March 2021 EIBI

MARCH 2021

PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

www.eibi.co.uk

In this issue Heating Technology Smart Buildings Water Treatment & Management Electric Vehicles CPD Module: Boilers & Burners

Cut wastage, cut carbon Begin tackling your water waste

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Smart and agile A new approach to decarbonising heating

Early warning How carbon dioxide sensors can go further

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MARCH 2021

PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

www.eibi.co.uk

In this issue Heating Technology Smart Buildings Water Treatment & Management Electric Vehicles CPD Module: Boilers & Burners

Cut wastage, cut carbon Begin tackling your water waste

Smart and agile A new approach to decarbonising heating

Contents

www.eibi.co.uk

Early warning How carbon dioxide sensors can go further

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04/03/2021 18:53

MARCH 2021

33

34

FEATURES

10

Heating Technology Don’t assume your boiler is operating at maximum efficiency. Tony Willis examines how the problem of dry cycling can be easily be overlooked – and rectified

24

Nick Sacke looks at the ways in which IoT can be used to create smarter, safer social housing. But clever and careful planning is required (29)

Heat pumps and hydrogen might play their part but Daniel Burton believes a smart and agile approach to decarbonising heating may be called for (13)

21 Electric Vehicles

Matthew Hawkridge looks at how remote telemetry units can play a part in creating the smart, efficient cities that will be global feature in the coming years Graham Martin looks at how carbon dioxide sensors could give a first warning about the spread of coronavirus (26)

Heat pumps have a vital role to play in the energy mix of the future but end users must ensure that natural refrigerants are part of the mix to mitigate global warming, says Tim Mitchell (12)

Hitting a target of zero-carbon homes is a huge challenge.

Rupert Kazlauciunas looks at the obstacles to be overcome and its implications for the heating industry (14)

Smart Buildings

The move from fossil fuels to low carbon electric heating and electric vehicles will make accurate electricity metering critical, says William Darby (30)

32

Water Treatment and Management

As the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicle sales approaches fleet operators are moving to electric vehicles.

Lucy Simpson explains the key factors in making the switch

Vinayak Subramanyam examines how smart water management is keeping industry compliant and driving down expenditure for industry

Steve Gardner shares his thoughts on how electric vehicles will fit into the Government’s Ten Point Plan sustainability initiative (22)

Scott MacIndeor examines how reducing use of water can have a knock-on effect on an organisation’s drive to reduce emissions (33)

REGULARS 06 News Update

23 ESTA Viewpoint The key to promoting the energy efficiency agenda this year will be working together, believes Mervyn Pilley

Concerns are raised over UK emissions trading scheme while Treasury claws back unspent funds from Green Homes Grant

31 Products in Action

09 The Warren Report Sustainable Warmth is the latest fuel poverty strategy. Launched without fanfare, it does little to inspire confidence that this scourge on our homes will be eliminated soon

16 New Products A new range of flow meters is now available in wall-mounted format.

A series of online discussions is launched to discuss smart buildings

17 The Fundamental Series: CPD Learning Boilers are an essential part of any building. Paul Stevenson examines ways to improve the efficiency of your system

Replacing inverters integrated into OEM-built pump booster sets with externally wall-mounted variable speed drives (VSDs), has saved a more than £20,000

34 Talking Heads Taking the reins of any company during the pandemic would have tested any new managing director but Karen Boswell has set out a clear vision for the future of Baxi Heating

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 MARCH 2021 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 03

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Editor’s Opinion

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

Learning the three Es

W

hether we like it or not the era of the electric car is fast approaching. More and more vehicle manufacturers are making the pledge to produce nothing but EVs within just a few years. The speed at which they are going to have to retrain their staff and ensure that plant and equipment is ready for full-scale roll out is something to be admired.

There is decisiveness about the direction of travel from the industry that should be praised.

One of the problems with the transition to electric vehicles will be the cost of the EVs themselves. Currently, the cost of an EV is way beyond the reach of most consumers, leading to fears that there could be a boom in second-hand car sales in the coming years. But as the industry is moving so fast and production will ramp up then those costs will start coming down.

If only the picture were as simple in the energy sector. At the moment the debate about which way we should turn in the commercial and domestic energy markets seems to centre around whether it’s going to be hydrogen or heat pumps. Of course, nobody has any real idea and the best thing to say is that it’s going to be a mixture of the two.

The big hope is hydrogen. Gas companies

want to believe that hydrogen has a role to play in decarbonising the UK’s heat networks.

Hydrogen, if produced from natural gas with carbon capture and storage or from wind and solar power via electrolysis, is touted as a lowcarbon or even fully renewable alternative to natural gas in future.

Various pilot projects are under way across the UK, but the timelines are long and the way forward uncertain. Centrica believes hydrogen is part of the mix but admits the technology to produce it cleanly is more than ten years away from domestic use and its costs are unknown.

To take a punt on hydrogen being the miracle answer is far too risky. What would not be acceptable to anybody is a huge increase in energy bills as the cost of producing hydrogen soars. Simply keeping the British stock of property the way it is and replacing natural gas with hydrogen can’t be the way forward. There needs to be significant improvements in energy efficiency first and then follow the car industry’s decisive move towards electrification. Future is spelled with three Es: Energy Efficiency, Electrification.

MANAGING EDITOR

Mark Thrower

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

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

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

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

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

THIS MONTH’S COVER STORY Being more sustainable when it comes to your organisation’s impact on the environment may sound hard to do.

However, thinking around your approach and how you use water can make a substantial difference to your green goals, including working towards net zero and beyond. Using hot and cold water more effectively is good for businesses, public sector and community groups and charities too. It can directly impact the bottom line and your running costs as well as cut your carbon emissions.

Scott MacIndeor examines how reducing use of water can have a knock-on effect on an organisation’s drive to reduce emissions See page 33 for more details Photo courtesy of Water Plus

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 2020 11,721

04 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | MARCH 2021

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

Green finance centre for Leeds and London The government is to make available £10m funding for new green finance research hubs in a bid to position Leeds and London as “global centres for green finance.”

The new UK Centre for Green Finance and Investment will begin work in April 2021. The physical hubs will open their doors several months later, led by a number of UK institutions including the University of Oxford, the University of Leeds and Imperial College London.

Energy minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the UK won’t reach its net-zero target without “mobilising private capital and unleashing the power of the free market,” adding the new hubs will encourage financial services to “turn the tide of their investments and focus on sectors and companies that have a smaller environmental footprint.”

The hubs will provide data and analytics to financial institutions and services such as banks, lenders, investors and insurers around the world to better support their investment and business decisions by considering the impact on the environment.

The UK Centre for Green Finance and Investment will provide banks with the latest environmental and scientific intelligence to help companies of all sizes anticipate and adapt to the risks posed by climate change, the government said, adding that the research will also help to create new products and services that tackle climate change.

It is hoped the two hubs will attract and develop new green finance talent from around the world.

GREEN HOMES GRANT

Treasury takes back unspent funds The government’s Green Homes Grant scheme will continue in England during the next financial year. But the intention remains that all unspent grant money allocated for this year -reckoned to be worth over £1,000m - will be returned to the Treasury at the end of this month. This leftover sum would not be ring-fenced for any future energy saving programmes.

The scheme offers subsidy grants of up to £5,000 to individual householders, covering up to twothirds of the costs of installing a limited range of renewable energy and energy-saving devices.

A fortnight before the March 3 budget, headlines in the Times newspaper had announced that Chancellor Rishi Sunak (right) would be announcing the scrapping of the entire scheme from this April. This prompted an outpouring of protests from a wide variety of sources. These included the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, the

Trades Union Congress, the entire environmental movement, insulation and solar industry businesses, the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party, plus a range of newspaper editorials. It also incurred the wrath of the Committee on Climate Change’s influential chairman, Lord Deben.

Most concentrated upon the fact that only 30,000 homes had yet been improved. Last July, Sunak had promised that his £2bn programme would benefit 600,000 homes and generate some 100,000 jobs.

In the end, in his budget speech,

Sunak made no reference at all to the scheme. This means that the £320m budget he announced last December for the scheme for the financial year 2021/2022 is set to go ahead.

According to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the main reason why so many fewer homes would benefit than anticipated from this “Build Back Better” scheme - which he touted to the United Nations - was because of lack of consumer demand, largely owing to COVID-19 fears.

Others have ascribed the slow progress to incompetent administration, the limited range of accepted products, and the scarcity of registered installers.

Business Department officials had rejected proposals to utilise existing accreditation schemes overseen by established trade associations. Instead, they insisted that any installers wishing to participate would be required to join the previously obscure Trustmark scheme.

Trevelyan takes the reins as Kwarteng moves up The promotion of energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng to the Cabinet as Business Secretary of State has led to the appointment of a new minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan (left). She now oversees Business, Energy and Clean Growth.

A graduate of Oxford Poly and then a chartered accountant with PwC, Mrs Trevelyan became an MP in 2015, winning Berwick upon Tweed from the Liberal Democrats, who had held it for 42 years. Her previous Ministerial experience was as a Defence Minister, and then as Secretary of State for International Development. Last year she was put in charge of adaptation and resilience policies pertinent to the COP26 in Glasgow.

She left the Cabinet last September when that Department was closed, but returned this year as a Minister of State, an unusual demotion. Prior to her appointment, she was a vocal supporter of gas fracking, and of Brexit.

Also heavily involved as an energy minister is the former MEP for north-east England (including Berwick) Lord Malcolm Callanan, particularly as there are many members of the Upper House concerned about energy saving policy The Labour team is headed up by Doncaster MP Ed Miliband, party leader between 2010 and 2015. He is supported by Southampton MP Dr Alan Whitehead, a former buildings minster, and Greenwich’s Matthew Pennycook, a former chairman of the influential parliamentary. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group, PRASEG. The Liberal Democrat spokesperson is Richmond upon Thames MP Sarah Olney, and shadowing energy and climate change for the SNP is Kilmarnock’s Alan Brown.

First UK homes fuelled by hydrogen set for to be built in the north east The UK’s first homes with household appliances fuelled entirely by hydrogen are set to be built in Low Thornley, Gateshead, providing the public a glimpse into the potential home of the future where no carbon emissions are released.

The two semi-detached homes, funded with the help of the UK government’s Hy4Heat Innovation

programme, will open in April 2021, showing how hydrogen has the potential to be used as a clean replacement to natural gas in the home.

The hydrogen houses are intended to have a three-year lifespan, but potentially longer, up to ten years.

They are not intended to be habitable, but to showcase the use of hydrogen-

fuelled applications in a real-world domestic setting.

The hydrogen house project is aligned with a larger scheme detailed in the Prime Minister’s Ten point plan which also includes establishing a Hydrogen Neighbourhood, and to the development of plans for a potential Hydrogen Town before the end of this decade.

The houses will use 100 per cent hydrogen for domestic heating and cooking in appliances including boilers, hobs, cookers and fires.

Unlike natural gas, which is responsible for over 30 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions, hydrogen produces no carbon at the point of use, with the only by-product being water.

06 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | MARCH 2021

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

UK EMISSIONS TRADING

IN BRIEF

Concerns grow over new UK scheme

Government ‘must boost green skills’

The UK emissions trading scheme officially came into force on January 1 to replace its EU counterpart, the EU ETS. It is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by setting a cap on the levels heavy polluters can produce, forcing them to buy carbon credits to cover their annual output.

But the government is still only beginning talks with industry about key aspects of the scheme, which has not yet started trading. This lacuna has left many participants very concerned.

There are 14,000 sites occupied by energy intensive companies, all of which are waiting on the government for the date and details of the volume of carbon credits the UK government plans to sell during this first auction.

The government is currently promising to hold the process at some point during the second quarter.

UK electricity producers are selling power without knowing the cost of the associated emissions. Typically, power producers sell electricity up to two years in advance. Before Brexit UK companies priced forward contracts linked to the cost of the EU scheme.

All participants need to know precisely to what extent the scheme will be linked to the EU programme, the world’s largest, which would inevitably influence pricing. But Brussels has said formal talks with the UK on a link with the EU scheme had not yet begun.

It added the Brexit deal envisaged that the two sides would give “serious consideration” to linking the respective systems. But the government’s recent energy white

Government must do more to boost training in the green skills sector to prevent the UK missing its net-zero target, according to a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research.

The research finds that there is a lack of leadership on the issues of skills and employment, at all levels of government, and industry.

Government must take the green skills crisis seriously, says the IPPR, investing in further education, and matching its net-zero ambitions with investment in decarbonisation.

Industry must give the issues of skills and employment a seat at the table in board-level decision making, and make radical changes to ensure the construction sector is an attractive place to work.

paper, issued in December, has raised concerns in industry that may not happen. The policy document stated the UK was open to international linkages in general, without naming the EU specifically.

“I’m worried about the complete lack of a carbon price in the UK,” said Emma Pinchbeck, the head of Energy UK, told the Financial Times. She warned there was a risk that volatility gets passed on to consumers in higher prices.

Many UK power producers have already purchased EU credit in the expectation the schemes will be linked. “Our carbon price is unknown, and the market is operating on the assumption that we are going to link with the EU,” she added.

The lack of trading of carbon credits has caused pent up demand and Louis Redshaw of Redshaw Advisors, a London-based carbon consultancy,

said the delay risked a “massive” price spike. The UK government has set a price floor of £22 per tonne but this is still below the current price of an EU allowance, which recently surged to a record high of over €40 per tonne.

“There will be more buyers than sellers on the first auction,” said Redshaw. The situation is “a car crash in slow motion,” he warned.

Iwan Hughes, head of policy at VPI Generation, said the huge uncertainty made it difficult for power companies to know whether or not to operate their power plants. “Without a UK carbon market, neither industry nor gas power generators know their marginal cost to operate,” he said.

In a statement, the UK government said that its scheme was “more ambitious” than the EU scheme. It said it would “soon consult” on how the scheme would “align with our worldleading net zero target”.

Carbon dioxide emissions rebound after record fall The Covid-19 crisis in 2020 triggered the largest annual drop in global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions since the Second World War, according to the International Energy Agency. However, the overall decline of about 6 per cent masks wide variations depending on the region and the time of year.

Global emissions plunged by almost 2bn tonnes in 2020, the largest absolute decline in history. Most of this – around 1bn tonnes, which is more than the annual emissions of Japan – was due to lower use of oil for road transport and aviation.

After hitting a low in April, global emissions rebounded

strongly and rose above 2019 levels in December. The latest data show that global emissions were 2 per cent or 60m tonnes, higher in December 2020 than they were in the same month a year earlier.

Major economies led the resurgence as a pick-up in economic activity pushed energy demand higher and significant policies measures to boost clean energy were lacking. Many economies are now seeing emissions climbing above pre-crisis levels.

“The rebound in global carbon emissions toward the end of last year is a stark warning that not enough is being done to accelerate clean energy transitions worldwide,” said Dr Fatih Birol (pictured), the IEA Executive Director.

“If governments don’t move quickly with the right energy policies, this could put at risk the world’s historic opportunity to make 2019 the definitive peak in global emissions.

UK heat pump sales set to double A survey of members by The Heat Pump Association reveals that the UK market is set to double this year.

The HPA, which represents around 95 per cent of the heat pump manufacturing market, says manufacturers have placed orders with their supply chains to deliver 67,000 units in 2021.

With 35,000 heat pumps sold in 2019, the near doubling of the market is a significant step in the right direction. The growth also closely aligns with the HPA’s road map to net zero, which called for 72,000 heat pump installations this year.

Hydrogen for cogeneration plant For the first time in Belgium, hydrogen will be used in a commercial cogeneration plant designed to generate electricity and heat from natural gas.

The aim of the pilot project by INEOS and ENGIE is to replace natural gas with hydrogen used by the INEOS turbine. Initially, 10 per cent of the gas feed will be replaced by hydrogen. If this goes well this will be increased to 20 per cent. This is the first time such tests have been carried out on an industrial scale in Belgium. The CHP plant at the INEOS Phenol site in Doel, one of the first built in Belgium, has the ideal profile for this test.

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

Industry lagging behind on emissions cuts New research by the Transition Pathway Initiative finds that only 16 of 111 large publicly-listed industrial companies are aligned with an emissions reduction pathway that would keep global warming at 2°C or below. The combined market capitalisation of the 95 industrial companies failing to align with 2°C or below by 2050 is over $856bn.

The sectors covered are mining, steel, cement, paper, aluminium, chemicals, and other industrials.

The Transition Pathway Initiative is a global, asset-owner led initiative which assesses companies’ preparedness for a low-carbon economy. The research was carried out for TPI by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.

The research analyses 169 companies including Arcelor Mittal and Rio Tinto. Of these 111 firms are analysed on carbon performance to show if their emissions reductions plans align with the Paris Agreement. The 111 companies come from the aluminium, cement, diversified mining, steel and paper sectors – collectively industries deemed ‘hard to decarbonise’ as there is no straightforward low-carbon replacement technology for their products or processes.

The TPI research highlights the poor performance of the aluminium and paper sectors in particular. Only one company in both sectors (Rio Tinto – specifically for aluminium) is aligned with a 2°C or below pathway by 2050. By contrast six steel companies are aligned by 2050 including the largest, Arcelor Mittal.

The sector’s performance is marginally more encouraging for climate- conscious investors from a 2030 point of view, with 22 per cent of companies aligned with 2°C or below for that shorter time frame (nine companies aligned in paper, eight in steel, five in diversified mining and four in cement by 2030).

ENERGY-EFFICIENT RENOVATIONS PLAN

EU forges ahead with energy plans European Union governments will rally behind the official plan to expand energy-efficient building renovations, according to a draft document. But they are not yet willing to explicitly endorse using any legally binding energy performance standards to ensure this occurs in all 27 countries.

The European Commission is encouraging European countries to use building renovations to improve energy performance in order to boost construction sector jobs and aid economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The intention is to upgrade the worst energyguzzling buildings.

According to the initial plans issued last October, the overall objective is to more than double the annual rate at which EU buildings are renovated, in order to improve energy performance.

Now the 27 EU countries are preparing their combined reactions to these proposals. A leaked draft of their response reveals that countries will fully endorse the call for a “massive increase in renovations, taking buildings towards nearly zero-energy levels.”

The EU’s €750bn COVID-19 recovery fund offers a “crucial opportunity” to increase renovations, the 27 Governments are set to state. It

is agreed that renovation support for homeowners and businesses should be expanded through green bonds, loans and tax incentives.

However, the draft document is not explicitly backing a key part of the Commission’s plan. It recommended the introduction of statutory EU minimum energy performance standards for existing buildings.

If the Governments do not explicitly endorse these legally binding proposals, the Commission will likely seek to return to the proposal later this year. It is acknowledged to have strong backing from the European Parliament. The aim would be to set a date, years in advance, when the

standards would become binding, to push building owners to upgrade properties to comply.

The draft response agrees that linking minimum energy performance standards to renovations “may, in particular if accompanied by training and qualification schemes for building professionals, be an efficient way of ensuring more extensive renovations.”

If the EU wants to raise its renovation rate, there is “no alternative” to using mandatory minimum energy performance standards, said Brook Riley, head of EU affairs at insulation manufacturer Rockwool Group.

Low-carbon hybrid system goes on trial across the UK A low-carbon hybrid heating system is being trialled in seven homes in Wales, London and the south and east of England.

The ‘HyCompact’ project, a collaboration between Wales & West Utilities and electricity network operator UK Power Networks will fit the single-unit hybrid system in customers’ homes to supply their heating through both electricity and natural gas.

The new hybrid units contain a gas boiler and an electric air source heat pump alongside smart control software.

The system, hung on the wall in place of the existing conventional gas boiler, can flexibly switch between using renewable electricity, when it’s available, and green gas at other times – enabling the full decarbonisation of heat with switching driven by cost and carbon.

The project aims to demonstrate how low-carbon heating systems that combine gas and electricity can be easily ‘retrofitted’ and reduce carbon emissions from millions of homes and businesses with traditional gas boilers. According to a 2019 report by the government’s Committee on Climate Change, as many as 29m homes require such an upgrade if the UK is to meet its Net Zero target by 2050.

The project builds on Wales & West Utilities’ Freedom Project, which trialled the use of hybrid heating systems with a standalone gas boiler and an external air-source heat

pump. Taking on board customer feedback from that trial, HyCompact is using the latest advances in hybrid heating technology to test a next generation product.

The project is running through winter and spring 202021.

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THE WARREN REPORT

03.21 Andrew Warren is chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation

Vague and vacuous – the Government’s latest proposal on fuel poverty Sustainable Warmth is the latest fuel poverty strategy. Launched without fanfare, it does little to inspire confidence that this scourge on our homes will be eliminated any time soon

E

nvironmental Justice. That is one key policy that US President Joe Biden has adopted. He has set up a large high-powered team in his administration the sole objective of which is to ensure that policies being adopted to deliver a zero-carbon society do not damage further the least advantaged and the poorest.

This philosophy is echoed in the title of the UK Government’s long awaited new fuel poverty strategy. It is called “Sustainable Warmth.” You will be forgiven for not having heard about it before today.

Last month it was quietly placed upon the Government website, just 48 hours after the energy minister Martin Callanan had assured the former buildings minister, Don Foster, in the House of Lords that “we plan to publish in due course…the updated fuel poverty strategy.” Not, please note, publish “imminently” or even “shortly”, the standard ministerial fob-offs to importunate questioners.

I can find no evidence of any departmental press release, or even a staged Parliamentary answer announcing it. So, why the sudden release of a strategy intended to cover policy for the rest of the decade? After all, given the need to get the text signed off by all relevant government ministers and departments, it must largely have been written many weeks before.

I suspect, when it was prepared, there were great hopes that England would be witnessing an enormous increase in the number of homes being made more energy efficient. Something Callanan stressed is “the best long-term solution to tackle fuel poverty.” This was because back in July the

Chancellor had announced £2bn to improve the energy efficiency of English homes, to be spent by the end of March. And the main programme, the Green Homes Grant scheme, was offering grants of £10,000 towards installing measures for low-income householders, twice the size of that more generally available.

Consequently, “Sustainable Warmth” is littered with references to this scheme - I counted five separate occasions when this July statement from the Chancellor was cited in this relatively short document.

But during last month there was a growing crescendo of highly publicised Parliamentary interventions, led by the powerful Environmental Audit Committee and its no-nonsense chair, Philip Dunne, pointing out what a tiny proportion of that £2bn had yet been spent. This was answered by confirmation that the Treasury intends, at the end of this month, taking back at least £1bn of the money announced for the scheme just eight months ago.

The rest of “Sustainable Warmth” is both tendentious in many of its claims, and vacuous in many of its various proposals. The Government website leads with the bold claim that 1.2m fewer households are in fuel poverty than was the case in 2010. But in the document itself, unlike most other such statements, there is no cross-reference or source provided, which makes me suspicious.

And certainly no absolute figures given between the number of English households in fuel poverty in 2010, and then in 2020.

Even if such a statement could be justified, I suspect it must largely be due to the initial years of the decade. That was when the government was still funding the successful Warm Front programme exclusively aimed at improving low-income housing.

Equivalent programmes have significantly continued, indeed grown in size, in each of the devolved nations. But since 2012, there has been a vacuum in England.

Statutory basis behind fuel poverty policy The Warm Homes & Energy Conservation Act 2000 is acknowledged to be the statutory basis behind fuel poverty policy. But there is no mention of its original target of abolishing fuel poverty by 2016 - indeed there is even a strange footnote referencing it as “requiring Government to set up interim milestones to reach the 2030 target, with dates for achieving them.”

And nowhere is it stated that abolition is the objective, just

‘Sustainable Warmth is both tendentious in many of its claims and vacuous in many of its various proposals’

“driving down levels.” But how far? The answer is that weasel phrase “as far as is reasonably practical.” Ostensibly, to ensure everybody is in an energy performance certificate C rated home by 2030. Unless it is a listed building. Or unless they raise objections. Or unless it is all too difficult.

There is a welcome recognition that the there is “real potential benefit in increasing homes to band C in one renovation”followed immediately by crowing that the fuel bill payer-funded Energy Company Obligation (ECO) has delivered 2.8m measures into 2.1m homes. In other words, just over a single measure per home. Precisely the opposite to that “real potential benefit.”

To be fair, there are a few useful nuggets included for the future. There is formal confirmation that ECO’s budget will be restored for four years to £1bn a year- the rate it was back in 2013, but welcome, nonetheless.

The Business Department has obviously at last got agreement with the Housing Ministry to provide better guidance for private landlords, particularly those of homes in multiple occupation, as to when they must provide an energy certificate: it is amazing how few comply.

The Homes Upgrade Grant, that the Prime Minister announced last year won’t start until early (April?) 2022, but will be targeted at low-income, off-grid homes.

The assumption is still that removing such homes from oil-heating to heat pumps will offer lower running costs in future. But maybe they know something about future prices per barrel of oil that we don’t.

Whether installing heat pumps in the 80 per cent of homes currently enjoying gas-fired heating will lower many fuel bills remains to be seen. Biden’s Environmental Justice would surely require that to be a guarantee.  MARCH 2021 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 09

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Heating Technology

Tony Willis is technical director at Sabien Technology

For further information on Sabien Technology visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 125

Go beyond boiler control

Don’t assume your boiler is operating at maximum efficiency. Tony Willis examines how the problem of dry cycling can be easily be overlooked – and quickly rectified

T

he availability of affordable microprocessors which began in the 1980s allowed some huge advances in “intelligent heating technologies” over the last few decades. These enabled boiler and burner manufacturers to adopt a higher level of precise control, previously not possible with simple electro-mechanical methods.

Some of these technologies include: electronic fuel-air ratio controls for modulating burner systems, intelligent boiler sequencing, weather compensation, building and climate controls, building optimisers and building management systems (BMS).

For many years now, it has been standard procedure to control a building’s services through a building management system (BMS) or building energy management system (BEMS). When they are correctly commissioned and maintained, a BMS or BEMS will help to maintain the overall building efficiency and prevent energy from being wasted.

Consequently, it is quite natural to assume that a building with an existing BMS/BEMS is operating to maximum efficiency in all areas with no need for additional ‘fine’ control. However, many of these systems are not typically programmed to control each individual item of plant, particularly boilers, down to the finest detail. Their primary role is to optimise a building’s energy requirements rather than the individual items of plant that make up a building’s energy-consuming services. Consequently, there will be cases where a building’s energy performance can benefit from this ‘fine’ level of control thus enhancing the operation and optimising the boiler plant. This can be achieved by retrofitting additional controls that address specific areas of wasted energy consumption if they were omitted during initial plant commissioning.

Boiler load optimisation carries out a real-time analysis of each boiler’s flow and return temperatures

Like many aspects of our lives, buildings and their heating demands evolve over time, often shifting from the original design for load requirements. This is further compounded by an increase in building efficiency as a result of insulation, glazing and other energy efficiency solutions. This results in boiler plant being operated for extended periods, far below intended boiler kW output capacity.

These conditions can lead to boilers operating inefficiently at ‘part load’ conditions which in turn will cause the boilers to dry and short cycle - an inherent problem that is not always recognised or considered.

Therefore, further savings can be achieved by optimising each individual boiler to eliminate boiler dry cycling. These are savings that can be achieved over and above those of existing control strategies, without conflicts. So when it comes to ‘fine tuning’ energy performance, boiler load optimisation is the next logical step.

To look in more detail we can consider the boiler ‘dry cycling’ phenomenon. This aspect of inefficiency offers the largest energy saving on your boiler plant. Unless measures are taken to control it, boiler dry cycling happens with the

‘There are savings that can be achieved over and above those of existing strategies’ majority of boilers under part-load conditions. It occurs when a boiler loses heat to its surroundings (acting like a radiator) so that the water temperature in the boiler falls below the current set-point of the boiler’s internal thermostat / load control.

When this happens, the boiler may fire simply to recover the boiler’s standing losses/temperature of the wasted heat – even though this energy is not currently being used to meet demand for heat to the building.

Recognised perennial problem Dry cycling has been a recognised problem for many years, and early attempts at retrofit solutions were an abject failure. These ‘failures’ either delayed the boilers firing, or artificially reduced the boiler set points, both of which allowed temperatures to fall in the spaces being heated. In addition, they can

cause direct conflicts with the BMS strategy by artificially changing the boiler’s set point temperatures.

An alternative, using boiler load optimisation technology developed in the last few years, is to carry out real-time analysis of each boiler’s flow and return temperatures every ten seconds and measure the decay of the flow and return temperatures every second. This provides a true load profile for each boiler and can therefore differentiate between a genuine call for heat and one that is simply firing to recover heat caused by the standing losses.

The advantage of this approach is that it recalculates the values every time the boiler reaches its required set point temperature, so it adapts to variable set-points and does nothing to conflict with the BMS/ BEMS operation or other controls such as weather compensation or sequencing. It also helps to mitigate the energy wastage caused by shortcircuiting and short-cycling.

In this way, retrofitted intelligent boiler load optimisation is an example of how the right additional controls can work in harmony with other controls and increase the energy savings that can be achieved.

So if you are considering retrofitting additional controls, the key is to understand how they work (don’t be fooled by manufacturers’ jargon), talk to others that have used them and be absolutely certain they won’t compromise comfort or your existing BMS control strategy.

With any energy reduction initiative, it is vital that the client can realise the savings and has the visibility and confirmation that the control is delivering, and expectations are met. With the recent availability of low-cost IoT cloud-based monitoring, boiler load optimisation controls can be fully monitored with the energy saving and reduced CO2 displayed.

This data can also be used for full analysis of the existing boiler plant performance and validate existing controls such as BMS etc. 

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

Temperature sensors for home heat recovery systems

Whole house heat recovery ventilation systems are just one of the many ways in which consumers are looking to become more energy conscious, while maintaining their comfortable living environment.

As MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery) systems are often hidden away in loft spaces, it is imperative that they should be low maintenance, demand the minimum level of servicing and therefore use highly reliable parts ATC Semitec is now stocking a wide range of IP67 and IP68 temperature sensors with long-term reliability which are ideally suited for use in MVHR systems.

ATC Semitec’s 103AT-11, are single-insulated, fully encapsulated IP67 rated temperature sensors, offering fast response times, and high accuracy (±0.3°C at 25°C). The sensor tip is moulded directly onto the cable ensuring the interface is completely sealed, whilst its small sensor tip responds quickly to temperature change. The flexible leads enable easy installation and the AT-11 offers industry standard resistance values such as the 10k /B3435K (103AT-11).

These sensors are widely used across a diverse range of industries, and within the HVAC market they are a popular choice for use within underfloor heating, heat pumps, solar panels and batteries.

They are readily available from stock in lengths from 600mm to 3m long. The range of even higher integrity IP68 sensors are stocked with various R25 and B values and sensor lengths from 500mm to 5m long.

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Heating Technology For further information on Klima-Therm visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 126

Tim Mitchell is sales director of Klima-Therm

The hidden cost of heat pumps

Heat pumps have a vital role to play in the energy mix of the future but end users must ensure that natural refrigerants are part of the mix to mitigate global warming, says Tim Mitchell

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missions of fluorinated gases (F gases) – including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – commonly used as refrigerants for air conditioning systems more than doubled in Europe between 1990 to 2014. Thankfully, however, the F-Gas Regulation stopped this trend in its tracks and then began to reverse it.

Despite Brexit, the UK will, according to REFCOM (the Register of Companies Competent to Manage Refrigerants), continue to follow the step-down programme established by the F-Gas Regulation to reduce the nett amount of global warming gas on the market. We are also expected to adopt further revisions likely to come into force at the start of 2023.

The market for HFC gases such as R410A has shrunk significantly, in terms of CO2 equivalence, to just 45 per cent of what was available in 2015 as a direct result of the F-Gas Regulation. This undoubtedly represents massive progress in the campaign to reduce the industry’s impact on the environment.

But further progress is still needed on reducing the global warming potential (GWP) of refrigerants and that is where so-called ‘natural’ refrigerant gases come in, because their GWPs are so much lower than those of the common F-gases.

The natural options in air conditioning applications include propane, ammonia and carbon dioxide (CO2). The GWP of these is 3, 0 and 1, respectively. This compares with a GWP of 2,088 for R410A, a commonly used F-gas refrigerant in air conditioning applications.

The standard classifications for refrigerants revolve around toxicity (A or B – in simple terms, non-toxic or toxic) and flammability (from 1, 2L, 2 or 3 – in simple terms, nonflammable to highly flammable), as defined in ISO 817.

CO2 is an A1 refrigerant, so it is neither toxic nor flammable.

Ammonia (B2L) is toxic but exhibits low flammability. Propane (A3) is

Natural refrigerants offer a less harmful option when used in heat pumps

non-toxic but highly flammable.

Truly environmentally responsible temperature control, where nonmechanical means are impossible, involves using natural refrigerants in combination with energy-efficient appliances. As a result, heat pumps have come into their own for heating and cooling.

Rolling out heat pumps As heat pumps are rolled-out on a larger scale – the current

government is targeting over 600,000 installations every year by 2028 – natural refrigerants offer a less harmful option.

CO2 is arguably the best refrigerant option for heat pump applications where hot water is consumed, such as hospitals, hotels, leisure centres and in communal domestic hot water loops, because it can deliver hot water at boiler-like temperatures at far greater efficiencies than the other natural alternatives or HFCs.

F-gases and how to control them F-gases have been a clear and present danger to the environment since they were first developed in the 1990s to replace even more environmentally damaging chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).

The most common F-gas refrigerants used in heat pumps are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), all of which have a high global warming potential (GWP) compared with natural refrigerants.

To control emissions from fluorinated greenhouse gases the European Union published the first F-Gas Regulation in 2007 which only really involved actions like leak testing, monitoring and servicing systems.

The second F-Gas Regulation, which came into force in 2015, introduced a phase-down mechanism involving a gradually declining cap on the total placement of bulk HFCs on the market.

Under UK and EU legislation, a ban came into force on 1 January 2020 to prevent refrigerants with a global warming potential greater than 2500 being used to service or refill refrigeration or freezer systems, with a refrigerant charge size of 40 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more.

Indeed, CO2 is in a class of its own with an operating envelope that lends itself exceptionally well to domestic hot water temperatures. A typical air-source CO2 heat pump, for example, could comfortably deliver hot water at 75oC from air at -4oC with a coefficient of performance (CoP) of around 2.53, whereas an HFC using the same criteria would give a CoP of around 1.78 while working at the very top of its operating range.

Among “traditional” refrigerants, the main low GWP alternatives are hydrofluoro-olefins (HFOs) or blends which use them. HFOs are organic compounds which still use hydrogen, fluorine and carbon, like traditional F-gases, but their chemical structure is such that they are unstable in air, breaking down very much more quickly than traditional F-gases. With the normal GWP metric being based on a 100-year impact assessment, this instability is what makes the HFO GWPs so low.

As well as GWP, there is another environmental issue with refrigerants: ‘embodied’ carbon.

This measures the ‘cradle to grave’ greenhouse gas equivalence throughout the supply chain from manufacture to end-of-life disposal.

The metric that takes this – as well as other environmental factors such as GWP and energy efficiency – into account is called Life Cycle Climate Performance.

LCCP is more inclusive than previous metrics such as Total Equivalent Warming Impact, which looks at direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions but fails to account for embodied emissions, and Life Cycle Warming Impact, which considers direct, indirect and refrigerant manufacturing emissions but overlooks appliance manufacturing, materials, transport installation and recycling.

This feeds into the latest thinking around embodied and whole life carbon in the built environment, such as CIBSE TM65 covering mechanical, electrical and public health systems. 

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Daniel Burton is chief executive officer at Wondrwall Group

Heating Technology For further information on Wondrwall Group visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 127

Finding a flexible solution Heat pumps and hydrogen might play their part but Daniel Burton believes a smart and agile approach to decarbonising heating may be called for

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eating is one of the UK’s biggest sources of carbon emissions. Space heating is estimated to contribute around 17 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions and hot water about 4 per cent. Currently, only about 5 per cent of homes currently have any form of low-carbon heating while natural gas dominates the domestic market where it is used to heat around 85 per cent of homes.

Meeting the UK’s net zero carbon targets by 2050 will require a range of low-carbon alternatives.

According to Energy Systems Catapult there is no ‘silver bullet’ solution, and proposals for blanket solutions are expected to cost far more than a bottom-up approach that chooses the best low-carbon heating solution on a place-byplace basis.

The established view is that the best way to decarbonise domestic heating is to invest heavily in insulation, and then install a heat pump. While this approach can work in many situations, it will not always be the most cost-effective way to achieve the end goal. In some cases, it is not even practical or possible to retrofit homes in this way.

For many years, gas has been the go-to solution for domestic heating and hot water. However, as part of its commitment to decarbonising energy, the UK government has declared that from 2025, no new homes should be connected to the gas grid. While some hold out hopes that clean hydrogen gas may be available by then, many experts doubt that we won’t be able to produce anywhere near sufficient clean hydrogen to meet the needs of the gas grid.

With gas being so much part of the current mindset, it’s hardly surprising that heat pumps – which rely on a familiar set up of pipes, thermostats and radiators – are currently the most popular way to electrify domestic heating and hot water.

Manchester City Council is exploring a new, technology-led approach to cutting bills for tenants

While heat pumps do have a lot to recommend them, they are not the best option in every case.

Heat pumps rely on a ‘low and slow’ approach – drawing heat from the environment to gently but steadily heat homes. This can work well if homes are extremely well insulated and the outside temperatures are not too low.

Otherwise, either the heat is lost too quickly, or the system needs to operate well outside its margins of efficiency.

Pushing up overall costs Heat pumps can be unsuitable for retrofit, as upgrading insulation to sufficient levels pushes the overall costs up significantly. On top of the cost of extra insulation, the old central heating system needs to be completely replaced with an external compressor unit, a new central hot water immersion tank, heating water clusters and more. The radiators also need to be bigger to compensate for the lower running temperature. There are also some situations where fitting a heat pump externally is simply not viable – for example in high-rise buildings.

There is another option, however, that takes a technologyled approach.

Manchester City Council recently

explored a different approach to electrifying domestic heating in a new-build development in West Gorton, Greater Manchester. The affordable houses were equipped with modern digital and renewable energy solutions that can deliver reductions to energy bills of up to 90 per cent for tenants.

The mews-style, three-bedroom homes, built in partnership with Manchester City Council, are fitted with solar PV and battery storage.

But what makes them unique is the intelligent solution that ties these elements together. The self-learning system, designed by Wondrwall, automatically adapts

heating, lighting, security and energy consumption according to the behaviour of the occupants, environmental conditions and wholesale energy costs.

Combining electric underfloor heating and infrared panels can quickly provide warmth when needed, and the intelligent, partitioned, hot-water cylinder heats water only when needed. A system comprising solar panels, inverter and battery storage provides free electricity from the sun and enables the tenants to take advantage of hourly fluctuations in energy costs. For new and old properties, the cost of installing this ‘smart and agile’ solution compares favourably with wet heating systems, heat pumps and high levels of insulation.

The key to the effectiveness of the system, is its ability to learn and adapt to the information in real time. The system will begin a typical day by checking the weather forecast shortly after midnight. Combining this information with what it knows about the behaviour of the occupants and the performance of the solar panels, it will predict how much electricity it needs to draw from the grid to meet the family’s needs for the day.

The system then analyses time-of-use tariffs for the day and determines the most cost-effective time to charge the domestic batteries. If there is an unexpected energy requirement during the day, the system might respond by supplying energy from the battery and importing energy from the grid. Conversely, if there is a spike in energy from the PV solar panels, the system will export energy back to the grid. During the evening, when energy prices are at their peak the system powers the house entirely from energy stored in the battery. After midnight, the system processes the day’s data, adjusts its algorithm accordingly, and the cycle begins again. 

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Heating Technology For further information on Zehnder UK visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 128

Can we achieve zero-carbon homes?

Hitting a target of zero-carbon homes is a huge challenge.

Rupert Kazlauciunas looks at the obstacles to be overcome and its implications for the heating industry

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n its report on the ‘Route to zero carbon’, the Passivhaus Trust (PHT) outlines the pressing need to adopt a zero-carbon target for all new-build UK homes.

As it does so, it emphasises the difficulties in defining exactly what this would actually look like and how it could be achieved.

The report opens with a grave indictment of where we are on our route to zero carbon: “There are clear imperatives to reduce the carbon emissions resulting from the built environment. However, we are currently not achieving any significant year-on-year reductions and, unless new policies embodying new standards, incentives and penalties are put in place, we are unlikely to do so.”

Much of the stalling of progress can be attributed to a failure of political will: a super-green standard for new homes was first announced many years ago. This policy was set to ensure that all new-builds did not result in the net release of carbon dioxide during their day-to-day use.

It set out requirements for all new housing developments to focus on energy efficiency and to offset any emissions by generating their own energy through renewable sources.

But, in July 2015, just a few months before it was scheduled to pass into law, the initiative was abandoned by the Treasury, in a knee-jerk reaction to heightened publicity over the endemic UK housing shortage.

The solution to achieving zero carbon homes, however, goes well beyond providing political backbone.

PHT prefaces its report with this observation: “Setting a zero-carbon target for our new housing would be a clear and bold step to achieve genuine emissions reductions.

However, understanding what this actually means and how to achieve it is far from clear.”

Rupert Kazlauciunas is technical product manager, MVHR, Zehnder UK

a contribution is paid by all newbuild developments towards the construction of national renewable energy projects.

Another area that is highlighted as contributing significantly to reducing emissions is energy-efficient heating in homes.

The UK’s national strategy of ‘decarbonising’ the electricity grid has already had a significant impact on emission levels. This is already starting to have a massive disruptive effect on the heating industry. Electricity is an increasingly attractive choice for energy efficient and eco-friendly heat pumps. The next few years will see a switch from gas to electric pumps for heating and hot water in homes. Indeed, in March, the Chancellor vowed that gas heating for new houses will be banned by 2025, to be replaced by heat pumps and best-in-class insulation solutions.

Greater electricity need

Decarbonising the grid will make electricity an increasingly attractive option for home heating

There are three main obstacles to adopting a true zero-carbon approach: • the clear performance gap that exists between predicted heating energy demand and actual energy use; • the gap in available supply and seasonal energy demand for winter heating will require inter-seasonal renewable energy storage. This will inevitably result in losses; and • the national grid is limited in its ability to manage renewable energy.

Elimination of performance gap Due to these current obstacles, PHT calculates that a notionally zero carbon home is actually responsible for 18kg of CO2/m2 each year. To offset this, an average UK home would need to install 28 solar panels – and that is far greater than the roof space it has available.

Yet, the energy efficiency of a Passive House – and the elimination of a performance gap between design and usage – would require only 14 solar panels. This dramatically reduces the requirement for grid and storage enhancements and halves

the amount of renewable generation for offsetting required.

“Reducing the heating energy demand through a fabric first approach is therefore the only practical way to achieve zero-carbon homes in reality,” states the report.

Passive House recognises that a fabric-first approach alone won’t solve the problem: there will be many sites not suitable for solar or other renewable energy generation.

It is proposed that any achievable zero-carbon initiative must use off-site generation. The sort of scheme envisaged is one where

The reduction in carbon emissions for heat pumps is marked.

Comparing an average house (built to Building Regulations standards) using a gas boiler to the same house using an air source heat pump applying 2020 emissions factors the total energy demand reduces from around 7,000kWh/year to 4,300kWh/ year.

The report adds: “As the grid is decarbonised, there is an increasing case to use more electricity for heating purposes. This is particularly compelling when using heat pumps, as the running costs can become comparable to gas.”

To fully take advantage of this switch to electricity for heating – and not overburden the limited capacity of the national grid’s renewable energy supply – we need to focus our building designs on reducing thermal loss. This can be achieved by improving the fabric of our buildings and using ventilation for heat recovery. Houses that implement this can reduce their energy demand further to 3,700kWh/year.

Issues of comfortable, healthy homes dovetail neatly with concerns over carbon emissions and energy efficiency. Developments in heating and ventilation are central to achieving both zero carbon and maximum comfort. 

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New Products

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

Extension to range of clamp-on flow meters Micronics says its U1000 heat/energy and flow meters are now available in the original pipe-mounted or new wall-mounted, display & keyboard format with an extended pipe range.

The U1000MKII is a clamp-on, ultrasonic heat meter alternative to traditional inline energy meters, for energy management and billing applications in domestic and commercial, district or shared heating or cooling systems, which offers significant installation cost and dry maintenance benefits over traditional in-line products. The new U1000 wall mount version offers the alternative of clamp-on, pipe-mounted flow and temperature sensors but with a wall or control panel, display and keyboard plus an extended range to cover larger pipe size applications.

The wall mount version extends the pipe size to cover applications from 25mm – 225mm (8”) OD pipe and the temperature range to 135°C. While the U1000MKII-WM can still be used as a stand-alone product, when it comes to connectivity the new product supports optional Mbus or Modbus RTU slave and RS485 serial communications for aM&T or BEMS. The company adds that the unit is simple to install. Connect power and enter the pipe inside diameter, adjust the sensors and clamp-on the pipe. No specialist skills or tools are required.

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Join in for monthly online discussions Distech Controls has launched DCTV, a monthly series of online discussions for the smart buildings industry. The DCTV series will feature a panel of intelligent buildings experts that meet once a month for a 45-minute session to tackle key industry issues while allowing audiences to learn more about current topics, interact with the panel and keep up with Distech Controls’ latest advancements and news.

Following the recent first session that focused on open connectivity, a second will be held on April 13 which will take a deeper dive approach on implementation of smart solutions and best practices for controlled data usage. Additional live sessions are scheduled for May 11, June 8 and July 6 on additional topics affecting the industry.

“DCTV is an exciting new initiative that will provide key insights to help the smart buildings industry better understand current and future trends during these challenging times,” says Simon Ward, director of sales for UK and Ireland, Distech Controls. “DCTV will give us a great platform to reach out to the industry, share useful content and stimulate conversation.” ONLINE ENQUIRY 101

“ Energy in Buildings and Industry and the Energy Institute are delighted to have teamed up to bring you this Continuing Professional Development initiative ” MARK THROWER MANAGING EDITOR

SERIES 18 | MODULE 08 | BOILERS & BURNERS

Boilers and burners

By Paul Stevenson, Larkdown Environmental Ltd

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oilers are everywhere. They fall into three main sectors: • residential and domestic: generally small scale and often gas, but can be: a) electric-powered, especially in high-density buildings; b) electric/ oil/ solid-fuel/ bio-mass: mainly for buildings off the gas grid; c) larger, central boiler with district heating systems (DHS - e.g. multistorey or mixed-use buildings); more common in central/ east Europe, former Soviet states and China than UK; • commercial and service: often larger, centralised boilers servicing the hot-water (HW) and space heating needs of offices, hospitals and care-homes, retail and warehousing, hotels, sports and leisure centres, etc; and • industry: lots of large scale and bespoke boilers for chemicals, food and drink, metals, apparel and engineering sectors. Several industries have technical uses for steam or HW. This article does not cover energy efficiency (EE) in steam boilers.

This article focuses on moderate to large fossil-fuel boilers, used for HW and space heating found in the commercial and service sectors.

Natural gas is the predominant fuel, because the unit cost per kWh is much lower than other fuels and its exhaust gases are “clean”. It explores energy and CO2 savings technologies and techniques, covering: • improving efficiency away from the boiler: what can one do to reduce the demand for space heating and HW? This should always be the first thing to consider in any energysaving/ low-carbon initiative; • energy efficiency and gas boilers: there are many gas-boilers that are going to be around for decades, so what can be done to improve their efficiency?; • boiler design: if and when installing or replacing a (gas) boiler, what

Photo courtesy Remeha/Owen Mathias

should one consider?; and • boilers of the future: briefly exploration of the options for large scale de-carbonisation for space heating and HW. The UK Government recently pledged to ban fossil fuel boilers for all new residential builds from 2025; other sectors will likely follow.

There are many good publications, available on the internet, that will give a wider coverage of specific areas.

Sources are provided towards the end of this article.

When carrying-out a general energy audit, it is good practice to work backwards from end-use(s), via the distribution system to the point of generation. Boilers and hot-water systems follow the same logic; for instance, it is pointless installing and operating a super-efficient boiler if the building is only partoccupied, has badly fitted windows and doors, hot-water is leaking from a tap, or much of the heat is lost via poorly insulated pipes. This may seem obvious, but the author has encountered numerous instances where focus was given solely to the boiler without first considering the end-uses and the distribution system that takes it there.

Attention should be given to the building fabric including: wall and

roof insulation, double-glazing, draft-proofing. Clearly, it is better to design-in from the start rather than retrofit, but retrofits of older style windows (that need replacing anyway), enhanced loft insulation or cavity wall insulation and attention to external doors to ensure they close properly all help reduce the load on the boiler (and the air-con).

The boiler’s performance over time should be monitored to compare its consumption against meaningful measures of activity, such as building occupancy and heating degree-days.

This creates a good base line against which any progress can be measured.

Compare performance A building energy management system (BEMS) that has the boiler and HW system as one of its key energy centres allows the energy manager to compare performance on a like-forlike basis as well as identify recurring issues that cause high consumption.

This systematic approach also allows the energy manager to measure “before” and “after” performances.

From this he/she can quantify the benefits, which is a key step in any formal energy management system (EnMS), such as ISO50001.

With the BEMS the energy manager should, where practical, Produced in Association with

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SERIES 18 | MODULE 08 | BOILERS & BURNERS

disaggregate the building into meaningful zones. There is no point heating unoccupied or infrequently used areas. If it can’t be controlled automatically, can it at least be controlled manually, for instance, are there valves to shut-off radiators or entire floors? In addition, the BEMS should be programmed to introduce a “dead-zone” – i.e. no heating or cooling between 20-24°C. Both CIBSE and Carbon Trust advice is that warming should be needed only if temperatures fall below 19°C. Cooling should only kick in when temperatures rise above 24°C and there should be a “deadband” between these temperatures where neither heating nor cooling takes place.

Temperature control should be automatic and tamper free, ideally controlled by the BEMS. This eliminates potential conflict - where the heating is trying to warm the building whilst the AC is trying to cool it. Yes, this does happen!

Engage with staff to explain what is being done and why. People need to be aware of their impact and understand how they can help; once aware they are more likely to “buy-in” and even replicate it at home.

When it comes to hot-water distribution eliminate leaks and misuses of both water and heat e.g. washroom taps. Insulate pipework and HW tanks, introduce controls and sensors, such as passive infra-red (PIR) to prevent unnecessary room heating, etc. Again, all this sounds obvious, but there are plenty of examples where it doesn’t happen.

Introduce a strategy to maximise heat recovery. Building heat-recovery is already well established, for instance plate heat exchangers, thermal wheels and run-around coils to pre-heat incoming air.

Hot water is not as easy, but for frequently used showers in sport and leisure facilities, hotels and homes, one can retrofit waste-water heatrecovery (WWHR), which captures heat from the discharge to pre-heat make-up water.

Attention to these opportunities offers excellent savings of 20-30 per cent or more, especially if the area hasn’t had attention for many years.

They also offer excellent financial returns, with paybacks typically < 5 years and sometimes < 1 year.

Figure 1: Use of the dead band can cut energy use

It also helps future-proof the building against ever-tightening legislation on efficiency minimums.

For instance, “F” and “G” rated buildings will soon be unrentable; over the next 10-20 years this will likely apply to “E” then “D”. The author’s advice would be to consider what the requirements are likely to be needed 20-years hence, and make EE interventions that meet these requirements, even if the payback is between 5-10 years.

Finally, any new investment in a new boiler will now be correctly sized. The boiler no longer needs to be 20-30 per cent bigger to service 20-30 per cent avoidable waste!

Millions of gas boilers There are millions of gas boilers in the UK and they are likely to be around for decades to come. An audit of the boiler can often identify numerous no/low-cost energy (and water) savings, typically between 5-20 per cent. If the boiler is very old, poorly sized for the site’s current needs, or has not been properly maintained for years, then saving potential can be even greater.

Most equipment operates best when new. Regular and effective maintenance is needed to sustain optimum performance. Most boilers and their burners are serviced at least annually for continued safe operation. This is mandatory. The other reason for maintenance is

optimum performance. This is not mandatory and therefore is considered less important, but attention can lead to reductions in energy and operation costs.

Maintenance needs to address three main areas where the efficiency can worsen over time: • combustion efficiency: releasing the heat from fuel, i.e. the burners; • heat transfer efficiency: getting heat from products of combustion into the water; and • reducing boiler heat loss.

A first step is to optimise burner’s gas air ratio or balance. In effect, “tuning” the burners. Too little air, and one gets incomplete combustion, poisonous carbon monoxide emissions and poor efficiency.

Too much air, one gets complete combustion, but lots of heat is lost in the excess air. Just right, and one has complete combustion but with minimum heat lost up the exhaust.

Ideally, one wants to reduce excess air ideally to <5 per cent O2 in exhaust.

One approach is oxygen trim control. This is an on-line analyser of O2 in flue gas, with computerised control that opens/closes air damper.

Boiler efficiency improves 1-5 per cent, with a typical payback <2 years.

Variable speed drive (VSD) motors for the air inlet (or exhaust – depending on the set-up) can be used to control the gas:air balance.

Furthermore, VSD control reduces the electricity required to drive the

Figure 2: Thermal imaging can identify areas of boiler heat loss

fan, offering power savings of 10-30 per cent compared with valves or dampers.

Flue-gas dampers should be considered. During boiler stand-by, natural convection creates air flow through the boiler to the flue, resulting in heat transfer from the water and equipment to this air, which is then lost via the chimney. If boilers are put on stand-by regularly, total losses can be large. A shut-off damper restricts airflow through the flue and prevents heat loss. Dampers are particularly suited to intermittent use, or where regular on/off boiler cycling is needed to maintain the required pressure/ temperature.

Automatic, gas-tight, shut-off dampers or automatic, air-sealing damper at the combustion-air fan inlet are both widely available.

An “economiser” is a gas-to-water heat exchanger located in the exhaust gas flue. It captures heat from the exhaust, typically at 200°C, to pre-heat cold make-up water going into the boiler. During normal boiler operation, the economiser receives a continuous flow of make-up water, matching heat “source” with heat “sink”. Typical energy savings are 3-5 per cent, with payback of 2-4 years.

Excess heat can also be used to pre-heat the air going to the burners.

Raising the air temperature by 10°C offers approx 1 per cent boiler energy efficiency. This is more common in large, continuous industrial boilers.

Heat is lost from the surface of the boiler through a combination of convection and radiation heat loss. In a modern, efficient system, radiation loss from the boiler should be less than 1-2 per cent. However, this can reach 10 per cent for older boilers that have degraded, or with poor insulation/ loss of casing.

Renewable energy options Explore renewable energy (RE) options: such as solar thermal or air-sourced or ground-sourced heat pumps (ASHP or GSHP) to pre-heat make-up water going to the boiler.

Look at capturing heat from other sources to pre-heat water, such as refrigerant or air compressors.

Inevitably, a boiler will come to the end of its serviceable life. For the immediate future, most organisations are going to replace with gas boilers. The first thing to do is to

For details on how to obtain your Energy Institute CPD Certificate, see entry form and details on page 20 18 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | MARCH 2021

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SERIES 18 | MODULE 08 | BOILERS & BURNERS

pay attention to the system losses previously mentioned.

Then, ensure the boiler is correctly sized (capacity-rating) for its application, with a little (but not excessive) over-capacity. It’s difficult for an oversized boiler to work close to its optimum efficiency if it is regularly operating at only 10-20 per cent of capacity.

Always target an “A” rated boiler, ideally on the enhanced capital allowance (ECA) scheme’s energy technology list (ETL). This is a peerreviewed list of the most efficient equipment, including boilers.

The ECA’s Tax Credits Scheme has now come to an end. Although this eliminates the tax benefits, the assessment of high-performing equipment is still valuable.

For organisations with large seasonal variations consider boiler “cascade” systems, which comprise two or more smaller boilers. These are set up in a modular manner to allow individual boilers to work closer to max efficiency. Also, one can carry out planned maintenance on one or two units while others are doing the work. An example is Worcester-Bosch GB162 (each unit 50-100kW thermal output). For larger heat demands, the GB162 can be set-up in any combination of 2 to 8 boilers either in-line or back-to-back, using the Bosch cascade kits.

These units can operate individually and are efficient at a high turn-down (i.e. can operate close to max efficiency at only 20 per cent capacity pull), which offers greater seasonal flexibility.

Consideration can be given to biomass boilers that generate heat from burning logs, wood chips or wood pellets. Properly sourced biomass is considered a renewable (i.e. carbon neutral) alternative to fossil-fuelled boilers and currently attracts the renewable heat incentive (RHI). This makes their uptake attractive, especially in areas not on the gas grid. To attract the RHI, the boilers must meet the current legislation controls for air quality, plus other Ofgem requirements.

Many countries, including UK, have committed to being “net zero” carbon by 2050. This is a challenging target, but it is achievable. Clearly, there will still be a need for HW and space heating, and most likely this

Figure 3: Boosting the temperature of boiler supply air can save energy

will still come from boilers. Looking forward, there are several routes towards no/ low CO2 boilers.

Overall building efficiency The first step is to take insulation and overall building efficiency to the next level as detailed earlier.

All-electric boilers - with electricity from RE sources - are on the horizon.

Immersion heaters and inline/ instantaneous electric water heaters are an established technology. The reason they aren’t widely adopted is cost. Electricity is 3-5 times the unit cost per kWh than natural gas.

However, the financial impact from CO2 emissions is currently only being felt gently. The UK is constantly increasing its proportion of RE electricity, phasing out coal and gaspowered stations, so CO2/kWh for electricity will continue to fall, but gas will remain at 0.185 kg/kWh (more like 0.20 – 0.24 per kWh thermal). For 2019, electricity emitted 0.256 kg/ kWh, compared to 0.460 in 2012 and >0.5 in 2008. It is predicted to fall below gas sometime in the 2020s.

Electric heating can be augmented with air-sourced and groundsourced heat pumps (= renewable energy). These still use electricity, but generate between 2-4 times the thermal output per unit electricity.

Realistically, they are only viable as underfloor heating in modern, well-insulated buildings. Also, their efficiency in the coldest parts of winter is poor and they will need some augmenting for HW. The idea of using gas boilers with carbon capture and storage

(CCS) is a non-starter. For CCS to work effectively, it needs large point sources of clean CO2 emissions.

Trying to capture the CO2 from lots of smaller boilers will be impossible.

Bio-gases, such as syngas or anaerobic-digestion methane, are more likely to be generated large scale and applied to industrial processes where zero/low-carbon technologies - such as steel, ceramic or cement manufacture - are particularly “hard to reach”.

Being part of a larger district heating scheme can make use of: • energy-from waste schemes, either heat only or CHP; • heat recovered from industrial sites or large heat-sinks, for example underground transport systems; and • bio-gases and other RE sources.

These are happening, although as mentioned, the UK is not well geared-up for DHS. Hydrogen-fuelled boilers have been much heralded (hyped?). It is more akin to gas-air burners, but hydrogen has very different flame characteristics, so the boilers would need new burners.

Figure 4: Creating combustion efficiency

In addition, one has to consider the source of hydrogen. The first method is steam methane reforming (SMR) of natural gas i.e. “blue” hydrogen. However, the SMR process is energy intense and not all the CO2 is captured, so it’s only low-carbon. Also, the CO2 needs CCS: which is both energy intense and still unproven at large scale.

The second method is hydrolysis with RE electricity = “green” hydrogen. The issue this raises is: why not maximise direct use of this RE electricity and eliminate the intermediate processing?

Finally, there needs to be a method of delivering hydrogen to its to pointof-use. This would mean either taking over the gas network (huge logistical challenge), or compressed hydrogen cylinders at 300-700 bar. This would require extra energy for compressing then transporting the hydrogen.

Hydrogen could be used for cracking oil, ammonia manufacture, heavy goods/long-distance transport, perhaps metal refining, plus some accessible storage during winter months. But it isn’t a panacea.

Hydrogen will be energy intense and (for SMR + CCS) appears a risky route to de-carbonisation.

Further reading “Steam and high temperature hot water boilers”, Resource Efficiency Scotland. https://energy.zerowastescotland. org.uk/sites/default/files/Module%20 2%20%20Steam%20and%20High%20 Temperature%20Hot%20Water%20 Boilers%20-%20Energy%20Efficiency%20 E-module.pdf CTV052 “Steam and high temperature hot water boilers” Carbon Trust, 2012 (no web link) GPG 382: “Energy efficient operation of heat distribution systems” Carbon Trust 2005 (no web link) Energy Efficiency: Steam, Hot Water and Process Heating Systems, Victoria State, 2015. https://www.sustainability. vic.gov.au/-/media/SV/Publications/ Business/Efficient-business-operations/ Energy-efficiency-for-business/Energyefficiency-best-practice-guidelines/SRSBBPG-Heating-Manual-Mar-2015.pdf?la=en.

“Heat Pumps: Integrating technologies to decarbonise heating and cooling”, Copper Alliance, 2018. https://www.ehpa.org/ fileadmin/user_upload/White_Paper_Heat_ pumps.pdf “A Guide to Hydrogen” Energy Institute - Energy Essentials, 2020. https:// knowledge.energyinst.org/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0008/742625/Energy-Essentials,-A-UserGuide-to-Hydrogen,-Energy-Institute-2020. pdf#Energy%20Essentials%20PDF

For details on how to obtain your Energy Institute CPD Certificate, see entry form and details on page 20 MARCH 2021 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 19

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SERIES SEPTEMBER SERIES 18 17 | MODULE 03 09 | MARCH 20202020

SERIES 18 | MODULE 08 | MARCH 2021

ENTRYFORM FORM ENTRY

SMART GRIDS SPACE HEATING

BOILERS &your BURNERS Please mark answers below by placing a cross in the box. Don't forget that some

Please mark your answers below by placing a cross in the box. Don't forget that some might have more than one correct answer.

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

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

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the answer sheet, return it to the address below. Photocopies are acceptable.

QUESTIONS QUESTIONS

1) The establishment of the main QUESTIONS 1. Which is the most common heating media in

1) ■ ■ ■ ■

2) ■ 3) ■ ■ ■ ■ 4) ■ ■ 5) ■ ■

transmission grid began in which wet systems?

What would be the most sensible order of decade? actions to improve the overall efficiency ■ High temperature hot water ■ 1940s of a■ building’ Steams thermal energy needs?

■ 1930s “(a)■ Tune” boiler, buy new 1960s Lowexisting temperature hot(b) water ■ boiler, (c) attention to EE at end-uses, (d) ■ Cold water distribution 2) Which system key parameters need to be (a) Attention to EE end-uses, controlled byatsmart grids?(b) 2. What is the most common space heating distribution (c) “tune” existing and frequency ■ fuelVoltage in thesystem, UK? boiler, (d) buy new boiler and current ■ Frequency oil ■ Fuelexisting (a) “Tune” boiler, attention to current and(b) frequency ■ Voltage, Electricity ■end-uses, (c) distribution system, EE at Natural gas ■ What’s (d) 3) buy new boiler the main source of large-scale Coal to EE ■ renewable generation connecting to (a) Attention at end-uses, (b) “tune” theboiler, grid? (c) buy new boiler, (d) existing Biomass distribution 3. What issystem a typical dry bulb space temperature ■ forWind a home? farms ■ What savings might one reasonably ■ 160Cfarms ■ Solar expect from paying attention to the 190C ■ thermal system away from the boiler?

4) 220Care the main forms of variable ■ What 5-10% 20-30% ■ at30-50% ■ 10-20% ■ connecting electrical loads the 240C ■ household level?

Which of these in NOT a good reason ■ Electric vehicles and heat pumpsfor 4. What is currently most common paying attention to thethe space-heating ■ Smart meters material panel radiators? andconstruction HW requirements offor a building?

■ Home automation devices Makes energy ironcost and CO2 emission ■ Cast reporting easier Pressed steel ■ What 5) is the main threat to smart grids?

Helps future proof the organisation Castof aluminium ■ Cost implementation ■ against tightening Copper ■ Cyber attackslow-carbon legislation ■ Means any of new boiler purchase in the experience and expertise ■ Lack future will beofcorrectly for its needs 5. Which these is asized key component of a Saves energy and benefits reduces site CO2 mechanical ventilation system?of 6) What arecosts the main smart emissions A fan ■ grids? the need for centralised power ■ An atrium ■ Reduce Currently, which of these EPC rating generation A chimneyminimum for most new are ■ considered ■ Encourage connection of electric vehicles ■ Opening windows rentals?

waterthe heatconnection recovery from showers ■ Waste of distributed ■ Facilitate 6. Which is thegeneration ‘deliverytoend’ ofvariable a vapour thermal panels pre-heat boiler water ■ Solar renewable and loads compression heat pump system? such as electric vehicles and heat pumps

6) Which the following would help improve ■ Theofevaporator the energy performance of a building?

7) does the abbreviation VPP stand for?

The condenser ■ What a formalprogramme EnMS with boilers and ■ Establishing purchase ■ The compressor ■ Volume HW/ space heating as a key centre ■ The slinkyprotection programme ■ Voluntary the BEMS, ■ Attention power plant ideally with maximum ■ Virtual to feedback minimum 7. Which ofand these factors isstaff usedinterference by a weather servicing andbe maintenance of the compensation control system?

■ Regular 8) Electricity cannot stored in large boiler and HW system by householders?

Building thermal inertia ■ quantities only large utilities and industrial/ ■ ofTime theas above ■ All of day ■ False commercial energy providers can provide ■ Outside air temperature

storage 7) What is thefacilities CIBSE and Carbon Trust ■ Date recommended “dead band” or zone where ■ False not building heating of cooling should take as householders can store electricity ■ True 8.

Which of these is used by ancharging optimum in standalone factors batteries or when place? start control system? their electric vehicles ■ 18-25°C ■ 20-24°C ■ 19-21°C ■ 20-22°C ■ Level of building occupancy

Outside airfollowing temperature 8) Which ofisthe is a of mandatory EE 9) the main benefit smart meters?

■ What intervention?

Boileravoid capacity the need for meter readers ■ They ■ Boiler flow temperature ■ They accurate andboiler timelyis on gasprovide dampers for when ■ ■ Flue information on power flows across the stand-by smart grid 9. Whichmaintenance types of space heating system canboiler and tuning of the ■ Regular They facilitate the systems export of surplus ■ building management used to air control? speed drive fans forbe the inlet ■ Variable electricity from household solar PV panels ■ Any an economiser to recapture heat ■ Installing ■ Wet from thesystems exhaust gases 10) What does the technology VtG represent?

■ Air handling plant

Geometry Turbochargers ■ Variable What is “green” hydrogen?

Boilers ■ designed to allow the effective aspect Hydrogen from hydrolysis electricity ratio of a turbocharger tousing be altered as 10.conditions What isfrom a thermostat?

Hydrogen hydrolysis using RE change electricity of Trapped Gas associated with ■ A temperature sensitive switch ■ Volume from steam methane reforming ■ Hydrogen A temperature sensor ■ respiration to Grid enabling EV batteries to + ■ from steam methane reforming ■ Hydrogen A proportional control device ■ Vehicle discharge to the grid to ‘smooth’ high CCS ■ A digital display device

9) ■ ■

How to obtain a CPD accreditation How the to obtain CPD accreditation from EnergyaInstitute

from the Energy Institute

Energy Energyin inBuildings Buildingsand andIndustry Industryand andthe theEnergy EnergyInstitute Instituteare aredelighted delightedto to have up you this Development Energy in Buildings and Industry and theProfessional Energy Institute are delighted to have haveteamed teamed upto tobring bring you thisContinuing Continuing Professional Development initiative. teamed initiative.up to bring you this Continuing Professional Development initiative.

This module ininthe series and focuses onon Smart Grids. Itand This the ninth module the seventeenth series and focuses Space Thisisisisthe thethird eighth module in eighteenth the eighteenth series and focuses on Boilers is accompanied by a set of multiple-choice questions. questions.

Heating.

ItItisisaccompanied byby a set of of multiple-choice Burners. accompanied a set multiple-choice questions.

To certificate readers must submit at eight of To qualify for CPD certificate readers must submit atleast least eight ofthe the Toqualify qualifyfor foraaaCPD CPD certificate readers must submit at least eight of the ten ten of from this series modules to EiBI for tensets sets ofquestions questions from this series of modulesto toEiBI EiBIfor forthe theEnergy Energy sets of questions from this series ofof modules the Energy Institute to Institute to Anyone at of correct Institute tomark. mark.

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

Anyone achieving at least eight outeight of tenout correct on eighton separate eight articles qualifies for an Institute CPD This can eightseparate separate articles qualifies anEnergy Energy CPDcertificate. certificate. canbe be on articles qualifies for an Energyfor Institute CPDInstitute certificate.

This can beThis obtained, obtained, and obtained,on onsuccessful successfulcompletion completionof ofthe thecourse andnotification notificationby bythe theEnergy Energy successful completion of the course andcourse notification by the Energy Institute, free of Institute, Institute,free freeof ofcharge chargefor forboth bothEnergy EnergyInstitute Institutemembers membersand andnon-members. non-members. charge for both Energy Institute members and non-members.

The articles, written by a qualified member of the Energy Institute, will appeal The articles, written by a qualified member of the Energy Institute, will appeal The articles, written by a qualifiedand memberwith of the Energy Institute,the will appeal to to tothose thosenew newto toenergy energymanagement management andthose those withmore moreexperience experienceof of the those new to energy management and those with more experience of the subject. subject. subject.

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SERIES17 17 SERIES SERIES 16

MAY 2019 - APR 2020

MAY MAY2019 2018--APR APR2020 2019

Batteries & Storage 111 Batteries BEMS & Storage 2 Energy as a Service 22 Energy as a Service Refrigeration 3 Water Management 33 Water Management LED Technology 4 Demand Side Response 44 Demand Side Response District Heating 5 Drives & Motors 55 Drives & Motors Air Conditioning 6 Blockchain Technology 66 Blockchain Technology Behaviour Change 7 Compressed Air 77 Compressed Air Thermal Imaging 8 Energy Purchasing 88 Energy Purchasing Solar Thermal 9 Space Heating 99 Space Heating Buildings 10 Smart Data Centre Management 10 Centre Management 10 Data Biomass Boilers

SERIES 18 SERIES SERIES18 17

MAY / JUNE 2020 - MAY 2021

MAY JUNE- APR 20202020 - MAY 2021 MAY/2019

Energy Efficiency Legislation 11 1Energy Efficiency Legislation Batteries & Storage 2 Building Controls 22 Building Controls Energy as a Service 3 Smart Grids 33 Smart Water Grids Management 4 Lighting Technology 44 Lighting DemandTechnology* Side Response 5 Heat Pumps 55 Heat Pumps* Drives & Motors 6 Metering & Monitoring 66 Metering & Monitoring* Blockchain Technology 7 Air Conditioning 77 Air Conditioning* Compressed Air 8 Boilers & Burners 88 Boilers Burners* Energy&Purchasing 9 Behaviour Change* 99 Behaviour Change* Space Heating 10 Combined Heat & Power* 10 Heat & Power* 10 Combined Data Centre Management*

* ONLY available to download from the website after publication date

**ONLY ONLYavailable availableto todownload downloadfrom fromthe thewebsite websiteafter afterpublication publicationdate date

electricity peak demand profiles.

10)Which of these is least likely to be seen as a Rating = D ■ Rating = E boiler in 2050?

Rating = F Rating = G ■ Please complete your details below in block capitals Please complete your details below in■ block capitals Hydrogen boilers burning “blue” hydrogen Which of these in NOT an energy-saving ■ All electric boilers: either immersion or action? inline/ instantaneous Name Name......................................................................................................................................................................... .........................................................................................................................................................................(Mr. (Mr.Mrs, Mrs,Ms) Ms).................................... ....................................

Fixing a dripping hot-water tap ■ Biomass boilers Waste-heat recovery from exhaust air via Local CCS for capturing the boiler’s CO2 ■ Business ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Business .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... a thermal wheel emissions Business Address .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Lucy Simpson is head of EV product management at Centrica Business Solutions

Electric Vehicles For further information on Centrica Business Solutions visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 130

Plan for the move to electric As the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicle sales approaches fleet operators are moving to electric vehicles. Lucy Simpson explains the key factors in making the switch

B

usinesses and public sector organisations are taking advantage of financial incentives and economies of scale to lead the move to EV, a transition which is central to their sustainability strategies.

The Latest BloombergNEF analysis predicts that rapidly falling lithiumion battery costs will mean that electric vehicle purchase prices could match those of petrol and diesel cars by as early as 2023. Meanwhile, advances in technology mean that batteries will be able to charge in as little as five minutes.

At Centrica we began electrifying our 12,000-strong fleet over six years ago and are using the lessons we’ve learned to help other organisations to develop cost-effective, scalable and future-proofed EV transition plans.

Some of the key steps to consider are: • Assess your EV needs and feasibility: the first priority is to work out what your EV fleet needs are and how electrification can viably be delivered. You will need a detailed understanding of your vehicle usage, what a typical day’s fleet driving looks like and how charging could fit in to that.

Adequacy of the power supply Second, work out the feasibility of installing workplace or depot charging from an energy perspective, e.g. the adequacy of the power supply to meet increasing demand and suitability of sites for installation of on-site generation and storage. To accommodate new working patterns post-COVID, you may also need to factor in home charging plans.

Your feasibility study should also assess the strength of support from senior management and employees.

Their buy-in and long-term EV commitment is vital.

• Understand regulatory drivers and incentives: transport is the UK’s biggest contributor to carbon emissions – accounting for 27 per cent of total CO2 emissions.

Therefore, decarbonising transportation is a major policy

The first step in planning electrification is an in-depth understanding of vehicle use

priority – supported by incentives and regulations, including: 1) UK Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) Plug-in Grant Scheme, and Workplace Charging Scheme (up to £14,000 to install up to 40 chargers).

2) Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) are exempt from UK Vehicle Exercise and corporate tax write downs. Qualification for 0 per cent Benefit in Kind (company car tax) for 2020-21, rising to 1 per cent in 2022 and 2 per cent in 2023.

3) Sale of new petrol and diesel cars banned in the UK from 2030.

4) Average emission target for new cars reduced to 95g CO2/km across EU and UK in 2021.

5) Creation of Low carbon emission zones (e.g. Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London, with plans for other cities.

• Factor in total cost of ownership: after clocking up more than 1.75m electric miles across our own fleet, we’ve seen that when you factor in lack of fuel costs and lower maintenance requirements, running an EV is cheaper overall – despite the fact that EVs currently cost about £1,000 more to lease on an annual basis.

Understand the full ongoing costs for your EV infrastructure and energy supply to accurately forecast the total cost of ownership. Validate the financial viability and explore all the funding options for both vehicle

purchase and energy and charging infrastructure. Ensure that you make the most of the funding and tax incentives and consider how to maintain visibility and control over usage in order to keep costs under control.

• Plan your energy strategy: switching to EV will increase power demand, so if there are supply constraints you may need to consider grid upgrades, self-generating your own clean energy supply, or making use of Renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

By integrating your EV infrastructure with renewable onsite distributed solutions, such as solar and battery storage, you can reduce energy costs and enhance sustainability. There’s also an opportunity to earn revenue via Demand Side Response and supply optimisation programmes. This is an attractive option for back-tobase fleets, where vehicles may be plugged in for longer periods.

• Implement fleet software & tools to optimise performance: fleet managers need a suite of software to manage charge points, energy use and deal with the commercial aspects of multi-site charging.

The right package of EV management software can optimise costs that support time-of-use tariff flexibility; manage charging access, payments and reimbursements;

monitor driver efficiency and provide full transparency for drivers.

It is essential to use data analytics and alerts to gain real-time visibility and status of your charging network and performance - that can be converted into configurable reports.

Chargers should have load sharing capabilities to keep you within your site energy constraints and minimise costs. You may also need to consider software systems to optimise and integrate on-site generation and storage solutions.

• future-proof your EV fleet strategy: careful planning is essential to ensure that your EV infrastructure offers the flexibility to adapt as your fleet evolves and technologies or business priorities change. Your integrated EV strategy must address many different issues – from design, though to installation, operation and maintenance. Factors to consider include: 1) procurement of key components such as charging hardware and software; 2) support services, including operation and maintenance; 3) service level agreements with EV infrastructure and software providers; 4) additional power needs, e.g. higher capacity grid connections; new or expanded on-site generation infrastructure and grid balancing services; 5) energy estate integration with existing or expanded onsite generation and storage; and 6) flexibility and ‘smart’ optimisation, including preparation for future utilisation of Vehicle-toGrid (V2G).

• Select an experienced EV partner: unless you have the right experience and resources available in-house, it’s likely that you will require expert support. This involves coordinating and integrating the many disparate elements of your EV project, including software, hardware and energy provision; planning control; regulation, installation; operation and maintenance, etc. 

MARCH 2021 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 21

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Electric Vehicles

Steve Gardner is managing director of EcolightingUK

For further information on EcolightingUK visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 129

The perils of the electric transition Steve Gardner shares his thoughts on how electric vehicles will fit into the Government’s Ten Point Plan sustainability initiative

I

n November 2020 the UK government unveiled its ambitious aim of a cleaner, greener future via a Ten Point Plan. This has been devised to repair not only the economic damage caused

by Covid-19, but also to cement the UK as global leaders in green technologies and aid us in the ongoing fight against climate change.

This will be achieved by actively tackling greenhouse gas emissions and creating new ‘green collar’ jobs in the renewable and sustainable energy sectors.

Point four of the Ten Point Plan focuses on facilitating and accelerating a nationwide shift from petrol vehicles to zero-emission electric cars. With restricted travel and various social distancing measures in place, the government believes that electric vehicles “can be our most visible incarnation of our ability to simultaneously create jobs, strengthen British industry, cut emissions, and continue travelling.”

With well over a hundred electric vehicle models currently available on the market, it’s easy to take false comfort in the fact that we’re making good progress towards improving our air quality. However, while the growing number of electric vehicles does ignite hope, it does not detract from the fact that cars and vans account for a fifth of all carbon emissions. It becomes clear that, in order to successfully mitigate this shift to electric in the most seamless way possible, as much effort and investment needs to be directed into charging infrastructure as into the manufacture of the vehicles themselves.

Fortunately, the Ten Point Plan has pre-empted this concern. A huge £1.3bn of the overall £12bn investment will be used to establish charging stations across the country, including rapid charge points on major roads and on-street charging

As much effort needs to be directed into the charging infrastructure as into the manufacturing of the vehicles

stations in homes and residential areas. Not only will this make the use of electric vehicles more accessible, but it will also help to build faith in the electric car as a viable alternative to petrol.

Sustainable product options For the many companies who are already striving towards providing sustainable product options and services to their customers, the Ten Point Plan is a welcome step in the right direction. However, others have noticed flaws in the plan and, for many energy-saving solutions suppliers and electric vehicle charging installers, the government’s proposal simply isn’t compelling

enough to undo generations of environmental damage.

Making cycling and walking more attractive, planting trees and making our homes, schools and hospitals ‘greener’ are not groundbreaking tactics and should be a prerequisite of any government instead of being elements of a reactive plan. Achieving true sustainability needs to happen at a grassroots level, with the way that products are designed and the systems we use to install them.

Encouraging people to walk and cycle more is one thing, but without tackling the way in which we power our homes, workspaces, factories, offices and warehouses, the changes

will only ever be minor.

It is also feared that the proposed plans for the electric car market could be implicated by unforeseen challenges. By ceasing the manufacture of petrol cars, the secondhand car market will explode as many people will not be able to afford electric models. With this being just one issue that could affect the industry, it is crucial that the government answers some pressing questions about the future of vehicle electrification - especially in regards to safety and economic stability.

Concern also lies in the futures of mechanics across the country, most of which have spent their entire careers studying and practising the skill of traditional vehicle maintenance. Electric vehicles need very little maintenance, so what does that mean for the country’s mechanics? Will they be forced to retrain in another trade while a new generation of green collar mechanics is called upon to redirect the industry? The answer is likely to cause an inevitable loss of jobs and force many workers out of a lifelong career.

These concerns are also being echoed by the petrol station industry.

Petrol stations currently employ around 100,000 people. However, with a nationwide phasing out of petrol fuelled vehicles, the question is what will become of the industry and the people who work within it?

The dawn of the electric age brings with it a matrix of wider questions, many of which are currently unanswered. This is perpetuating a growing sense of anxiety which could eclipse the efforts of the Ten Point Plan entirely.

Understanding the need for change and putting plans in place to facilitate such change is one thing, but without consideration of our old world we run the risk of causing damage in pursuit of a new one.

Certain industries exist on a large scale and can’t be overlooked, regardless of how unsustainable they may be. We must therefore ensure that these industries and the people working within them are allowed to transition into a greener way of working with full governmental support, rather than being completely eliminated to make way for new industries. 

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ESTA VIEWPOINT

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

A year for collaboration Whether it’s trade shows, the UK’s leadership of the COP26, or energy sector organisations, the key to promoting the energy efficiency agenda this year will be working together, believes Mervyn Pilley

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wo years into the role of executive director at ESTA, and the interesting and challenging times continue.

As I write this column my own vaccination beckons and discussions are taking place about what the new normal will look like for us both as individuals, as employees and indeed as businesses.

The energy sector traditionally has a lot of trade shows in the latter months of the year and I suspect many people will be looking forward to a return of the physical events. The virtual world has enabled events and meetings to continue but the many attempts to replicate the physical trade shows that were put on in 2020 had mixed results. As humans we really do need that interaction with other human beings and unfortunately that is just not the same across computer screens.

One discussion that is happening now is about the need for future hybrid events.

These will be physical events, perhaps with smaller number of attendees, supported by live streaming and virtual aspects. This may not great for the exhibitors but certainly better potentially for events and meetings. It is important to remember that it isn’t just a discussion about venues being able to accommodate numbers of people in a safe environment, but people also need to have the confidence to travel to venues, potentially on very crowded public transport.

Autumn move for aM&T event At the moment we are looking at potentially holding our aM&T event in October/November along those lines and will keep everyone up to date as plans evolve. On the subject of events, we are hard at work planning the next ESTA Conference – Green Recovery – Action NOW! aimed at all with an interest in energy efficiency, especially end users/potential customers. Working with the Energy Institute and Energy Leeds the event will be run over three afternoons – Tuesday 20th April through to Thursday 22nd April 2021. Each day will be based around a theme as follows: • Tuesday 20th April – speakers on Government policy, COP26 as well as job

‘We will work to ensure that energy efficiency gets a hearing in Glasgow’ creation; • Wednesday 21st April – speakers on how technological solutions are driving higher levels of energy efficiency; and • Thursday 22nd April – speakers covering the various solutions on offer including training to help end users achieve Net Zero targets Full details of timings and speakers for all three days will be published on the ESTA website and EiBI readers are very welcome to join us.

In my January column I mentioned COP26. I suggested then that Alok Sharma was clearly too busy doing his ‘day job’ as a minister to carry out an effective role as Chair of COP. This has now been proven to be correct with him taking on the chair role full time. The challenge for the energy sector is that those moves within BEIS has meant a new energy minister. As many other sectors have found to their cost, continuity of service from a minister is a very important aspect of policy planning for the medium to long term.

We look forward to working with the new minister.

We continue to work with others to make sure that the critical importance of energy efficiency – using less energy – gets a decent hearing at the event in Glasgow.

The focus has continued to be on the big projects – renewables, carbon capture and storage, EVs etc. Yes, these are indeed

much needed, if very expensive, projects.

But using less energy is considerably less expensive, especially if behaviour change (yes, another plug for our rapidly growing Energy Conscious Organisation programme) is fully brought into play.

Unfortunately, it looks highly likely that the Green Homes Grant scheme underspend on its budget for 2020-21 will be clawed back by the Treasury. Sadly, the major challenges of the scheme were predictable and a substantial amount of advice from the installer sector was not taken on board. This is a disappointing example of where Government policy in relation to energy efficiency has not been very successful. We will continue to focus on convincing the Government of the importance of a cohesive, joined-up policy programme on energy efficiency.

Critically, this needs to encompass the non-domestic, commercial markets, which up to now have been effectively sidelined.

Share knowledge and innovation

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

The collaboration projects that we are working on continue to develop, despite the ongoing effects of lockdown/ pandemic. The Commercial Energy Efficiency Alliance, a group of trade associations and professional bodies looking to share knowledge and innovation in relation to all areas of commercial buildings including retrofit, is building slowly but surely. Our Energy Efficiency in Buildings group jointly run with the Building Engineering Services Association is meeting again this month, and some good collaboration work is underway. I was also very pleased to see the launch of Actuate UK, a major collaboration between BESA and seven other membership organisations operating in the building services engineering space. This is another great example of how membership collaboration at scale can help to solve many of the challenges we are all facing today. On the same subject we are currently in discussion with others about how trade associations can work together to help us achieve the sustainable development goals. Watch this space for more collaboration this year.  MARCH 2021 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 23

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Smart Buildings

Matthew Hawkridge, is chief technical officer at Ovarro

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

Smarter thinking cities Matthew Hawkridge looks at how remote telemetry units can play a part in creating the smart, efficient cities that will be a global feature in the coming years

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ith a recent announcement that the sales of diesel and petrol cars will be banned by 2030, five years ahead of schedule, it won’t be long before even more attention is focussed on the built environment.

According to forecast from the United Nations, world population is likely to reach 9bn by 2050 (from around 7bn today). This growth will see an increase in the number of mega cities with population over 10m. Making cities smarter is one way of tackling this challenge and RTUs are a critical part of delivering this utopia.

The best way of thinking about RTUs is that they are ‘mini-computers in the field’, so adding one to an older asset can make it ‘smart’. In terms of benefits, RTUs help optimise assets in both near and remote applications – particularly useful for renewable assets that will supply these new mega cities. Their principal role is to provide monitoring and control, although functionality now goes far beyond this with an ability to collect, analyse data and then act upon it autonomously, where needed.

The principle benefit of RTUs is that they enable buildings and indeed entire cities to be remotely monitored, allowing status of a vast range of assets such as traffic lights, electrical substations, transport nodes, amongst others to be regularly verified from a laptop or smart device. RTUs gather, interpret and act upon this data.

They can also monitor the external environment, for example, local temperature, which can be useful when optimising energy efficiency.

The point is, specifiers may not realise it, but an RTU is able to solve many of the problems they work on in mega cities.

RTUs, such as TBox, act as both the site controller and the site communications gateway. They collect data directly, or provide a secure VPN, to PLCs used to monitor

As the trend towards megacities accelerates the need for smart solutions will become acute

the asset. The collected data is then made available to the operators who can issue commands back to the RTU to control the asset. In parallel, the RTU relays key information to the asset owner or maintenance partner. With its ability to report alarms and historical data via email, SMS and FTP, it means nominated personnel are always being updated on its status.

Digital twin involves the replication of a physical asset, process or system to create a virtual representation of the physical world, like a simulation using 3D renderings of computer-aided design (CAD) models. It can be used in smart cities to predict different outcomes based on variable data, and these can be run as simulation scenarios until the optimum outcome is identified – all within the digital space.

Data gathered by sensors Digital twin uses real time data gathered by sensors, PLCs or RTUs to help operators better understand their assets and process, whilst identifying opportunities to increase efficiency and safety. Although data can be gathered using all three methods it is the RTU that offers the distinct advantage over PLC’s

or sensors of being environmental robust – essential when tens of millions of people in a mega city rely on the systems.

Of all the pathways that data must traverse, the connection to the asset site is the one most likely to fail, and servers sitting in data centres are on the wrong side of that link. It is the RTU that sits at the true edge of your control system gathering information, providing local, low latency control, irrespective of communications connectivity.

RTUs therefore need to be resilient to environmental extremes, withstanding anything from -40oC to +70oC climatic temperatures.

Having multiple, independent communications links, redundant power supplies and redundant process controllers provides another buffer to site conditions and future technological developments.

Their resilient nature and layers of redundancy ensure that RTU’s are a reliable part of a mega cities support infrastructure.

Where maintenance of assets within a smart city are factored out, knowing the status of the device before the end customer ensures better outcomes for all project partners. Where the asset could potentially develop a fault that

prevents it from operating, RTU’s allow maintenance teams to take preventative action. With a growing focus on the environment, ‘big data’ captured using RTUs allow accurate monitoring of emissions. In Asia, TBox RTU technology monitors diesel generator systems 24/7, providing emissions data to a central reporting location. The centralised data can be accessed by the wider community through an air quality index app on smart devices as a means of keeping their energy providers in check. In addition, for the benefit of the owner, the RTUs monitor the generator health, by tracking exhaust temperatures, heater exchange throughput and oil quality as part of proactive maintenance measures. Monitoring fuel use also benefits efficiency management and deters fuel theft.

As the world’s population grows through to 2050, RTUs will play a more prominent role in making sure these cities work efficiency. Even now, the world’s largest cities are growing at phenomenal rates and it won’t be long before they reach capacity, although RTUs are already routinely deployed. In simple terms, unless we embrace technology, these vast urban conurbations are liable to grind to a halt. 

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Smart Buildings For further information on EnOcean Alliance visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 131

Monitor to lower the threat Carbon dioxide sensors can go much further than monitoring indoor air quality. Graham Martin looks at how they could give a first warning about the spread of coronavirus

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here is increasing evidence that carbon dioxide levels in buildings correlate strongly with the airborne spread of infection.

Consequently, CO2 monitors could act as the “canary in the coal mine” to mitigate the coronavirus threat.

Carbon dioxide is generated by the exhaled air of people who stay indoors. Each person in a building will exhale approximately eight litres of air per minute: air that has been in close contact with the lung tissue.

Alongside CO2 at a concentration around 40,000 parts per million (ppm), the exhalation also contains tiny liquid droplets (aerosols) which, due to their size, can float in the air for a long time. These droplets will contain any virus particles present in the lungs. Research shows a method to mitigate infection can be implemented with CO2 monitors on site. While it is difficult to measure the viral load directly, energy harvesting wireless sensors are the ideal way to monitor CO2 levels and hence prevent the build-up of reused air.

With evidence pointing towards airborne transmission being a major factor in the spread of the virus, the inference is that CO2 levels in rooms and other enclosed spaces may be used as a proxy for COVID-19 transmission risk.

Indoor CO2 measurements using easy and low-cost to install sensors hold promise for mass monitoring

of indoor aerosol transmission risk for Covid-19 and other respiratory diseases. Different CO2 level targets should be set based on the environment and activity type, since infection risk level has been shown to vary by a factor of 100 or more depending on the situation and activity type. Factors such as the number of infected people in a region, and measures such as mask-wearing or air filtration may reduce presence of the airborne virus without reducing CO2 levels. Certain activities increase virus emission far more than CO2 levels, such as talking, singing and shouting.

Both CO2 and the virus are diluted by ventilation with outdoor air.

They are not, however removed by recirculating the air, for example through heat exchangers If we are in a room with several

people, the measurement of the CO2 concentration provides a measure of what percentage of the air we inhale which consists of air that has already been exhaled by other people. The mass balance shows that a measured CO2 concentration of approximately 1,200ppm means that almost 2 per cent of the air in the room has already had lung contact at least once. At this level, every 50th breath that a person takes in this room consists of air that has already been exhaled. The resulting specific corona infection risk is more complex to quantify, as it depends on various factors that are currently still being intensively researched.

Notwithstanding these caveats, it is clear that CO2 measurement offers a cost-effective solution for classifying the current risk from potentially infectious aerosols.

Each person in a building will exhale approximately eight litres of air per minute

Graham Martin is CEO and chairman, EnOcean Alliance

Putting the research into practice, the Federal Environment Agency has drawn up general guidelines for health assessment of carbon dioxide in indoor air, which includes advice regarding SARS-CoV-2 – advice that is also relevant to COVID-19.

Accordingly, a concentration of <1000ppm is hygienically harmless. The guideline classifies a concentration between 1000 and 2000ppm as questionable and anything above it as unacceptable.

CO2 is also an important indicator in the DGHK (Deutsche Gesellschaft für das hochbegabte Kind - German society for gifted children) statement on prevention in schools.

Similarly, the UBA (Umweltbundesamt - German Environment Agency) ventilation working group recommends the use of CO2 traffic lights for this purpose.

The DGVU (Unfallkasse) goes even further and advocates a target value of 700 ppm in classrooms in times of epidemic. The latest findings are summarized in the UBA guide “Ventilation in schools” (15.10.20), which was created for the KMK (Kultusminister der Länder in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland).

To follow these strategies, CO2 monitoring devices need to be dependable, and easy to place where they are needed. Ideally, they need to be connected, for example to trigger alarms when CO2 concentration goes above “traffic light” thresholds, even to send alarms to building management networks, or to smartphones via wireless networks.

Wireless, battery-free sensors represent the ideal solution. Simple to fit and easy to maintain, such sensors utilise energy harvesting technology to draw energy from their surroundings – for example from motion, light or temperature differences. Rapidly deployed, without the need for special installation or wiring, such solutions enable continuous monitoring of carbon dioxide concentration in the ambient air.

What is more, a wide range of these CO2 sensors work within the ecosystem of standards like the EnOcean Alliance. This means that they can easily combine with other devices, such as room occupancy sensors and access control, that are integral to COVID-19 measures. 

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Nick Sacke is head of IoT and products at Comms365

Smart Buildings For further information on Comms365 visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 138

Making social housing smart Nick Sacke looks at the ways in which IoT can be used to create smarter, safer social housing.

But clever and careful planning is required to make the most of the technology

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s the demand for more affordable social housing increases across the UK, the pressure is on for social housing associations to adapt to a dynamic, challenging landscape. Accessibility, rising maintenance costs and tenant safety are just some of the everyday challenges facing both housing associations and their tenants.

And with the rollout of smart technology taking place in allied industries, the opportunity for IoT technology in social housing can be transformative, with the potential to make developments safer, more energy-efficient, and therefore cheaper to run.

Organisations are already implementing smart technology into their offices and consumers are doing the same in their homes – social housing associations (HA) aren’t far behind. There are several pilot projects and proof of concept trials being rolled out

by HAs, and the initial results are encouraging. However, despite common operational challenges across the sector, not one technology solution fits all scenarios. This means that stakeholder education and a number of considerations need to be addressed in the planning phase before the work can begin.

Smart sensors can be used to measure and gather data from a number of property management parameters including temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide levels, noise and people movement.

This data can then be shared with providers who can feed it into the network, benefiting not only tenants who can control their usage and bills through increased via access to applications on their smartphones, but also HAs, who can use the data insights for predictive maintenance, allowing for operational agility and highly effective resource allocation.

For example, sensors can identify whether humidity levels are creating an environment for damp and

Social housing associations are beginning to see the benefit of implementing smart technology

mould, which if left, would not only incur repair costs but also potentially cause health issues, leading to more expenses over time, such as insurance claims.

It isn’t just housing associations that are turning to IoT technology and accessing the rich data that can be harvested from sensor networks.

Several councils and local authorities in the UK are rolling out their own IoT deployments for use cases that include predictive maintenance and a very large cost centre - healthcare and assisted living. By using a variety of sensors tracking movement, appliance usage, fridge access, toilet flushing, heating and water use, care professionals can build profiles of activity that can provide insight into daily patterns and through algorithms, an alert to any changes - affording councils an extra layer of protection for the elderly and vulnerable tenants in their housing estates.

The greater the volume of data

harvested from individual properties, the more trending and predictive analysis can be undertaken, leading to enhanced accuracy and forecasting, combined with new data visualisation techniques. And deploying the IoT programme in phases will ensure that audit trails are in place to determine areas that may require adjustment.

Common communications A key consideration in the deployment of multiple IoT devices is that they are able to utilise a common communications network infrastructure to connect and deliver data to applications in the cloud.

Standards in Low Power Wide Area Networks such as LoRaWAN and Narrowband IoT have now emerged globally, and are helping diverse device manufacturers to produce products that conform to these communications protocols, making large deployments easier to deploy and manage in large geographic

areas. This enables large-scale coverage and a holistic view across estates of devices and dwellings, some of which are in the tens of thousands per HA. If these standards and methods are followed, overheads for device management and reporting can indeed be minimised.

Another important consideration, which can become a significant barrier to adoption within the social housing market, is cultural acceptance of ‘smart’ technology in the home environment. Despite the operational and cost efficiencies of IoT, for tenants, privacy is a prime concern. The idea of 24/7 monitoring can make tenants nervous, especially when it comes to the issue of data protection; which may affect their willingness to embrace, or even approve the use of these devices in their homes. This, therefore, is an area that HAs need to be mindful of and ensure they are addressing and exploring in the planning phase in order to pre-empt any tenantrequested adjustments to design, deployment, and use of data.

With the demand for more energyefficient housing on the rise and the latest government green standard for new build homes already in place, the expectation for more intelligent homes is certainly increasing. In light of this, we predict that in the years to follow, IoT-based property services will be much more agile, responsive and offer a dynamic set of services that are more tailored to tenants’ needs. Properties that are better managed and highly costefficient to run result in happier, safer tenants. Providers are actively developing more sensors with widerranging capability, connectivity and deployment at scale The vision and objective for this type of technology intervention is to allow housing stock to connect seamlessly to facilities management and operations, exchange relevant data for insight and action, and deliver safer, smarter, economical and environmentally conscious social housing. 

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Smart Buildings For further information on Carlo Gavazzi visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 133

Metering the transition to net zero The move from fossil fuels to low-carbon electric heating and electric vehicles will make accurate electricity metering critical to the green industrial revolution, says William Darby

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ritain’s transition to a cleaner low-carbon future took a step forward in November with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of a target to install 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028, as part of a Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution.

Alongside the government’s ambitious plans to decarbonise the heating of new homes and business premises, the plan also included a commitment to decarbonise transport with a ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine cars and vans by 2030.

The move to an electric, low carbon future will increase the demand for metering to ensure both the accurate monitoring of electricity consumption in order to allocate energy costs and for customer billing.

A key element of the Ten Point Plan is a £1.3bn investment in electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure to accelerate the rollout of charge points for electric vehicles in homes, streets and on motorways.

This will be a major challenge: the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders estimate that Britain will need 2.8m roadside charge points in addition to those in homes and offices.

Charging stations consume significant amounts of electrical power when EV drivers refuel their vehicles. The amount of power consumed needs to be metered to ensure fair and accurate cost allocation for the energy consumed in charging each vehicle.

The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 (AEV Act) requires all charge points sold or installed in the UK to have smart functionality, which includes the ability to monitor and record

The move to an electric future will boost the demand for accurate metering and cost allocation

energy consumption. There is already a similar requirement for public charge points under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulations 2017: these require an infrastructure operator to ensure that all recharging points “incorporate intelligent metering systems.”

An ‘intelligent metering system’ means “an electronic system that can measure energy consumption, providing more information than a conventional meter and can transmit and receive data using a form of electronic communication.”

Fast-charge points For three phase applications, such as public fast charge points, Carlo Gavazzi’s EM340 or EM24-E1 energy analyser are the perfect solution. Both meters are MID certified making them suitable for cost allocation and sub-metering and for fiscal/legal sub-billing for commercial and residential three phase EV charging applications.

Alongside its commitment to

greener transport the government has also committed to making the heating of homes, schools and offices greener and more energy efficient with its ambitious target to role out both air source and ground source heat pumps.

Most of the 600,000 heat pumps set to be installed every year by 2028 will be in new-build homes, which will no longer be permitted to use gas for heating. However, increasing numbers of heat pumps will be installed in existing homes and businesses, where they will replace gas or oil-fired boilers.

The installation of heat pumps in existing properties is currently supported by the Domestic and Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which, for the purposes of this scheme, includes a heat pump installation that supplies more than one dwelling.

From 22 May 2018, any heat pump installed under the Domestic RHI must have electricity metering arrangements in place to enable its performance to be monitored. All such meters used to claim payment

William Darby is managing director of Carlo Gavazzi UK

under the RHI need to comply with the 2014 EU Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) and fall within accuracy Class A, as defined in Annex MI-003 of the MID. Some heat pumps have built-in meters and monitoring devices, known as ‘on-board meters’. An on-board electricity meter is integrated into the heat pump.

Another metering option is to use a standalone electricity meter that measures the electricity consumption of your heat pump.

The electricity meter will likely have to be purchased in addition to the heat pump and be installed alongside it.

For single phase new heat pump metering applications, Carlo Gavazzi’s EM100 series of energy meters offer a cost effective, compact and MID certified solution. While the EM300 series is an MID certified meter for 3-phase suitable for both commercial and domestic applications.

Where accurate meters need to be retrofitted to existing heat pumps, Carlo Gavazzi have additional solutions within its EM100, EM200 and EM300 range depending on requirements and preference. All meters are ideal for measuring energy consumption and the main electrical variables of single-phase or three-phase loads.

The Domestic RHI is set to end on 31 March 2022, after which financial support for domestic heat pump installations will be covered under a new Clean Heat Grant scheme. This will target support to existing households and small non-domestic buildings to facilitate the installation of heat pumps. As with the RHI, accurate metering of electricity consumption by the heat pump will be key to ensuring the success of the new scheme.

It is clear that ditching gas and oil heating in favour of cleaner, greener electric heat pumps will have huge environmental benefits.

These benefits can be further enhanced by extending the lifetime and reliability of the heat pump compressor motor by eliminating the start capacitor. Carlo Gavazzi’s High Dynamic Motor Starter (HDMS eliminates the need for a starting capacitor altogether. 

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Products in Action

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

Variable speed drives save £20,000 for top UK law firm Replacing inverters integrated into OEM-built pump booster sets with externally wall-mounted variable speed drives (VSDs), has saved a building’s clientele more than £20,000 by avoiding exchange of the entire units.

Three pump sets are used at the UK head offices of international law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) to boost cold water flow by maintaining pressure on each of the building’s 12 floors. However, during a refurbishment of the building, an electrical surge caused damage to the inverters used within each of the pump sets.

Faced with a costly bill to replace all three pump sets in their entirety, BCLP asked ABB partner, Triac Services Limited, to seek alternative solutions. Each pump set comprised a 4 kW inverter, a motor, a pump and an electrical control panel. Investigation revealed that it was only the inverter within each set that had failed.

By removing each inverter within the pump sets and replacing with a standalone 4 kW variable speed drive, the cost of new pump sets was avoided. Lorimer Colledge of Triac Services said: “The ABB VSDs are easy to program. From the primary settings menu, we selected multi-pump control and then followed the parameter settings to allow automatic PID pressure control.”

Furthermore, a one-day installation and commissioning and lower energy use significantly contributed to the payback of the refurbishment.

By replacing the inverter with a wall mounted VSD, the system design is simplified making maintenance easier and therefore less costly.

The VSDs are programmed to share the operating duties in 12-hour shifts, balancing the workload and helping spread the wear and tear among the three drives, extending the pump set life expectancy.

Colledge added: “As taps are turned on and off in the building, the VSDs change the speed of the pump motors to maintain the setpoint pressure of 6 bars across the 12 floors. The program is set to automatically select one of the standby drives to provide extra pumping to help the duty drive as required.”

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Water Treatment & Management

Vinayak Subramanyam is vertical marketing director, industrial, Xylem Europe

For further information on Xylem Europe visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 134

A digital solution to water management Vinayak Subramanyam examines how smart water management is keeping industry compliant and driving down expenditure for industry

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ndustrial use of water has always been a key outlay for industries.

Figures close to $9bn have been associated with industrial water acquisition, discharge, treatment and reuse.1 In fact, nearly 55 per cent of the total uptake of water for all human activities is used by industries like mining, power plants and the food and beverage sector to run their operations.2 Yet while water remains a crucial supporting aspect in every industrial process, it is often overshadowed by other aspects of the core process.

But when we factor in that around 70 per cent of industrial companies lack awareness3 of when assets are due for maintenance or upgrade, we see the threat that can seriously impact both operational continuity and efficiency – and the environment - if attention is not given to smarter strategies for optimising industrial water and wastewater management.

Smart water management can deliver savings of £9.5bn to £11.5bn each year through reductions in capital and operational expenditure.

It combines three factors, all designed to help industries maximise performance and comply with regulatory scrutiny: • intelligent equipment, which includes pumps, mixers, treatment and sensors, capable of self-optimisation for enhanced performance; • smart networks capable of gathering information across a range of equipment to provide real-time reactive management of the system; and • digital solutions that communicate across devices, ensuring real-time monitoring and powerful data analytics for insights that remove the guesswork and worry from industrial water management systems.

Through a more holistic approach, rather than isolating standalone

Industrial companies must give attention to smarter strategies of optimising industrial water and wastewater

functions, it is possible to integrate sourcing, treatment and reuse. By employing smart technology with digital tools, such as cloud analytics, powerful data modelling, and the Internet of Things, significant benefits can be achieved.

Smart water approach The smart water approach ensures more productive wastewater management and treatment, to better control the effluent stream going back to the environment, which is essential to successfully meet discharge and environmental regulations.

Connected digital systems enable plant managers to tap into faster decision-making to avoid bottlenecks and plan maintenance. This translates into increased production - and quicker delivery to market.

It also ensures effective reporting, critical to demonstrate compliance and potentially minimise penalties.

Intelligent pump technology brings interconnected solutions to the world of wastewater pumping: such pumps are capable of sensing the operating conditions of its environment, adapting its performance in real time and providing feedback to pumping

Ozone treatment boosts sustainability Heating, cooling and cleaning can drain a lot of energy for many factories and industrial plants: it’s here that ozone can meet needs now and into the future, bringing a significant reduction in maintenance, component replacement and, most importantly, time.

Compared to chlorination, ozone has a greater disinfection effectiveness against bacteria and viruses.

In the case of cooling towers, a heat exchanger on an open loop system with a biofilm layer as thin as 1.2mm can see efficiency reduced by up to 43 per cent.

Treating with ozone not only removes the fouling from the heat exchanger plates but also keeps associated pipework clean and reduces corrosion from microbial activity. In the long-term, it also minimises stoppage for maintenance and repairs, which is the ‘win-win’ with smart water management, by reducing losses from unplanned downtime and maximising asset life.

station operators. Similarly, intelligent adaptive mixers can automatically match output to demand, saving as much as 47 per cent on energy bills by varying thrust according to aeration conditions.

And, as corporations take a more proactive approach to sustainability, the use of non-disinfection products in clean water treatment, like ultraviolet light and ozone, has a growing role to play in many areas.

Not only do these treatments fall in line with regulation - replacing harmful chemicals and aligning with reduced impact on the environment - both products are naturally occurring: another bonus for the company keen to boost their green credentials (see box below).

Smart water management within industry should also factor in rental services, where needed. Rental banks can provide instant access to a wide range of standardised assets, and products and solutions can be rapidly deployed to support any project in a given locality, supported and serviceable by local field engineers.

Service agreements can also ensure that businesses keep running at their best for secure, optimal operations. Outsourcing certain services, including plant operation and maintenance, parts and logistics, asset refurbishments, or training and technical support can minimise downtime, save energy, and optimise operational performance, achieving for any operation more time to focus on the core business.

If recent times have taught us anything, it is that the only constant in business is change. As industries adapt in order to thrive, firms need to draw on all the expertise at their fingertips to maximise ROI and that includes drawing on the specialist knowledge of trusted partners who understand their needs. 

References 1) ‘Industrial wastewater treatment pressures on Europe’s environment’, EEA Report No 23/2018.

2) Industrial wastewater treatment pressures on Europe’s environment’, EEA Report No 23/2018.

3) Vanson Bourne, “Unplanned Downtime,” 2017 2 4. Philip K. Verleger, Jr., “$200 Crude, the Economic Crisis of 2020 and Policies to Prevent Catastrophe.

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Scott MacIndeor is head of advanced services at Water Plus

Water Treatment & Management For further information on Water Plus visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 135

Also, many may not realise that while it’s important to cover any risks from Legionella for the water pipes at your business, some organisations run their water heaters at maximum when they could reduce the temperature and save money on energy costs.

Remember, it’s important to make sure the water is still at the temperature needed to manage Legionella and water quality.

Control risk of Legionella

Green roofs and ponds and can used to reduce water going back to public sewers

Move towards your green goals Scott MacIndeor examines how reducing use of water can have a knock-on effect on an organisation’s drive to reduce emissions

B

eing more sustainable when it comes to your organisation’s impact on the environment may sound hard to do.

However, thinking around your approach and how you use water can make a substantial difference to your green goals, including working towards net zero and beyond.

Using hot and cold water more effectively is good for businesses, public sector and community groups and charities too. It can directly impact the bottom line and your running costs as well as cut your carbon emissions.

There are bigger savings – and costs from inaction - than you might think. Water can be a significant cost that’s frequently overlooked as not having much saving potential in terms of environmental impact or cost.

Did you know hot water can cost between 2 – 4 times as much as cold water once energy costs are taken into account?

It’s important to understand how and where you use water, as your starting to point, so you have a clear baseline to work off. Knowing where you could get funding for larger steps is also key.

Cost efficiency goals So, what are the options to help environmental and cost efficiency goals? From building design to cut heat loss and water evaporation from swimming pools, so less mains water is needed (and less needs to be heated) – to planting more trees to help reduce site flooding risks and sustainable drainage and rainwater harvesting and reuse, a lot can be achieved by looking closer at water use at your organisation.

‘Data loggers can provide updates right down to every 15 minutes on water being used’ On wider impacts, the less water you use through wholesaler networks, the less that needs to be treated and transported to your site – again reducing the impact you have on the environment.

Introducing water efficient taps and showerheads can be a good place to start as well as regular maintenance checks. Adding data loggers to water meters also help.

They can provide regular updates from either each day or right down to every 15 minutes on what’s being used - and where - across sites.

The Health and Safety Executive has further details on temperatures for hot water to control the risk of Legionella.

Both what’s outside your buildings as well as your staff can help too. For those with space on their site, or with large roof areas, sustainable drainage including green roofs, ponds and wetlands, along with rainwater harvesting and reuse - to reduce the amount of water going back to the public sewers - is worth considering. This can make quite a difference in wholesaler banding charges for surface water drainage (based on site area), reducing annual costs for businesses and public sector organisations. There may be some charges involved for reviewing surface water and banding for sites.

Increased hand-washing and cleaning at organisations, due to Covid-19, also provides an opportunity to help you reduce water waste – and operating costs – by encouraging your employees to report leaks and issues like stuck taps or constantly running urinals so they can be fixed.

Checking out how you could link to the UN Sustainable Development Goals is also worth doing, if you haven’t already.

Businesses small and large may not realise where help with upfront costs for additional measures can be accessed. There are several support options available that are worth exploring.

This year is also expected to see further information published about the Clean Heat Grant and other measures which would target smaller businesses. The Government’s proposal includes providing capital grants for heating water using low-carbon tech. 

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TALKING HEADS Karen Boswell

Karen Boswell is managing director of Baxi Heating UK and Ireland

A new culture for the energy revolution Taking the reins of any company during the pandemic would have tested any new managing director, but Karen Boswell has set out a clear vision for the future of Baxi Heating

T

he similarities between a rail system and a heating system may be hard to spot at first glance but trying telling that to Karen Boswell. The MD of Baxi Heating UK and Ireland can see many parallels between her previous company, Hitachi Rail, and one of the best-known names in the UK heating and hot water industry.

“Both sectors are being driven by decarbonisation and new digital technologies,” she told EiBI in one of her first interviews since taking up the role last September. “Customers in the rail industry are demanding digitalisation. For example, remote diagnostics are now being made possible by big data lakes. This aligns nicely to heating and hot water solutions. We face many of the same challenges.”

The main challenge for Baxi and the heating industry is to adapt to the fastapproaching energy transition. “We have to equip ourselves quickly and deliver the products our customers need for the future,” she states. One of Boswell’s main priorities will be to attract the best talent to drive the company forward. “The rail industry has done some very good things to drive training and inclusion. There are generational changes that are happening and you have to be more aware than ever about how people will be attracted to your industry.”

This means eliminating ageism as well as giving responsibility to a younger generation who may know more about one aspect of the business, she believes. “Over the years I’ve been on a lot of boards and on one occasion I recall we were discussing a new product. We had to bring in a younger person to explain the technology. That was a lesson to me. You have to talk to a 20-year-old if you want to get the best out of social media, for example.”

Much is spoken about the skills gap in the energy and HVAC industry but it’s something Boswell has experienced in the rail industry. “Driving a high speed train

Boswell: 'by 2025 every product we make will work with low-carbon energy'

requires a very different skill set,” she states. “In the same way a gas engineer might feel intimidated about he or she might look after a hydrogen boiler. It’s not that they can’t do it, it’s just they don’t know about it. It's all about getting more people more comfortable around these new technologies.”

Boswell does not believe that any one technology, whether it be air source heat pumps or hydrogen, is going to dominate the energy of the future. “It’s not going to be one thing or another but what we don’t want is an industry that makes heat unaffordable. That could push up fuel poverty.” Baxi is investing in hydrogen trials that are now taking place in the UK. “Our team have a mandate to be a part of these projects and come up with products that will answer some of these challenges. Hydrogen networks will be an easy switch. We have carried out some focus groups with installers. We have found that there is a group of younger people coming through who think that this is an exciting time and are invested in this.”

The energy transition is reflected in a new company strategy called ‘Change with Energy’ that Boswell unveiled to the company in January and is designed to embed sustainability into every aspect of the organisation’s culture. “By 2025 every product we make will

work with low-carbon energy and by 2030 all our operations will be carbon neutral, Boswell states. “We will reduce energy and waste and operational efficiencies. We’ve made a start on the electrification of our vehicle fleet. However, carbon offsetting will be a last resort.”

She believes that there are four megatrends that will shape Baxi in the coming years. The first is how we treat or planet. “Home owners and businesses are making conscious decisions around their supply chain and its sustainability. Second, COVID has accentuated and accelerated the shift towards digitalisation. We are seeing more remote customer interaction with digital tools for end users and installers.”

As well as global initiatives, Boswell expects Baxi to build on the Government’s Ten Point Plan. “It’s inevitable that owners are going to replace their existing heating systems with modern technologies.”

The final megatrend that Boswell sees as shaping Baxi is a ‘my country first mentality.’

“This has been accentuated by COVID. There was a trend towards globalisation but now countries are defining their own national priorities," she states.

"These are four megatrends that keep changing and customer needs are changing too. What we want to do is identify the best low-carbon solution to suit them. Some will be suitable for air source heat pumps and some for hydrogen. There will be life in the gas market yet but our boilers have to be future proofed and we must be able to convert them in around half an hour.”

Despite the pressures that COVID has placed on the industrial and commercial market, Boswell is optimistic that the market will rebound strongly. Baxi continued to manufacture throughout 2020 turning it to the company’s advantage. “We showed some great innovation in that time, working for example with the Nightingale hospitals. We have made a strong start to 2021 and it might be a strong time as the hospitality sector opens up again.”

She also sees great potential in offering heat as a service. “Rolls Royce started it many years ago and it has happened in the railways on a pay by the mile model. So why not pay by the hour for heat?”

Boswell is already positioning Baxi to take advantage of the energy transition.

“This is a big market and there is big change coming. I want us to have this reputation for being innovative and coming up with smart solutions for our customers.” 

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EIBI_0321_035 Directory_EiBI Directory nov 10 2 04/03/2021 20:38 Page 35

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