JULY/AUGUST 2019
TAKING THE LONG VIEW
Why long-term investors can bring significant benefits to district energy schemes.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
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Power Quality Issues – Part 5 – Reactive Power and Power Factor
Rinnai delivers hot water at Scarborough Care Home
Keeping Commercial Heating Systems Clean
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FRONT COVER STORY:
Taking the long view See Page 26 www.metropolitan-uk.co.uk
JULY/AUGUST 2019
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District Heating
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Heat Exchangers
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ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
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NEWS
SURVEY FINDS 4 IN 5 BUSINESSES IN RENTED PROPERTY STRUGGLE TO SWITCH TO CLEAN ENERGY A survey of some of Britain’s biggest building occupiers has revealed that 80% find it difficult to engage landlords in switching to renewable energy. The finding is part of a report released by edie and Big Clean Switch, in association with The Climate Group’s RE100 initiative.
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he report, titled ‘Going 100%: How landlords hold the key to corporate renewable energy targets’, surveyed 74 sustainability, energy and environmental managers in May of this year, including major businesses like PwC, Nando’s and ITV. 59% of respondents employ over 1,000 people, over 30% operate more than 100 sites in the UK and 43% consume over 1GWh of electricity every year. Many of the survey respondents have corporate commitments to moving to 100% renewable energy sources for their electricity. Three quarters rent some of their properties. At a time when the UK Parliament has declared a national climate emergency, 83% of those that rent some of their sites find it challenging to switch to a renewable energy provider. Over 80% also find the installation of on-site renewable energy systems, sub-metering and gaining access to energy data challenging. Around a third of the commercial occupiers that responded to the survey said they had not actively approached landlords about switching to renewable energy. This may reflect a lack of awareness about who to ask - 69% said they find it challenging to know who to speak to about energy issues - and demonstrates that action is needed on both sides of the equation. The report makes three recommendations. First, that tenants must be much more proactive in communicating their needs to landlords. Second, landlords and managing agents need to put in place systems and processes to make it easy for occupiers to take action on energy. And finally, education is needed to overcome common misconceptions about cost and demand for clean energy. Jon Fletcher, MD at Big Clean Switch, said: “Only a quarter of the businesses we spoke to currently source 100% of their electricity from renewables. Whether businesses are trying to switch to a renewable tariff, or install on-site generation, sub-metering or EV charging facilities, poor engagement
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with landlords is acting as a brake on progress. And, with over half of the UK’s commercial real estate made up of leased property, this lack of engagement has real potential to impact on the UK’s ability to meet its carbon targets.” There is a strong desire from both landlords and occupiers to do something about the situation. 60% of survey respondents said they’d commit to being part of a movement to encourage and inspire more landlords and managing agents to switch to renewable energy. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has pledged its support to the movement. RICS UK Managing Director, Matt Howell, said: “Collaboration between the landlord and tenant is key to overcoming barriers and unlocking opportunities to reduce the climate impact of commercial property in the UK. Some landlords are leading the way, managing agents are a key facilitator and the surveying profession brings together the skills needed to help viability and deliver renewable energy solutions. We’re committed to providing the support needed to make it happen.” Jon Barnes, head of buildings and technical services at PwC, said: “We have some fantastic, forward-thinking
landlords who totally get the business case for clean energy, and I think they can act as a catalyst for others. I’m confident we’ll get to 100% renewable – the question is just how quickly. “We have to get past the idea that renewable tariffs come at a huge premium, or that commercial tenants don’t care about these issues. As always, we’ve found that constructive dialogue is key to this.” Caroline Hill, Head of Sustainability, Public Affairs, Health, Safety and Security at Landsec, said: “Switching to clean energy should undoubtedly be a priority for landlords and occupiers alike. The benefits of getting this right are clear, and there’s a ripple effect of sustainable practices, too. At Landsec, our corporate energy contract - which covers nearly all of our portfolio - is 100% renewable electricity. This has enabled us to speak to customers further about their sustainable ambitions and has meant that we’ve been able to work with them on issues from single-use plastics to energy saving projects. Conversations, and collaboration, must sit at the heart of our work as we join together as a sector to empower each other to make a difference.” www.edie.net
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ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
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NEWS
ELECTRIC VEHICLES DRIVING GREAT BRITAIN TOWARDS 2050 CLIMATE TARGETS, REVEALS NEW NATIONAL GRID ESO REPORT
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eaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is achievable but requires immediate action across the energy system, a new National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) report reveals. Future Energy Scenarios, published today, maps out credible pathways and scenarios for the future of energy for the next 30 years and beyond. Based on input from over 600 experts, the report looks at the energy needed in Britain, across electricity and gas - examining where it could come from, how it needs to change and what this means for consumers, society and the energy system itself. The report outlines five potential energy futures – including net zero by 2050 – and is intended to stimulate debate rather than provide definitive predictions. It highlights the importance of different parts of the energy industry working together and details the critical actions needed to accelerate the decarbonization of the system. The analysis shows the positive role electric
vehicles can play in decarbonization, with a predicted 35 million electric vehicles by 2050 providing greater flexibility and supporting increased energy from renewable sources. During periods of oversupply EVs could be used to store excess electricity with the potential to store roughly one fifth of GB’s solar generation for when this energy is needed. It also outlines large scale changes in how power is generated, including growth in wind and solar generation as coal plants close. There are domestic actions too - homes in 2050 will need to use at least one third less energy for heating than today, with over 7 million hybrid heat pumps installed by 2050 to provide continued flexibility. The changes outlined to consumer behavior, infrastructure and systems, clearly show the need for greater coordination across electricity, gas, heat and transport, with digitalization and sharing of data a critical enabler of the net zero 2050 target. Kayte O’Neill, Head of Strategy and
Regulation at National Grid ESO, said: “We balance supply and demand of GB energy day in day out so see firsthand how the system is changing. Although these are not firm predictions we’ve talked to over 600 industry experts to build this insight and it’s clear whilst net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is achievable, there are significant changes ahead. “Electric vehicles continue to be a catalyst for decarbonizing the system, making it more flexible as well as bringing down costs for consumers too - and whilst gas will still have an important role to play, a clear plan for the decarbonization of heat is needed. It’s our ambition to be able to operate a net zero electricity system by 2025 and the fundamental changes outlined in this report make it more important than ever to take a whole system view to ensure we have a coordinated approach to decarbonizing the whole energy sector.” http://fes.nationalgrid.com/.
University of Sheffield’s new energy research centre set to support UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy
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unding for a new £21 million Translational Energy Research Centre at the University of Sheffield will support the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy, delivering the cleaner growth at the heart of government’s industrial strategy. Announced by the Energy and Clean Growth Minister, Chris Skidmore MP, the new centre will develop next generation carbon capture technologies that are affordable and sustainable. The centre’s state-of-the-art facilities will support the long term competitiveness of the UK in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) as well as facilitating research and development into areas such as renewable energy, bioenergy and ‘smart grid’ technologies. The Centre will form part of the University of Sheffield’s newly launched Energy Institute, home to more than 300 academics. Researchers in the Energy Institute work with industry partners to find solutions to the biggest challenges facing the energy industry. Its research is interdisciplinary with innovation and collaboration at its heart. This enables researchers in the institute to provide sustainable solutions and advice for governments and the energy industry. The UK government has recognised that the move to cleaner growth, through low carbon
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technologies and the efficient use of resources, is one of the largest industrial opportunities of our time. Energy intensive industries secure 1.5 million jobs and export £320 billion of goods and services a year. The move to low carbon industry is a huge opportunity – with the chance for the UK to take the lead and seize a large share of a growing global market. Funded by £7 million from BEIS and £10 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Translational Energy Research Centre at the University of Sheffield will give global companies and new technology start-ups access to advanced testing facilities and the opportunity to collaborate with leading academics in low-carbon energy research. Through industrial and academic partnerships, companies will use the research centre to test, optimise and demonstrate their technologies at a commercial-scale. The Translational Energy Research Centre will expand on the success of the University’s Pilot Advanced-Scale Capture Technology National Facilities (PACT) centre which opened in 2012. PACT is an open access, national centre of excellence for experimental research on CCUS. Since its launch, PACT has supported more than 70 industrial collaborations
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
with both local organisations and large multinationals, but with increasing demand from industry and academia for more capacity, flexibility and collaboration space, a new facility to meet these needs is required. The University’s new Translational Energy Research Centre will increase the number of test days available to organisations and broaden the scope of testing available. This will accelerate and widen the range of new products and services that companies can bring to market. The new centre will join the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), Factory 2050 and the Faculty of Engineering’s research centres, located at the heart of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID), the nucleus of the Sheffield City Region’s emerging Global Innovation Corridor. The area has recently seen significant inward investment from global companies such as Boeing, Rolls-Royce and McLaren, boosting productivity, jobs and partnerships in the region. The addition of the Translational Energy Research Centre to this area further strengthens the University’s position as a leader in cutting-edge, industrial scale research. https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/energy
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ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • MAY 2019
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OPINION
CLIMATE CHANGE: REAL ESTATE WORTH BILLIONS COULD BECOME OBSOLETE – UNLESS OWNERS ACT NOW Kevin Muldoon-Smith, Lecturer in Real Estate Economics and Property Development, and Paul Michael Greenhalgh, Professor of Real Estate and Regeneration, both at Northumbria University, discuss real estate in relation to climate change.
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rom the school strikes for climate, to Extinction Rebellion protests and calls for a Green New Deal, citizens around the world are putting pressure on their governments to prevent global warming more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels. In the UK, these efforts have met with some success – the government has declared a “climate emergency” and promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Even so, scepticism persists in some quarters: the chancellor of the exchequer, Philip Hammond, has argued that the UK government’s goal may be unaffordable, based on estimates that the transition to a zerocarbon economy could cost up to £1 trillion. Of course, there is likely to be significant public money spent on renewable energy transition and carbon offsetting. The costs of assets made obsolete by climate change policy – such as unexploited fossil fuel reserves – is also potentially huge. But the problem with perspectives like Hammond’s is that they don’t balance the cost of acting now against the cost of doing nothing. In the UK and around the world, people live and work in buildings that are typically powered, heated and cooled using energy from fossil fuels. If these buildings are not retrofitted with energy efficiency measures, there is a real risk they will be rendered obsolete by policies aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions.
A VALUABLE ASSET Research at Northumbria University has examined this situation in relation to international real estate. The global value of real estate is estimated at US$217 trillion – that’s roughly 2.7 times the GDP of the entire world. Of this, $162 trillion worth is residential, $29 trillion worth is commercial and $26 trillion worth is agricultural land. A conservative estimate is that global real estate consumes 40% of global energy annually and accounts for more than 20% of international carbon emissions. So it’s hardly surprising that international agencies have identified real estate and the built environment as key contributors toward global warming and a major target of international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most comprehensive approaches
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to reducing building energy use can be seen in the European Union (EU). A 2010 directive on energy performance made it mandatory for all European properties to hold an energy performance certificate and monitor energy use from heating and air conditioning. The government of England and Wales has used these energy performance certificates to enforce minimum standards of energy efficiency for privately rented family homes and commercial properties. Since April 2018, any commercial property with an energy performance rating below E (that is, those properties with F and G ratings) has been deemed illegal to let (although there are some exemptions related to maximum cost of improvements). By 2020, the plan is for these same rules to apply to residential property – which includes shared homes, nursing and care homes and blocks of flats.
A LESS DAUNTING PROSPECT In England and Wales, it is estimated that 10% of residential property stock (worth £570 billion) and 18% of commercial stock (worth £157 billion) does not meet these minimum standards. If these properties are not retrofitted to become more energy efficient, they will become obsolete and lose value, since the owners will no longer be allowed to let them. Put this way, the cost of achieving an energy transition is less daunting, because the cost of not acting is equally (if not more) expensive. It’s even reasonable to expect benefits to the economy from the growing building retrofit industry. If all international governments adopted similar minimum energy efficiency standards as the UK – and assuming the same proportions of
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
property stock are potentially obsolete – the risk value for residential real estate property assets can be estimated at US$16 trillion and US$5 trillion for global commercial assets (based on their global vale, mentioned earlier).
A TIMELY RIPOSTE The potential cost of not acting in the real estate sector should provide a catalyst for the transition to more energy efficient buildings. It should also provide a riposte to those who worry about the cost of transitioning to net zero emissions. Indeed, there’s a clear need for investors and property owners to move beyond green-washing and reduce the carbon emissions of real estate before costly regulation and enforcement sets in. Ignoring climate change exposes real estate assets to the risk of permanent disruption – especially now that the potential impacts of global warming are being widely acknowledged. Clean technology is becoming more affordable and consumers are adopting principles of environmental sustainability. Indeed, it’s already becoming more common for investment managers and financiers to demand that companies disclose business model exposure to climate change, while investors are starting to take advantage of exposed assets. It makes sense for property owners to plan for the introduction of powerful new climate-related policies in the coming years. Adapting existing buildings and constructing new developments that are not reliant on fossil fuels – though perhaps costlier in the short term – can create a more resilient, and therefore valuable, asset in the longer term. Northumbria is a research-rich, business-focused, professional university with a global reputation for academic excellence. To find out more about courses go to www.northumbria.ac.uk
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OPINION
READY OR NOT, NEW NUCLEAR NEEDS A NEW APPROACH David Hall, Power Systems VP UK & Ireland at Schneider Electric
he UK has some of strictest nuclear safety standards in the world. Operators must walk a perilous regulatory tightrope, ensuring their systems, hardware and firmware are all completely secure to ensure complete safety. Many are wary, therefore, of the new IoT-connected solutions that are transforming the market, resulting in a sector that is severely behind the times and losing out on the latest innovations. However, this also makes the UK the ultimate proving ground for new technologies which can change the face of the nuclear industry in the long term. Few manufacturers continue to support technologies that are, in many cases, between 50 and 60 years old. With the use of hardwired, legacy systems widespread amongst nuclear plant operators, the reluctance to upgrade is becoming a risk to operations and in turn to individuals. Whether they are ready or not, operators will have to turn to modern, connected solutions as soon as they can. Yet this shouldn’t be an unhappy arrangement. IoT-connected devices, such as connected switchgear and facility controls, can give operators precious insight into system health and performance. This enables them to respond to issues faster, ensuring improved safety and compliance. At the same time, operators must seek connected solutions that are built to last, with promises they will be supported far into the future. It’s a win-win situation.
Yet safety, rightfully, remains crucial and always will. Unsupervised and unprotected, the immense radioactivity of nuclear materials can pose a grave risk to public health and safety. Accordingly, operators need to comply with numerous safety standards – the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), the Energy Act (2013), and specifically the Nuclear Installations Act (1965) – to ensure they handle nuclear materials with care and protect workers and locals. As nuclear plants digitise, cybersecurity is becoming an increasing concern for operators. The industry rarely talks about its breaches, but recent attacks like the ‘Nuclear 17’ intrusion events against plants in the US show operators must be on their guard. However, while detailed nuclear safety requirements are necessary, they may be producing an unintended and unfortunate side effect. Operators are hyper-aware of the potential risks posed by cyber attackers, who make use of devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) to infiltrate and disrupt networks accordingly. From their perspective, any IoT-connected devices within the plant infrastructure could be vulnerable to attack. As a result, operators are holding back from much-needed innovation. Wired-in, inert devices are prevalent, the reasoning being if they can’t connect to outside networks then they are safe from digital intrusion. The rationale among operators seems to be ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’. Yet this can’t continue for long. Much of the technology still being used in nuclear plants is decades old, and few manufactures continue to support it. As network components degrade, operators will be forced to adopt newer, more connected alternatives whether they like it or not.
SERIOUS BUSINESS
GETTING CONNECTED
While the Chernobyl disaster still casts a shadow over the world’s nuclear policy and public perceptions, the UK has a long nuclear tradition. The country opened the world’s first commercial nuclear power station in 1956. Today, the country depends on nuclear for much of its power. According to the Nuclear Industry Association, the resource produces a fifth of all UK electricity and shows no sign of slowing down as there are already plans to increase this even further.
Potential cyberthreats should not discourage the industry from digitising operations or adopting the latest connected technologies. With technologies that enable real-time network monitoring and anomaly-detection, cyberattacks can be detected and contained before they do any damage. Indeed, far from being a weak point in the plant infrastructure, connected solutions are built to boost safety and regulatory compliance. Without the ability
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ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
to monitor for and react to instances of overheating and equipment failure, it can be a herculean effort for operators to stay compliant and ensure safety. That’s why connected sensors embedded across each layer of plant operations – from electrical distribution to heating, ventilation and air conditioning – are needed to feed crucial insight to the plant control room. Issues can be identified in real-time and resolved before operations can be disrupted. Connected solutions not only support improved safety, but reduced costs and greater efficiency. An enterprise Asset Performance Management solution enables operators to respond to challenges faster, and move from a reactive to a proactive maintenance strategy. Equipment longevity is extended and expesnive emergency repairs avoided. In turn, this also helps prevent unplanned downtime, saving the operator even more in the long term. For example, EDF Group installed a predictive analytics solution across its nuclear generation fleet. The company saw immediate ROI, with a single potential failure catch saving it more than €1 million in avoided business disruption. Fundamentally, connected solutions take raw data which can then be transformed into insight. These insights can then empower employees with actionable information while simplifying operations for operators. This allows for more efficient planning, as data can be shared with the full supply chain, and greater operational efficiency overall. Engineers, for example, are able to spend less time digging through data and more time acting on it. This means operators can monitor conditions and conduct maintenance more efficiently and effectively. Investing in the critical infrastructure of a nuclear plant is not a ten-year commitment, it is a 100-year one. The plant must remain safe, operational and protected from the next generation of attacks, whether physical or digital. Ultimately, this is impossible if you delay crucial technological upgrades, sacrificing safety for the illusion of greater security. Digitisation should not be feared, but embraced; secure, connected devices will help operators maintain control over their complex infrastructures, to the benefit of the plant, the community and the entire energy grid. www.schneider-electric.co.uk/en/
OPINION
ENERGY & “CLIMATE CHANGE”?
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Andy Clarke leads the Energy and Technology Team for The Energy Check, is Vice-President of the UK Association of Energy Engineers and Chair of the North East Branch of the Energy Institute.
ome time ago I was involved in a “Workshop” where we were asked to consider the subject of “Energy & Climate Change” and I objected that they are actually two different subjects. There are many reasons to save energy that don’t require a belief that Climate Change is happening and there are sources of “anthropogenic” (man-made) Climate Change that don’t directly involve Energy or fossil fuels. The connection is understandable as by far the majority of Climate Change appears to be due to atmospheric Carbon Dioxide which in turn is due to our irresponsible mis-use of fossil fuels to generate heat and power but the linkage is disputed and that can deflect the energy saving argument. (I personally disagree with Climate Change deniers like Donald Trump and Jeremy Clarkson but there are other arguments). While the motivation for many people to reduce energy wastage is their perception that they are helping to save the planet from disastrous Climate Change, there are other reasons for making changes to improve energy efficiency. The first is obviously financial : reducing wastage also removes the cost of the energy wasted and potentially more as it can also affect things like Maximum Demand and capacity charges positively. It is also
a clear saving that goes straight to the bottom line in the company accounts. Secondly, we have a more long term global gain. Fossil Fuels not used now can be saved for future use when resources are becoming depleted – an inevitable event given the long time (millenia) taken for the creation of new Oil, Gas or Coal even under ideal conditions and even a much reduced rate of usage. That usage is potentially not as “energy” but as a feedstock for “petrochemical” processes producing the industrial chemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals that have become an essential component of modern life. There was a school of opinion that “North Sea Gas” should not be used to convert the UK gas network from manufactured gas in the 1970’s but be retained for use in the chemical industries. As a third reason modernisation of equipment and better control can often improve conditions while reducing consumption – so why wouldn’t you? To add to this (but probably erroneously as it may be initiated as a response to the
EnergyMgr
Climate Change argument) is the mass of legislation driving companies to improve energy efficiency. Even if you don’t want to look at energy management you have to comply with legislation and often to at least measure your consumption and emissions. As I suggested not all climate change is a result of energy consumption, there are other factors. Deforestation has a significant effect both because of the loss of Carbon Dioxide absorbing plants and in the changed albedo of the ground increasing heat absorbance of the soil. That that clearance is for the purpose of grazing cattle – which in turn produce the powerful greenhouse gas Methane. That there are other sources of Methane -some of which are also anthropogenic can’t be disputed as can the creation and release of other gases, some of which like CFC’s have already been banned and some of which, like anaesthetic gases, seem unavoidable. So “Climate Change” and “Energy” aren’t the same thing BUT they do require the same sort of solutions!
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OPINION
ACHIEVING ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY: WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN ENERGY PROFESSIONALS REALLY MAKE? TEAM Energy’s Abigail Basketter provides an energy professional’s honest reflections on the challenge of tackling climate change against commercial and legislative pressures.
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f there is a traditional route into energy management, I didn’t take it, but I knew I had a focus and passion for the environment and addressing the impact we as humans have on its resources. I became an Energy Manager to make a tangible difference, in whatever way I could, against climate change. On-going news of a ‘climate crisis’ has continued to appear in the media in recent months, despite commitments from the government to tackle the UK’s contribution to emissions. As energy professionals the prospect of being part of the fight against climate change is both exciting but can also be overwhelming. Our roles can feel so defined and limited by organisational targets, legislation and bureaucracy, that our commitment to these principles and a desire to deliver change can sometimes get lost.
BOLD ACTION Amidst the calls and protests of climate change activism of recent months, the Climate Change Committee published their recommendations to government to stop global warming. In the following weeks Prime Minister, Theresa May revealed plans to legislate to achieve net-zero emissions in the UK by 2050. Only last week we were confirmed as the joint hosts of the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in 2020. Change is happening, and fast.
THE CHALLENGE TO BUSINESSES A report from the UK Energy Research Centre has warned that
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businesses will face ‘unprecedented change’ as we work towards becoming a zero-carbon economy, including the phasing out of some core functions to meet emissions policies. The heat, transport, electricity and construction sectors are expected to be most affected and will need to adapt in order to remain competitive. Organisations must face the disruption this brings and embrace the opportunities it will present.
THE ROLE OF THE ENERGY PROFESSIONAL Despite the enormity of this challenge, I believe energy professionals should feel energised by this new commitment and it is our job to highlight to businesses the key role that energy management will play in achieving such a target. I know just how effective energy management can be in reducing the impact that businesses have on the environment. But not all businesses will have a dedicated team, they won’t have the support of qualified energy experts to guide their energy compliance and management. With the effect of the net-zero agenda inevitable, now is the time to invest in good energy management practices. Despite how simple they may seem, small changes will benefit a company’s energy spend and help them meet current carbon reduction targets. A long-term strategy with board level input will be vital in the count-down to net-zero. The role of the energy professional needs to be championed and invested
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
in, after all, they will be the force behind helping businesses realise these 2050 goals.
TAKING ACTION TOGETHER We have seen the passion the climate crisis evokes; actions groups, think-tank organisations and school children alike are inspiring and driving the climate change movement. This new commitment only further supports my belief that the power (no pun intended) is in our hands and energy professionals must lead the way in driving the net-zero agenda at a business level. In amongst the bureaucracy of energy sector legislation and acronyms, the knowledge and tools we can harness to promote and achieve effective sustainability practices are fundamental to lasting change. The everyday actions of an energy professional, such as capturing carbon emissions data or monitoring and targeting energy reduction are incredibly important in the battle against climate change. DECs, ESOS, SECR, all have their place. Every small-scale energy project or compliance target achieved is a step forward, and those steps add up. The solution to a global problem such as climate change is the cumulative action of individuals and organisations creating a mass movement of change. And to guide you on the way, let energy professionals take the reins. https://www.teamenergy.com/
LIGHTING
LIGHTING CONTROL: BENEFITS FOR OCCUPANTS AND BUILDING MANAGERS Andrew Lippman, Director, International Marketing, Lutron
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hether a building’s function is commercial or domestic, building managers should aim for all occupants to be comfortable, secure and happy. JLL’s 3-30-300 rule states that for every $3 spent on utilities and $30 spent on rent, organisations spend $300 on their occupants. As your biggest expense, it’s the role of the building manager to ensure that occupants are happy and comfortable- something that optimal lighting can help to achieve. However, when looking after multiple buildings, this is a big task. By installing a wireless lighting control system, building managers can increase occupant comfortability while saving time and reducing energy consumption. As more and more building managers are asking for comfortable, simple and scalable lighting control solutions, there is a global trend towards wireless communications technologies. Managers are often put-off installing lighting control systems due to the
cost and disruption that they assume they will face. However, wireless lighting systems with little to no cabling are now readily available. This saves time and also offers the customer energy savings of up to 60 percent. A common misconception is that lighting control is only for new buildings. The reality is that existing buildings account for billions of square metres and often need updating with lighting retrofits. With wireless technology, retrofitting is possible in even heritage buildings, where traditional wiring is impossible. When retrofitting a space with lighting control, it’s vital to ensure you are not just simply replacing the old system and matching the light levels. Most commercial spaces are actually overlit, so this is the perfect time to ensure that the space – and its occupants – are receiving the right level of light. This will not only save energy and money, but will also make occupants more comfortable. As lighting control systems adapt and improve, so should the ease of maintaining these systems. This will improve productivity, not only from a maintenance point of view, but also by minimising downtime and
disruption for the building’s occupants. Wireless lighting control offers an exciting future for building managers. Hundreds of building managers would have already realised tangible benefits of switching to LEDs following the ban on many traditional-style bulbs- but this is only the start. Building managers should look for simple, scalable, wireless lighting control solutions, that not only save themselves time and energy, but also help ensure that their building’s occupants are comfortable, secure and happy. www.lutron.com
Specialist UK manufacturer of industrial and commercial LED lighting Personally developed paying attention to every detail. We work with you to find the solution you need. Industrial & commercial lighting solutions In-house lighting design team Hazardous area lighting Bespoke engineering & flexible manufacturing
UK Exclusive distributor of:
15 Carnarvon Street Manchester M3 1HJ
0161 274 3626 sales@hilclare.com
www.hilclare.com Hilclare a
company
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
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LIGHTING
THE BUSINESS BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING LED LIGHTING
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ighting strategies can have a major impact on a business’ bottom line, eco-credentials, health and safety and much more. What many people don’t appreciate is that LED lighting plays a crucial role within these strategies, with the benefits being far and wide.
BEING GREEN The first impact LED lighting has is on the energy efficiency of the business. In a time where businesses are striving to be more environmentally friendly, this is a big asset, and the benefit can be immediate. LEDs use far less energy compared to the fluorescent alternatives. In fact, we recently launched a luminaire – The Protecta X, which is 50% more energy efficient than the average fluorescent light, meaning businesses are able to get the same performance for half the power consumption, and reduce costs in the process. Indeed, for luminaires, the input wattage and lumens are documented, and a calculation of lumens per watt acts as the efficiency metric. The most efficient lights will perform with a power factor (PF) above 95% and a total harmonic distortion (THD) below 15%. The drivers used to power LEDs have very high PF and low THD, fitting easily into these margins. LED lights being the more environmentallyfriendly option are not just good from an energy consumption point of view, it also has other benefits. Decision makers and consumers are increasingly making final buying decisions based on a brand’s sustainability credentials. Buyers look at the quality of the product, the level of service, and then an organisation’s moral compass, using this as the deciding factor in the purchasing process. It therefore makes good business sense to be ‘green’.
SAFE WORKING Following on from this, the health and safety of staff also benefit from the implementation of LEDs. The most effective systems enhance safety through reducing the load on the electrical system, lessening the risk to workers. LED lights are known for remaining cool, with effective heat sinking used to wick and dissipate the generated heat into the air. This is crucial, because when the maximum surface temperature of a light exceeds the rated temperature it could ignite the combustible gases and/or dust present in the environment. Lighting in hazardous areas also needs to be able to operate spark free, otherwise workers are put in danger of accidents or even fatalities. In terms of safety from a quality and
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Ken Eddleston, Lighting Product Manager at Chalmit, the leading manufacturer of lighting for industrial, harsh and hazardous environments, examines the business benefits of implementing LED lighting.
performance point of view, high precision tasks in heavy industrial environments must not be done in dimly lit conditions. Workplace safety can be improved with highly directional and uniform LED lighting, that has good colour rendering - credentials - colour rendering indicates the degree to which a light source shows the true colours of the object it illuminates. In fact, LED lighting has specialised optics which can deliver the output of a much larger linear light, generating a bright, white output over a desired area. For me, the safety of workers should always be the number one priority, no matter the financial ramifications. In fastpaced industries the focus is often on the product (or service), but protecting people and assets should not be forgotten, after all up to 40% of businesses never recover from major interruptions or disaster.
EFFECTIVE LIGHTING Similar to energy efficiency, LED lighting has a major impact on the amount of time and money a business will spend on ineffective systems. When it comes to the lifetime of lights, having a long-term LED system in place dramatically reduces the need for products to be regularly replaced and for workers to maintain the ineffective systems. Indeed, fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs often fail to reach their predicted lifespan, mainly because of their moving parts, which include unstable filaments vulnerable to damage. As a practical example, the Protecta X has a system life of over 120,000 hours at 25°C, whereas a fluorescent luminaire will need relamping every 18,000-20,000 hours. Installing the LED option as opposed to the latter creates five fewer maintenance visits, meaning that workers can be redeployed more effectively to other areas of a business, and less money is spent on replacing the lights themselves.
BUSINESS PERFORMANCE LEDs can reduce light pollution through the use of primary and secondary optics, delivering light with minimal spill. They also minimise the number of luminaires required to illuminate a workplace effectively, due to their efficient output and focused distribution. Combined with impressive colour rendering, employees are provided with more accurate lighting
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which eases precision tasks such as quality checks and reading gauge measurements. At the most basic end of the scale, LED lighting reduces the risk of slips, trips or falls due to this notable colour rendering. At the upper end, it can be more effective in alerting passing shippers and guiding in helicopters. When comparing the performance of luminaires across both traditional and LED lighting, the focus should be on the usable light on the work plane determined by the lux reading. People shouldn’t simply compare different lumen scores as, given its more directional nature, LED lighting requires less lumens than traditional light sources, to achieve the same performance.
GREATER CONTROL Neatly tying in with business performance is my final benefit – control. It is something that is often underestimated when it comes to adopting LED lighting, and it feeds back into all of the previous sections. LED lighting gives you the ability to incorporate a variety of controls, including motion sensors. This not only prolongs the life of the luminaire but also significantly reduces the amount of energy being used, utilising the light only when people are present. In a similar vein, when used with photocells, LEDs are able to detect the conditions outside, so when it is daytime, the system will dim or turn the lights off as appropriate. It will also be able to do the reciprocal action when it is dark, turning the lights on or increasing the brightness to maintain sufficient level for workers. This way of working is effective from an employee point of view, and also highly efficient from both an environmental and monetary impact.
CONCLUSION With competition more fierce than ever, businesses need to make sure they are doing all they can to stand out above the rest, no matter the size and scale of the act. Implementing LED lighting is one way of allowing the business to be better from a financial and moral standpoint, particularly when decision makers are increasingly basing their decisions on them. For further information call +44(0)141 882 5555 or visit www.hubbell.com/chalmit/en/.
LIGHTING
FLEXIBILITY COMES IN THREES: LEDVANCE PRESENTS NEW RANGE OF LED STRIPS AND ACCESSORIES New system of flexible LED strip lighting and accessories covers a wide variety of requirements for professional lighting applications
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EDVANCE is offering wholesalers a new portfolio of LED strips for an enormous range of professional lighting tasks. The LED strips are available in three different categories to cover a wide variety of requirements. In addition to the LED strips, the portfolio includes an extensive range of LED drivers, profiles for surface or recessed installation, covers and other accessories – all perfectly matched as a system solution for lighting professionals under the LEDVANCE brand. The LED strips come in three different categories: Superior, Performance and Value. They differ above all with regard to ideal application, lifetime, IP rating, number of LEDs per meter and therefore their light output and distribution. Available in a large number of colour temperatures ranging from energising, daylight white 6,500 kelvin to warm white 2,700 kelvin, and lumen packages from 300 to 2,000 lumens per meter, the LED strips are suitable for virtually any lighting task in a modern lighting concept – including classic general lighting, ambient lighting and indirect lighting of niches and coves. All LED strips are pre-wired on both sides and are easy to shorten if necessary. They also all come as protected and unprotected versions, in other words with or without a silicone jacket for protection against dust and water.
THREE PRODUCT CATEGORIES FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF REQUIREMENTS The TÜV-certified strips in the Superior category are particularly suitable for demanding lighting installations in large, representative buildings. In places such as corporate offices, upmarket hotels, shopping centres and museums they offer impressive colour rendering with a colour rendering index (CRI)
of over 90. The 140 LEDs per meter also provide a very homogeneous light output and distribution across the entire strip length. Thanks to IP67 protection, the protected versions of the Superior products are also ideal for outdoor use in adverse conditions and dusty and damp interior spaces. With up to 60,000 hours their lifetime is extremely high. LEDVANCE provides a five-year guarantee on the strips in this category. Also TÜV-certified, the Performance category is characterised by a very high lifetime of up to 35,000 hours and as a protected version with IP66 rating can withstand dust and jets of water. With a CRI of 80 it delivers good colour rendering and is suitable for medium-sized office buildings, schools, restaurants, bars and shops. LEDVANCE offers a guarantee of three years for the LED Performance strips. The products in the Value category are all-rounders with a very good price/performance ratio for lighting applications in the entry-level segment. They also have a CRI of 80, and come in an IP65 protected version and a lifetime of up to 20,000 hours. Thanks to these properties, they are a good choice for indoor spaces such as smaller offices, guesthouses, private premises, as well as appropriate outdoor areas.
EXTENSIVE RANGE OF ACCESSORIES FOR EASY INSTALLATION AND SMOOTH OPERATION In the LEDVANCE LED strip system “toolbox”, installers will also find all the components they need for easy installation and smooth operation. These include LED drivers in various versions for the respective categories, with or without IP protection, and with or without dimming function. Installers can also choose from an extensive range when it comes to profiles, including versions for different installation types – open or with a bezel, for ceiling or wall mounting. Also included in the range are a variety of feeders, connectors, end caps and mounting brackets. LEDVANCE provides additional support for installers with its LED strip system configurator. Once the key data of the lighting project has been entered in the configurator, it automatically generates a detailed parts list with all required components. The new LED strip system comes in the LEDVANCE brand and is available for wholesalers from July. For more information go to www.ledvance.com.
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
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MONITORING & METERING
POWER QUALITY ISSUES – PART 5 – REACTIVE POWER AND POWER FACTOR As with voltage imbalance, covered in the previous article, reactive power and power factor are not power quality issues in the same sense as harmonics and transients, but are of critical importance, particularly with regards to a facilities electrical energy consumption and efficiency. Julian Grant – General Manager at Chauvin Arnoux UK, looks at the causes and effects of high reactive power and poor power factor, along with solutions to improving them.
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n a purely resistive AC circuit, voltage and current waveforms are in phase with each other, changing polarity at the same instant in each cycle and all the power entering the load is consumed by the load. Reactive power exists in an AC circuit when the current and voltage are not in phase. Some electrical equipment used in industrial and commercial buildings requires an amount of reactive power in addition to real power in order to work effectively. These tend to be items with copper windings in them; especially transformers, motors, induction heaters, arc welders and compressors, etc., even fluorescent and LED lighting. In the case of inductive loads, the current lags behind the voltage, however, nowadays various capacitive loads may be encountered which cause the opposite effect, that is for the current to lead the voltage. Reactive power (kVAr) is the vector difference between real power (kW), and the total power consumed, which is called apparent power and is measured in kVA. Power factor is a ratio of the real power that is used to do work and the apparent power that is supplied to the circuit. It’s quite easy to understand if you consider a pint of beer, where the whole glass that you pay for is the apparent power, the bit you want most (the beer) is the real power (active power), and the bit you want as little of as possible (the head) is the reactive power. A full pint with no head would
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represent a power factor of 1, or unity power factor, and in that situation, there would be no reactive power. In reality a power factor greater than 0.95 is generally aimed for, 0.98 if you can get it. A pint with a nice small head on it! Poor power factor, and the associated high reactive currents, can cause a variety of issues within an electrical installation. Many network operators apply penalties in the form of a reactive power charge when power factor falls below 0.95, and this is recorded as a parameter on a half hourly meter. Aside of the costs there are related environmental issues in that reactive power adds to the burden on the national grid and causes unnecessary increased levels of CO2 emissions at a time when we are aiming to reduce them. Power factor also impacts on the reliability of the network itself and can cause a variety of electrical issues that may result in the early failure of capital equipment. This equipment often gets replaced at great expense without the root cause ever being observed or identified. Poor power factor can also impact heavily on authorised supply capacity and associated charges which are based on the maximum demand required from the network. This is often imposed to pay for the supply network infrastructure required to deliver the maximum declared energy requirement. It follows therefore that an unnecessarily high level of reactive
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
power not only pushes the price up, but it also limits the available headroom for expansion, and may cause excursions above the authorised supply capacity which will result in penalty charges. According to The Carbon Trust it is not uncommon for industrial installations to be operating at power factors between 0.7 and 0.8, which is surprising since measuring power factor is not at all difficult. It can be routinely measured using portable test instruments, or alternatively, can be permanently monitored in real-time with constantly displayed values, while also showing a multitude of other useful parameters including voltage, current and energy consumption. While specification of a power factor correction (PFC) system requires knowledge of several factors including the voltage level and typical usage of the reactive loads on-site, the usage profile across the site, the degree of harmonic distortion present, and the power quality required by the on-site loads, all of this is easily measured and calculated. PFC systems are a fraction of the cost of the potential savings they can bring. The simplest form of PFC involves fitting capacitors, and it is worth shopping around and taking expert advice on the system that will suit you. If a single machine has a poor power factor, capacitors can be connected in parallel with the device, so that they compensate for the poor power factor whenever the machine is switched on. If the power factor of a site is permanently poor and no single item of equipment is solely responsible, fixed PFC can be connected across the main power supply to the premises. Where many machines are switching on and off at various times, the power factor may be subject to frequent
MONITORING & METERING
change. In this case the amount of PFC needs to be controlled automatically. In other words, the banks of capacitors need to be selectively switched in and out of the power circuit appropriately. There are various solutions on the market for performing this capacitor bank switching automatically. Selection of the correct design of power factor correction is critical to ensure long term reliable operation of a facility. With the increasing use of non-linear loads in industry, such as variable speed drives, LED lighting, large quantities of IT equipment, etc. and their associated harmonics, it may be the case that none of the traditional methods discussed so far for power factor correction will be suitable. The simple connection of PFC capacitors to an installation with a
significant number of harmonic generating non-linear loads, or where loads are expected to contain in excess of 25% of non-linear loads, could create more problems than it solves. The impedance of capacitors reduces as frequency increases and so harmonic currents which are at higher frequencies are more likely to flow in capacitors that are connected in circuit. The increased currents cause higher voltages across the dielectric of the capacitor which can lead to stress and premature failure. It is also possible to inadvertently create harmonic resonance. This is generally caused by parallel resonance between the power factor correction capacitors connected to a load and the transformer supplying the load. When a number of harmonic current sources are injecting currents into the supply and the frequency of one of the harmonics coincides with the resonant frequency of the supply transformer and power factor correction capacitor combination, the system resonates
and a large circulating harmonic current is excited between these components. The result of this is that a large current flow in the supply transformer, resulting in a large harmonic voltage distortion possibly causing equipment malfunction, loss of transformer output due to increased heating, interference with communication systems, premature failure of motors and power factor capacitors. In these situations, professional advice and the potential use of detuned power factor correction, thyristor switched power factor correction or active power factor correction may well be required. Power factor is one of the simplest things to measure in an electrical installation, can be responsible for unnecessary power consumption and charges, and yet can be relatively simple and very cost effective to fix. Contact Chauvin Arnoux directly for any questions you may have about this subject or any of the other power quality issues – we’re happy to help! www.chauvin-arnoux.co.uk
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
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MONITORING & METERING
NAVIGATING THE UNPREDICTABLE ENERGY SECTOR WITH REAL-TIME ALERTING
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he energy sector is plagued with uncertainty. When energy services are impaired by a disruptive event, the resulting business impact can be immediate, significant, and widespread. Organisations that succeed in returning to normal operations and minimising the unpredictable impact are the ones with corporate security teams who are one step ahead when it matters most. While energy companies take every precaution to safeguard against disruptive events, they are inevitable. Even with contingency plans in place, there are still many factors out of an organisation’s control. Getting ahead and earning time to deal with an unfolding situation is a material advantage; gathering as much pertinent information and getting a 360-degree view as rapidly as possible is fundamental to making the right and timely decisions. With many energy companies having infrastructure and operations in disparate and remote areas, being aware of when something is happening is often the first obstacle to scale, but the right AI technology can provide vital information in real-time.
THE VALUE OF REALTIME ALERTING There are multiple ways in which unforeseen events can impact corporate risk within the energy industry, in areas such as up-stream, down-stream, supply chain ecosystems, logistics and HSE. Commercial opportunities and brand reputation can also take a hit in terms of risk profile and stock price within the energy industry. Access to real-time insights has changed the information flow paradigm, particularly in times of crisis. Around the world, events and news are often reported on social media as it happens, increasingly before the full extent of an event is known by traditional news sources. Companies that don’t take advantage of AI-driven realtime insights are being left in the dark while business impacting events unfold With such large volumes of data and multiple viewpoints to monitor from diverse sources, determining what is relevant quickly is challenging for many companies. It’s here that the latest advances in artificial intelligence come into play, allowing professionals to cut through the noise and gain awareness of critical information relevant to their businesses. Advanced algorithms can sort through publicly available data sources to detect
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Jonathan Barrett, Managing Director, EMEA at Dataminr meaningful signals in the shifting seas of alternative data, providing the insights most needed by business leaders to act with confidence and speed. These alternative data sources act as a crucial component of risk crisis management. Why? Because in order to manage against the unpredictability of a crisis and its ensuing fallout, energy companies must be armed with all the available information, in real time.
THE DOMINO EFFECT Decision making in the energy sector cannot always be based on predictable outcomes. The landscape is continually shifting, and important information emerges from unexpected sources. This is why those working in the energy sector can gain so much from the powerful combination of AI applied to alternative data. In Baumgarten, Austria, in 2017, a fire broke out as a result of a gas pipeline explosion. This led to the minister of neighbouring Italy to declare a state of emergency due to the lack of gas supplies, causing day-ahead pricing to shoot up more than 215%, the highest ever for Italian natural gas pricing. A tweet from an office worker who spotted the blaze from 100 kilometres away created a domino effect in a chain of events. Real-time alerting informed workers in the company of the fire ahead of both local and national news, and 90 minutes before an official company statement. Knowing so far in advance gave businesses the head start they needed, to implement their plans and minimise the resulting damage. For all businesses connected with the energy industry, real-time alerts provide invaluable information for managing risk and through the most challenging crises. They also gives ongoing situational awareness, which, in turn, supports corporate security teams dealing with ongoing threat management. Real-time alerts are essential for organisations with teams in remote locations, to provide context and assess the overall threat landscape. Real-time alerts that contain images are even more useful, as teams can literally see what’s happening and they are given a more detailed context of the situation. For immediate incident response, the sooner someone is made aware of an event, the sooner it can be
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
dealt with and the better it can be contained.
BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY Whenever a crisis befalls an energy company, there is a correlating business impact. Disrupted service can mean customers are left without the fuel they need. The operations and finance teams must work to ensure that the company manages the ensuing damage swiftly by preparing for repair costs and determining how insurance and business continuity plans will affect the bottom line. As a crisis unfolds, it’s down to corporate security teams to initiate recovery and business continuity plans. Resources must be thoughtfully and appropriately allocated to re-establish normal operations. Disaster recovery plans must be put in place to help businesses understand what to do should such an event occur, to best protect people, equipment and infrastructure. Fundamentally, a corporate risk plan should take into account a wide range of potential challenges, which considers all outcomes to establish how they can be handled, to minimise impact and risk. Organisations need to be seen to be taking all the right steps to mitigate risk and deal with the crisis quickly and appropriately, for the sake of their staff and brand reputation. The long term impact of failing to deal with a situation is often significant, as organisations work to regain the trust of customers and ensure something similar doesn’t happen again in the future. Energy companies can end paying for decades after an event, often in the billions. Collective and consistent access to real-time information, across critical business functions and processes, can help teams understand how to limit damage in a range of ways. The up-todate insights real-time information can provide professionals in the energy sector, can be its lifeline during a crisis. Without these, organisations can face considerable downtime, loss of valuable data and safety breaches. Therefore, being able to minimise the damage caused by such crises will ensure businesses can return to normal as soon as possible. www.dataminr.com
TOP TIPS
TOP TIPS ON SERVICE & MAINTENANCE FOR ECONOMICAL, LONG WORKING LIFE OF HOT WATER HEATING UNITS Pete Seddon of Rinnai lists the most important points of ensuring that continuous flow hot water heating units are well serviced and maintained to ensure the longest possible and most economical working life.
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here are two very distinct perspectives on the service and maintenance of continuous flow hot water heating units and systems - that of the end user and the one of the installer/contractors. Firstly, we will look at the installer’s viewpoint. • Make sure of the exact make and model of the appliance before you attend the call. Varying appliances require different service routines. With Rinnai appliances we recommend that a service kit for every appliance is taken and utilised for every service visit. This will also help you to plan the correct amount of time for the job in hand. • Obtain service and install manuals wherever possible. This goes in hand with the above. This will allow you to see the routine that is required. You should be able to acquire this information from the manufacturer and at the same time you can also speak to a member of the technical department to get a better understanding of the servicing routine. • Compliance. If you have never been to the site before it is always worth checking over the installation to ensure the installation complies with regulations and manufacturer’s instructions. Sadly, there are still some sites where the installation and the appliances that do not follow regulations or a manufacturer’s explicit instructions. This could have impact on the performance of the appliances as well as the longevity of the system/ appliance. If you think something is not quite right, we advise that you should inform the customer and make them fully aware.
• Water Treatment. There are a lot of areas in the UK that require water treatment for hard water. If you know the area requires Lime Scale protection check that the site has it fitted. There are still a lot of sites that do not have any protection fitted but are in hard water areas. Lime Scale is a problem that can, if not treated properly, have huge consequences with appliances, systems and health. If you are unsure of the area you can check the Local Water Authority or call the manufacturers Technical Department for advice. At Rinnai UK our website does have a Water Hardness check and we can check the Water Authority for you as well - all we need is the area and postcode. Ultimately if there is no protection fitted, but there should be, then advise the customer of this and make them aware of the potential but probable problems that will ensue. • Detail your work. It is always worth noting down what work has been carried out. If gas pressures must be checked then note them down. If parts must be changed, note what parts have been changed. By just putting “Serviced the Appliance” down on the report may not constitute a proper service has been carried out in the eyes of the manufacturer and could impact on the customers warranty. • Technical Advice. If, after all the above, there is still something you are unsure about or you want to double check, call the Technical Department of the manufacturer. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Rinnai UK actively encourages questions and discussion, this way you can get peace and good practise. At the end of the day we are here to help you as much as
possible. And there is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to safety and a gas fired appliance.
FOR THE END USER OR OWNER: • Always understand what type of equipment you have, the manufacturer of that equipment and the service requirements and frequencies. Different appliances will have different service requirements at various intervals. It is always beneficial to find this information out because it can impact on the warranty. • Where possible use engineers who are familiar with the appliances. It is always worth contacting the manufacturer direct. With Rinnai UK we have a list of engineers who have undertaken training and are familiar with the Rinnai products. Majority of, if not all, other manufacturers will either have the same or have their own engineers. By utilising engineers who know the appliances you will have confidence that the servicing will be carried out correctly. • Always plan. It is always beneficial to find out when your appliances are due and to book them in a few weeks in advance. If you leave it too late you may not be able to get an engineer when you want them. This way to can plan it around your requirements. For example, if your business was dependant on the appliance you would be best planning this in when it was the quietest period or on days when it is not so dependant. • Paperwork. Ensure you keep hold of all your records of servicing. You should get a service report from the company who serviced the appliance, if you don’t make sure you request one. This is your proof that the servicing has been carried out. Without this paperwork if your appliance ever developed a fault during its warranty period you might be refused the warranty without this proof of service. www.rinnaiuk.com
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
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ENERGY LABELLING
NEW ENERGY LABELS TO IMPACT ON RETAIL REFRIGERATION
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ost end users are familiar with energy labelling of domestic products such as refrigerators, washing machines and clothes driers. Traditionally energy labelling has been focused on domestic appliances, where labels have been ubiquitous since the early 1990s. Energy labelling is a European initiative where minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) are applied (through the Ecodesign Directive). This means that a product must perform better than the MEPS to be able to be sold in Europe. In addition to MEPS, labelling levels are often applied which indicate levels of performance from low to high (Energy Labelling Directive). When implementing energy labelling, the aim is that consumers should not be disadvantaged by Ecodesign regulations in terms of affordability of products, or the life cycle cost of the product. The Directive also stipulates that regulations should have as a target that products placed on the market have an energy efficiency of at least that of the lowest life cycle cost (LLCC) for the product (i.e. they should include all available energy savings that pay off during the product lifetime). Although the focus is on energy use, the label can also cover the consumption of other resources and impacts (for example water consumption or noise levels during use). Generally with most refrigeration equipment, the use phase has the greatest environmental impact and so tends to be the focus of regulations. More recently the European Commission has been evaluating the use of energy labels outside of the domestic environment. This has led to labels for professional (catering) cabinets which were introduced in 2016. It is now illegal to sell most professional cabinets without a label in Europe. As the regulation has been in place for several years, the MEPS are now being tightened and energy levels made more stringent (from 1 July 2019 only products that are energy label of E or better can be sold in Europe). Regulations for refrigeration with a direct sales function (retail cabinets) are now in a draft form and due to be implemented on 1 March 2021. These include all supermarket refrigerator cabinets (both horizontal and vertical),
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beverage coolers, ice-cream freezers, gelato-scooping cabinets and refrigerated vending machines. The method to assess performance is via test standards that enable measurement of temperature and energy performance. Although test standards, such as EN ISO 23953 (Refrigerated display cabinets) have been available for many years, several new test standards specifically to measure performance of beverage coolers, ice-cream freezers, gelato-scooping cabinets and refrigerated vending machines have recently been generated to enable these products to be tested and their performance compared. The energy label is generated from a test carried out according to a specific test standard for the product. The products are tested in an environmental test room where the ambient conditions (temperature, humidity and air flow) are controlled. A test is then applied which measures temperature within the cabinet and the energy used by the cabinet. To enable the cabinet to be labelled, the measured test room energy is converted into energy used per year and compared to a standard annual energy (SAE) to provide an energy efficiency index (EEI) which then relates to the label level. The SAE is calculated using an equation which takes into account differences between cabinet types, temperature levels, sizes of cabinets and operation types (plug in or remotely operated). This theoretically enables cabinets to be directly compared and the energy efficiency of for example an open fronted chilled multi-deck cabinet to be
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
The EU Ecodesign Directive (Directive 2009/125/EC) is a framework directive that obliges manufacturers of energy consuming products to reduce the energy consumption and sometimes also other negative environmental impacts occurring throughout the product life cycle. The Directive is complemented by the Energy Labelling Directive (Directive 2010/30/EU). compared to a frozen cabinet with doors. The impact of selecting different efficiency cabinets is quite dramatic. The EEI for an A rated cabinet needs to be better than 10, whereas the lowest energy category (G) has an EEI of between 80 and 100. Even with today’s best technology, for a typical vertical chilled 2.5 m long cabinet the energy used per year could range from 2865 kWh/year for a B rated cabinet (typical best current technology) to 17,192 kWh/year for a G rated cabinet (lowest energy label allowed to be sold). It should be noted that to make this saving you may need to change technology, for example the G rated cabinet might be an open fronted multideck whereas the B rated cabinet might be a well-insulated cabinet with doors. The graph below shows the AEC for 6 different cabinet types with various temperature classifications (temperature achieved in the cabinet). The energy used for a middle of label band A, B, D and G is shown. G is the highest energy label that will be legally allowed, D is middle ranking
ENERGY LABELLING label, B is a realistic best performance scenario for current cabinets and A relates to a best performing future cabinet (the Commission have stated that no cabinets will be labelled A initially). Savings (based on a tariff of £0.14/kWh) are shown when comparing an A and a G cabinet. For all but the smaller ice cream freezer and beverage cooler the savings achieved by selecting the best versus the worst cabinet in each scenario exceed £2k per year. Over an estate consisting of hundreds of cabinets this equates to a substantial monetary (and carbon) saving. It does however, need to be borne in mind that energy used in a test scenario does not necessarily translate into savings in a retail environment. Real life savings could be greater or smaller depending on the environment in which the cabinet is placed and the way the cabinet is used and maintained. The Ecodesign and labelling regulations for refrigeration products with a direct sales function are slightly different from previous regulations. Previous regulations for other products have been far less prescriptive and have not included a specified need for technical evidence and reports on the performance of products. The reason for this new requirement is that products must be listed on a European product database for energy labelling. The European product database for energy labelling (EPREL) is a database that relates to the energy label, technical documentation and compliance information. The EPREL is divided in two parts: 1. A compliance site. This is a secure website or portal hosted by the EC. It is an access point for publishing and accessing public and compliance data by Suppliers, Market Surveillance Authorities (MSA) and EC officials. 2. A public site. Again a secure website or portal. The site enables citizens, resellers and researchers to have access to product information. It is stated on the portal that ‘consumers will be able to search the EPREL database for energy labels and product information sheets as of the second quarter 2019’. Due to the requirements within the EPREL, suppliers must now provide justification for the energy label they claim. Within the draft regulation for refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function, it is stated that products must be tested and must be accompanied by a certificate or test report. This means that the product must
comply with the following requirements: a. It has been specifically designed and tested for the mentioned operating condition or application, according to the European legislation mentioned or related acts, relevant Member State legislation, and/or relevant European or international standards; b. It is accompanied by evidence, to be included in the technical documentation in the form of a certificate, a type approval mark or a test report, that the product has been specifically approved for the mentioned operating condition or application; c. It is placed on the market specifically for the mentioned operating condition or application, as evidenced at least by the technical documentation provided for the product and any advertising or marketing materials; Such evidence can be obtained by independent testing. Alternatively manufacturers can self-certify products and in this case witness testing (where self-certified test data is independently checked and validated) can be a useful means to ensure that standards are correctly applied and information is reliably interpreted. One question you may be asking is; how will Brexit affect these regulations?
In terms of the standards used for the testing it is clear that there will be little change. British Standards have clearly stated in a position statement that ‘BSI should remain a full member of the European Standards Organizations’. Therefore the standards used in the UK will not change, as BSI will continue to work with other European standardisation organisations. In terms of the Ecodesign and labelling regulations themselves, it seems unlikely that the UK will not apply labelling after Brexit. Companies who manufacture in Europe and companies who import into Europe will need to comply with these regulations. UK companies selling products into Europe must comply and so it seems unlikely that manufacturers would not need to label products in the future. End users who are aware of labelling are generally positive and see it as a means to compare products and buy the most energy efficient option. Therefore there is likely to be pressure from end users to label products. In addition, energy labelling is considered positively by the UK Government as a means to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions. Domestic energy labelling (where energy used by products has approximately halved since inception) is seen as a success by legislators and something to be replicated in other areas. . For further information contact Judith Evans (j.a.evans@rdandt.co.uk) or visit the web site at www.rdandt.co.uk.
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ENERGY STORAGE
PIONEERING ZINC HYBRID BATTERY TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED FOR THE UK
Birmingham-based renewable energy company, Bryt Energy, has collaborated with Eos Energy Storage and Connected Energy to develop and roll out a pioneering and financially competitive battery technology in the UK. The EU’s first Zinc hybrid battery system will be tested under UK conditions before being targeted at universities for research purposes. It is expected that the first EU certified system will be provided to the UK Industrial and Commercial market next year.
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he Eos system is revolutionary in the energy industry and has the potential to be the most competitive and low-cost battery in the market. It has a high energy to power ratio, enabling greater flexibility during peak load periods, and is longlasting and safe. Its low hazard risk makes it particularly suitable for COMAH sites (Control of Major Accident Hazards) as well as the Industrial and Commercial market. It’s also ethically sourced and environmentally friendly; at the end of its life, parts can either be reused, recycled or safely disposed of. As well as the safety and ethical benefits, customers can take advantage of the battery’s economic potential, which includes grid service income, peak shaving and capacity charge avoidance, all optimised by Bryt Energy using pioneering software and technology. Guaranteeing energy resilience, businesses can gain energy security, avoid grid capacity restrictions and make the most of their on- site generation. For the UK in general, the technology allows more renewable energy onto the grid, reducing energy prices and helping the move towards a low carbon future. US-based Eos Energy Storage has been developing Zinc hybrid batteries at its New Jersey facility since 2008. After successfully deploying batteries in the US, India and South America, Eos has worked with Bryt Energy to introduce the pioneering, low cost technology to UK customers. The collaboration also involves Connected Energy, who will adapt their power control and management technology for the Eos system. Connected Energy will ensure the AC system is compliant and EU certified and will be testing the integrated system towards the end of 2019. Bryt Energy will provide the Eos battery system to the UK market as
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part of an innovative package, supplying zero carbon, 100% renewable electricity with options for on-site generation and optimisation solutions. Together they can be uniquely combined to maximise the value for customers. The battery system is also being developed to integrate with Electric Vehicle Charging and Demand Side Management solutions. Geoff Thomas, Managing Director of Bryt Energy Storage, said: “Battery storage is a key component of decarbonising the UK’s energy system. Not only does it provide significant business and environmental benefits to our customers, it really helps secure energy supply when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. At Bryt Energy, we’re passionate about leading British businesses to embrace a low carbon future and our pioneering battery technology takes us one step closer to this goal.” Matthew Lumsden, CEO of Connected Energy, said, “There will be no ‘silver bullet’ for energy storage. Different solutions will be required for a range of applications, so we are very excited about working with Eos technology alongside our 2nd life battery systems; two solutions with high sustainability credentials.” Joe Mastrangelo, CEO Eos Energy Storage, said, “Eos is proud to partner with Bryt Energy and Connected Energy to bring safe, sustainable, and scalable zincbased energy storage to the UK market.”
BRYT ENERGY Bryt Energy, part of the Statkraft Group, is a passionate, future-focused energy company, on a mission to take their community on a carbon-reducing journey. Bryt Energy’s power is zero carbon and 100% renewable, using only Wind, Hydro and Solar energy
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JULY/AUGUST 2019
sources to power British businesses. Whether it be on-site generation, battery storage or optimisation controls, Bryt Energy are at the forefront of the clean energy technology revolution with solutions that maximise value from customers’ electricity supply contracts. Get in touch to learn more at energystorage@brytenergy.co.uk or on 0330 058 0700.
EOS ENERGY STORAGE Eos Energy Storage is ready to help scale clean energy faster. Eos battery solutions ensure renewables are as reliable and competitive as the market expects and sustainable as the world needs. The Eos Aurora® system integrates the company’s aqueous, zinc battery technology (Znyth®) to provide a safe, scalable, and sustainable alternative to Lithium Ion. Optimised with relentless testing, the Eos Aurora is non-flammable, proven to perform, made with widely available materials, and is fully recyclable. www.eosenergystorage.com
CONNECTED ENERGY Connected Energy is a world class innovator in the field of energy storage, with expertise spanning system design and integration through to commercialisation, system delivery and operation. Best known for its circular economy approach to developing its E-STOR technology, utilising 2nd life electric vehicle batteries in low cost stationary energy storage applications, Connected Energy also uses its expertise to provide technical integration services to customers with other battery and energy related technologies. Connected Energy is based in Newcastle upon Tyne with its UK Technical Centre in Norfolk and has systems deployed in the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. www.c-e-int.com
HEATING
RINNAI AND THE ART OF ZEN + ZEN PLUS Rinnai re-imagines home hot water & heating systems
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innai, global leaders in continuous flow hot water heating products and systems, is introducing the Zen and Zen Plus home hot water & heating system which marries established and proven manufacture durability with new technologies to offer great energy efficiencies, user control and, importantly, unparalleled level of comfort. The Rinnai Zen and Zen Plus system will increase comfort and reduce energy usage whilst also providing a highly economically solution for today’s changing marketplace. ‘Our core expertise is the mass production of long-term reliable combustion products with advanced technologies – we are a global leader and make over 2 million water heating units every year for domestic, residential and commercial applications. We have been researching and monitoring the UK domestic heating market for several years until we had a proven system. That time is now, and we are offering hot water heating units together with a superior performance combi boiler in 24, 29- and 35-kW outputs,’ says Chris Goggin, head of Rinnai UK operations.
Some of the features of Zen & Zen Plus are: IOT controller as standard; Fast heating mode; DHW pre-heat function - saving wasted water; Energy monitor function allows user to monitor energy usage; flue runs up to 30 meters, Rinnai boiler App for android and IOS; constant temperatureaccurate hot water delivery at continuous flow rates. There is also smart Wifi controller and App benefits; The Rinnai app seamlessly connects to the controller in the property; the user can control the boiler remotely adjusting temperature, setting weekly and daily programmes, receiving alarm functions, monitor energy usage and set limits. The Wifi and boiler controller also uses GPS from the user’s mobile to bring on the heat
when you are getting close to home to ensure the house is warm when you arrive. Rinnai Zen & Zen Plus are available for use with both natural gas and LPG. www.rinnaiuk.com
RINNAI DELIVERS HOT WATER AT SCARBOROUGH CARE HOME
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innai continuous flow hot water heating units have replaced a vastly oversized and close to redundant traditional style of system at the Coombe Hay Care Home in Scarborough. Coombe Hay is situated in large, attractive and tranquil gardens on the outskirts of Scarborough, only minutes from the town centre and seafront. Coombe Hay offers accommodation which is fully en-suite and suitable for male and female residents with some larger apartments available for two people. Comgas Heating advised on the replacement system and chose 2 x Rinnai HD55i units - heavy duty high efficiency gas fired continuous flow water heating units with optimal fuel consumption. In like-for-like comparison to more traditional methods, the continuous flow system is proven to be more cost effective over a lifetime. Rinnai is an acknowledged global leader in the manufacture of tankless hot water heating units with group sales approaching £2 Billion.
The Rinnai HD55i is an internal wall hung, gas fired, continuous flow water heater capable of producing hot water in excess of 820 litres per hour at a 50°C rise. The HD55i has a 125mm concentric flue which can be extended up to 15m, less 1m per 45° bend. As with the whole of the Rinnai range the HD55i is ErP A-rated. The unit is compact, reliable and combines industry standards with innovation and quality. The HD55i operates between 1-10 bar pressure, which is suitable for mains cold water supply and systems with booster pumps and reaches water temperatures of up to 85°C, making the HD55i suitable for secondary return systems. Rinnai Heavy Duty continuous flow gas
fired water heaters feature outputs up to 58kW and water can be delivered at very precise, high volume temperature control. The smart digital controller regulates to within +/- 1ºC without any variation of temperature even with additional outlets. All models have full electronic ignition with no pilot light and operate on demand only, consuming no gas when not in use. The Rinnai HD55i is a fully modulating 52.6kW unit that can also be installed in a manifold arrangement. This ensures that the system can and will meet any hot water demand at all peak times, no matter what the demand. www.rinnaiuk.com
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HEATING
PRISTINE PERFORMANCE: KEEPING COMMERCIAL HEATING SYSTEMS CLEAN While keeping any heating system clean is key to its performance and extending its operational life, commercial heating systems are under even more pressure to ensure premises run smoothly. Andy Green, Technical Director at Potterton Commercial outlines the importance of system cleanliness in commercial installations.
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f a domestic heating system isn’t maintained and serviced correctly you can be left with an uncomfortable and expensive problem on your hands. But, with a commercial system, the consequences can go far beyond this. With a number of people and processes reliant on heating and hot water, if these systems aren’t maintained correctly, then commercial premises are at risk of system downtime which could mean they have to close, losing out on business. Even if the system doesn’t shut down completely, failing to keep it clean and performing as smoothly as possible will result in increased energy costs from excessive fuel usage along with potential financial penalties due to increased carbon emissions. As such, there are some important actions which can be taken in the interest of keeping these commercial systems functioning as they should.
INSTALLATION INSPECTIONS There are some key operations which can be performed by a qualified service engineer before a commercial heating system is even installed. This will ensure system cleanliness from
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the outset for correct operation and to retain any warranty. For example, if the boiler is connected to existing flue ducts, these should be thoroughly cleaned as residual products of combustion may detach from the walls during operation and obstruct the flow of fumes. In a Domestic Hot Water (DHW) circuit, if the water is harder than 20°F (1°F = 10mg calcium carbonate per litre of water), a polyphosphate dispenser or an equivalent treatment system which is compliant with current regulations should be installed. Other considerations include thoroughly flushing the system after installation of the appliance and before use, and making sure the materials used for the DHW circuit comply with Directive 98/83/EC. For a heating circuit in a new system, before the boiler is installed, the system must be cleaned and flushed to eliminate residual thread-cutting swarf, solder and any solvents. This can be done using suitable off-the-shelf non-acid and nonalkaline products that do not damage metal, plastic and rubber parts. To protect the system from scale, inhibitors
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specifically designed for heating circuits should be used in strict compliance with the manufacturers’ instructions. For an existing system, there are some extra precautions to take as the presence of foreign bodies in the heating system can adversely affect boiler operation by causing overheating and excessive noise in the heat exchanger. Therefore, before installing the boiler, the system should be drained and cleaned to remove sludge and contaminants, using suitable proprietary products for heating circuits.
ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS Performing a series of routine checks on an annual basis is key to optimising boiler efficiency, and many of these checks involve keeping the system as clean as it can be. For example, a vacuum cleaner can be used to check for any impurities inside the combustion chamber. What’s more, it’s important to check that the flue and air ducts are unobstructed and that there are no blockages inside the siphon.
CLEAN THE CONDENSATE TRAP In particular, it’s important to clean the heating system’s condensate trap as part of the annual service. With most new boiler installations and boiler replacements being of a condensing type since 2005, these systems create a significant amount of condensate
HEATING
which is collected by a condensate trap. Thankfully, cleaning this part of the boiler is a simple task but shouldn’t be neglected given its impact on the overall performance of a heating system and the need to dispose of this liquid correctly. The lower section of the water condense trap will need to be unscrewed and cleaned by flushing it out with water. The same section should then be filled with water until about 10mm below the upper edge. Once complete, it should be fastened onto the condense trap again.
HEAT EXCHANGER HOUSEKEEPING The heat exchanger plays a crucial role in ensuring the efficient transfer of heat in a heating system. Available in stainless steel, aluminium alloy and cast iron, their material will determine how well they transfer heat, their corrosion resistance and therefore how often they need to be cleaned. The cleaning process usually involves sucking up the residue inside the combustion chamber and removing any scale using a brush with plastic bristles. Any surfaces which need to be cleaned should be sprinkled generously with an appropriate liquid cleaner and left for 10 minutes before brushing the surface, with this process repeated if required to remove excess dirt. When cleaning is finished, the surface should be rinsed with water and the gasket of the burner support flange, replaced.
SPICK-AND-SPAN Some commercial boilers, such as the wall-hung Sirius Three range, have the option of a hydraulic system manager as an additional accessory for the system to make maintaining system cleanliness easier. This essentially acts as a low loss header, dirt separator, magnetic filter, air separator and flow velocity manager - to ensure clean system water and removing air, dirt and metal to prevent noise. Despite this, it’s essential to include chemical water treatment as part of the installation and ongoing maintenance schedule. Ultimately, taking a proactive approach to keeping a commercial heating system as free from contaminants as possible is key to ensuring it operates safely and efficiently while reducing the chances of a breakdown. For more information on Potterton Commercial’s Sirius three range of ErP compliant wall-hung and floor standing boilers, please visit www. pottertoncommercial.co.uk/getsirius
THE RINNAI 1200I CONTINUOUS FLOW HOT WATER HEATING UNIT – DELIVERING CONTINUOUS FLOW OF USEABLE HOT WATER
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ow available is the Rinnai HDC 1200i continuous flow hot water unit with the capacity to deliver in excess of 1500 litres of temperature accurate hot water per hour, with an overall gross efficiency of more than 95%. These levels of performance, with unbeatable efficiency levels, mean the Rinnai 1200i is more than capable of meeting and exceeding the hot water demands of all applications. This precision engineered unit can also be combined as multiple units into one single, easy to handle module incorporating cascade frames and common flue. Both the HDC 1200 internal and external models turn in a market leading energy performance of 107% net efficiency and offer superlative ranges of modulation. The systems internal analytical system can modulate the burner from 54kw to 2.4kw. The Rinnai HDC 1200i is engineered for minimal energy wastage and maximum energy performance. It is worth remembering that Part L of the Building Regulations 2013 has set minimum thermal efficiency levels of 90% for natural and 92% for LPG, consequently outlawing noncondensing gas fired water heaters for use in new build projects. Rinnai is the only manufacturer that can supply a complete range of internal and external ultra-high efficiency condensing continuous flow water heaters, aligned not only to comply but surpass changes on the regulatory horizon. The manifolded 1200i units can be delivered direct to site in one complete, easy to manage package and at a very competitive price. For the end user this guarantees considerable cost savings over other forms of hot water generation. The relatively compact footprint of all Rinnai units and systems means it can optimise plant room space and safeguard
accessibility for maintenance and servicing. The Rinnai Infinity HDC 1200i water heater uses heat exchanger technology to allow the largest capacity flow rates, thereby guaranteeing all the hot water needed, when it is needed. As well as increasing capacity, the Rinnai Infinity water heater has lower greenhouse emissions because of the new reduced NOx burner technology and as there is no storage, this scores well with BREEAM. Available in both internal and external versions, HDC 1200i gives end users 107% net efficiency as the condensing process delivers up to 95% thermal efficiency, translating into significant energy savings when compared to standard tankless water heaters. With a continuous flow water heating unit, it will deliver limitless amounts of useable hot water, whatever the site - school, hospital, hotel, office blocks, leisure club etc with no fluctuations in water delivery temperature. The only time the site uses energy to heat water is when there is a demand, in other words, it is only burning gas when a tap or shower is being run. www.rinnaiuk.com
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DISTRICT HEATING
TAKING THE LONG VIEW.
WHY LONG-TERM INVESTORS CAN BRING SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS TO DISTRICT ENERGY SCHEMES. Andrew White, Metropolitan Infrastructure Ltd
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istrict energy networks represent a long-term commitment for public and private sector developers. Each network may be operational for up to 60 years, delivering low-carbon heat for entire communities and it is essential from both a financial and environmental perspective that networks are run at maximum efficiency throughout their life spans. How to achieve that desirable outcome depends on the ownership and management framework that the developer puts in place. Flexibility must be built in. Over such a long period of time customer needs, available resources and technologies will change and the management of the network needs to be able to adapt. Partnering with a long-term investor, committed for the life of the network, brings significant operational and investment advantages to the primary developer and the community the network serves. There are already some excellent examples of this alignment and we expect this trend to continue with long-term investors willing to build or adopt district energy networks.
A FLEXIBLE OPTION Installing a district energy network to serve a community is a major project judged by any standard. Networks take years in the planning, design and procurement phases and rightly so, they represent a significant investment. During that time, however, much can change. Unexpected difficulties in design and on site may be encountered en route to bringing the network into service; key personnel in consultants’ or contractors’ teams may leave; technologies may evolve for energy efficiency or regulatory reasons; and funding options and availability may fluctuate. Bringing in new partners and fresh thinking can
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resolve these issues and ensure the long-term viability of the network. District energy is known for its flexibility as a heat solution. Networks can be adopted, extended and reconfigured and heat sources changed as and when required. Adoption of a network by a long-term investor can take place at any stage in the network’s lifetime but is most likely to be optimal when the network is still in the design phase and collaboration between developer and long-term investor can lead to further enhancements. The heat network at the Hallsville Quarter development, part of the transformational new town centre for
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Postmark by Taylor Wimpey Central London
Canning Town in London, demonstrates the flexibility that a long-term investor can bring to developments. Here, the developer, Linkcity, brought in Metropolitan to provide external expertise once the first two phases of the development were complete. The existing heat network and energy centre at Hallsville Quarter have been adopted and will be extended to serve the future phases of the development. The small CHP engine now in service will be replaced with a much larger and more carbon-efficient 1.2MW CHP engine. For the third phase of the development,
DISTRICT HEATING
The Hallsville Quarter development. Photo: Simon Kennedy
optimum pipe sizes have been specified and costs reduced through leading-edge design. This will result in lower carbon emissions, operational efficiencies and ultimately a reduction in customers’ tariffs. The 25-year agreement governing the network adoption will ensure the most efficient running of the network over the long-term.
DESIGN OPTIMISATION Unless district heat networks are implemented as part of a new town development where the designers start with a blank canvas, they tend to serve new communities within densely populated urban areas. This can mean that arriving at the optimum solution may take time and require input beyond the original design team. A recent example of this is Taylor Wimpey Central London’s flagship Postmark development in Farringdon. Sitting across two postcodes, WC1 and EC1, and surrounded by Farringdon, Clerkenwell, King’s Cross and Chancery Lane, Postmark will consist of more than 680 residential units together with shops, restaurants and cinemas. The main challenge presented by the location, which is shared by the 129-year-old Royal Mail sorting office at Mount Pleasant, is that the two phases of the development are separated by a public highway. In order to avoid the already heavily congested existing utilities under the road, the original design envisaged having two separate energy centres, one for each side of the development. Coming in as a third party, we were able to undertake a cost-benefit analysis for one energy centre versus two. To overcome the congested utility infrastructure, pipework sleeves were installed under the highway. These enabled the design to be rationalised allowing a single gas-fired CHP energy centre to serve the entire development, saving space and significant cost. The 40-year agreement to adopt and operate the heating and cooling infrastructure at Postmark will provide
stability and guarantee continual expert engineering input to maximise efficiency over the lifetime of the network.
WORKING FOR COMMUNITIES Successful district energy projects can deliver excellent outcomes for communities, delivering affordable and low-carbon heat over very long periods for residents. To ensure success, it is vital that appropriate ownership models and governance structures are established to optimise their performance, with a strong alignment between project initiator (developers) and long-term investors. For the public sector, in particular, robust business cases may have been developed in response to available funding both from the Government and the private sector. By the time a network is commissioned, however, circumstances may have changed and capital needs to be freed up for other projects; or changes to technology and building regulations demand new investment. Partnering with a long-term investor may offer the most beneficial solution. The new partner will have a vested interest in running the network at peak efficiency, investing as required and introducing new technologies to achieve that outcome. It is, of course, essential to select the right partner for this long-term relationship, to ensure that customers receive the best quality of service and pay the lowest tariffs possible. Financial stability and the track record of the investor are just as important as their technical expertise.
Inside the Energy Centre at King’s Cross
Finally, a commitment to membership of the Heat Trust, the industry-led initiative which recognises best practice, would be an important indicator. Service standards set by the Trust encompass the support of vulnerable heat customers; billing and payment arrangements; fault and emergency reporting; complaint handling; and privacy policy and data protection. The survey conducted by BEIS into heat networks in 2017 found that networks that were members of the Heat Trust achieved particularly impressive consumer satisfaction levels concerning the quality of billing and usage information they received.
MORE NETWORKS, MORE ADOPTIONS In conclusion, the benefits of partnering with a long-term investor are significant. Long-term contracts to build, adopt and operate networks ensure stability for the network over the foreseeable future. A fresh perspective for network design can yield greater efficiencies and help developers achieve the low/zero-carbon emissions demanded by building regulations, whilst customers can enjoy lower fuel bills. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) forecasts that by 2030 heat networks could be servicing at least 10% of the UK’s total heat demand. As more networks are planned and commissioned, then we can expect to see more network adoptions. Watch this space. Visit www.metropolitan-uk.co.uk
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HEAT EXCHANGERS
BOOSTING THE PERFORMANCE OF PLATE HEAT EXCHANGERS WITH A NEW GRADE OF FORMABLE DUPLEX STAINLESS STEEL Until a few years ago, duplex stainless steel was a term that applied to a handful of alloys, but this branch of the stainless steel family tree has since developed into a family in its own right. Outokompu Project Manager, Rodrigo Signorelli, talks about a new grade of duplex stainless steel that offers a combination of high strength and formability, making it ideal for manufacturing plate heat exchangers. A manufacturer in Shanghai has already put it to the test.
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late Heat Exchangers (PHEs) are used extensively to transfer and manage heat in industry and district heating applications. To ensure efficient heat transfer they often operate at high pressure to allow rapid fluid flow. The downside is that such high pressures often lead to plate deformation, which causes leakage. Gasket-sealed plate heat exchangers (GPHEs) are particularly prone to this. Plate deformation can also affect the fluid flow through the channels formed in the plates, thus resulting in heat loss. To eliminate this drawback, engineers introduced several alternative design options, but with mixed results. No matter whether heat exchangers are based on a welded, brazed or gasket design, it became evident that they would all benefit from a higher strength material to reduce the risk of plate deformation and collapse. The solution was to adopt a high strength duplex stainless steel for the plates instead of standard austenitic stainless steel. Apart from having high strength, duplex grades have higher fatigue strength, erosion resistance and enhanced
resistance to stress corrosion cracking. There was one snag though: formability. Most duplex grades have limited formability compared with standard austenitic stainless steel. As a result, manufacturers found it difficult to replicate the indentations in plates that form channels to guide the flow of fluids. This also impacted PHE designers who had to contend with a lower surface area for heat transfer across each plate, which affects the size of the unit. Having taken note of these challenges, Outokumpu developed a new grade of duplex stainless steel for applications where the formability of other duplex grades is insufficient or limits the design capability.
Comparison of true stress strain curves (Transversal direction) for the two materials
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HEAT EXCHANGERS Forta FDX 27 has been created specifically for GPHE manufacturers to overcome these limitations. Manufacturers can produce plates in the new material with the same or similar surface area as their existing plates made from traditional austenitic stainless steel. An added benefit is that it is often possible to adopt the same tooling set when switching to the new material.
THE DIFFERENTIATING FACTOR What sets Forta FDX 27 apart from its counterparts in terms of formability, is a phenomenon known as Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP). This denotes changes in the crystal microstructure that take place during forming when plastic deformation takes place. The properties and physical attributes of a stainless steel is defined by its microstructure, of which there are several variations. These variations result in the formation of austenitic, ferritic, martensitic, and duplex stainless steels. For Forta FDX 27, the composition is balanced to lead to a controlled transformation of austenite to martensite during forming at the microstructural level. While the TRIP effect has in the past only worked for austenitic steel grades, Outokumpu has successfully transferred it to Forta FDX 27 as a duplex grade. The result is higher strength and greater formability, enabling designers to reduce wall thickness and bend radii. There is also no impact on corrosion resistance. These features make the duplex grade highly suitable for stretch forming used in the manufacture of heat exchanger components such as GPHE plates and parts for shell and tube heat exchangers. An added boon is that, similar to other duplex grades, Forta FDX 27 has relatively low levels of nickel and molybdenum, which is beneficial when forecasting financial performance. The price of both metals can fluctuate considerably – so their low-level presence ensures price stability.
PROOF OF CONCEPT To validate its suitability in a PHE manufacturing environment, Outokumpu undertook a rigorous onsite test and trial programme. Forta FDX 27 was evaluated against a 316L stainless steel grade, which is commonly used in high pressure GPHE designs. Both alloys have a similar level of corrosion resistance and the tests compared plates of identical 0.6 mm thickness.
Like other duplex grades, Forta FDX 27 was found to have superior strength, as shown by the true stress strain curves. The real test, however, came when formability and strength were evaluated. Using the exact same tools FEA analysis shows that plates manufactured from and lubrication as normally Forta FDX 27 (right) have 30 percent greater strength, used for the standard 316L with the scale being blue to red as low to high grade, the new duplex grade was formed into a Having identified the need to both well-established GPHE design. No enhance pressure resistance in its GPHE modifications were made to the tool and reduce leakage, the group has been design when the test plates were formed. collaborating with Outokumpu since Researchers then evaluated the 2014 to evaluate Forta FDX 27 as an duplex stainless steel plates, paying alternative to austenitic stainless steels. close attention to two regions on the Outokumpu provided support throughout plates that are particularly important the project, which included material for forming operations. The test results testing, design of test tools, sample revealed that GPHE sheets can be formed pressing, manufacturing of prototypes, successfully with both materials. For comparison analysis of tests and this particular design, the team was able simulations, as well as pressure testing to form a plate in high-strength duplex and thermal performance comparisons. stainless steel with an identical design SHPHE soon realised that and surface area as the 316L grade. Forta FDX 27 could enable them to To estimate the strength of the final create high-strength plates that would Forta FDX 27 and 316L plates, engineers withstand deformation, allowing them utilised Finite Element Analysis (FEA). to operate PHEs with a large pressure They found that the overall strength difference between the hot and cold sides. was approximately 30 percent higher This meant a greater transfer of heat and for Forta FDX 27, which suggests a less likelihood of leakage. rethink of GPHE designers’ approach During testing, plates made of to high pressure applications. the new duplex grade showed less deformation compared with standard NEW DUPLEX STAINLESS austenitic stainless steel, as well as STEEL PROVIDES 50 greater resistance to stress corrosion PERCENT GREATER cracking, erosion and fatigue. The result PRESSURE PERFORMANCE was more reliable sealing performance. SHPHE’s pressure resistance FOR SHANGHAI testing found that a PHE with plates MANUFACTURER manufactured from the new material One manufacturer is already offering achieved a maximum allowable pressure its customers the option of the new of 5.8 MPa, whereas a standard PHE with material in its production of stainless plates made from 316L grade achieved steel heat exchanger plates. Shanghai 3.8 MPa. This proved that Forta FDX 27 Heat Transfer Equipment Co., Ltd. can offer 50 percent greater pressure (SHPHE in short) is a Sino-German joint performance than a comparable austenitic venture that specialises in the design, grade of stainless steel in GPHE designs. manufacturing, installation and service of Inspired by this outcome, SHPHE has plate heat exchangers across the globe. subsequently utilised Forta FDX 27 at two district heating installations with great success. Plans are also afoot to introduce the material as an option in its welded PHEs. www.outokumpu.com Engineers paid close attention to formability of the new steel in two specific regions on the test plate
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LEGISLATION
THE ESOS COUNTDOWN IS ON: COULD EPCS BE A ROUTE TO COMPLIANCE?
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here is less than six months to go until the deadline for phase 2 of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS). If past performance is anything to go by, most ESOS-obligated organisations will still not have begun their energy audits. If they are to ensure compliance by 5th December 2019, however, they need to be acting now. To date, ESOS compliance has not gone as smoothly as the Environment Agency probably hoped. The problems of four years ago with phase 1 have been well documented, with most compliance reports submitted either last minute or late. Peak ESOS reporting for phase 1 was the 4th December 2015, the day before the deadline. Delayed action from organisations in starting the compliance process meant that, for lead energy assessors, they had a lot of time-consuming energy audits to do, and not much time to do them in. If we have learnt any lessons from phase 1, it should cause us to consider what resources we have that could lead to a more efficient, less time-consuming route to compliance. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) could be a very valuable, currently underutilised, resource here.
COMPLIANCE ISSUES ESOS obligated organisations are required to carry out an ESOS assessment every four years. This involves conducting an audit calculating total energy consumption (consumed by buildings, industrial processes and transport), identifying the areas of significant consumption (amounting to at least 90% of the total), and highlighting opportunities to make energy savings. Once this assessment is complete, they submit a notification of compliance to the Environment Agency. ESOS is applicable to large organisations with over 250 employees, or with an annual turnover above €50 million and balance sheet above €43 million. For most organisations, buildings will make up 90% of their energy demand. The statistics that emerged following phase 1 in 2015 revealed that non-compliance with ESOS was rife. Around 2,800 organisations didn’t complete on time, only 16% of those that did were fully compliant, and 500 organisations that were obligated to submit never did, leading to a large number of civil penalty proceedings. Interestingly, the Environment Agency engaged in more enforcement activity against organisations that did submit an assessment, but where they failed to fully meet the requirements. Arguably the main reason for late, poorly formulated, or no submissions at all is due to organisations not allocating enough time for lead energy assessors to successfully complete the assessment. For organisations with rented properties, where EPCs will already have been undertaken, they have the potential
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to significantly cut down on the time it takes for assessment. It is important to note that EPCs are not a catch-all for ESOS compliance. There are four routes to compliance: ISO 50001, Display Energy Certificates (DECs), Green Deal Assessments (GDAs) or ESOS compliant energy audits. EPCs can be used for the third option, as they can be used to generate a GDA report, and for the fourth, as they can inform an energy audit.
QUICKER ASSESSMENT So, how can EPCs save energy assessors time and effort for ESOS assessments? The answer lies in the energy model that is contained within the building EPC file. This can be uploaded into software that can automatically calculate the energy savings opportunities, and produce a report template for assessors that is already populated with this key information. Once the EPC data file has been uploaded, intelligent software platforms can analyse it and provide a range of improvement measures for the property, including the cost to implement the measures and the length of the payback period, the energy that will be saved, and the resulting carbon reduction. Software that also allows assessors to input the actual building consumption data can enhance these savings measures, scaling them in proportion to the real consumption data. This allows the suggested improvement measures to be much more accurate and realistic, aligning them with how the building actually operates and consumes energy, not just how the building model suggests it would. This more realistic assessment could result in a greater degree of post-ESOS actual improvement activity – the findings from phase 1 revealed ESOS assessment did not have much of an impact on future energy efficiency decision making. Utilising a platform that can do the bulk of the analytical work for assessors, and input it into a template ESOS report – populated with the reference year of energy data, savings measures for the organisation, and detailed savings measures for each property in the portfolio – could save a lot of time and effort. It could also reduce the number of
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site visits, which assessors are expected to conduct as part of the ESOS audit. If they have the energy models from EPCs done in the last four years, that constitutes a site survey, so they could choose to only inspect a select few sites. All property rented or sold in the last ten years will already have an EPC, and organisations with rented sites count for a large proportion of ESOS-obligated companies. This means that many organisations are actually sitting on a resource that could be used to help lead energy assessors take a more efficient route to compliance. For assessors, it presents an opportunity to conduct more ESOS assessments in the given time, in what will no doubt be a very busy period in the run up to the phase 2 deadline. Looking to the future, there is some talk of ESOS being extended to sweep up even more organisations. If this happens, the time pressures and mounting demand on assessors will be exacerbated further. With that in mind, it’s time to start thinking smarter about how we approach ESOS assessment, and the range of resources in our toolkit that could help. Stephen Preece is the Business Development Director at proptech company arbnco, which develops software solutions to improve the energy efficiency of commercial & public sector real estate. Its arbn consult platform now incorporates ESOS reporting functionality. www.arbnco.com
EXHIBITION NEWS
FUTURE RESOURCE 2019 The long-awaited return of Future Resource expo is finally drawing closer, and Energy Manager Magazine are proud to be partnered with the biggest UK sustainability event of its kind.
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aking place on September 11 and 12 at the NEC Birmingham, Future Resource is the UK’s UK’s leading event for energy and water efficiency; and is now home to the inaugural Future IoT expo. Ticket registrations are open - to secure yours please visit futureresourceexpo.com. Future Resource was created last year after the organisers realised the untapped potential of such an essential sector for our collective futures. The event boasts a 3,000 strong crowd, comprised of leading local authorities and Government departments, large retailers, commercial and industrial end users, as well as energy and water suppliers, and trade associations. This substantial audience of industry leaders and influential buyers come to Future Resource with the primary purpose of discovering new solutions and meeting suppliers to make their visions a reality. Here is our first look at what is in store for this year…
AN ELECTRIFYING LINEUP This year visitors will be treated to notable seminars from Toyota GB, Department for Transport, Siemens PLC, and Nestle’s Head of Sustainability - Anna Turrell. There will be two keynote seminars from National Grid; Mark Herring is the Strategic Team Lead, and his seminar will look at the further need a smart and flexible energy system, if Great Britain are to achieve the 2050 decarbonisation target. Graeme Cooper is a Project Director, and will focus his seminar on energy networks, and the need for a new infrastructure which is ready to support the UK’s transition, whilst minimising the impact on the bill payer. Both of National Grid’s keynote speakers hold respected positions within and their collective expertise will provide an unrivalled insight into a huge transformation that will affect everyone in the UK. These are mustattend seminars, and visitors are advised to arrive early to secure their seats. Any questions will be answered after their seminars for a limited amount of time.
Further seminars are lined up from industry pioneers, including a host of eye-opening seminars on the circular economy, energy & water efficiency, renewables & emissions, and IoT.
200 PIONEERING EXHIBITORS With an extensive 200 exhibitors showcasing their finest solution led products and services, there truly is something for everyone. With the continued progression towards a reliance on electric vehicles, Future Resource is proud to be one of the only environmental exhibitions to boast a Test Track for the zero-emissions vehicles on display at the show. This track will be an incredible opportunity to not only witness and understand how good these vehicles are on the road, but to experience them first hand. This will be a unique feature that is not only a great bit of fun at the show but also a fantastic insight into how far electric vehicles have come. The test track will be ready to put to sleep any issues or qualms with this new age of vehicle technology. The Future Resource Green Apple Award is returning this year, to once again recognise a cutting-edge supplier from the renewables and sustainability sector. The Green Organisation sponsor the award and select a judging panel made up of some of the most respected voices in the sector. The award is open to all exhibitors, and all applicants will be put forward for the International Green Apple Awards for Environmental Best Practice Award, which is held in the Houses of Parliament in in November.
6 ZONES Industry leading businesses exhibit across 6 fundamental zones: Energy Efficiency Tech, Zero Emissions Zone, Smart Water Innovation, Renewables Zone, Energy from Waste and Future IoT. A visit to this year’s expo will future-proof your business; with Future Resource covering your efficiency and sustainability needs, and Future IoT expo providing you with access to the software that will
shape the city you work in, the businesses you work with and the products/services you provide.
CO-LOCATED SHOWS Your ticket to Future Resource/Future IoT will grant you access to a further 4 co-located shows – including RWM Exhibition, the Contamination Expo, Flood Expo and Fasteners Exhibition & Conference. The combination of these powerhouse events will result in an expected attendance of 22,000 business professionals. It therefore goes without saying that the networking opportunities are unparalleled. Last year an exceptional £1.9bn was traded as a result of these environmental events.
FREE TICKETS Tickets to attend are completely free and are valid for both days of the show. What’s more, visitors who register in advance will receive a free hardcopy of the official Future Resource 2019 showguide – complete with show highlights, keynote profiles, the full timetable, floorplan and exhibitor directory. Now only 7 weeks away from the show, if you want to secure free visitor tickets for you and your colleagues please visit futureresourceexpo.com. We hope to see you there in September!
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