However, not all sites are quick and simple to convert.

The intricacies of smart meter installation can be overwhelming for metering technicians. However, the need for highly skilled meter technicians who can overcome the complexities of meter installations throughout the UK’s commercial real estate is of utmost importance, only highly skilled technicians can meet this challenge head on.

There are two types of smart meter: first (SMETS1) and secondgeneration (SMETS2). Most of the 13.65m smart meters fitted so far are first-generation smart meters.

This is 7.1m more than the number it was originally predicted would be installed.

With the deadline now passed for installation of SMETS1 devices (end of December 2018), suppliers must now install second-generation SMETS2 meters. A recent statement from the Data Communications Company (DCC) confirmed that 400,000 second-generation smart meters are now installed.

It is useful to remember why the smart meter rollout is happening.

First, there is a need to ensure that there is a centralised smart metering communications infrastructure to

Technicians need to be highly skilled with a full range of expertise across all the potential meter types

send and receive information from smart meters to energy suppliers, energy network operators and energy service companies. Second, installing a smart meter will provide businesses with the visibility to understand business energy consumption and costs but more importantly raise awareness of the opportunities to reduce consumption and cut costs.

To hit the government’s target meter technicians around the UK need to be installing multiple meters at numerous sites per day. IMServ engineers typically install eight meters per day but when complexity on site arises, this can drastically affect the roll out ability.

Complex installation There is a vast number of complexities associated with the installation of smart meters. These can often result in a re-visit or a need to stay onsite to ensure the meter is safe for the customer while awaiting the utilities team to come and turn off supply. This attention to detail ensures that IMServ engineers can make safe and finalise the

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‘The intricacies of smart meter installation can be overwhelming’

installation for the customer.

A prime consideration is to the customers’ business. We ensure minimum downtime but when complexities arise this can impact on the customer. We ensure a full risk assessment not only on the site and the installation but also to the customer. The business needs to be considered when installing smart meters.

Another key consideration during install is working around the types of existing meters. The are seven distinct areas of metering for commercial organisations, from small commercial metering to large high voltage sites: • micro business single phase whole current metering; • 3-phase whole current for

Justin Vroone is commercial director at IMServ

medium sized businesses such as supermarkets; • low voltage CT metering. For those with low voltage but a higher range, these are fed off an air circuit breaker which needs different testing procedures, mostly for larger business operations such as a fabrication workshop where a lot of electricity is required; • high voltage CT metering. For primary supply that comes in at high voltage. Metering is technically easier to fit but the outcome is more complex, particularly for a large distribution warehouse.

• sub-metering alongside the mains.

This is where there is direct and in-line with the fiscal meter (whole current) or CT (complex) metering manufacturing lines.

• landlord metering or office monitoring floors; and • generation metering. Import and export meters can be used for the same tasks.

Technicians need to be highly skilled with a full range of expertise across all the potential meter types and client site demands they may find themselves facing on installation.

Safety and risk assessment is paramount to the technical engineers role. The same safety and risk assessments are taken regardless of size of site. The risk assessment protocol includes everything from access to lighting to cable safety and weather.

Some of the key considerations of engineers when installing smart meters throughout the UK is working around issues such as asbestos – an area our engineers are fully equipped to manage and work around. Shared cut out and unhinged metal clad cut out are also one of the key specialist considerations for complex smart meter installs. Access and egress are issues particularly in confined space, so technicians have gas detectors and air monitors. Working at height and manual handling training is also a consideration.

In order for businesses to comply with the smart meter rollout before 2020, they must embrace the technical challenge. It is achievable, but to ensure that smart meters are installed with ease accurate technical support from highly skilled engineers must be employed. 

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Monitoring & Metering For further information on Insite Energy visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 127

Anthony CoatesSmith is managing director, Insite Energy

Digitisation of the interface With new customer apps and cloud-based solutions hitting the market this year, heat network metering, billing and payment are all about to go digital, says Anthony Coates-Smith

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e’ve witnessed the growth of apps in virtually every type of customer transaction, from buying train tickets to remotely charging electric vehicles. In each case, the customer interface to physical devices, controls and systems has been transformed.

The public is used to this and now expects it. So when it comes to heat networks, why are we still using hardwired systems and sending pieces of paper back and forth when both sides can save time, increase convenience and personal control, and of course, make big cost savings?

This year will see the start of the digitisation of heat network metering, payment and billing, with a number of companies moving or evolving their offer into this space. Siemens has recently introduced a ‘smart’, cloud-based, pay-as-you-go service for district heating. They estimate savings of over £1m over ten years compared to current metering solutions and based on the size of the networks.

Later in 2019, Insite Energy will announce a collaboration with industry partners that will result in a low-capex, low-opex simple solution designed to reduce the cost of heat networks for our clients and to heat tariffs for end-users. Others will no doubt be developing their own products and services.

Digitisation will mean the hardwired display device on the wall is no longer the customer’s sole means of accessing, monitoring and regulating the heat delivered to their property.

It means customers will be able to access and manage their accounts remotely and make payments to their heat supplier. These functions will all be possible via smartphone apps, while access to the device in the home will be maintained.

Combined meter, heat interface

time that those who have been excluded from good quality meters and good quality data are better served. We therefore welcome new and low-cost solutions to the market made possible by digitisation and feel they are very much needed.

Call for regulation

With digitisation and the internet of things comes the ability to access diagnostic data very affordably or even for free

unit (HIU), valve and data logger packages will result in much less complex in-property hardware.

Systems will be easier and quicker to install and service visits and administration will be reduced.

‘Smarter digital systems can also be used to address and reduce heat debt’

New level of information With digitisation and the internet of things comes the ability to access diagnostic data very affordably or even for free. This new level of information and insight will allow heat network operators to run their networks more efficiently and to reduce costs for end-users.

Smarter digital systems can also be used to address and reduce heat debt, which remains a key concern in this sector, at an individual, tailored level according to criteria set by the housing association, local authority, developer or managing agent.

Until now, this diagnostic capability has been possible only via premium, pre-payment metering solutions. There is certainly an established and recognised place for such systems in the market and we stand fully behind their compelling and proven business case, which is

14 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

undisputed by a large proportion of our clients. However, the financial outlay and associated long-term licence payment agreements often put them out of reach of low-cost developments outside of the London market, where build cost is under far greater pressure and heat networks are under serious threat from lower cost, or perceived lower cost electric heating solutions.

The alternative, for too long, has been cheap meters which are not fit for purpose. There has been a frustrating gap in the market that we and our clients have been communicating for some time. It’s

There are other factors at play, bringing us to this exciting chapter.

The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) market study into heat networks called for regulation and all eyes are on initiatives that lower the perceived price premium for customers attached to a heat network. There is also the anticipated launch of the BEIS viability calculator. This will open up more than 400,000 properties for assessment as to whether there is a legal requirement to retrofit a meter, providing a huge launch pad potential for a new generation of products.

We are confident that customers will welcome the move to appbased management of their heating and a closer relationship with those responsible for setting their heat tariff. Putting them more in control and being able to share data indicates an improved level of transparency, something that is much needed currently.

Finally, as a company specifying different meter solutions, we call on those developing the digital products of the future to consider open access and transferability. As part of the metering, billing and payment architecture we design for our clients at Insite Energy, we our proud to offer our customers access to the meter solution of their choice, and the ability to switch products and providers at any time. We are unique in the market in that we currently operate four metering technology platforms and can therefore vouch for the opportunities of being open in every sense! 

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

Clamp-on ultrasonic heat meter offers multiple maintenance benefits Micronics has introduced the U1000MKII-HM, a clamp-on, ultrasonic heat meter alternative to traditional inline energy meters. It is suitable for energy management and billing applications in domestic and commercial, district or shared heating or cooling systems.

It is claimed to offer significant installation cost and dry maintenance benefits over traditional in-line products.

Micronics has built on its success with the U1000 heat meter range with the MKII version, which extends the pipe size to cover applications from 22mm-180mm (6”) OD pipe.

While the U1000MKII-HM can still be used as a stand-alone product, in the all important area of connectivity the new product supports optional Modbus RTU slave and RS485 serial communications for aM&T or BEMS systems. Mbus communication will be available shortly.

The MKII also incorporates a new cross correlation flow measurement system and 1Mhz transducers to improve performance on poor older thick wall pipes and larger pipework, now up to 180mm (6”) OD. And there is also a new water/glycol option for chilled water applications.

Installation is straightforward. Just connect power and enter the pipe inside diameter, adjust the sensors and clamp-on the pipe. No specialist skills or tools required.

With a wider range of applications the MKII heat meter offers a clamp-on non-invasive alternative to traditional in-line meter installation, with no drain-down required plus dry servicing. As a result, it provides maximum availability with minimum downtime.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 128

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

Single jet dry water meter

Cut complexity of heat network metering

DMS Metering is making available JS Smart +, a single jet dry water meter designed for the measurement of flow and quality of cold water up to 30°C and hot water up to 90°C. One of its major features is the construction with a RF front end enabling remote meter readings and protection against strong magnetic fields.

The unit has recently been improved with the introduction of a retrofit cap which enables remote reading without having to replace the whole meter body.

Among the features of the JS Smart+ are: • horizontal or vertical mounting; • 360° rotary counter with built in fog resistance to offers an easy-to-read’ display • a sealing plate to protect against freezing water; • a built-in strainer to prevent debris entering the meter; • MID and WRAS approval; and • availability in DN15 and DN 20 sizes.

SAV has introduced Smart M-Bus, which reduces the cost and complexity of metering in heat networks by exploiting M-Bus as a two-way communication system.

Smart M-Bus is used to analyse heat networks, at both individual consumer level and system-wide. This data can be used for both billing and network performance.

Smart M-Bus can incorporate M-Bus disconnect module which, can isolate the heat interface unit (HIU) to eliminate debt risk. When combined with the Boble app, this is transformed into a pay-as-you-go system that allows users to view their current supply status and available credit. Users can also make payments through the app.

Network performance monitoring can be easily performed by using Kamstrup consumer and system energy meters. In addition to standard metering data, the meters can also measure volume weighted average flow temperatures (VWAFT)

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and volume weighted average return temperatures (VWART), as well as Coefficient of Performance (CoP). Maximum power and flow readings are also recorded to help monitor peak loads.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 130

Monitoring & Metering For further information on Vesma.com Ltd visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 131

Vilnis Vesma is director of Vesma.com Ltd

Does PUE tell the whole truth?

Power Usage Effectiveness is used to express data centre energy performance. But Vilnis Vesma challenges its accuracy and suggests an alternative formula that gives a more reliable picture of performance

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he data centre industry expresses energy performance through a metric called Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). PUE is calculated by dividing total energy consumption by the amount of energy delivered to the IT equipment housed in the centre. For example, if the overhead consumption for cooling, lights, and small power were as much again as IT energy, then PUE would be 2.0. The general thrust in data centre energy efficiency is to reduce the overhead and thereby force PUE towards a value of one (although that limit could only be reached by totally eliminating overhead consumption). There are many techniques that can be used to cut overhead consumption.

For instance, chilling loads can be reduced by segregating the equipment hall into hot and cold aisles, implementing free cooling, or adding adiabatic cooling.

Suppose that the chillers have a coefficient of system performance (CoSP) of 2.5, and that the IT load is 100kW. Equipment cooling will then require 100/2.5 = 40kW. If other overhead loads amount to, say, 10kW, PUE will be (100 + 40 + 10)/100 = 1.5. By improving the CoSP to 4.0 the equipment cooling load will drop to 100/4.0 = 25kW and therefore all other things being equal PUE will be (100 + 25 + 10)/100 = 1.35.

But now suppose that this datacentre’s owners decided to tackle the energy efficiency of the IT equipment itself. They could install more energy-efficient processors and storage, or they could implement “virtualisation” whereby fewer processors share the workload dynamically. Let’s say by doing so they drop the IT power from 100 to 80kW for the same work done.

As a bonus, the equipment cooling load now drops to 80/4.0 = 20kW. So what happens to PUE, which was 1.35 before? The answer is (80 + 20 + 10)/80 = 1.375. Whoops.

Improving the energy efficiency of the IT equipment just made the

Out of focus: just how wide of the mark is PUE when it comes to calculating data centre energy efficiency?

energy performance indicator worse because of the way it is calculated.

That isn’t the worst of it.

Cooling loads depend on outside temperature, so PUE changes according to what the weather is doing. Hot weather makes PUE look bad and cold weather flatters your performance even if you have done nothing. This of course has always been known but the problem has traditionally been swept under the carpet by a) stating PUE only on an annual basis and b) making weatherrelated excuses when it moves in the wrong direction. Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem: Energy Performance Coefficients (EnPC).

Method of calculating To calculate an EnPC you first need a method of calculating expected consumption from measured values of driving factors. Driving factors are the things that cause consumption to vary. This is perfectly routine stuff and underlies any energy monitoring and targeting scheme worthy of the name. For data centres one obvious driving factor is cooling degree days.

IT equipment energy consumption is also a candidate because, as we saw earlier, there is a direct proportional link between that and the chilling

18 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

‘Hot weather makes PUE look bad and cold weather flatters your performance’ load. To quote one case I worked on, the weekly expected electricity consumption was 26,000kWh fixed, plus 250kWh per cooling degree day, plus 1.66kWh per kWh of IT load.

Plug in the degree-day value and IT consumption and out pops the expected consumption.

EnPC is simply the ratio between the actual and expected value, however that was calculated. A value of 1.0 means you consumed the expected amount; more than 1.0 means you used more than you should have, and less than 1.0 indicates a saving. This is true regardless of the weather or other external factors—because they were taken into account as part of the calculation. EnPCs can be quoted at any interval you choose: annually, monthly, weekly or daily. Now if we were to revisit the scenarios quoted above, we would find that every change—both the chiller improvements and IT

efficiency improvements—result in lower actual consumption than previously would have been expected. This results in a reducing EnPC. Meanwhile any fluctuations in outside air temperature introduce no error because hot weather raises not just actual consumption but expected values as well.

EnPCs have another useful property. They respond instantly.

As soon as you have made an improvement, actual consumption falls relative to what it would otherwise have been and so the ratio goes down. Now suppose you have set a target to improve performance by 30 per cent by a certain date.

That’s the same as taking your EnPC down from 1.0 to 0.7. You can check your EnPC the very next week and if it is not moving towards 0.7 you have not started towards you target.

The main drawback to the EnPC is that it yields a numerical value (initially 1.0) that will be unfamiliar to management. No problem: just pick a number to multiply it by to bring it to the value you are used to, and use that constant factor in every subsequent report. That way you will be reporting a performance indicator that looks and smells familiar—but tells the truth. 

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Finding the Finance For further info visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 143

State of the art upgrades The Glasgow School of Art saves £130k a year thanks to energy efficiency improvements

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he Glasgow School of Art is set to save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year and significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions after investing in energy efficient technologies at its new School of Fine Art. After acquiring the former Stow College building in 2016 to accommodate studios and workshops for the School of Fine Art, the internationally recognised Higher Education institution has implemented over £1.02m worth of energy efficiency improvements as part of refurbishment to the 1930s building.

It is estimated that the improvements, which include LED lighting, boiler replacements, heat recovery air handling units and improved insulation through new double-glazed windows, will save the school around £127,535 annually on energy bills, as well as reduce maintenance costs. They will also cut its annual carbon emissions by 514 CO2e tonnes.

The school also adopted a co-ordinated approach with Glasgow City Council to integrate a dedicated cycle route infrastructure and facilities as part of the project, further enhancing its environmental performance.

The upgrades were made possible thanks to funding from Salix Finance – an independent, government-

funded organisation that provides interest-free loans to the public sector for energy efficiency projects.

David Miller, estates development project manager at The Glasgow School of Art, said: “Our refurbishment works have enabled us to bring our School of Fine Art together in a single building for the first time in decades, providing more modern, fit-for-purpose studios, workshops and office spaces for students and staff in environmentally-responsible accommodation.”

“Our continuous, positive dialogue with Salix throughout the project delivery process, and the valuable loan support this provided, has greatly assisted us in realising the Stow Building refurbishment works.”

Jennifer Roberts, programme manager at Salix Finance, said: “To date, Salix Finance has supported the Scottish public sector to invest over £63m in energy efficiency projects which are forecasted to have saved the public sector more than £10m a year. These projects are not only contributing towards the Scottish Government’s carbon reduction targets but are also going a long way towards improving and modernising important facilities for the public.”

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Monitoring & Metering

Will Darby is managing director of Carlo Gavazzi UK

For further information on Carlo Gavazzi UK visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 132

Power quality monitoring Measurement is the key to understanding and managing power quality issues. Will Darby highlights an innovative solution to power quality monitoring

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he continuous supply of good quality power is fundamental to the operation of mission critical facilities such as data centres.

Power quality refers to the ability of electrical equipment to consume the energy being supplied to it. Problems with power quality include electrical harmonics; poor power factor; and voltage instability and imbalance, all of which can impact on the efficiency of electrical equipment. Unresolved, these issues can have a number of consequences including: higher energy usage and costs; higher maintenance costs; and equipment instability and failure.

By taking steps to manage and improve the quality of its power supply a business can avoid expenses that impact the bottom line. But, a business cannot manage what it does not measure so the ability for users to quickly and cost-effectively monitor power quality is crucial, particularly in facilities which consume large amounts of electrical power such as data centres.

Power monitoring is the first step towards identifying disruptions and variations in power quality that are likely to interfere data centre operations. By continuously evaluating power quality, operators will be able to spot potential problems, such as voltage spikes, and establish trends.

Monitoring will also enable operators to plan preventative maintenance based on historical data of equipment operation. It will also allow operators to verify how much power is being consumed by equipment for billing purposes.

In addition, it will allow users to generate load profiles to ensure effective power distribution within the facility.

One of the challenges of monitoring power in a data centre is that these facilities are home to hundreds of servers. The servers are mounted in racks, which are placed in rows, in the data hall, or white

The WM50 features a modular sandwich-style design to provide space saving behind the panel

space as it is sometimes termed.

Typically, groups of 48 servers are installed in each server rack. Each server supply is protected by a dedicated breaker. It is necessary to monitor each branch for effective control of electrical variables and energy cost allocation. The mains supply to the distribution panel (located close to the server racks) must also be monitored and controlled.

Up to 200 distribution panels A single data centre can include 100 to 200 distribution panels. If these were to be metered using a traditional metering system, this would not only take a significant amount of time to install, but the completed installation would also take up valuable space within the facility. Carlo Gavazzi has

‘Power monitoring is the first step towards identifying disruptions’ developed an innovative solution to the challenge. Its WM50 branch circuit monitoring system offers: installation time savings; space savings over traditional metering solutions; and the ability to combine branch circuit and mains supply monitoring.

The WM50 is a multichannel power analyser offering branch circuit power monitoring for up to 96 channels in any combination of three-phase and single-phase loads or two-phase and single-phase loads using the TCD12 split core current sensors.

The WM50 offers branch circuit power monitoring for up to 96 channels

It is made up of three components.

The base unit provides a wide backlit LCD touch screen display to configure the system, view measurements and manages sixteen virtual alarms. Then there are also two optional modules: one for digital I/O; and the other for communication.

The WM50 features a modular sandwich style design, which provides up to 70 percent space saving behind the panel. Users simply snap additional modules to the rear of the meter by stacking and securing them to provide digital I/O and communication using either Modbus RTU or Modbus TCP/IP. Accuracy is ±0.2% RDG current and voltage and the meter is rated equivalent to class 0.5S (kWh) according EN62053-22 measuring all the mains electrical variables, including the harmonic distortion (THD and single harmonics up to 32nd harmonic) of current and voltage. Together with 10 digits for total energy counting of active and reactive imported and exported energy in total kWh and kvarh and partial kWh and kvarh viewing up to 6 energy tariffs.

The free proprietary UCS configuration software (desktop or mobile version) allows for quick system configuration and diagnostics. Alternatively, an optical port is available for quick analyser configuration using the OptoProg accessory module . As with other Carlo Gavazzi energy meters and power analysers, the WM50 carries CE marking and UL certifications.

Power quality is a key element of any energy management strategy.

The business risk posed by power quality problems is real. Carlo Gavazzi has built on its experience of critical load applications to offer an extremely flexible, scalable, compact, cost effective and intuitive monitoring solution with its WM50 protection and monitoring solution for server and data centres. Can you afford not to turn power data into actionable information? 

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 21

Energy Management Standards For further information on The Discovery Mill visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 133

Doing it for themselves From first workshop to certification in record time. A Netherlands-based material handling specialist is using ISO 50001 to meet increased customer expectations

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anderlande is one of those companies that touches most of our lives but which most of us haven’t heard of. When we order on-line from retailers such as Amazon, it could be Vanderlande’s systems that deliver the warehouse logistics. When we check-in our bags at airports, their systems ensure our bags reach the aeroplanes. Part of the Toyota group, the organisation is the global market leader in this type of material handling, with operations located right across the world.

The company recently decided to develop an energy management system that would meet increasing customer expectations, and also EU requirements for energy audits, as well as contributing to the global effort to combat climate change.

It decided to use the ISO 50001 as the energy management system standard to hit targets. It provides a good practice systematic structure using the ‘Plan, Do, Check, Act’ framework.

The scope for (initial) certification for Vanderlande includes electricity, gas and other energy consumption from buildings and industrial processes across sites within the Netherlands, UK and Germany. The largest site is located in Veghel, the Netherlands, with a mix of manufacturing, R&D, offices and distribution logistics, and over 2,000 staff. Most of the other sites are much smaller. Overall, for sites within scope, the annual energy bill is approximately €1m a year.

The big idea was to bring together colleagues from different locations to collaborate through a series of workshops. Facilitated by the Discovery Mill, these would include industry-accredited training so team members from each location could develop and share their skills and experiences.

A core energy management team was pulled together to include the COO of the business, senior managers from HSE, Quality and Procurement, acting as project

Vanderlande decided to use ISO 50001 as the energy management standard to hit targets

ambassadors, and facilities managers and others (e.g. office receptionists) acting as local delivery leads and key connector champions. Once this team was in place, the wider team drew on significant energy users across the business taking on local responsibility for their own areas.

Key factors for success Collaboration and celebration were key factors for success for Vanderlande. It was identified early on that this needed a user-friendly approach for the team to engage, particularly for smaller locations which had limited expertise and experience. It needed to deliver the business benefits, join up all the good work going, and tap into the benefits of energy management good practice

22 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

to be positive for everyone involved.

Making the workshops fun and inspiring, for example, was found to be a great way to connect people together.

Over the first three months or so, three main workshops were used to facilitate and coordinate activities: • workshop 1 was about context: pulling together the team and understanding the opportunities, requirements and challenges to set up the vision and energy policies; • workshop 2 focused on the catalyst for change: feeding in local energy reviews, prioritising opportunities and then setting up the metrics, targets and actions as well as strategic controls; and • workshop 3 was about energising change: roles and responsibilities,

James Brittain is director of The Discovery Mill and energy consultant

communications and rolling out training as well as reviewing the design, procurement and operational controls.

For each aspect, tactical tools and techniques were developed, tested and then lessons and experiences feedback through the workshops.

This meant that after the second workshop, Vanderlande was already operating an energy management system that could be reviewed and improved. A supplementary workshop was set up for internal auditors to not only develop their understanding and skills for ISO 50001 but also to plan out a programme of internal audit trails to test and improve the system.

ISO 50001 provides a great structure to help manage change in a systematic way and ensure improvements are locked in longerterm. The team achieved certification in less than six months; all areas were able to demonstrate continual improvement in both the energy management system and in energy performance.

The external auditors were very impressed with how Vanderlande applied the standards in a phased approach, which resulted in no nonconformities. Standard templates were created to help each local team review their energy performance and consolidate the information required to effectively manage the subject.

“It has been a pleasant surprise to audit a company who is not doing it only because it is needed but also because they are into the subject,” commented the auditor.

It is essential that top management is on board and demonstrates its commitment through the company’s energy policies and by providing the financial and other resources needed.

Extending the energy management team beyond a few internal specialists not only means ISO 50001 certification was achieved in record time, but also it’s now more likely to be effective in the longer term as the approach is owned by the people involved. The potential is for significant energy saving delivered at scale, in the most cost effective way, driven by the philosophy of continual improvement. Collaborative approaches enable people to better connect technical and behaviour solutions and deliver better results. 

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SERIES 17 | MODULE 03 | WATER MANAGEMENT

Manage your water consumption

By Paul Stevenson, director Larkdown Environmental Ltd, and chartered energy engineer and RPEC consultant

A

ttention to water has many parallels with energy: • global natural resources that are under threat from over-exploitation; • excellent cost savings through no/low cost interventions or investments; • can be managed through a structured, systematic approach; • can be metered and sub-metered, and techniques such as monitoring and targeting or benchmarking against industry “best practice” can be applied; • can be recovered and re-used (energy as heat recovery, water as ‘grey water’); • both can be generated from renewable sources (e.g. rainwater harvesting); and • interventions in one often generate indirect savings in the other.

The prime driver for reducing water use is lower water purchase costs. Any reduction in water consumption, for the same output/commercial activity/ turnover, is a saving that goes straight to the bottom line.

Effluent charges are often related directly to the volume of water purchased. Attention to water misuse will reduce volumes of ‘end-of-pipe’ effluent treatment before discharge, thus reduce disposal costs. Also, if one can identify leaks and show that these has been ongoing for some time, it is possible to reclaim a proportion of the effluent costs from one’s utility bill.

There are indirect electrical and

thermal energy savings, too. Clearly, the less water you have to pump, heat, cool or treat and discharge for the same tasks, the less energy is consumed. This is on top of the substantial electrical and thermal energy savings that can be made from: • attention to the pump or fan system, such as installing IE4 motors, or variable speed drives for pumps or boiler fans with variable demand; • improved efficiency of the steam/ hot-water system: at the boiler, in the distribution system or at the end-use.

Greater details for direct electrical and thermal energy savings are provided in Energy Institute’s Water and Energy Level 2 training module.

Other worthwhile cost and environmental benefits include: • reduced consumable items: watertreatment chemicals, laundry detergents, etc.; • enhanced product recovery; • improved reputation with customers, business partners, staff and the local community; • water performance can be declared as part of an organisation’s environmental statement and is almost always a key strand of ISO14001; and • future-proofing. Currently, water does not have the same legislative or media attention as energy and CO2; there is no water equivalent of EU ETS, CCA, ESOS, SECR, etc. But that may change.

Fig. 1 Typical water management ISO14001/EMS system 1

Fig. 2 Classic y= mx + C relationship

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It is strongly recommended that an organisation embarking on a mission to reduce water consumption follows a structured Environmental Management System (EMS) (see Fig. 1) which has parallels with Energy Management Systems (EnMS).

Specific activities include: • determine the organisation’s recent water consumption (and effluent).

Headline figures can be gathered from water bills, although for smaller consumers these are typically only quarterly or bi-annual, which gives poor granularity. For a base year, it is good practice to consider two adjacent year’s figures to ensure the selected year is not abnormal.

If water consumption is high yet information regarding consumption is sparse, one of the first tasks should be to introduce automatic meters at the incoming mains plus at important water centres. Sub-metering allows you to: • compare top-down v bottom-up consumption. If the difference is large, this suggests large losses/ leaks, unknown consumption centres, or even that the organisation is providing free water to someone else! This is not unheard of when an estate has been split up; • examine and compare consumption between operating and non-operating periods, such as day and night or weekdays and weekends. This helps

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SERIES 17 | MODULE 03 | WATER MANAGEMENT

understand the site’s “base-load”; • examine day-day scatter. Large scatter indicates poor operational control; • compare the performances of similar equipment within the organisation. Big differences help identify where to focus attention; and • benchmark against industry norms and best practice.

Examine 'water performance' The next thing to achieve is to characterise the 'water performance'.

This will be the water consumption (or effluent) versus unit production or other meaningful measure of activity.

This then generates the base-year of monthly (weekly or daily) consumption per unit activity. At its simplest, this would simply be straightforward m3 water per unit activity. A more complex, but more useful relationship is a linear best-fit line relationship, similar to the energy relationship of E = mt +C. Where E = kWh energy, t = tonnage, C = base-load consumption irrespective of output, and m = the marginal increase per unit. This takes into account nonproduction base-load.

Even more complex relationships may be needed if and when two or more products have substantially different water needs. This multi-product relationship is known as a product mix and output algorithm. The advantage of this relationship is that changes to water performance are not hidden by changes to the product mix.

Seasonality should be considered, for instance, higher temperatures and lower rainfall necessitates additional ground watering.

Where possible, compare performance against benchmarks for: • norms: i.e. sector average; • good practice: better performers – typically the upper quartile or decile performers for a particular sector - can be used as a target; and • best-available technologies (BAT): the most advanced technologies and techniques, although these are not always cost-effective interventions.

Conduct a walk-through audit to identify water saving opportunities. These may include: • the need for suitable metering and sub-metering; • attention to staff attitudes and behaviour; • minimising avoidable losses: leaks, poor practices, process losses, boiler condensate returns, etc.; • recovering ‘grey’ water (i.e. ‘used’

water, but still clean enough for nondrinking purposes) for secondary re-use; and • opportunities for rain-harvesting.

Prioritise cost-effective water-saving interventions, such as: • enabling interventions: sub-metering and data gathering/ handling/ reporting; • attention to employee attitudes and awareness – behaviour training; • simple, low-cost interventions; • investment opportunities that meet the organisation’s financial criteria. This list will be organic and will change over time.

Set a long-term target You should establish a long-term target (say to 2025), ideally with interim milestones. By understanding the organisation’s current performance against sector norms and good-practice, plus understanding where cost-effective interventions can be made, it will be a challenging but achievable ‘sciencebased’ target.

Work all the above into an environmental policy and supporting strategy; ideally within a formal EMS working towards ISO14001, with regular reviews. Not only does this help verify and sustain savings, it also brings recognition from Stakeholders regarding the site’s environmental stewardship.

An important issue raised above is to recognise what is current good practice across the sector. For this, one needs sector benchmarks: • Drinks manufacturers BIER, the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable, conducts bi-annual Global benchmarking of energy and water performances across its members, covering: carbonated soft drinks, bottled water, breweries,

For details on how to obtain your Energy Institute CPD Certificate, see entry form and details on page 28 26 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

distilleries and wine-making.

The most recent survey2 contains some excellent analyses of water and energy consumption trends across these sectors.

BIER Members are typically multinationals that have invested manpower and technology to become market leaders. Therefore, they will be among the sector’s better performers. It would not be unreasonable to use their benchmark figures as long-term targets.

• Food manufacturers Typical benchmarks of water consumption across important food manufacturers that have high water use are provided in a 2013 WRAP report: “Water Minimisation in the Food and Drink Industry”3.

• Laundries The USA’s Alliance for Water Efficiency4 focuses on SME laundries that mostly rely on equipment referred to as washer-extractors. Using their data as benchmarks: • typical washer-extractor = 25-33 l/kg cleaned textile; and • good practice = 21 l/kg textile • Commercial and service-sector Some years ago, the Environment Agency produced How much water should I be using?, a water consumption benchmarks for selected sectors, including: offices, schools, colleges, nursing homes, etc.5 Attention to water management at industrial sites can save up to 50 per cent of water use and effluent discharge, particularly if water efficiency has not been a focus for many years.

A site should regularly review and re-evaluate its production processes to identify areas where it can save water: • Equipment cooling: equipment that needs cooling may have been connected to the main water supply,

using a ‘once through’ process then discharging water to drain.

Refrigeration units, chillers or evaporation towers can cool then re-use this water, offering substantial water savings.

• Cooling towers: Cooling towers may lose water as mist or spray. Optimised automatic blowdown control reduces blowdown losses. Also, you can re-use spray loss, rather than fresh water, to clean solid deposits from the tower.

• Liquid ring vacuum pumps: use a continuous supply of water, typically heated to 15°C, to provide a seal.

Wastewater can be used for this process; it is common practice in papermaking.

Monitoring and adjust water flows: • sprays and jets: direct the water stream, meaning one can use water more efficiently. Recent technology advances allow operators to use lower pressure sprays, which saves even more water.

• shut-off systems: operators can regulate/stop the flow in a system that does not require a constant stream of water. Otherwise, in many continuous flow systems, excess water simply flows to drain.

• conductive probes: measure acidity and alkalinity levels in a water system, which gives the operator the ability to improve the level of cleaning-in-place.

In many cases, dirty or used water can be reused in other areas. Completing an audit of this ‘grey’ water, to evaluate how this could be re-used, can reveal significant areas for savings.

Cleaning-in-place (CIP) removes contaminants from the process equipment with minimum disassembly.

CIP offers many advantages over manual cleaning including: • reduction of water consumption by 50 per cent; • fewer chemicals; • recovery of fluids that can be reused; • increased automation; • gives higher machinery cleanliness; • counter-current rinsing: suitable for multi-stage rinsing. This process moves products through a series of tanks or rinsing stages. Product is first rinsed using dirty water, then progressively cleaner water. Typically, this saves 20-30 per cent total water consumption; • scrapers, squeegees, brushes or hoses: mechanical cleaning can reduce cleaning time thus saves water. They also help eradicate bacterial growth, provide a more hygienic environment; • drain-covers: if solids are likely to be

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SERIES 17 | MODULE 03 | JULY/AUGUST 2019

ENTRY FORM WATER MANAGEMENT Please mark your answers below by placing a cross in the box. Don't forget that some questions might have more than one correct answer. You may find it helpful to mark the answers in pencil first before filling in the final answers in ink. Once you have completed the answer sheet, return it to the address below. Photocopies are acceptable.

QUESTIONS 1. Product recovery using a 'pig' to recover materials from pipework offers: n Less water and chemicals to clean n More concentrated effluent loads n Raw material and/or product recovery n Reduced downtime 2. What would be a realistic medium-term water-saving target for a commercial organisation that has not paid a lot of attention to water for several years? n 10-20 per cent n 20-30 per cent n 30-40 per cent n >40 per cent 3. Which of these in NOT an efficient cleaning and rinsing technique? n Counter-current rinsing n Sump tank recirculation n Use of scrapers or brushes n Use of drain-covers 4. For ground maintenance, which one of these is good practice? n Use “grey” waste-water or rain-water for irrigating n Keep grass well-trimmed, especially during summer n Ensure daily use of a sprinkler system in the morning n Avoid mulch on flower-beds and other exposed soil 5. Which of these is recommended goodpractice for water-efficiency in laundries? n Running the machine on its quick-wash cycle n Ensuring there is sufficient watersoftener n Set the wash-cycle to eliminate the need for re-washes n Operate below the design capacity

recommended by the supplier 6. How much water would a large tap, left on, discharge in a typical 8-hour shift? n 5,000 litres n 10,000 litres n 15,000 litres n 20,000 litres 7. Why should an organisation consider watermanagement? n Offers direct and indirect water-related cost-savings n Offers indirect savings to energy, rawmaterial consumption and waste n Demonstrates environmental stewardship to clients, suppliers, staff and other stakeholders n All of the above 8. Which of these statements is incorrect?

Flushing cotton buds, wet-wipes and similar items down the toilet: n Is no problem whatsoever n Wastes clean water through unnecessary flushing n Potentially causes blockages in the sewerage system n Ends up as non-decomposable solid waste that can harm marine life 9. What is the ideal proportion of re-washes one should target for optimum laundry-washing? n 0 per cent n Less than 1 per cent n 3-5 per cent n 5-10 per cent 10. Which of these interventions is an enabling step rather than a water-saving step? n Installing sub-meters and an M&T system n Leak detection and repair n Staff awareness and training n PIR sensors in the male toilets.

How to obtain a CPD accreditation from the Energy Institute Energy in Buildings and Industry and the Energy Institute are delighted to have teamed up to bring you this Continuing Professional Development initiative.

This is the third module in the seventeenth series and focuses on water management. It is accompanied by a set of multiple-choice questions.

To qualify for a CPD certificate readers must submit at least eight of the ten sets of questions from this series of modules to EiBI for the Energy Institute to mark.

Anyone achieving at least eight out of ten correct answers on eight separate articles qualifies for an Energy Institute CPD certificate. This can be obtained, on successful completion of the course and notification by the Energy Institute, free of charge for both Energy Institute members and non-members.

The articles, written by a qualified member of the Energy Institute, will appeal to those new to energy management and those with more experience of the subject.

Modules from the past 16 series can be obtained free of charge. Send your request to editor@eibi.co.uk. Alternatively, they can be downloaded from the EiBI website: www.eibi.co.uk

SERIES 16

SERIES 17

MAY 2018 - APR 2019

MAY 2019 - APR 2020

1 BEMS 2 Refrigeration 3 LED Technology 4 District Heating 5 Air Conditioning 6 Behaviour Change 7 Thermal Imaging 8 Solar Thermal 9 Smart Buildings 10 Biomass Boilers

1 Batteries & Storage 2 Energy as a Service 3 Water Management 4 Demand Side Response* 5 Drives & Motors* 6 Blockchain Technology* 7 Compressed Air* 8 Energy Purchasing* 9 Space Heating* 10 Data Centre Management*

* ONLY available to download from the website after publication date

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Completed answers should be mailed to: The Education Department, Energy in Buildings & Industry, P.O. Box 825, GUILDFORD, GU4 8WQ. Or scan and e-mail to editor@eibi.co.uk. All modules will then be supplied to the Energy Institute for marking

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Water Treatment & Management For further information on Guardian Water Treatment visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 126

Steven Booth is managing director of Guardian Water Treatment

Preventing water wastage In an effort to improve the carbon footprint of our buildings it’s time the spotlight shone on water system construction and maintenance, says Steven Booth

W

hile the majority of a modern building’s services have moved with the pace of change, using BEMS systems and the latest diagnostic tools to ensure the most efficient approach to delivering light, heat, and ventilation, water systems are behind the times. The way they are constructed and then managed wastes water, chemicals, energy and manpower, some of which could be avoided by moving away from outdated methods.

So what’s wrong with current best practice and how can it be changed? From the moment of construction, water is being wasted. Pre-commissioning cleaning, a necessary requirement of the BSRIA guidelines to ensure a water system is operating as it should, clean and free from contamination at handover, is one of the most water-wasting processes in a building’s construction. Flushing, a key part of this process, can degrade pipework, leading to issues further down the line.

To reduce flushing volumes without compromising its effectiveness, there are high flow filtration solutions, which dramatically cut the amount of water required – up to five times less volume - while still complying with the BSRIA guidelines. As well as using less water, this process is also much faster than traditional flushing, slashing cleaning times and saving on labour costs.

Flushing can also take place when changes are made to the system, which wastes water and also disrupts the chemical balance, as well as potentially adding oxygen - a precursor to corrosion (more about that later). In-line filtration is a good alternative treatment here, retaining existing water in the system to prevent the wastage of many thousands of litres of new water, while eliminating the need

Oxygen is a pre-cursor to almost all forms of corrosion

for the addition of extra inhibitors to replenish the chemical make-up.

These are specific processes that can be improved using the latest methods, However, every element of water system management can be made more efficient by using continuous monitoring to understand condition.

Outmoded sampling In the majority of buildings, the traditional method for understanding water condition is sampling. This process, which involves sending water from a selected part of a system off to a laboratory for analysis, has remained unchanged for many years. But this is outmoded and flawed in its approach and while it is still needed to satisfy BSRIA and BG50 requirements, it should not be the sole means of understanding what’s going on in a closed-circuit water system.

Firstly, a sample is just that, ‘a sample’ that shows conditions in one area of a water system on a particular time and day. Once sent off, it can take weeks to return, by which time conditions may have changed (from our experience using remote monitoring, conditions can change daily).

The results of the sample are

30 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

analysed by a consultant, working independently to the building owner, usually at great expense.

The results themselves flag up issues, but don’t suggest how they were caused, with key signifiers of potential problems – oxygen and pressure levels - not detected.

We advocate the use of continuous remote monitoring to counter these problems, a solution which can be used at any stage of a water system’s life. Providing accurate readings of a wide range of parameters; including oxygen, pressure, temperature, corrosion, PH, conductivity and inhibitor levels; results are delivered direct to the building manager’s in-box. This approach provides a true picture Continuous monitoring can provide readings of a wide range of parameters including oxygen

of condition at all times, allowing small issues to be flagged up before they turn into big problems that could lead to expensive repairs and breakdown – in a large commercial building, the cost of breakdown can run into the millions.

Oxygen is one of the key indicators here; a precursor to almost all forms of corrosion. If high levels are detected, immediate investigation and rectification of whatever is leading to aeration will in most cases stop corrosion in its tracks, potentially eliminating the problem altogether.

This knowledge and quick reaction to potential issues is a very important part of improving the sustainability of water treatment. By preventing corrosion, water systems stay in peak condition, therefore ensuring that the HVAC plant relying on them works as efficiently as possible. And, where works have to be carried out, either as part of routine maintenance, or where a system is added to, water condition can be closely monitored to ensure it returns to base levels quickly, therefore avoiding the unnecessary use of flushing and chemicals.

All of these benefits also lead to cost savings. At the grand end of the scale by preventing breakdown and more modestly through cutting chemical usage and identifying issues that can be fixed by in-house maintenance teams, rather than calling in consultants and external suppliers.

The other environmental benefit is that monitoring should give specifiers and installers the confidence to choose thin-walled carbon steel, a more sustainable piping solution thanks to the fact it uses 50 per cent less material than the stainless steel alternative.

Pipework and water is so intrinsic to most HVAC plant, isn’t it time we applied the same real-time data driven approach to its management as the rest of a building’s services? 

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Ian Hopkins is director Centrica Business Solutions

CHP & District Heating For further information on Centrica Business Solutions visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 134

The myths surrounding CHP Ian Hopkins corrects two common preconceptions about combined heat and power and sets the record straight on its valuable contribution to the modern energy mix

O

ver many decades, CHP (or cogeneration) has helped organisations to self generate a highly efficient on-site supply of reliable, low cost, low carbon heat and electricity. Its proven benefits are as relevant today as yesterday, but there are a number of misconceptions that may wrongly deter organisations from exploiting its multiple benefits.

Some naysayers spread the false belief that CHP has had its day.

However, given the outstanding customer returns the technology continues to deliver, this myth is very easy to bust.

In the current climate of rising energy costs, CHP systems can provide rapid payback on investment in 2-3 years and generate cost savings of up to 40 per cent over electricity sourced from the grid and heat generated by on-site boilers. When you consider that the lifespan of a CHP system is 10-15 years, this is an impressive financial return.

The financial attraction of gasfired CHP is enhanced by the likely ‘spark spread’ price advantage from shifting energy demand from grid sourced electricity to cheaper gas. Over recent years, the spark spread has been widening – increasing the cost returns.

Financial incentives CHP is also eligible for numerous government financial incentives, including Climate Change Levy (CCL) exemption. The substantial rise in CCL rates from 1 April 2019 has increased the value of this incentive.

Cogeneration integrates the production of usable heat and power (electricity), in one single, process to reach total efficiencies of around 90 per cent. The versatility of CHP means that it can be deployed in new buildings, in retrofit projects, or when replacing ageing boiler plant. It

The financial attraction of gas-fired CHP is enhanced by the likely ‘spark spread’ price advantage

is best suited to organisations with sufficient heat or cooling demand, particularly if that demand is for extended periods. It can also provide a resilient off-grid power supply - protecting against the increasing risk of supply disruption.

The use of CHP and other decentralised supplies, is being taken to a new level via local smart grids, such as Centrica’s Cornwall Local Energy Market project.

This pioneering project is testing the use of blockchain, flexible demand and efficient low-carbon generation – connecting CHP, solar and battery storage to energise the local community. The potential to cluster CHP with other assets in a decentralised smart-grid or virtual power plant also points to future uses.

The UK has made considerable progress in decarbonising the power sector, but the next major priority is decarbonising heat. This is a complex challenge, but CHP has an important contribution to make in using waste heat.

Another myth surrounding CHP is that its carbon-saving potential is insignificant. Despite the rapidly falling carbon intensity of the UK power grid due to the growth of renewables, CHP still delivers impressive carbon savings.

‘Some naysayers spread the false belief that CHP has had its day’

The Government’s 2018 Digest of UK Energy Statistics reports that CHP, when compared against power stations burning fossil fuels, saved 10.70MtCO2 in 2017.

Cleaner and more efficient CHP is much cleaner and more efficient than unabated gas power stations, which are expected to continue to supply significant power demand over the next

decade at least. In conventional power production the heat is wasted and around 7.5 per cent of power is lost in the transmission and distribution process.

CHP largely only displaces higher carbon centralised gas and coal power plants and rarely displaces renewables or nuclear. This is due to a Merit Order that governs the economics of the wholesale power markets and determines the sequence in which generators are dispatched to meet demand at least operating cost. As CHP has a lower marginal operating cost than either centralised gas or coal generators, it will usually take precedence in the hierarchy of deployment, but won’t displace renewable or nuclear power due to their lower marginal operating cost.

The most widely used current assessment methodologies undervalue CHP’s carbon saving benefits because they look at average carbon emissions from the grid, therefore making the false assumption that CHP is displacing renewables. This doesn’t reflect the reality of market optimisation strategies, where CHP actually displaces more carbo-intense sources.

CHP’s carbon offset is, of course, much higher for systems fuelled by renewables rather than natural gas. Over 16 per cent of UK CHP capacity in 2017 was renewable – using fuels such as biomass, biogas/ syngas, waste, and bioliquids.

Due to its system inertia, CHP also helps to improve energy sustainability by balancing supply and demand and stabilising the grid to accommodate intermittent renewables.

CHP, in tandem with other technologies such as batteries and heat pumps, is an important demand side response solution, which is essential to keeping power demand and generation in perfect balance every second of the day, which also helps to optimise the deployment of renewables. 

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 33

CHP & District Heating

Damian Shevloff is managing director, Veolia CHP Ltd

For further information on Veolia CHP Ltd visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 135

Ready for higher education Damian Shevloff looks at the role CHP can play in improving the energy efficiency of university campuses. But many pitfalls can compromise full plant efficiency

W

ith pressure on higher education budgets intensifying and improved carbon performance a necessity, combined heat and power (CHP) has been proven for its effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions, thanks to the efficient way it delivers power and heat from the generating process. However, it is only through specifying, designing, installing and maintaining the plant correctly that major savings can be realised.

With annual energy costs for the further and higher education sector of around ÂŁ400m and CO2 emissions of around 3m tonnes it is important to understand the factors, including operation and maintenance, that enable this type of solution to deliver the maximum energy, carbon and cost benefits for its user.

Installing a CHP is often regarded as the instant answer for reducing energy cost and carbon footprint particularly for universities that have ageing energy plant. Efficient CHP installations can achieve payback against capital cost in as little as three years, which is short compared to the operating life of the unit. Their high efficiency performance means they can deliver cost savings in the region of 20-30 per cent, enabling capital payback from energy cost savings early in the operating life of a CHP. Environmental performance is enhanced too because the primary fuel consumption per unit of energy generated is lower, and the electrical losses in transmission are reduced thanks to the onsite nature of power production. In this way CHP can make a major contribution towards meeting the target of a 43 per cent reduction in carbon emissions over the 15-year period from the 2005 baseline. As an example the 30MWe of Veolia CHP capacity on over 60 campuses reduces carbon emissions by over 50,000 tonnes each year.

However, failure to realise the full benefits is mainly due to incorrect sizing against thermal and electrical

University campuses such as Warwick have constant demand for heat and power making them suitable for CHP

loads, poor integration with existing plant and insufficient monitoring and maintenance. Efficient operation also has a direct link with the commercial viability as running a CHP outside its optimum range will impact savings, lower availability and potentially increase maintenance costs. Overcoming this requires a complete understanding of the technology, the specification, and provision of an effective maintenance regime. Selection of a CHP plant should not necessarily be limited by product ranges and one offering maximum energy efficiency may not return the greatest financial saving. Also some site load profiles will not be suited to a CHP solution and, if so, it would be better to select other solutions to meet heat and electricity requirements.

Initial CHP selection is influenced

CHP units can deliver cost savings in the region of 20-30 per cent

34 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

by the heat and the base-load electrical demand of a campus and must factor in downtime at weekends and overnight. Building use and the variations between winter and summer months and occupancy levels give uneven heat demands. These can be balanced using accumulators to store heat, or absorption chillers to supply cooling or generate and store ice for cooling purposes.

High constant heat demand Specifying and sizing the CHP plant based on the heat demand will maximise energy and environmental savings. Typically a site needs 4,500 hours of high constant heat demand per year to make a CHP economical, and balancing the heat to power ratio may result in surplus power meaning that electricity can be exported to the grid as a potential revenue stream.

Where CHP plants are integrated with boilers a balanced system is essential. Many university installations integrate packaged CHP with waste heat boilers, conventional boilers and in many cases absorption chillers. These configurations ensure that electricity demand are met and the CHP waste heat is used effectively, as well as providing additional heat generation and delivering cooling, derived from the captured heat, via the chillers.

Opting for combined heat and power requires a long term view as CHP plants have effective operational lifetimes of 20 years or more, so current and future energy demands are important considerations.

For example a Veolia CHP unit served Churchill College in the University of Cambridge for over 22 years, completing over 120,000 generating hours - equivalent to a vehicle completing over 5m miles or 208 trips around the earth. It was replaced with a modern more efficient Veolia CHP with the veteran unit now operating in Veolia’s CHP training centre.

With cost and operational efficiency at the heart of any decision making process it is important to consider the viability of a significant energy generation change or solution. The adoption of CHP energy provision across campuses has been widespread. Linking the provision of CHP in higher education to an energy management provider ensures that the design and feasibility of a project is guaranteed by the provider over the long term. Aligned with this is the transfer of risk, potential investment and the real benefits gained from optimisation.

Alongside energy security CHP has the potential to deliver major efficiencies, carbon and cost savings to campuses and provides a major boost to energy sustainability.

Getting the design, specification and operating modes right maximises the benefits. Maintaining it correctly ensures the many benefits of CHP are delivered over the long term. 

EIBI_0719_002-052 Edit_Layout 1 09/07/2019 11:04 Page 39

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Make a splash with CHP Combined heat and power offers a highly efficient, economic option for sites like Penrith Leisure Centre that has a high demand for heat, says Mark Gibbons

T

ighter budgets, spiralling energy costs and increasingly challenging environmental targets mean that energy and building managers are looking to reduce energy use where they can while ensuring that their buildings are as comfortable as possible.

This is perhaps particularly true in the leisure sector, where complexes with swimming pools typically use five times as much energy per square metre as offices, according to CIBSE. Unsurprisingly, energy costs can account for as much as 30 per cent of total operational costs, second only to the cost of labour. Yet, the Carbon Trust claims that leisure centres could save up to £70m a year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by thousands of tonnes with just a 10 per cent improvement in the management of energy.

Heat offers a practical opportunity for efficiency improvement. In leisure centres with swimming pools, for example, heating and hot water provision accounts for a large proportion of energy consumption – as much as 65 per cent. But electricity usage is also high, especially in centres that use it extensively for air conditioning, ventilation, lighting, fans, pumps and more.

Compelling advantages One technology that continues to offer compelling financial and energy-saving advantages is combined heat and power (CHP), due to its ability to generate lower-cost electricity and heat simultaneously on-site in one highly efficient process. The potential energy savings can be significant, with CHP capable of delivering a 30 per cent reduction in primary energy usage compared with traditional generation.

But here’s the caveat. To maximise CHP operational efficiency and reap the full

Mark Gibbons is Remeha CHP’s national sales manager

convectors, air handling units, providing hot water for shower facilities and, of course, heating the two swimming pools.”

Thomas Armstrong identified the need to consider the long-term maintenance of the equipment from the outset. “A CHP unit is a specialist piece of plant,” Clarkson added. “For us, it was important to install a unit that was not only sized correctly for maximum run time, but that there was a service programme offered that would keep the CHP operating at its optimum.”

Successful investment

Penrith Leisure Centre will make energy savings of over a third thanks to the installation of a CHP plant

potential cost and NOx saving benefits, it’s essential to ensure accurate sizing and integration.

Addressing maintenance and servicing arrangements at the early stages will then ensure optimum benefits from this long-term investment.

‘Oversizing the CHP will reduce running hours and carbon savings’

Full decarbonisation

35 per cent reduction A good example of how CHP can work for a leisure centre is Penrith Leisure Centre, where a well-designed, well-maintained CHP system has resulted in an impressive 35 per cent reduction in primary energy use.

The complex, which is owned

by Eden District Council (EDC) and managed by GLL, boasts a 25m swimming pool and 13m studio pool in addition to a state-of-theart gym, studios and a sports hall.

Open almost every day of the year, the site is perfectly suited for the use of CHP. EDC’s requirements were to implement a new high-efficiency renewable or low-carbon solution that would improve the centre’s energy performance, reduce emissions and increase operational efficiency.

Mechanical and electrical

36 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

CHP has certainly proved a strategically successful investment at Penrith Leisure Centre.

Furthermore, the financial savings will be further increased due to the ability of CHP to generate on-site electricity at lower gas prices. The greater the ‘spark spread’ – or difference between gas and electricity costs – the greater the savings for buildings.

And with gas prices currently at approximately a quarter of the cost of electricity costs, and electricity prices predicted to rise faster than gas, this will translate to substantial cost savings for the Council and GLL.

engineers Thomas Armstrong recommended replacing the old plant with a Remeha 20/44kW ultra-low NOx R-Gen condensing CHP unit operating in conjunction with three Remeha Gas 310 Eco Pro high efficiency condensing boilers to meet the project requirements.

For a CHP unit to generate maximum returns, it needs to operate for as many hours of the year as possible. Hence the emphasis on accurate sizing, as oversizing the CHP will reduce running hours and carbon savings, as well as leading to maintenance and warranty issues.

“The CHP produces 44kW of heat per hour and it’s using it all, even in the summer months,” said Thomas Armstrong’s Stephen Clarkson. “It’s heating the constant temperature circuit, feeding radiators, fan

As the government steers the nation towards full decarbonisation of heat, it’s important to remember that older buildings and efficiently designed new properties will still require very different commercial heating solutions. In some older buildings, higher temperature heating solutions may be more suitable.

Equally, there might not be the electrical supply required for electrical heating equipment.

As Penrith Leisure Centre illustrates, CHP offers energy managers a strategic, economic solution to improve the energy performance of their building.

While energy efficiency alone cannot deliver a net-zero carbon economy, best practice implementation of a highly efficient technology like CHP can make huge strides towards this goal. 

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CHP & District Heating For further information on Life4HeatRecovery Programme visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 137

Europe’s untapped energy source Waste heat from towns and cities is a huge untapped energy source in Europe. The Life4HeatRecovery project is looking to use it to heat our homes and supply our hot water

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he average mid-sized supermarket in Europe produces enough waste heat from its refrigeration and air conditioning units in one year to be able to provide the thermal energy needs of 200 homes over the same period. It’s not just supermarkets producing this kind of waste – there are data centres, factories, hospitals, offices and many other buildings and institutions in towns and cities all over Europe producing this energy as a by-product of their activities. And all too often it’s just wasted into the atmosphere.

Life4HeatRecovery is a project funded by the EU LIFE programme looking to use wasted energy recovered from different sources and apply it to district heating systems. To do this efficiently, the project is developing complete, pre-fabricated “skids” which collect the waste energy using heat pumps.

Traditional third generation district heating networks distribute energy from a centralised generation plant to a number of remote customers. Fourth generation networks advance on this basis by integrating a limited number of well predictable, (usually) hightemperature energy sources.

Recovering such energy requires complex interventions in the process plants, which is rarely allowed by the company owners. Therefore, the range of attractive cases is limited.

Since the largest amount of waste heat available in the urban environment is rejected by low temperature sources and service facilities, the solution proposed is to recover such low temperature energy into DH networks by means of heat pumps. The solution is based on the water-loop concept used in commercial buildings and here extended to the district and city level.

The district heating and cooling network can be fed by multiple waste heat sources. This contribution is balanced out by energy drawn off by heat users.

If a high temperature network is

Four demonstration sites, including this one in the Netherlands, are the basis for the programme

involved, a heat pump is needed to raise waste heat temperature to the network’s level. However, if a lowtemperature network is considered, heat recovery can be performed directly (without heat pumps).

Nevertheless, heat pumps are needed at the consumer side to raise the temperature of the distributed energy to useful levels (35°C to 55°C depending on the uses).

Multiple waste heat sources LIFE4HeatRecovery solutions will integrate effectively multiple waste heat sources from urban wastewater and service buildings, where they are available along the DH network, by managing energy at different temperature levels. This will guarantee flexibility and scalability to the network design, and reliable, secure and clean thermal energy to the consumers.

Roberto Fedrizzi, of EURAC Research, who coordinates the Life4HeatRecovery project explains:

“The heat pumps are used in two ways. The low-temperature waste heat can be warmed to a level that is useful for district heating. This is done by connecting a heat pump to this waste source which increases the temperature of the available heat from around 10-30ºC to 70-80ºC. This is then connected to the district heating system and the heat is made available for traditional district heating networks.

“The other possibility, however, is for a new generation of district heating networks. These directly distribute the waste heat through the network: this heats the water in the network to around 10-20ºC and this low-temperature water is distributed to the door of the buildings on the network. Of course, this low temperature water is not a useful supply of domestic hot water or heating, but it can be warmed up to a useful heat at the individual buildings using heat pumps. The value here is that the low-temperature water

Waste heat is a potential huge source of energy for cities right across Europe

38 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

does not suffer heat losses along the network pipelines.”

Together with storage, control strategies optimising the harvest and re-use of waste heat are key from the technical and economic perspectives.

On the one hand, strategies will be assessed that assure a thermal balance among energy integration, storage and utilisation. On the other, energy trading strategies will be formed allowing the management of thermal energy purchasing from different sources.

As infrastructure costs are a barrier hindering public investments in the DH sector, LIFE4HeatRecovery will also develop innovative financing mechanisms based on Public Private Partnerships and active participation models. This strategy moves towards leveraging private capital, incorporating customers, network owners and European interests.

As such, LIFE4HeatRecovery has a social dimension, creating new business opportunities and new participation, with the energy users assuming a focal position and becoming protagonists in the heating and cooling market.

“We are studying different business cases for our technology,” explains Fedrizzi, who acknowledges that though this is a complicated, early market place, there are several reasons to be optimistic about future success.

At the moment, the project is working at four demo sites: a foundry in Italy, a hospital and a detergents factory in the Netherlands, and a site in Germany where waste heat is being recovered from sewers from warm water that leaves domestic bathrooms.

Fedrizzi is confident that this work will deliver exciting results.

“By using real-life examples of waste heat recovery in action, companies will be making decisions at the local level that impact on their local area directly – reducing CO2, creating jobs, reducing heat islands and providing heat and hot water to homes.” 

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The rise of the PPA

finance provider, etc. One wind park owner successfully negotiating a corporate PPA told us that reaching an agreement on price was relatively easy, however, negotiating the rest of the terms had taken several Corporate power purchase agreements might not be a new phenomenon, months and a large number of lawyers.

An added challenge with corporate PPAs but the size and frequency of the deals have picked up in the last five can be the lack of experience in the oryears, says Kathrine Stene Bakke ganisations on both sides – neither project developers nor corpover 120 corporations across rate buyers necessarily the world purchased a total have energy markets of 13.4GW of renewable and contracts as part of energy on corporate PPAs their core business (as in 2018, according to opposed to the utility BloombergNEF. In Europe, the Nordics are normally facilitating leading the way. In Sweden, Norway and PPA negotiations). This Finland alone, Pöyry has recorded 8.6TWh/a can add to complexi(~2.9GW) of new corporate PPAs since the ties and prolong the summer of 2017, including what is said negotiation process. to be the world’s largest corporate PPA There is no standard (1.65TWh/a) as well as the world’s longest format for corporate (29 years) – both PPAs for Swedish wind PPAs (yet) availwith the Norwegian aluminium producer able – each contract Norsk Hydro as the purchaser. There is also is designed to fit the significant interest and activity in other needs of the particular markets, like in the Netherlands, UK and situation. It may thereAluminium smelters are an example of where PPAs offer Ireland. fore be challenging to long-term predictability Renewable support is moving away from understand the risk FiTs (Feed-in Tariffs) to more market-based and value implications models or even disappearing entirely so demand looking for long term suppliers of of the various contractual terms, both for developers must look for other means to around 20TWh/a over the next decade the negotiating parties and for banks and get the long-term cash flow predictability Buying electricity directly from a investors financing the deal. required to finance their investments. In renewable producer, with the PPA possibly Although the contracts may be bespoke, the absence of liquid, long-term financial being the enabler of the project, also the risks one needs to consider are fairly markets, PPAs are the obvious answer. PPAs gives the corporate buyer a big green and standard across projects. In Pöyry’s experihave traditionally been offered by utility sustainable stamp. This can be an important ence price and volume risk, basis risk, companies. The new, corporate buyers motivation for many companies in their counterparty risk and curtailment risk are offer diversification for suppliers and quest to reach ambitious environmental just a few issues which have potentially may sometimes be willing to offer longer targets and may even be worth more Kathrine Stene Bakke large value effects if not understood and duration than the utilities. than the power price itself in some cases. is senior principal at managed correctly.

Pöyry Still, one burning question is whether Interestingly, the offtaker Norsk Hydro A key question in some of the discussions there are enough potential offtakers able and claims that its recent contracts are driven Pöyry has with project developers is how to willing to take on the long commitments purely by economic considerations. Given get sufficient cash flow predictability to atrequired for the PPA to be profitable. Most the hydro dominated Nordic generation tract finance, while retaining some upsidecorporate energy consumers have a “budget mix, their alternative is already green, but potential at a time when expectations are period view” on their hedging, looking three at present wind generation offers the most that prices will increase in the long term. to five years ahead, which is of limited use competitive terms.

Striking the right balance between fixed from the perspective of financing a wind or volume commitments and merchant exsolar farm. What we observe in the Nordics Challenges to establish posure is challenging, and getting it wrong is that the PPA offtakers are corporates Despite their newfound popularity, may destroy value. Due to the intermittent that also need predictability for long term, establishing corporate PPAs is not without nature of wind and solar, the seller in a capital and power intensive investments challenges. The costs of negotiating a confixed volume PPA will have to buy power in – companies like Google, Facebook, Alcoa tract can be high, and the process is time the market to meet volume commitments and Norsk Hydro, facing large investments consuming. A PPA forms part of a compliin hours with low generation – when marin server parks or aluminium smelters. cated contractual structure, covering not ket prices tend to be high – and vice versa.

There may only be a few potential offtakers only the sale of electricity (and sometimes If the fixed volume commitment is set too in this category, but their energy potential related products such as green certificates high, the net price of the merchant volumes consumption is huge. Norwegian power and guarantees of origin), but also balancmay be significantly lower than both the intensive industry alone indicates that ing responsibility, the relationship with the observed market price and the estimated they will have an uncontracted electricity service provider and the grid company, the capture price for the specific technology. 

O

40 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

ESTA VIEWPOINT

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

Don’t forget UK business External pressures including legislative changes, Brexit and just staying in business leave organisations with little time to focus on the zero carbon target

T

he headline isn’t a quote from a wannabe Prime Minister, just a thought from a very frustrated director of a trade association.

Frustrated at the current state of play in the UK economy. There is absolutely no clear advice for business from the Government or potential leaders of the country in terms of Brexit, only soundbites from politicians trying to win party leadership contests.

This is accompanied by the dispensing of uncosted giveaways, and their seeking to disregard the impact on UK business of their proposed policy actions once they have gained the keys to Downing Street.

Trade associations must not be politically biased. My comments are merely intended to reflect the reality of the situation for UK business. I suspect that we are not alone in the trade association world, but ESTA raises subscription invoices throughout the year on the anniversary of the member joining.

This means that we get a ‘real time’ view of the economic situation in terms of the ‘we are struggling to pay this fee/justify our membership cost’ feedback.

So, as someone who has spent a lot of his working life running trade associations it has often been clear to me that there is so much focus on sector-specific work that the fact that the vast majority of the players are actual businesses can be easily forgotten.

As highlighted in last month’s column the Government is pushing hard to get SMEs to play their part in energy efficiency.

Since that column the zero-carbon target for 2050 has found its way into law. All very important indeed for the planet, but if organisations are spending all of their time dealing with the challenges of staying in business, trying to plan for a major, potentially game changing, exit from Europe, plus coping with a large number of sometimes very contradictory legislative changes, then what time do they have for energy efficiency and carbon reduction?

As I mentioned in my last column the positive incentives that existed to push business towards energy efficiency such as Enhanced Capital Allowances are being taken away with no real effort to replace them.

Businesses need carrots in addition to sticks.

My work at ESTA continues to be exciting and challenging. I am building support mechanisms for members, focusing on ways that we can help them win more business. I am also widening out areas of collaboration both in the UK and globally. India and Poland, among others, are on my radar.

I was very pleased indeed with my first ESTA conference/AGM. It was encouraging to see a lot of non-members (at least at the moment) in attendance. We gave the bulk of the day over to our behaviour change/ cognitive energy programme. Excellent

Mervyn Pilley is executive director of ESTA

speakers were met with excellent responses from a very receptive and informed audience. We know that a significant part of the solution for UK Government and organisations in reducing carbon use through energy efficiency is the currently largely ignored opportunities that lie in behaviour change.

Equipment and technological improvements, the current focus for most energy savings improvements, can lead to significant savings, but there is hard commercial evidence to show that the ‘hidden’ savings available from behaviour change can easily be equal to or can exceed these physical improvements.

To tackle climate change a holistic approach is required. We are building a bank of case studies on the ESTA website and the clear message on the day was that we urgently need more case studies where behaviour change programmes have worked, to prove our point to the doubters.

Ideally, savings should be IPMVP verified but all case studies will be accepted. We are also only too aware of the need for more qualified practitioners to deliver the programmes and we would urge everyone in the UK involved in delivering behaviour change programmes relating to energy efficiency to join ESTA so we can start working together.

ESTA’s vision is that cognitive energy will generate 10 per cent of energy reduction savings through behaviour change by 2025/30 (i.e. deliver at least 50 per cent of the UK’s clean growth 20 per cent target for energy efficiency. Please send any case studies to info@estaenergy.org.uk or get in touch with me at mervyn@estaenergy.org.uk if you wish to join ESTA and our programme.

ESTA has renamed its Lighting and Energy Savings Controls Group (LaESCg) to the Smart Buildings Group (SBG). We believe that this reflects the reality of the marketplace and look forward to welcoming back into group membership many who may have belonged to ESTA in the past.

I am also pleased to announce the creation of the Carbon Zero Association – a global membership body that will be seeking to do what it says on the tin.

I believe that the time is now for a membership body for individuals, businesses, NGOs, and charities etc to work together to create real action to achieve zero carbon. Watch this space and ESTA’s website for further news on this initiative.

However, if any readers want to get involved right from the start please contact me on the email above. 

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 41

Demand Side Response

Jack Christie is head of account management at KiWi Power

For further information on Kiwi Power visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 139

The right side of the law The Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) will have a dramatic impact on demand side response.

Jack Christie explains how businesses can stay on the right side of the law

N

ew legislation to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions from medium combustion plant affects tens of thousands of businesses across the UK but many still have little idea of what they need to do or by when in order to comply. Without appropriate action businesses could be at risk of breaking the law and find themselves facing enforcement action, including financial penalties.

The Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) was introduced by the EU in an effort to reduce pollution and improve air quality.

The Directive came into force on the 24th January 2018 and is designed to curb emissions from smaller combustion plant that hasn’t previously been subjected to the Large Combustion Plant Directive and Industrial Emissions Directive. It affects any plant with a thermal input between 1 and 50MW, including diesel generators, CHPs and boilers.

In addition to the MCPD, the governments of England and Wales have gone a step further and introduced Specified Generator Controls (SGC) which require certain types of plant to comply with stricter emissions limits in a tighter timescale. These affect an estimated 30,000 businesses in total. The regulations are complex and introduce different tranches of generation plant which must comply in different timeframes according to their emissions and operating hours.

The regulation is designed to directly tackle some of the most

The MCPD is designed to curb emissions from smaller combustion plant

damaging pollutants, including nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter.

The legalisation is impacting DSR participation dramatically.

Any business wishing to take part in STOR or the Capacity Market from October 2019 onwards needs to comply now. Triad participation will also be affected. While some businesses may be accustomed to running their generators at peaktime throughout the Triad season, this will no longer be possible without a permit.

Tranche A sites over 5MW are able to run for up to 50 hours without a permit (until 2025) – see table

below. This means they will have to use their 50 hours wisely and track their running hours to ensure they hit the Triads and comply with the legislation. This requires a steadfast regime that ensures sites are only called to respond to Triads when absolutely necessary.

Characteristics of the plant The compliance timeframes vary according to the characteristics of the plant (type, age, size, fuel type) and its operating hours, but eventually nearly all medium combustion plant will need to meet the specified Emissions Limit Value (ELV) and receive a permit. Diesel generators

MCPD Compliance deadline

Category

1 January 2019

Tranche B: All new generators and generators entering new DSR contracts

1 October 2019

Tranche A: An existing generator, or site with generators, over 5MW thermal input, over 500mg Nitrogen Dioxide (NOx), operating over 50 hours

1 January 2025

Tranche A: An existing generator, or site with generators, over 5MW thermal input, over 500mg NOx or operating 50 hours or fewer

1 January 2030

Tranche A: An existing generator, or site with generators, under 5MW thermal input

NB: For the 2025 and 2030 permitting deadlines emissions reporting will be required for one year in advance of receiving a permit

42 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

will require abatement technology to be fitted in order to achieve the ELV while CHP plant should be able to achieve it without abatement.

Permits are issued by the Environment Agency (or Scottish Environmental Protection Agency in Scotland or Natural Resources Wales in Wales).

An exemption exists for backup generators operating for on-site resilience only (up to a maximum of 50 hours over a rolling 12-month period) but this is lost if the generator enters into a Demand Side Response (DSR) programme.

The most cost-effective and fuelefficient abatement technology is Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR).

SCR is a means of converting NOx into nitrogen and water, and can reduce NOx emissions by up to 99%.

The technology is straightforward to install and can be retrofitted to different engine surroundings.

Nevertheless, it is an expensive process per unit and can cost between £60-100k so it is important to examine the business case carefully and understand the costbenefit of continued participation in DSR programmes.

Companies such as KiWi Power offer a complete MCPD service to guide businesses through the compliance process. With MCPD expertise and extensive knowledge of site generation assets they can advise on the best route to compliance and offer a comprehensive turn-key solution, working with specialist abatement, financing and permitting partners.

The MCPD is an important piece of legislation that will enable businesses to play their part in improving health and air quality across the UK. As a first step, businesses must ensure they understand how the legislation impacts them and what they must do to comply. Only then can they develop an appropriate strategy to maximise the value of these assets, demonstrate the return on investment from abatement, and meet their legal obligations. 

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Demand Side Response For further information on Good Energy visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 148

BAFTA shines spotlight on sustainability As attitudes towards clean energy are changing, the entertainment industry is rethinking its role in reducing emissions he UK’s creative industries are very demanding. Hundreds of hours of film, TV, and theatrical productions each year require an enormous amount of power. Just think lights, camera, action.

In 2018, emissions from energy use across the sector stood at 44,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide which, while still high, has come down from 67,500 tonnes in 2013. Sustainability concerns have clearly grown in prominence among the UK’s many creative organisations. BAFTA, through its albert programme, has been a key driver in raising awareness across the industry.

The Creative Energy Project, in partnership with Good Energy, is one of its success stories. The initiative was set up as a way of changing electricity use in the industry to become cleaner and more affordable, offering companies 100 per cent, UK-sourced renewable power at a competitive price. The growing number of firms joining the project since it was established in 2016 shows environmental awareness and enthusiasm is high.

Roser Canela-Mas, BAFTA’s sustainability manager, explains: “The main benefits for companies in joining the project is we source all the energy together which brings the price down; plus they are doing good for the planet so it is a win-win.”

The project also provides businesses with the tools and advice to further reduce their carbon footprint. One of those beneficiaries has been Band Studios, a Bristol-based production company, which has been with Good Energy for over four years. Band recognised that the creative industries value a company which has strong sustainability credentials, and that they could win more work by going green.

Pete Martin, Band Studio’s managing director, comments: “Being part of the Creative Energy project and with Good Energy has certainly been great for our customers and great for us as a business.”

Going 100 per cent renewable was key to Band obtaining certification from albert that its production work is sustainable. The stamp is increasingly seen at the end of TV programmes, with recent achievements made by EastEnders, Have I Got News for You, and Downton Abbey.

“It makes me really happy when I hear successful stories, like Band Films joining the project. It makes me realise how much we can empower organisations,” adds Canela-Mas.

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Demand Side Response

Graham Oxley is ENGIE’s managing director of energy with services

For further information on ENGIE visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 140

Flexibility reaps rewards Organisations need to adapt to the fast-changing market for demand-side response if they are to take full advantage of the opportunities available. Graham Oxley explains

T

he market for demand-side response (DSR) services is changing fast. Lower prices for many National Grid services mean that previously lucrative options now offer significantly lower returns. The growth in intermittent renewable generation and a greater reliance on continental interconnectors to supply the UK’s energy mean that response services need to be faster than ever, with National Grid trying hard to attract a wider range of participants. At the same time, a flattening of Distribution Use of System (DUoS) and other charges has significantly reduced the returns offered by Triad avoidance and reduced the incentive for loadshedding during peak periods.

The old bilateral Frequency Control by Demand Management (FCDM) service has been phased out in favour of shorter-term, auctionbased services. The latest of these – Response Auction Trial – was launched in June. It involves weekly auctions for week-long frequency response contracts. Interested participants bid into the auctions for the four-hour electricity forward agreement periods during the following week in which they wish to make their load available. It’s an extremely flexible service that enables participants to decide on a weekly basis when they want to take part – or at least bid into the auction.

Previous versions of frequency response required participants to predict their demand-management or generation capabilities months in advance.

The service is on a two-year trial, with further modifications in the pipeline. Currently, when participants are triggered to respond, they must maintain their response for 30 minutes. National Grid wants to offer shorter response periods, of ten or even five minutes. It also wants to trial day-ahead and even withinday auctions over the next three years. For participants, the problem of an auction-based system is that

any response is 20 minutes, giving participants the opportunity to test their load-management capabilities while earning both availability and utilisation fees. However, the popularity of the service means it is heavily oversubscribed, and prices for participation have plummeted in recent years. Some participants even offer their capacity for free, which has significantly depressed revenueearning possibilities through this service. So, what opportunities remain for businesses keen to use their demand flexibility or spare generation capacity to participate in DSR services?

Uncertainty has grown around the possible profitability of several demand response services

Multiple payment options

there are no guarantees of securing a contract each week – unlike previous longer-term bilateral contracts.

It adds to the uncertainty around participation in these demand-side services.

One option is to stack multiple compatible services, in order to benefit from the multiple payment options on offer. For example, STOR participation can be combined with Capacity Market participation, since both services are very unlikely to be called upon at the same time.

Specialist aggregators, like ENGIE, are also looking at opportunities for customers to participate in the wholesale electricity market’s balancing mechanism. Previously, only large-scale generators and energy suppliers could participate in this mechanism, but changes are planned for late 2019. These could open up the balancing mechanism to demand-side participants, offering new opportunities for businesses to generate revenue from their demand flexibility.

The message for any business interested in earning revenue from DSR opportunities today is that flexibility is key. Your first priority should be to identify any flexible capacity within your operations. This could be an ability to reduce demand from processes instantaneously, to ramp up generators or to switch to battery power at short notice. Once you have identified your flexible capacity, you need to determine how quickly you are able to respond.

Finally, calculate the cost to your business of responding in this way. 

Changing the rules Changes in DUoS and other charges are making Triad avoidance a less lucrative option than ever before.

Ofgem has proposed changing the rules for Triad import charges so that instead of being based on how much energy a business consumes during these peak periods, they are based on the amount of capacity connected to the grid. This would mean the same flat rate charge would apply to a given business, regardless of how much it consumed during Triad periods. Consequently, there will be no incentive for businesses to reduce demand during Triads. As a result, National Grid must find different ways to incentivise businesses to load-shed during peak periods, to avoid significant constraints on the network.

Participation in demand-side reserve services is also under pressure. The Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) introduced in late 2018 set out sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOX) and dust emission limits for generators smaller than 50W (rated thermal

44 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

input). Most diesel generators exceed these NOx limits, and costly modifications are required to clean them up.

By January 2019, diesel generators that did not comply with the NOx emissions threshold were barred from participation in National Grid DSR services. The necessary modification costs for diesel generators are around £60,000/ MW – far more than a generator can earn through DSR participation – so many businesses opted not to invest in the modifications. This has had a major impact on the DSR market, particularly short-term operating reserve (STOR), which relies heavily on the participation of medium-sized responsive generators.

STOR remains an important service for National Grid. It is often the entry point for businesses considering DSR participation. The notice period for

Vincent de Rul is director of energy solutions at EDF Energy

Demand Side Response For further information on EDF Energy visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 142

Get smarter with DSR Don’t be daunted by DSR. Vincent de Rul explains why all energy managers can consider taking part in demand side response activities

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nergy flexibility is one of the best opportunities for today’s energy manager.

Being flexible in how and when you consume energy can help create new ways to make energy savings, increase revenue, contribute to low carbon targets, and support the integration of more low carbon electricity to the grid.

There is a number of simple steps businesses can take to work towards greater energy flexibility, including new ways to manage energy consumption and options such as contribution to grid services – all ways in which to optimise their demand responsively. A lot of businesses are daunted when they hear the term ‘demand side response’, but essentially it is an umbrella term for the many different ways in which flexibility can be monetised or used to reduce expenditure.

With DSR schemes, businesses are rewarded for flexing their energy – whether that’s committing to a small shift or reduction in demand – or making a bigger switch to onsite generation.

With the help of an ‘energy optimiser’ like EDF Energy, through our PowerShift platform, businesses can then automatically sell excess energy back to the grid during times of peak demand, freeing energy for the rest of society at times when demand threatens to exceed supply.

The process begins with identifying the business’ existing flexibility assets; one of the main benefits of DSR is usually no upfront investment is required to set up, as sites often have assets that can already be optimised. This could be anything from working out whether the air conditioning unit which keeps the main atrium cool can be turned off for 30 minutes without affecting the temperature of the area, or finding an industrial process that can be paused during times of peak energy

Comparing this analysis with the performance criteria and operational parameters of the building, the partner and building operator will agree upfront any DSR commitments.

Once the programme is up and running, the building operator or asset owner will always maintain overall control of any DSR programme. In order to make this control easier, many DSR providers have partnerships with building energy management system providers, or with controls partners such as Upside Energy, who can help to automate the DSR schemes based on these agreed commitments.

DSR offers two main benefits

One of the main benefits of DSR is that usually no upfront investment is required

demand, without interrupting the operation.

Another way in which our teams do this is by identifying any existing assets such as backup generators that can produce revenue without the need to invest in and install new generation assets.

Wider adoption of storage There are many opportunities to flex and save without energy storage assets, but there is no question that wider adoption of energy storage will enable more businesses to participate in DSR programmes – and that DSR programmes can help with the economics of acquiring storage by optimising the asset to its max.

A common concern preventing businesses from taking part in DSR is the fear that it will disrupt their day-to-day operation. When implemented well, a building’s operational guidelines are at the heart of the programme, which means the job of the building – whether that is manufacturing a product or keeping its occupants comfortable – is always the main priority and always maintained.

And actually, through tools such as our PowerShift platform, the

‘Storage assets can open up a highly reliable way for businesses to be more flexible with their energy consumption’

energy manager stays in control of the asset.

Storage assets can open up a highly reliable way for businesses to be more flexible with their energy consumption, while completely eliminating any concerns about the impact of DSR on business-critical operations.

During the initial set-up phase, the DSR partner will analyse the building’s half-hourly energy usage data to identify the opportunities for flexible consumption. In this case, assets that are not using all the energy they generate or store, or energy-intensive operations that can be paused or moved out of peak energy hours are the best options.

At the simplest level, DSR offers businesses two benefits – cost avoidance and revenue generation – in fact, it has been estimated that British energy users could save between £2.9bn and £8.1bn a year by 2030 through flexibility.1 But focusing on the economic benefits fails to recognise an important, wider societal benefit.

In order to meet our country’s carbon reduction targets, we need to increase the proportion of our energy that comes from low-carbon sources. However, the production of renewable energy – such as wind and solar – is unreliable and therefore increases the fluctuations in our energy system. DSR plays a crucial role in achieving a more balanced system where supply meets demand.

To achieve a more stable future, government continues to incentivise businesses to become more flexible with schemes available for those considering the uptake of DSR. Given almost every building has an asset or spare capacity that can generate profit, and support is readily available for those ready to make the change, there really is no reason for energy managers to not take advantage of the many opportunities which fall under the umbrella term DSR. 

Reference 1) Smart Power, Energy report by National Infrastructure Commission, March 2016

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 45

Demand Side Response For further information on GridBeyond visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 141

Convergence is here Energy and operational services are beginning to converge with demand side response, says Michael Phelan. Collaboration between technology suppliers will follow to create bespoke energy plans

T

raditional demand side response (DSR) is converging with enhanced energy and operational services. Balancing services markets are moving closer to the time of use (for example, the recent launch of the weekly firm frequency response (FFR) auctions). Energy trading is starting to take off, and operations are increasingly part of the puzzle in creating the most efficient and costeffective business cases.

As automation is increasingly prevalent in all areas of industry, energy technology needs to be more sophisticated, cover more ground, and take into consideration the interoperability of every area of business.

We’ve come a long way since the emergence of peak avoidance schemes, the slow-reacting STOR markets and the introduction of energy efficiency and reduction programmes. Industrial and commercial users need to keep costs down to stay in line with highly competitive markets, and the grid has needed to keep up with rising renewable generation.

The UK’s targets to decarbonise, decentralise and digitalise greatly affect industry. New net-zero carbon legislation means that there will be little choice but to comply with new emission reduction programmes.

While some companies are already participating in some form of DSR, the drastic changes to the grid and to national policy mean there are new ways for large-scale industrial and commercial businesses to participate in energy markets. But how can these be amalgamated and combined with wider energy and operational strategies?

Not all DSR technology is created equal. Very few technology providers combine DSR with energy and operational services such as scheduling automations, energy monitoring and metering, trading, storage management, asset efficiency automations, production efficiency

automations, predictive maintenance, fault-finding, analytics, reporting and more. I&C want more from their providers, and the convergence of energy-related services as a whole has been a trend in 2019. There are partnerships being formed between suppliers and DSR technology providers. For example, GridBeyond recently partnered with business energy supplier Haven, and the construction and maintenance arm of the DNO Electricity North West.

Additional energy services Energy services is a broad term, but can be defined as the additional energy-related services that can be leveraged using energy technology.

Common services are metering, energy analytics, trading, compliance services and demand side response.

46 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

The services that can be delivered and the efficiencies and savings that can be accessed are dependent on the sophistication of the technology, and the company delivering the services.

Energy services are more than a product, and supersede hardware or software. For optimised results, energy services typically require a consultative approach from a provider, such as GridBeyond. The team behind the technology should be able to create bespoke energy services plan for your business, and deliver human expertise alongside the technology deliverables.

Energy consumption data can tell us a lot about the health of an asset. By understanding the regular patterns of consumption, and adding this to scheduling or processing data, anomalies can be recognised and, with technology, can be automatically acted

Michael Phelan is CEO and co-founder of GridBeyond

upon and efficiencies created.

By using energy monitoring to identify patterns, businesses can plan to avoid and mitigate the risks with planned and unplanned maintenance as well as improve scheduling efficiencies and hit KPIs. By measuring the energy use of an asset, we can build a complex energy profile. By collating this data, and combining aggregated data from similar assets, machine learning technology identifies patterns and decides whether there is a risk that the asset will fail, and can provide alerts.

By connecting your assets to advanced monitoring systems, machine learning algorithms find patterns in consumption which form the basis for efficiency and maintenance profiles. By ascertaining energy flexibility, equipment can be more energy efficient, and by ascertaining production and processing schedules, operational efficiencies can be created and savings optimised.

For example, GridBeyond works with refrigeration plants to install additional smart sensors to ascertain the cost incurred every time a fridge or freezer door is opened. The platform then uses that data, plus scheduling and forecasted energy costs, to work out how to most efficiently operate.

These decisions are made within split seconds and are immediately, automatically acted upon.

Engagement in the automation and digitalisation involved in the Industry 4.0 movement is now a necessity for industrial and commercial sites. With that, the measurement, monitoring, automation and control of energy are imperative to streamlining and optimising processes, as well as enhancing profitability and sustainability.

The patterns emerging from machine learning technologies are used to improve on-site overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and predictive maintenance. The interoperability of machines, devices, sensors (and humans for that matter) is unavoidable in every area of industry. Energy and operations are no different. From m2m communication, to artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data, the connected organisation is here.

Energy and operations are intrinsically linked. To maximise one, the other must integrate. 

VIEW FROM THE TOP

Colin Calder is CEO of PassivSystems Ltd

The hybrid route to flexibility Colin Calder believes it’s more efficient to use domestic boilers as peaking plant than a power station.

He explained to EiBI how a prototype project in Wales could be a blueprint for the future

F

lexibility will be the key to opening up the UK energy market and allowing consumers to take control. And Colin Calder’s vision doesn’t stop there. The CEO of PassivSystems believes that putting in place a much smarter energy system with hybrid heating systems could save the UK economy £15bn a year. “The net outcome is that we would halve consumers’ bills,” he told EiBI. “And that’s at today’s prices with the added bonus that we will have helped decarbonise.”

This vision for the future is not one that has been thrown together but the careful culmination of the work the Calder has achieved since he set up the company ten years ago. It has grown to be a leading provider of smart energy platforms to help consumers manage assets such as solar PV and district heating more efficiently. “We are now the UK’s leading roof-top solar asset management company,” he stated.

The idea for a layer of technology between the energy system and the consumers came about after Calder examined the smart meter rollout in Italy.

“The country was well ahead of everyone.

But one of the most important things about smart meters is to discourage energy use when it is most in demand, typically winter evenings between 5 and 8pm. But the Italian government was opposed to time-of-use pricing due to the fear of civil unrest. But it got me thinking that we need demand flexibility.”

One of the company’s first products was a smart thermostat. “What it does is learn about the thermodynamic model of your home,” he stated. “How is it going to behave in the next 48 hours? Then we create a demand profile, work out the flexibility value and see how much we can timeshift the demand without comfort being impaired.”

The next stage of the journey towards Calder’s flexible vision of the future has been the Freedom project. PassivSystems has installed more than half of the planned 75 hybrid heating systems in private and social housing properties in Bridgend, south Wales as part of a £5.2m innovation

Calder: 'we need to put money behind hybrids'

‘The capacity market needs reforms to recognise that 90% of homes could act as peaking plant’ project designed to prove the economic benefits of providing a flexible choice between fuels for heating.

Implications of hybrid heating systems The Freedom project measured the consumer, network and energy system implications of hybrid heating system deployments, where domestic heating systems had the option of operating using a standard gas boiler, an air source heat pump (ASHP), or both.

Freedom also demonstrated how hybrid heat systems can significantly lower running costs for consumers – both on and off the gas grid – while improving comfort levels.

The project further showed how hybrid heating can help to decarbonise domestic heating with no increase in peak load, if operating within the context of a demand ‘flexibility’ solution that is designed specifically for householders. “Using smart controls has give a 23 per cent reduction alone in energy consumption,” added Calder. “We now need to do this at scale.”

“What the Freedom project demonstrated was that if all flexibility came from hybrids then we will deliver £15bn of savings a year,” added Calder. “Those are made up through greater efficiency and less reinforcement of the network and 25 per cent less nuclear and wind. All through smart controls and turning

the boiler into the peaking plant. A hybrid heating system requires far fewer interventions in the home than a heat pump. Just put a unit on the outside of the building, connect to the existing wet system, change any radiators, and when the heat pump can’t cope you go back to the boiler. The utilisation of the boiler goes down to around 20 per cent.”

If the hybrid revolution can come about there needs to be a mass roll out.

The Committee on Climate Change has endorsed a target of 10m hybrid systems in homes by 2035. “That’s 630,000 a year,” said Calder. “Let’s say we go for a more cautious 300,000 a year. That’s only 20 per cent of boiler replacements – hardly ambitious but manufacturers will be able cost optimise and we will have products designed and manufactured for the UK market at a competitive price.”

The installation costs are not an issue, believes Calder. “As the added cost of an air source heat pump installation is around £2,000 and an ASHP should last 15 years then that is about an extra £150 a year.

So the question we have to ask ourselves is that if hybrids are installed across 27m homes what is the value per household and would it be sufficient to fund the £150 year difference. The answer is, of course, yes.”

But the government has to make reforms to the market, believes Calder. “If the team in BEIS that is empowered to deal with heat decarbonisation could see that they need to make reforms to the capacity market to recognise that the 90 per cent of UK homes that have gas and electricity could act as peaking plant when the grid is under stress.

We can then breach the price difference to go from high to low carbon and have an outcome that is good for everyone. ”We can move from a high subsidy level, which is where we are today with the Renewable Heat Incentive, to zero levels as the volumes are ramped up.”

Calder believes that there is a danger the Government could turn too much attention to solar, batteries and nuclear.

“We now need to put money behind hybrids. We can see from the data where it takes us. The Freedom project has given us some real foundations.” 

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 47

EIBI_0719_048-049 Directory_EiBI Directory nov 10 2 09/07/2019 14:36 Page 48

DIRECTORY CONTACTS To advertise in this section contact classified sales on Tel: 01889 577222 Email: classified@eibi.co.uk

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Air Conditioning

Software provides cooling recommendations EkkoSense, monitoring and simulation specialist for critical live environments, has introduced ‘Cooling Advisor’ capability as part of its major new EkkoSoft Critical V5 SaaS software release.

Cooling Advisor builds on EkkoSoft Critical’s proven real-time data centre M&E Capacity Planning and Simulation functionality by providing operations teams with specific cooling performance recommendations and advisory actions to monitor, manage and maximise their data centre’s operational performance. By following Cooling Advisor’s advice, organisations should secure ongoing average data centre cooling energy savings of 10 per cent – without the requirement for specialist data centre thermal optimisation services.

Once EkkoSoft Critical’s Cooling Advisor mode is selected, Cooling Advisor works to identify data centre floor tiles or grilles that need changing, provides guidance on immediate adjustments to cooling set points, and also advises on those CRAHs (Computer Room Air Handlers) that aren’t actively cooling, are in competition or that could be suspended or modified respectively. By effectively translating PhD level thermal analysis into simple, easy to understand recommendations, Cooling Advisor helps ensure that data centres stay optimised despite the daily operational activity, moves, adds and changes and other business drivers that can quickly work to unravel previous optimisation efforts within a data centre.

“With Cooling Advisor we’re introducing the world’s first advisory capability built right into the heart of a thermal optimisation software solution. Uniquely, this allows our EkkoSoft Critical platform to provide data centre teams with clear recommended actions that will help maximise their data centre’s operational performance,” commented EkkoSense CTO, Dr Stu Redshaw.

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Teamwork leads to wireless light management Tridonic and Casambi have teamed up to develop a new innovative wireless light management solution. Tridonic’s basicDIM Wireless system based on Casambi’s Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology offers an interconnected and interoperable solution for the hassle-free wireless connectivity of luminaires.

To exploit the benefits of the basicDIM Wireless system, luminaires can either be fitted with Casambi Ready Tridonic LED drivers or later be easily upgraded with basicDIM Wireless Modules. Interoperable basicDIM Wireless Sensors are the ideal addition to the system as they enable daylight management and presence detection.

The Casambi Ready basicDIM Wireless technology enables energy savings in open-plan offices, design flexibility for conference rooms, personalised lighting for offices and the control to illuminate spaces with a soft or energising light.

“In the last couple of years, Casambi’s wireless lighting control technology based on Bluetooth Low Energy has become established as a leading platform for innovative controls. Pairing Casambi’s technology with our long-standing expertise in the development of lighting components has resulted in a flexible and versatile new system that benefits every player in the lighting industry,” concluded Bert Tuyt, senior director global systems at Tridonic.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 106

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Air Movement Solutions

Boilers

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JULY/AUGUST 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 49

TALKING HEADS James Tiernan

James Tiernan, is group energy and environment manager for student accommodation company Unite Students

A higher degree of influence Saving energy in student accommodation is only half the job. James Tiernan tells EiBI’s Sam Jackson how he’d like to help the next generation of graduates wake up to energy saving in life post-graduation

O

pportunity is a key phrase in the vocabulary of an energy manager. James Tiernan, group energy and environment manager for student accommodation company Unite Students, believes his firm has a unique opportunity – it can help the next generation to understand the importance of saving energy and reducing their impact on the planet.

This broad view of the impact of energy use was one of the reasons Tiernan was awarded this year’s Energy Management Leader of the Year Award. “Getting this recognition helps push efficiency up the agenda inside your own organisation.”

Tiernan sees the opportunity to influence students’ behaviour for many years to come. “If we can help them by providing the facilities and the nudge to adopt a positive energy lifestyle, not only does that benefit Unite Students by reducing the energy and carbon consumed while they live in our estate, it is something they will take forward.”

He explains that although energy management in the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) arena comes with similar challenges that are present in other industries, such as the private rental and hospitality sectors, he was faced with a set of unique circumstances. Included in these were the stark differences in how the buildings across Unite's estate, which spans 22 UK cities and houses 50,000 students, behaved.

“There was a misconception when I arrived at the company that all our buildings were the same. They all hold students, but as soon as you scratch the surface and look at the detail of the building, they are all different and unique.

“There are certain similarities such as the fact that they all need heat and water, but size, age, construction, location and other factors all affect a building.

Explaining the differences can be challenging and was at the beginning.

“The data that we have to analyse is

James Tiernan celebrates winning the 2019 Energy Management Leader Award

‘What we've been doing for years is a positive messaging approach’ also different. Whereas some people have a limited number of large loads, we have hundreds of thousands of small loads. When I joined Unite, it was not cost effective to try and meter and log the consumption of those small loads, such as hot water heaters, room heaters, cookers and ventilation, as they are all individual. That situation has improved with the rise of IoT.” These variables meant that it was important for Tiernan to address problems with the more consistent energy features, including the need for a strong centralised energy solution.

“When I joined, just 20 per cent of the estate had a central plant of some description, whether that was for hot water, heating or a combination of the two. That has risen over the time I have been here. We now have 40 per cent of our homes operating off of a central plant,” he says.

Renovation of lighting Another issue that became quickly evident was lighting. “Many of the fixtures were fluorescents and older lighting technology that was approximately 10 to 15 years old, a mix of different brands and temperatures and also in various states of disrepair,” Tiernan states.

Unite has rolled out a comprehensive renovation of its entire lighting system, installing LEDs and sensors across its portfolio.

In addition, a much more detailed level of metering has been implemented across its estate, meaning that Tiernan could implement more targeted measures to individual properties, recognise trends and ultimately save energy through the use of data.

50 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | JULY/AUGUST 2019

Tiernan has been able to combine numerous projects in order to convert £30m worth of investment into a 24 per cent reduction in scope one and two emissions since 2014 and numerous energy cost savings, including a £2m saving on electricity alone, with a further £10m of investment planned for this year.

Nevertheless, Tiernan remains proud of something that not all energy managers have the chance to do; help students adjust their attitudes towards energy efficiency.

“PBSA students pay all inclusive rent; therefore they don’t recognise financial implications of the energy they use.

Trying to incentivise these students to use less energy is a challenge. Improving the efficiency of buildings and changing attitudes are inextricably linked; they are two sides of the same coin,” Tiernan comments.

“We’ve looked at numerous different approaches to affecting behavioural change. What we’ve been doing for years is a positive messaging approach.

We have been providing students with information, promoting and encouraging the type of behaviours the students should be following in order to adopt sustainable and responsible living habits that will stay with them not only during their time in our properties but throughout their lifetime.”

It is a long-term ambition for Tiernan and the company as a whole to be able to measure and quantify the impact of this behavioural change beyond students’ time living in Unite’s estate.

“The emissions we can influence while students live with us pale into insignificance when compared to their footprint over five or ten years after they leave. What we’d love to be able to do is maintain some kind of engagement with students when they move on from us.

We could then help them to continually improve their performance and be advocates of sustainable living as they move forward in their lives.” 

EIBI_0719_002-052 Edit_Layout 1 08/07/2019 14:25 Page 51

9-10 October 2019 • Olympia • London

MAKING YOUR BUILDING SMARTER Smart Buildings Show is the largest free to attend commercial smart building conference and exhibition in the UK. Keep up to date with the latest innovations and technologies Meet the leading suppliers to the market Find new partners and business opportunities Network with your peers from other organisations Speakers* include: Microsoft, Google, WeWork, CityFibre, ENGIE UK, Bluetooth SIG, WSP, Honeywell, Siemens, Tridium, CommScope, Verdantix & IBM Exhibitors* include: Schneider Electric, Beckhoff, Johnson Controls, Wireless Infrastructure Group, Resource Data Management, Priva, Helvar, Siemens, One SightSolutions, Synapsys & Allied Telesis * Correct at time of going to press

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