Energy Manager Magazine April 2016

April 2016

www.energymanagermagazine.co.uk

SUB-METERING SYSTEMS

Getting it Right!

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Eltex Manufacturing - Case Study

Your Energy Sussex and Tangmere Solar Farm

Sustainable water hygiene

FRONT COVER STORY: Sub-Metering Systems Getting it Right!

April 2016

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SUB-METERING SYSTEMS

Getting it Right!

See Page 22

APRIL 2016

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Eltex Manufacturing

Your Energy Sussex and

Sustainable water

- Case Study

Tangmere

hygiene

Solar Farm

Highlights 7

Stokvis Boilers Specified Across Kingston Estate

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NHS + Carbon Architecture + CHP = Super Savings

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Spring into action

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Micronics flowmeters used to survey heating system at Heathrow

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Is There an LED Fallacy?

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EvoEnergy completes UK’s largest solar carport at Nottingham leisure centre

Please Note: No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without prior permission from the publishers. The publishers do not accept any responsibility for, or necessarily agree with, any views expressed in articles, letters or supplied advertisements.

All contents © Energy Manager Magazine 2014 ISSN 2057-5912 (Print) ISSN 2057-5920 (Online)

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

News

DECC- Annual Statistics

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ECC have recently released a statement and background information relating to this years annual stats releases, including the UK energy statistics: statistical press release - March 2016: http://bit.ly/1RN6qdk; the Statistical release and data: Smart Meters, Great Britain, quarter 4 2015: http://bit.ly/1q4XYAu; and the Provisional UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics 2015: http://bit.ly/1RPqWQO.

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DECC spokesperson statement: “Our plan is working: we’re delivering affordable, secure and low carbon energy for hardworking families and businesses.

Last year energy bills were down by £46 and we got a quarter of our electricity from renewable sources.”

Background •

Consumers Average annual household energy bills decreased by £46 in 2015 (down 3.5 per cent to £1,298). Average electricity

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bills fell by £8. Average gas bills were down by £38.

Thanks to Government action, there are more energy suppliers to choose from than ever before, putting the power into the hands of consumers.

The number of households switching providers rose by 11 per cent for electricity and 19 per cent for gas between 2014 and 2015.

There are now 3 million smart meters operating in homes and businesses across Britain. There are 2.32 million smart meters operating in smart mode across domestic properties in Great Britain.

There was a 20 per cent increase in domestic smart meter installations by large energy suppliers compared to the previous quarter (Q3).

Energy Generation A quarter of the UK’s electricity is now generated from renewables, according to stats released today.This is up 29% on last year.

Nearly half of our electricity generation

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now comes from low carbon sources.

We are making progress towards our renewable targets for 2020. We have exceeded our latest interim target with 6.3% of final energy consumption coming from renewable sources against a target of 5.4%.

Our annual support for renewables will more than double in the next 5 years, reaching over £10bn in 2020/21. Just a few weeks ago, it was confirmed Hornsea One offshore – the largest wind farm in the world – would be built powering 1 million homes and providing local jobs.

Carbon emissions We are meeting our commitments to reduce our emissions. Provisional estimates for 2015 show that UK greenhouse gas emissions continue to decrease and are 3.4% lower than 2014. This is mainly due to the decrease in coal for electricity generation. katharine.slowe@decc.gsi.gov.uk 0300 068 8304

Pioneering carbon psychologist saves businesses £26 million through behaviour change

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nergy firm npower Business Solutions has called on all businesses to make use of its carbon psychologist, which has so far delivered £26 million of savings for UK businesses. The use of behaviour change could save businesses an average of 9% on their energy costs.

The firm’s energy behavioural expert helps businesses by designing programmes to change behaviour, thereby improving energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption. Much like a traditional psychologist, they are able to suggest a number of different approaches to reducing energy usage and increasing their bottom line.

The carbon psychologist works with employees to alter their energy habits,

helping them embrace more energy efficient ways of working. Unlike consultants, they use psychology to understand the ‘constructs’ – or drivers – that underpin how staff behave, and plan campaigns in order to make a positive impact. They also offer firms a free energy assessment, working out how much businesses can typically save over a five year period.

The carbon psychologist joined npower Business Solutions following the company’s acquisition of RUMM in April 2015, a specialist energy management company offering innovative energy solutions to the market, including how energy can be saved in the workplace.

Since launching, it has achieved over £52

For more information on the carbon psychologist, please go to http://rumm.co.uk/

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

million in energy savings for its customers, the equivalent of over 339,000 tonnes of carbon.

Phil Griffiths, Carbon Psychologist at npower Business Solutions continues: “It often surprises businesses to find out that non-technical savings are usually greater than technical savings. Through learning about your energy habits, it is easy to make subtle, low-cost and effective changes to help keep down your energy bills. It’s already produced clear and proven benefits for firms, big and small, saving businesses we have worked with over £26 million.”

Recently, npower Business Solutions was accredited with Gold status by the Low Energy Company for the energy training it offers employees. It also offers a range of independently accredited training, the nBS Energy Managers Qualification (nBS EMQ), to cater for all levels of energy education.

Over the coming months, npower Business Solutions, a division of npower, will be on the road to share cases of best practice on reducing energy consumption and help customers do the same. It is calling all businesses to book in their appointment with their carbon psychologists now.

News

Using heat from water smartly: a new way of heating and cooling buildings

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he Balanced Energy Network (BEN) is a pioneering energy network that will use heat pumps to extract heat from water circulating between buildings to disperse heat to other buildings and transfer cold water to buildings needing cooling.

A consortium of cross-sector partners led by renewable energy firm ICAX in partnership with London South Bank University (LSBU) has been awarded a £2.9 million grant by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, towards this £4 million project to build BEN on the University’s campus. The network will help LSBU save energy and reduce costs without emitting carbon dioxide on-site or any other environmentally damaging gas.

Only 2% of the UK’s built environment heating demand is currently delivered by heat networks. The Government is aiming to increase this capacity to 15-25% by 2050 by encouraging organisations from different sectors to come together to develop new low energy supply networks through Innovate UK’s competition. LSBU and ICAX have already been awarded £28,700 in the first stage of the competition to finance a feasibility study for developing BEN in 2015.

The consortium’s ambition is to demonstrate how ‘cold water heat networks’ might become the ‘Intranet of heat’, enabling communities across the UK to develop economic heat sharing networks.

BEN will transfer solar heat collected in the summer into thermal energy to be stored in the ground through autumn until it is needed to heat buildings in the winter

without burning fossil fuels. This process will be controlled virtually and allows heat pumps to respond to low price supply when the grid has surplus electricity.

Starting construction in May 2016, BEN is being developed by ICAX with support from LSBU’s Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings (CEREB) in collaboration with a range of consortium partners including the Greater London Authority, Mixergy and Terra Firma Ground Investigation.

The project will also incorporate several partners’ innovative technologies: • Upside Energy’s cloud-based software creates a ‘virtual energy store’ which allows energy surpluses to be sold back to the grid and allows heat pumps to respond to low price signals when the grid has surplus electricity.

• A leading industrial refrigeration company is developing compact heat pumps capable of delivering high temperatures to large buildings.

• Carbon-negative technology company Origen Power is working with Cranfield University to provide a new energy generating product that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“BEN will answer the Energy Trilemma by providing a mechanism for transferring heat from buildings that require cooling to buildings that require heating – thus providing a ‘heat sharing dividend’ to both buildings, and to the planet,” said Mark Hewitt, Director of ICAX.

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New energy network will extract heat from water circulating between buildings and disperse it to other buildings that need heating, while transferring cold water to buildings needing cooling The network will also store surplus energy that can be sold back to the grid The cross-sector project has been awarded £2.9 million by Innovate UK to build the network on London South Bank University’s campus

“We are delighted to have the opportunity of extending CEREB’s teaching and research functions in the built environment to community scale by creating an exemplar 4th Generation district heat network on site to demonstrate what can be achieved through intelligent design,” said Professor Andy Ford, Director of CEREB and Professor of Building Systems Engineering.

“LSBU is committed to working with innovative companies to help create a more sustainable future for society. BEN is another example of how our academic experts collaborate with leading-edge industry partners to drive innovation and help our planet,” said Howard Thomas, Head of LSBU’s Sustainable Communities Institute.

For more information please contact Michal Blaszczyk, Communications Officer on 020 7815 6638 or email blaszczm@lsbu.ac.uk

BRE National Solar Centre launches good practice guide for solar car parks

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ew guidance* from the BRE National Solar Centre shows how car park owners can maximize the economic and environmental performance of their assets by deploying PV technologies.

Director of the BRE National Solar Centre Jonny Williams said ‘Solar carports are an excellent way of improving the car parking experience, whilst also generating clean electricity. With over 17, 000 car parks in the UK, there is a great opportunity for this sector to reap the benefits of solar PV particularly now with falling costs and technical advances that enhance performance outputs.’

The guide gives details on selecting the best sites, how to tap into various revenue streams and how to develop a strong and effective business case for solar investment. A number of design concepts and considerations are set out in detail, and the guide is accompanied by a financial model, downloadable from www.bre.co.uk Designed to be accessible for the solar PV and construction industries, along with the car parking sector, installation costs are expressed in both £/Wp and £/m2 and revenue streams in terms of income per car parking bay per year.

Dr Nina Skorupska CBE, Chief Executive of the Renewable Energy Association said

‘‘Transforming a car park by incorporating solar delivers on so many fronts; The panels create shade, carpark users are protected from the rain, the advertising potential is increased, there is the obvious synergy with electric vehicle charging and it allows the car park owner to make a great environmental statement.’

For further information please contact Linda Mckeown - linda.mckeown@bre.co.uk

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

News

New report shows British businesses give show of support for planned energy changes •

Over half (51%) of those surveyed believe that backdating compensation will help businesses stay competitive

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This is despite the fact that nearly three quarters (74%) of the respondents were unaware of the upcoming consultation

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Businesses are keen to get involved with half of all respondents saying that they would like to take part

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ew research from npower Business Solutions has revealed that many British businesses believe upcoming changes to energy legislation will have a positive impact.

As part of its wider Comprehensive Spending Review in November 2015, the Government announced its intention to replace the existing compensation arrangements for RO/FiT with an exemption scheme. A consultation on this proposal is expected in the coming month.

There seemed to be clear support for the move towards exemption and backdating compensation. Over half of

those we surveyed (51%), regardless of whether or not they were eligible, believe that backdating compensation will help businesses stay competitive.

There was also considerable interest in the upcoming consultation, with half of all respondents saying that they would like to take part, and should have their say given the potential implication of the changes upon their businesses.

When asked if they were aware of the proposed changes to RO and FiT, 54% of manufacturers highlighted that they had no knowledge of Government plans. This lack of awareness was shared by the retail sector,

despite the potential financial implications.

Over six in ten retailers (64%) also said that they were unaware of the changes.

David Reed, Head of npower Business Solutions said: “The proposed exemption would represent good news for the businesses and sectors which are eligible.

Making regulatory processes more transparent and more straightforward would reduce the burden on businesses and would provide them with greater clarity about their finances.

“A majority of retailers and manufacturers we spoke to were not aware of the upcoming consultation. That’s why we’re working with the Government to host a round table event, to explain these upcoming changes to businesses and discuss the proposed benefits.

“In addition, much of the detail is still to be confirmed and so we hope that the policy will be executed in a proportionate way, with the Government being mindful of the potential distributive impact. We would encourage all businesses to take part in the consultation and to make sure they receive all the support that they are eligible for.”

For the full report, see pages 8 - 11

New sustainable energy guide for local authorities

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new guide has been published for local authorities to help them better work together on sustainable energy initiatives.

The guide is a culmination of a three-year Intelligent Energy Europe-funded Coopenergy project which sought to test and share the best models of cooperation between regional and local authorities.

Environmental Projects Officer at Kent County Council Samantha Simmons said: “The Coopenergy project has really helped us to identify the best methods for working collaboratively with our local partners on energy work.

“Over the past few months we have been working with partners to refresh our Kent Environment Strategy: a strategy for environment, health and economy, to ensure the next iteration of the strategy

delivers on our joint outcomes, maximises resources across partners, and limits duplication of effort.

“This way, we can deliver more effectively to the benefit of our customers, residents and the wider Kent economy.

“The guide aims to support other local authorities looking to improve how they work collaboratively across their districts and counties on sustainable energy initiatives” Through the project, seven sustainable energy regions tested different mechanisms for working better across local authority partners on joint energy plans and energy schemes.

These partners have now selected the best models and mechanisms they tested to showcase in the guide

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

The guide includes:

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A step-by-step methodology for setting up a collaborative, partnership-led, energy process.

Good practice case studies of energy initiatives from across Europe, from a database of over 60 available on the Coopenergy website.

Links to further resources, guidance and funding.

The new guide is available at: http://www.coopenergy.eu/mlg

A compliant solution to Sub-metering in the Heat STOKVIS BOILERS Network (Metering and Billing) SPECIFIED ACROSS Regulations 2014!

KINGSTON ESTATE

A pair of Stokvis premix, fully condensing 3400 boilers have been installed within the property; they supply heating via the existing primary circuits

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ingston House East is the latest amongst a number of exclusive apartment buildings in one of London’s most fashionable residential districts to benefit from the changeover to boilers and plate heat exchangers supplied by Stokvis Energy Systems.

Daystone Services from Chingford in London is a long term customer of Stokvis Energy Systems and routinely specifies the manufacturer’s high efficiency commercial boilers for its larger projects. In this case, the work involved upgrading the plant room serving Kingston House East – a block of 60 stylish apartments forming part of the Kingston Estate in Kensington.

A pair of Stokvis premix, fully condensing 3400 boilers have been installed within the property; they supply heating via the existing primary circuits. Meanwhile, Kingston House East apartments are also served by Stokvis Energy Systems’ Econoplate plate heat exchangers which deliver instantaneous hot water very efficiently and also remove the risk of Legionella contamination.

Nearby Albert Hall Mansions also relies on similar Econoplate models to produce domestic hot water. Then the Southbury building also features Stokvis boilers and plate heat exchangers for its heating and hot water, while further specifications of Stokvis equipment are likely in the future.

One of the directors of Daystone Services, Bill Welling, commented: “As a contractor covering London within the M25 and much of Essex, we take care of both domestic and commercial work.

Wherever there is a commercial boiler required and the client leaves it to us to provide the specification, we recommend Stokvis boilers.

We have used the company for many years and know they provide the reliability and performance which our customers demand while the technical support is also very good.”

Stokvis Energy Systems offers a comprehensive range of heating and hot water products including fully packaged plant rooms, and the R40 Modupak option which combines fully condensing gas boilers with the flexibility of cascade installation.

It also produces the Stokvis H-Series Heat Interface Units (HIUs) which can provide metered space heating and hot water to apartment buildings from either centralised boilers or other sources including renewables and district heating mains.

The new clamp-on heat/ energy metering solution from Micronics. Simple, low cost, hot or chilled water energy measurement from outside the pipe. A smarter solution than in-line meters!

The U1000 HM displays energy rate and totalised energy with pulse output and Modbus, so it can be used as a standalone meter or as an integral part of an aM&T or BEM’s system.

Q Q Q Q

Rate and totalised heat/energy demand Easy to install Clamp-on flow and temperature sensors Lower installed cost than in-line meters

www.micronicsflowmeters.com or call

01628 810456

For further information on Stokvis Energy Systems, call 020 8783 3050 or visit www.stokvisboilers.com

Suitable for: Steel, Plastic & Copper pipe, 25mm – 115mm OD

A pair of Stokvis premix, fully condensing 3400 boilers have been installed within the property; they supply heating via the existing primary circuits.

MADE IN BRITAIN

Exemption from Renewable Energy Costs in Electricity Intensive Industries

Welcome

Context

Welcome to the latest Energy Matters Briefing from npower Business Solutions (nBS), where we aim to bring you up to date with the latest changes to energy policy and regulation. Our goal is to explain clearly and simply how developments in the energy market will impact businesses.

The UK Government has committed to cutting carbon emissions and meeting its obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% before 2050. However, it is also aiming to keep energy prices competitive and has pledged in recent Budgets to reduce green regulatory costs for many Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs).

For this issue, we are focusing on the upcoming Government consultation about electricity intensive industries and how they will be exempted from certain renewable energy costs. This represents a move away from the current system of compensation.

This is part of a series of recent moves to cut the levels of energy-related ‘red tape’ on businesses, which currently face a number of different regulatory obligations around their energy consumption. In the recent Budget, the Government confirmed the abolition of the CRC energy efficiency scheme from 2019, as part of a move towards a single tax, the existing Climate Change Levy (CCL).

Organisations will report under the CRC for the last time at the end of July 2019. The Government has also announced plans for a new consultation in the summer to consider the simplified energy and carbon reporting framework, which is due to be introduced by April 2019.

The Government has already committed to providing compensation for electricity intensive industries, to reduce the impact of certain environmental levies, including the Renewables Obligation (RO) and Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and to avoid carbon leakage. Companies such as Tata Steel have lobbied the Government hard on the cost of energy for intensive industries such as steel.

The Government has also pledged to reduce the indirect costs of Contracts for Difference, the measure introduced under the Electricity Market Reform.

State Aid approval has been granted for both of these initiatives by the European Union although the legislation to facilitate this has not yet been passed.

As part of its wider Comprehensive Spending Review in November 2015, the Government announced its intention to replace the existing compensation arrangements for RO/FiT with an exemption scheme for electricity intensive industries.

A consultation on this proposal is expected in the coming months.

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What is the consultation about?

How can I make a claim if I am eligible?

As outlined above, electricity intensive industries can now already apply for compensation from the Government for a proportion of the costs of the Renewables Obligation and Feed in Tariff schemes. The anticipated consultation will consult on the proposed replacement, a system of exemptions.

Businesses wishing to apply for the current compensation system currently need to follow three steps.

Firstly, they need to complete an initial claim form that is available online.

It will be likely to cover the eligibility criteria and the mechanism for exempting eligible companies. It will also include an impact assessment setting out what the overall effect of the redistribution would be.

It is likely that the exemption scheme will require changes to RO and FiT legislation and will need State Aid approval, but the Government aims to have the exemption scheme in place by April 2017.

How can I take part in the consultation?

The consultation will be open to both businesses and the general public and will be published online. nBS will also be running a round table event. If you are interested in attending please contact your npower Business Solutions Client Manager or email us at nbs@npower.com.

How will the proposed changes impact my energy costs?

It is difficult to predict the cost implications at this time as it will depend on the specific exemption process and eligibility criteria proposed by the Government.

The consultation is expected to include projections around the overall economic impact on those consumers not eligible for the new exemption.

In terms of costs to the Government, last year’s Spending Review and Autumn Statement forecasts that moving from cash compensation to an exemption from the costs of renewables levies would save £410 million a year by 2019/20. However, this will be paid by other non-exempt energy consumers, raising questions around how this will change the energy landscape.

Who is eligible to receive support?

Currently, to be eligible for compensation from the RO and FiT schemes, businesses must fulfil two criteria. Firstly, they must manufacture a product in the UK within an eligible sector. Secondly, businesses need to prove that they are electricity intensive and face a significant competitive disadvantage from the high policy costs levied to support renewable energy.

Businesses need to demonstrate that their implied mean electricity costs amount to 20 per cent of their mean Gross Value Added. A business’ GVA is its earnings before tax, interest and depreciation, debt repayments and staff costs. The Government calculates costs of GVA for the whole business using the applicant’s financial data for the three most recent financial years.

For new businesses that do not have three years of recorded data, eligibility will be calculated using the period available; this must include at least two financial quarters of data. Businesses with fewer than two full financial quarters of data are ineligible.

In addition, if a business changes its structure to increase the number of installations manufacturing eligible products, the amount of compensation for the whole business will need to be re-calculated.

It is expected that a similar process would be in place for the new exemption scheme and that a proposed list of industries will be included as part of the consultation.

The Government is currently seeking EU approval to widen the criteria for both the compensation and for any future exemption process.

To find out more about the exemption scheme, please contact your npower Business Solutions client manager or e-mail nbs@npower.com.

After receiving the completed form, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) informs applicants whether they are eligible to receive compensation and, if so, how much they will receive. Businesses will also be told whether they should submit further information to confirm future eligibility for the compensation scheme.

Secondly, businesses eligible for compensation have to make a quarterly declaration about whether there have been significant changes in their levels of electricity consumption over the past quarter and whether future changes could impact the level of compensation payable.

Finally, businesses will need to complete an annual end of year report setting out their total electricity consumption. Where the end of year declaration indicates under or overpayment, adjustments will be made to payments for the following year.

Any business wanting to backdate their claim for compensation to December 2015 (when State Aid approval was granted) must ensure their claim has been submitted before 31st March 2016. Thereafter, any new claims submitted will only be paid from that date onwards.

It is expected that the process will remain similar for the proposed exemption scheme.

How can I stay informed?

We always want to be on the side of UK businesses and we are experienced in voicing concerns on their behalf. We won Energy Supplier of the Year in 2013 in recognition of our work in this area and we want to keep using any opportunity to stand up for our business customers.

If you want to hear more about what we’re doing and to be kept informed about future developments, please e-mail nbs@npower.com. You can also follow developments on Twitter at @npower_nbs and via our blog at npower.com/energyblog

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Your view We surveyed a group of 200 manufacturers and retailers, all with over 250 employees, to find out their views about the proposed legislation and exemption. Although only certain manufacturers are eligible for the new exemption, non-eligible companies (such as retailers) may bear some of the financial cost, depending on the exact model proposed in the consultation.

When asked if they were aware of the proposed changes to RO and FiT, 54% of manufacturers highlighted that they had no knowledge of Government plans.

This lack of awareness was shared by the retail sector, despite the potential financial implications. Over six in ten retailers (64%) also said that they were unaware of the changes.

There was considerable interest in the upcoming consultation, with half of all respondents saying that they would like to take part. However, even though anyone can contribute, 74% of those surveyed (including both manufacturers and retailers) were not aware of it.

In addition, most of the businesses that we interviewed view the backdating of compensation favourably. Over half of those surveyed (51%) believe that this move will help businesses stay competitive, regardless of whether or not they were eligible.

54% of manufacturers highlighted that they had no knowledge of Government plans

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Message from David Reed, Head of npower Business Solutions, responsible for overseeing the development of energy products, services, and solutions for some of Britain’s largest businesses.

The proposed exemption would represent good news for the businesses and sectors which are eligible. We have been big advocates for the simplification of regulation and so we would welcome any measures to cut ‘red tape’. We have been campaigning on this issue since as far back as 2011, when we ran our own ‘Red Tape Challenge’ that aimed to start a debate on the issue.

Making regulatory processes more transparent and more straightforward would reduce the burden on businesses and would provide them with greater clarity about their finances, allowing them to make clearer strategic decisions. The decision to incorporate the CRC into the CCL

and launch a new consultation around business reporting represents a positive step in this direction.

However, our survey reveals that the Government faces a challenge in communicating the proposed benefits of the scheme. A majority of retailers and manufacturers we spoke to were not aware of the upcoming consultation, even though they are keen to hear more about it. That’s why we’re working with the Government to host a round table event, to explain these upcoming changes to businesses.

In addition, much of the detail is still to be confirmed and so we hope that the policy will be

executed in a proportionate way. We would encourage all businesses to take part in the consultation and to make sure they receive all the support that they are eligible for. Our team can help you to make sense of the changes and work out how it would affect you and your business.

If you are a business in a sector which might not qualify for the exemption criteria, there are still actions you can take to manage and reduce your energy consumption. Please contact the team at nbs@npower.com to find out more.

Message from EEF, the Manufacturers’ Organisation’s Energy Policy Adviser, Richard Warren.

EEF has campaigned extensively for a number of measures to reduce the impact of government policy on energy intensive industry and was instrumental in securing the Government’s commitment to the compensation and exemption package.

The introduction of an exemption for electricity-intensive industrial companies from the costs of renewables policy is a hugely important milestone on the way to delivering a level playing field for the energy intensive industrial sectors here in the UK. The implementation of a large number of policies to help the power sector decarbonise has increased electricity bills significantly and left large industrial energy consumers with some of the highest electricity prices in the EU. With electricity representing such a large component of operating costs for sectors such as steel

and chemicals, access to affordable power supplies is essential to their continued competitiveness and long term viability.

Compensation currently provides relief for the present moment, but it cannot provide the long term certainty that energy intensive industry needs if it is to continue to make major investments in the UK. Through the exemption, industry will no longer be reliant on the Government finding a budget each year to provide for compensation, but instead is secure in the knowledge that it simply won’t face these costs in the first place.

It is vital that as many eligible companies as possible apply for this exemption and take advantage of the benefits it offers. npower Business Solutions is to be congratulated for taking a proactive approach and communicating with its customers from such an early date. This coupled with continued efforts from the Government and organisations like EEF should help ensure the full benefits of the scheme are delivered to the UK’s manufacturing sector.

Contact us: e-mail: nbs@npower.com web: npower.com/nBS

Opinion

Is it really possible to make a business plan for zero carbon?

Four practical tools that corporates are using to create a roadmap to 2050

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t is becoming increasingly clear that without mobilising huge efforts from the private sector it will not be possible to contain global warming to no more than 2 degrees. It is also not going to surprise anyone to discover that most companies can’t or won’t make the required changes for purely altruistic motives.

They need to see value of action – or the risk of inaction – before they alter a business-as-usual trajectory that has in the past delivered results.

When it comes to cutting carbon emissions there are some straightforward decisions to make, such as investing in energy efficiency, where there is often a compelling business case today. But there is a big difference between the incremental progress seen today and the complete transformation of a business so that it is zero carbon by 2050 (which is what most sectors will need to achieve to meet a 2 degree target).

2050 is 35 years away. Without wishing to be morbid, it is very likely that a number of the people currently making the big

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strategic decisions at large corporates will not be alive at that point to see the long term consequences of their decisions today.

But they will be around at the next AGM, held to account for delivering immediate performance. And if they deliver results they may be around again the following year, and the year after that.

This is part of the reason that climate change is such an immense problem to address. It operates over generational timescales. Only the most capital intensive businesses tend to look out as far as 10 or 15 years into the future. The majority have a far shorter planning horizon.

Despite this, it feels like in Paris we are reaching a tipping point where many businesses are starting to wake up to the value-at-stake from climate change.

There are a number of large coalitions of businesses and investors calling for clear commitments from governments, because a strong international agreement will give them the certainty they need to start putting in place plans for profitability a low carbon economy.

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

But changing course is easier said than done. Even if you know you need to reach the destination of being a zero carbon business by 2050, how do you find the roadmap that will take you there?

At the Carbon Trust we have worked with a number of large corporates to help them to answer this question, using tools we have developed to quantify value-at-stake under different scenarios. Through this work we have identified four practical initiatives that companies can implement today and are of real value in shaping plans through to 2050.

Supply chain sustainability strategy Understanding and reporting environmental impacts in the supply / value chain can uncover areas of inefficiency outside an organisation’s direct operational control, as well as the hotspots that offer the greatest opportunity for cost saving and value creation. When companies have better visibility of their supply chain impacts they

Opinion can search for innovative ways to reduce these, such as changing material inputs, working collaboratively with suppliers, or building more circular business models. The new Carbon Trust Supply Chain Standard – recently achieved by companies including Aviva, Deloitte and Willmott Dixon – creates a framework to help companies start taking action on this.

Internal carbon pricing: In September 2014, the World Bank and more than 1,000 companies joined calls for carbon pricing.

This year the CDP reported that 437 companies say they use an internal carbon price, up from 150 in 2014. And a further 583 companies reported that they intend to use an internal carbon price in the next two years. Analysis by the UK government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Carbon Trust estimated that in a 2 degree scenario that the global price of carbon is expected to converge at $140 per tonne of CO2 by 2030 and $400 by 2050.

In anticipation of this an internal carbon price is becoming an increasingly popular tool to evaluate future investment decisions, though there is still uncertainty and inconsistency in how this is being applied between companies.

100% renewable energy commitments: In thepast year more than

40 large corporates have joined the RE100 campaign, committing to source 100% of their energy from renewables. Businesses taking part include BT Group, Mars, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, IKEA Group and Nike. This move has been strengthened by changes to corporate reporting under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, allowing businesses to specifically recognise the purchase of clean energy in their carbon accounting. Not only does this give an incentive to energy companies to invest in renewables, as the costs of renewable energy continue to fall then businesses can invest themselves in meeting their own energy needs in this way.

Science-based targets: Climate science is used to inform what the world needs to do to limit warming to no more than 2 degrees, but it can also be used as a guide for what individual businesses need to achieve. If corporates have plans for their future market share and relative efficiency within their sector (which they do), they can similarly look at what their sector needs to achieve in terms of decarbonisation and make plans accordingly. Around 90 companies are now committed to setting science-based targets, including some that have already put them in place, such as Coca-Cola Enterprises, Sony, General Mills and Thalys.

Businesses that take these approaches will be more likely to thrive during the transition to a sustainable, low carbon economy. They will gain a competitive advantage from early action, some very useful reputational benefits and increase their ability to flourish under future regulatory action on climate change. It will also position them to manage their risks from the physical impacts of climate change as these impacts are revealed, and to embrace the opportunities inherent within a transformed business environment.

In some ways 35 years is a very long time. Many of today’s largest businesses did not exist 35 years ago. It is reasonable to assume that a good number of them will not exist in the form they do today by 2050. But if the world takes strong action to address the challenge of climate change, those companies that are still successful by the middle of this century will owe a part of that success to having had a long term plan for being a zero carbon business. This may involve some far-sighted thinking and even some tough decisions early on, but these businesses will taking the lower risk road to 2050. www.carbontrust.com

CHP

NHS + Carbon Architecture + CHP = Super Savings

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he conventional electrical generation that typically comes from a power station cannot avoid significant losses both as waste heat and in transmission.

But combined heat and power (CHP) is generated on-site – cutting transmission losses while utilising the resultant heat.

The significant savings to be had from on-site generation has made CHP particularly interesting to NHS Trusts, some of whom have now teamed up with consultants Carbon Architecture – people with extensive knowledge of CHP performance optimisation.

“Conventional generation has a total fuel efficiency of between 50 and 55%, while the total fuel efficiency of CHP is closer to 80%,” said Carbon Architecture MD Will Todd.

“As most people are only too well aware, the NHS is under financial pressure and I’m proud that our work saves money and protects other services from cuts.”

Carbon Architecture starts with an analysis of the Trust’s current setup and then provides comparatives of where additional efficiency savings can be made and how the system can be optimised further.

The optimisation process looks at electrical & heat generation efficiencies and how these utilities are used on site.

This shows where improvements can be made - not only to the CHP system but the wider heat use network on site. So as well as an audit of CHP, Carbon Architecture also looks at maximising the savings CHP systems can deliver.

Allan Morley, Director of Estates & Facilities at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, said, “Carbon Architecture has helped us navigate through multiple issues with an extremely complex CHP contract. They have also worked with the operator to improve CHP uptime and heat utilisation.

“This work will result in the trust optimising the contract with the operator and enhanced ongoing savings for the remainder of its life. They also liaised with the operator to improve the transparency of the reporting and billing process so it is easier to understand.”

NHS Trusts often outsource the running and maintenance of CHPs to another organisation, and Carbon Architecture works collaboratively with the contracted operator and audits on behalf

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Richard McCann discovers how big energy users such as the NHS are meeting financial pressures through rigorous external audit and control… of NHS – providing a detailed independent assessment to ensure that the NHS is getting the best value for money.

Another advantage that Carbon Architecture brings to their clients is detailed knowledge of CHP contracts, allowing them to provide a leading-edge review of the complex contractual agreements and billing to ensure that the Trust is getting everything it is entitled to!

There’s more – big energy users such as the NHS have complex billing spreadsheets – and complexity often means errors! Those errors are seldom in favour of the buyers – meaning the trusts are over charged for the services they are receiving. “It would be very hard for clients to pick these up,” explains Will Todd, “as they don’t have the resource or expertise to find these errors.”

Carbon Architecture often find errors within the billing process that mean the Trusts are entitled to a rebate.

Outsourced operators generally work to meet the exact contracted requirements – who can blame them? “But there are often further saving that can be made above and beyond these,” says Mr Todd. “Carbon Architecture analyses the system potential and presents back opportunities in a quantified form that easily allow business cases for improvement works to be made.

“We also help many other energy intensive business and industries manage and minimise their increasing burden of costs and legislative compliance by developing and implementing sustainable cost saving strategies & solutions. Our core focus is waste, energy and water efficiency solutions for the NHS and FMCG industry.“ As well as the public sector, Carbon Architecture clients include the British Beer & Pub Association, The British Soft Drinks Association, PepsiCo, RedBull, Vimto, Lucozade Ribena, Fullers, Heineken, Adnams, Shepherd Neame, Brains Brewery, Dairy Crest, Arla Foods, Twaites, Mizkan (famous brands including Branston, Sarsons and Haywards), Novelis, The NHS, The London School of Business & Finance and Deli France.

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

The team at Carbon Architecture are dedicated professional engineers with extensive experience in utility management, process redesign & optimisation, waste & energy minimisation and environmental & carbon management.

More than 20 years working with industrial and commercial clients on a global level has equipped the Carbon Architecture team with the skills to analyse, evaluate and quantify energy, waste and utility saving opportunities and their impact on businesses and energy intense manufacturing processes.

Carbon Architecture accompanies clients through the whole continuous improvement process from beginning to end in order to identify and realise the best efficiency cost saving opportunities.

Clients benefit from Carbon Architecture’s one-stop-shop solution for cost saving projects - from initial auditing and scoping through to measuring & monitoring solutions, project implementation and finally ongoing support to deliver the savings over time.

This delivers: • Rapidly accelerated progress to goals • Reduced management time & effort • More predictable manufacturing outcomes • Guaranteed return on investment Will Todd: “From bespoke commissions through to business-wide strategies or initiatives, Carbon Architecture helps clients achieve reduced costs, increased profitability and improved environmental credentials.” info@carbonarchitecture.co.uk

District Heating

Investing in pipe systems – make the right choices and save energy, CO2 and money year after year

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fter decades of promotion and lobbying, district heating technology is finally gaining due recognition. Many new, high-profile systems are being installed in towns and cities throughout the UK (LOGSTOR pipes have been installed at the new Heathrow Terminal 5 building, in addition to installations in towns and cities throughout the UK).

Clearly district heating will play an important role in lowering greenhouse gas emissions, saving energy and saving money but how do you know you are sourcing the right system for your project?

The pipe systems are capital goods for the district heating company. The functionality of the network influences strongly on the performance in relation to energy efficiency, CO2 emissions and the financial results. The technical service life of a pipe system expands over decades.

Accumulated savings in operating costs of more than 60% can be achieved with the right choice of pipe system and design.

With a service life exceeding the limit of 30 years by far, the pipe system used for district energy networks is probably the part of the district energy schemes, which has the longest service life. A part of the pre-insulated pipe systems in function today in Europe was in fact installed in the 70s and 80s when the cold war was a hot issue and we listened to the music of Abba. Similar to this the pipe systems which we install these days will most probably be in function and serving the consumers beyond the middle of this century – and one can only speculate on what the World will look like then.

So the decisions the district heating companies make today on which pipe system to install, the design and how to operate it will for sure have a great impact on the environment, the energy efficiency and the financial performance far into the future. The demand for energy saving in the EU directive on energy efficiency does stress this fact further.

By making the optimal decisions, the benefits accumulated over such a long period are significant. On the other hand the disadvantages of making unfavourable decisions may turn a good idea and project into a failure.

District heating is an energy efficient way of heating premises and saving primary energy. The transmission and distribution of the heat to the end customer must also be efficient with a minimum of heat loss.

The key issues in optimising a pipe system The decision on a pipe system must be based on the total service life costs.

From that point of view there are many possibilities of improving the energy efficiency and reducing the CO2 emission from a pre-insulated district heating pipe system, and it makes good economic sense at that.

The energy loss and so the total service life costs are influenced by several parameters: • insulation thickness • production method • diffusion barrier

• • •

pipe design temperature conditions. design of the pipe systems

It is essential to make an analysis of the pipe system to choose. It is possible to reduce the total heat loss from a distribution network considerably, and consequently reduce the operation costs and the CO2 emission.

LOGSTOR has produced a calculation program which includes all parameters in the calculation of the heat loss and enables a comparison between the many different types of pipes and projects. The program also calculates the CO2 emission and the heat loss costs in present value.

The calculation program Calculator is freely accessible on www.logstor.com/calculator

In Conclusion The parameters insulation thickness, production method, diffusion barrier, pipe design, temperature conditions and design of the pipe systems has one by one a heavy influence on the service life costs.

It is also necessary to mention that every network has its own characteristics.

Therefore the data on the actual project and network must be used for the calculation and simulation to give the best background for the final decision on technology. At the end it could save more than 60% in heat loss, CO2 emissions and energy costs. www.logstor.com

Distributing Energy Efficiency www.logstor.com

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

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BEMS

Spring into action

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he end of March signalled the beginning of British Summer Time (BST) and the natural renewal of all good things, and Steve Browning, Marketing Manager at Trend Control Systems, explains why it is also a good time to make sure Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) are working as efficiently as possible.

With any luck the cold winter weather will now be a thing of the past as we look forward to brighter days and warmer temperatures. For building managers this time of year offers a great opportunity to spring clean a BEMS.

consumes only half of the energy of one running at full speed – this means that an investment can often pay for itself within a matter of months.

It is also possible to provide evidence of these savings. Under a range of environmental conditions – for example, running one week on and one week off – recorded energy values can automatically logged in the BEMS and then periodically uploaded to an online reporting system.

Tabulated reports can then be used to provide the financial justification and payback analysis.

Keep in check

After the wet and windy winter that we have just experienced, many of us will be hoping for a hot and sunny summer.

If this does materialise, building managers will face the dual challenge of maintaining comfort conditions while minimising amount of energy used for cooling and air conditioning.

This can be a frustrating process, as although there is greater awareness of the effects of CO2, combined with the financial implications of rising utility bills, in workplaces throughout the nation energy is being wasted on a truly colossal scale.

Research conducted by Trend through its auditing service found that a shocking 39 per cent of energy is wasted within the workplace. Perhaps of greater concern is that half of this figure can be directly attributed to poor behaviour, such as leaving lights on after vacating a room, the use of individual fan heaters and windows that are left open with the radiators turned on.

To help establish a culture of energy efficiency, it is important to look at the causes of certain behaviour. For instance, if fan heaters are being used, it could be because certain parts of a building are not as warm as they should be. Another cause is electrical equipment, such as photocopiers, being placed near a temperature sensor.

This increases the temperature around the sensor, which will then call for cool air to reduce it. The cool airflow will affect adjacent controlled zones and people will feel colder and use fan heaters to warm up. This ‘heating fighting cooling’ scenario is all too common but one of the easiest problems to address.

Incorrect operating times and setpoints are two of the biggest contributing factors to energy wastage but the good news is that they are amongst the easiest problems to address and will make instant savings.

A BEMS should be seen as both a control system and a reporting tool. When it comes to the latter, it is ideally suited to monitoring and verification, the absence of which can result in the activities not being properly reported.

The best way to keep on top of this issue is through the use of control check reports (CCRs). These can be produced by a BEMS to maintain parameters across a single site or estate in a graphical and easy to read format. Quite simply, it does all the all the hard work for you and the ability of a CCR to display time zone information in a way that quickly identifies where there is an error in operating times and setpoints, means fast remedial action can be taken.

In terms of best practice, it is well worth producing a monthly CCR report, so that it becomes part of a routine that keeps tight control over a site’s energy usage.

Through regular monitoring and maintenance, adjustments can be made to the operation of the BEMS that deliver immediate savings, while items such as boilers, chillers, air conditioning and pumps can be checked to make sure they are working correctly.

Need for speed

The warmer months can also be a good time to look at how technologies can be implemented make a difference to overall operating efficiency. This will help prepare for the following winter, where real savings on heating expenditure can be realised.

Well worth considering is the use of variable speed drives (VSDs), as the energy cost savings as a result of installing these devices can be significant. A centrifugal pump or fan running at 80 per cent speed

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Keep your cool

Under control

While this explanation is not intended to justify or excuse bad behaviour – opening a window when the heating is on makes no sense whichever way you look at it – it does explain certain actions.

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

People are often so far removed from the BEMS that they feel powerless to make the type of ‘sensible’ adjustments that could reduce waste.

Giving local control back to stakeholders is important and devices are available that make energy management as simple and accessible as possible. Touchscreen displays provide a self-configuring user interface to a BEMS and, if sited in a prominent location, individuals can view and adjust operating times, monitor alarms and make modifications to controller parameters.

Displaying schematics that provide real time information such as temperature, humidity and setpoints from the system, allow users to directly adapt their environment and avoid taking alternative action.

It is also possible to offer a prominent visual reminder about energy use that indicates to occupants that their actions have environmental consequences. Software applications can feed information from a BEMS through to a large format monitor.

Often located in reception areas and other similar high traffic locations, it provides a view of a building’s energy performance and presents a continually updated record of its consumption and carbon emissions – showing at a glance whether they are on, below or above performance targets.

Next step

A BEMS should never be considered a fit and forget technology, as getting the best out of it requires an ongoing optimisation programme that implements new technology, reconfigures setpoints and takes into account changes to a building’s layout and occupancy patterns. However, while the BEMS can do its bit to lower energy use, so too can a buildings occupants. Wasting energy is akin to pouring money down the drain but providing employees with the tools to control the conditions that they have to work, as well as displaying the impact of their actions, will increase stakeholder engagement and help organisations achieve their corporate social responsibility based objectives. marketing@trendcontrols.com

Exhibition News

Sustainability simplified - cutting the complexity

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he sustainability management role is a complex one and individual needs and priorities are different depending on organisation type, business focus and sometimes even the day of the week.

So, to cut through the complexity, we are bringing the edie experience to life.

You start at edie Live a free, two-day programme of content, learning, insight, networking and support, specifically tailored to your needs.

Covering best practice, behaviour change and engagement, leadership, sustainability skills, targets and reporting, innovation and technology (both established and emerging) and a raft of support and advice services and experts, edie Live brings together a free, two-day programme of content, learning, insight, networking and support, specifically tailored to you and your needs.

Our dedicated content theatres will cut through the complexity and provide you with the business critical understanding you need to formulate and implement effective strategies, engage with different stakeholders to drive real behaviour change and create real brand value through sustainability.

Showcasing real life business case studies and sharing learning, understanding and different approaches to driving sustainability, the theatres examine everything from smashing your targets and driving activities beyond compliance; engaging with employees to drive real behaviour change, to speaking the right language to influence key stakeholders.

The Energy Efficiency theatre examines the most successful strategies and

initiatives in driving down energy consumption and costs. From getting boardroom buy-in to communicating success; onsite generation vs efficiency vs procurement to maximising results using data analysis, this two-day programme has energy management covered.

The Resource Efficiency theatre examines effective management across water, waste, materials and the supply chain, including disruptive partnerships and collaboration, new business approaches and how to get the consumer on board.

Learn about onsite installations in the Onsite Solutions theatre. From demand response to micro generation, water management to greening your fleet, we’ve got it covered.

Designed for sustainable business leaders of today and tomorrow, the edie Leaders Conference takes a strategic look at sustainability. The programme includes dedicated content packages around policy, regulation and drivers; the economics and profitability of sustainability, the bigger picture and ensuring the right skills mix for success, including leadership and positive change and embedding sustainability thinking throughout all levels of the business.

PLUS:

For the first time at edie Live, we’re introducing free Advice Clinics where experts will provide visitors with a 20-minute, one-to-one consultation on the subject they want help with. Find the answers to your questions about ISO 140001, sustainability training, energy management, education, supply chain management and more.

Stay ahead of the sustainability curve with the newest and most exciting entrants in the sustainability space in the Innovation Zone. Chosen by a panel of expert judges, the selected technology and solutions on display will be showcased in a special area of the show. Don’t miss the winner being announced at the end of the first day of the show!

And of course, help in navigating the technology maze. We bring together the leading technology and service providers in sustainability management in one place.

Meet the suppliers who can ensure you deliver on your targets and objectives.

Exhibitors include; Building energy management systems, Energy efficiency products/services, HVAC, Lighting, Metering/monitoring, Consultancy services, Demand response, Carbon Management, Reuse networks/waste exchange, Supply chain management, Waste management, Standards and accreditation, Rainwater harvesting, SUDS/stormwater management, Data collection/management, Electric vehicles, Anaerobic digestion/biogas, Refuse derived fuels/biomass fuels, Biomass boilers, Solar PV, Wind power and much more. http://exhibition.edie.net/

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

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Monitoring/Metering

Smart meters need a smart choice of network

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By Neil Adams, Director, UK & Ireland, Sensus

he Irish energy regulator, Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), has published several Decision Papers on the National Smart Metering Programme (NSMP), and is currently deciding on its structure – a decision expected in the next few months. 2.2million electricity and 600,000 gas smart meters will be installed in homes across the country.

All of this needs to be in place by 2020, in order to meet the European Smart Metering Mandate, but is also driven by the aim to reduce emissions by up to 9% and ultimately lower energy costs by around 3%.

One of the most critical decisions that will be made as part of this process will be the choice of technology for the smart meter communications network.

Smart meter challenges

We’ve all experienced the issue of being unable to use a mobile phone thanks to a lack of signal. These gaps in mobile coverage, or “notspots”, aren’t a big deal with a mobile phone – all you have to do is walk around until you pick up the signal again. But for fixed meters, these notspots are a bigger issue – moving them to pick up the signal is out of the question, and filling in the gaps in the network requires building expensive infrastructure.

In addition, as meters will be located indoors, under staircases, in basements and other awkward places that are often hard for a communications network to penetrate, it will increase the complexity. There is also the challenge of Ireland’s geography, containing a mix of urban and rural environments. Long Range Radio is the technology to solve this.

Selecting the right communication network technology

Long Range Radio uses a dedicated frequency to carry information. This relatively low frequency is better at penetrating walls and underground to reach meters than other frequencies used to carry data, such as cellular networks and Wi-Fi. This guarantees more successful installations. This dedicated band would only be used for smart meters and won’t be shared with other data – a dedicated

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network for a vital piece of infrastructure.

The number of first-time connections possible with the single Long Range Radio solution – an unsurpassed 99.5% - means that there is no need for expensive ‘in-fill’ technology to close the gaps in the network.

If a meter does not connect first time, this costs extra money – each additional installation visit, or ‘truck roll’, adds to the cost of the entire roll out. Notspots are difficult to identify in advance as they are not just a simple matter of geographical network coverage – there are too many other factors at play, such as the location of the meter in the building and even the building’s design. This means that the only point at which it will become evident that a meter installation will fail is once installation is initially attempted. If a communications network will reach, say, 80% of all meters, then retrospectively fixing the coverage for the remaining 20% is not a simple – nor cheap – matter.

The communication network must also be secure. One of the biggest worries consumers have with smart meters is that they will be vulnerable – they will offer up data that the consumer does not want to share, such as when they are out of the house. Long Range Radio, as a dedicated network, has the benefit of ‘security by obscurity’ – only one type of device connects to it and the equipment to attack it isn’t available in the local electronics store.

This, added to the necessary encryption and access controls, will keep the network safe from criminals.

To deliver the promised environmental and financial savings, smart meters also need to last between fifteen and twenty years. Long Range Radio has the advantage here, as it is dedicated to smart meters alone. Other technologies have other uses, and follow consumer demand. For example, cellular networks have responded to increased data demand with generational shifts in technology, with 4G increasingly available and plans forming for 5G in the future. Long Range Radio will not suffer the same demands – there will not be the need to switch out the radio access cards in the meters because the network is changing.

Whilst the primary focus for the Irish smart metering programme is around the electricity meter, it’s important not to forget the need to retrieve gas meter data.

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

Traditional cellular technologies find it difficult to connect directly to battery powered devices, such as gas meters, as the available cellular technology is power hungry. As such, HAN technologies like ZigBee have been employed to make the link between the gas meter and a communications hub located in the home.

As ZigBee and other Han technologies operate in the unlicensed spectrum, they are limited in range and power and often the distance between the gas meter and the communications hub is too great for reliable communication to be made. Long Range Radio can overcome this problem as it is able to connect directly to the gas meter and maintain the battery life, thus removing the need for any potentially unreliable local communications.

The added benefits of smart meters

Smart meters will, if rolled out successfully, have a big impact on the relationship between energy suppliers and their customers – much more than simply saving money on meter readers having to visit premises to gather accurate readings, and avoiding customers paying estimated bills. Suppliers will be able to use different energy rates to incentivise energy use at different times. If they can, for example, convince some customers to use their big appliances at off-peak times, this can ensure that the grid is capable of supplying enough electricity to growing and more demanding populations. These small changes can mean suppliers are just a few percent more efficient – but this can t ranslate to a huge difference to their productivity and bottom line.

Similarly, customers can receive real-time feedback on their energy use, rather than with quarterly bills. Being more conscious of their electricity and gas use will encourage people to be more efficient in their energy every day, rather than rue how careless they were over the last three months. This behavioural ‘nudge’ will be necessary to meet the emissions targets mandated by the EU. But these advantages will only be possible if smart meters are universal, and not if they fail to reach even the smallest number of meters. The choice currently facing Ireland is whether or not to commit to a dedicated, future-proof, utility-grade network that reaches every meter possible.

When the answer lies within reach, is costbeneficial and durable, surely the decision is an easy one to make?

Monitoring/Metering

Micronics flowmeters used to survey heating system at Heathrow

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icronics flowmeters were used at Heathrow’s Terminal 4 to survey the energy usage in the heating system. The facilities staff at Heathrow Airport, Terminal Four have a five year plan running from 2014 to 2019, entitled Quinqennium 6 and this plan included the redesign of the heating system, which currently runs at medium temperature hot water (120oC).

They required the system to run at a lower temperature in order to be more cost effective, more environmentally friendly, and crucially, safer. To enable this, they needed to log all data during the winter of 2014 so they called in Balfour Beatty, the Delivery Integrator for all building works for Heathrow Airports Ltd, to carry out an energy flow investigation.

Luke Hirst, Balfour Beatty’s Project Manager heard of Micronics from Nick Wells of Power Plan Limited, a Kent company who specialise in the supply, planning and installation of secondary power systems who had used Micronics flowmeters at Terminal 5 and was particularly impressed that there was no need to cut into the pipework. This would have been extremely disruptive to the

Airport, necessitating the temporary shutting down of the whole Terminal heating system.

Micronics recommended the use of the U1000 and U3000 flowmeters, with energy calculators and data loggers.

They offer a quick and reliable flow measurement solution. They are configured for pipe size so only nominal configuration on site is required, minimising intervention. The easy to follow menu made it a very cost-effective alternative to a traditional in-line meter.

Furthermore, dry servicing is possible so that downtime is kept to a minimum which is especially important for the smooth running of such a busy terminal.

Luke Hirst was enthusiastic about Micronics flowmeters. “Operation has proved exceptional. The surveys were

carried out without affecting the terminal.

As a result of the survey the design of the replacement heating system is being carried out now. We will definitely use Micronics flowmeters on future occasions when the need arises to carry out another survey.”

For further information on this project or the Micronics range call Micronics on +44(0)1628 810456, or visit www.micronicsflowmeters.com

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

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Monitoring/Metering

Sub-Metering Systems

– Getting it Right Elcomponent MD Bill Gysin looks at getting real value from aM&T systems…

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dvances in smart metering and networking of both the wired wireless variety have made sub-metering systems easier to install, and more cost-effective too, but that has not necessarily resulted in an increase in performance. If ever there was an energy management device that must be viewed as a complete package, sub-metering (aM&T) systems are that device. Like all systems, they are only as good as their weakest link, and there are many links to consider.

Elcomponent celebrates thirty years in the business this year, and in that time everything has changed and everything has stayed the same! It is perhaps a good time to take a brief look at how to guarantee that your investment in sub-metering pays immediate and substantial dividends…

The Data

It sounds obvious, but it still has to be stated that it’s the data that matters most, and it’s not just a question of accuracy, imperative as that may be. It has to be the right data, delivered at the right level of detail, and delivered reliably for years into the future with the minimum of maintenance. That is not just down to the right hardware and a good quality installation. Before those choices are made, the system has to be designed so that the meters are reading the right loads or supplies, ensuring that the picture thus obtained is easily understood and readily provides the information needed to save energy. And remember - a lot of little savings is harder work and generally less effective than a few big savings, so the meters must be installed to ‘follow the money’.

The right data then, but also the right frequency of data. ‘Half-Hour’ interval data is the UK norm and for good reason, it has been shown to be right in the ‘Goldilocks Zone’, but if your processes need more granularity, make sure your system can provide it. Don’t consider anything that cannot at the very least provide ‘HH’ profiling, and whilst we’re on the subject of intervals, the data update interval is also critical. Systems that update their software on a ‘day plus one’ basis (i.e. the most recent data available is

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yesterday’s) can still provide good basic information, but there is a whole lot they cannot do. As the demand for interactive dashboards continues to grow the case for realtime (or close to realtime) data becomes more and more compelling.

You want to engage with a wider audience to foster energy and carbon awareness? That’s tough to do if the best you’ve got is yesterday’s data. If you would like to see alarms and alerts before it’s too late ‘day plus one’ has its drawbacks. The case for a 30 minute update to match the 30 minute meter read interval is not hard to make, and with today’s technology it’s entirely doable, so why settle for less?

The data acquisition system as a whole must be fit for purpose and robust, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for this. The networking solutions should fit the requirements on the ground… cable is cheaper and more reliable than wireless links – until you have to dig up the car park, at which point cabling makes no sense.

The key is to tailor the system to the application, not the other way round.

Tailored solutions work better and are far more cost-effective, and as the data is the foundation of the system, it’s worth spending time getting this element right.

The Installation

Installing a sub-metering system isn’t rocket science, but it’s not easy either. At Elcomponent we’ve lost count of the number of systems that we’ve replaced over the last (30) years that never quite worked or sometimes didn’t work at all, and not all were badly installed by any means. They just weren’t installed and commissioned as

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

well as they needed to be. No two installations are the same of course, but there are some common threads that bind most of them together. Most are a combination of new and existing meters, most are multi-utility, and most involve a variety of meter outputs (pulse, MODBUS, M-Bus etc). Almost all involve a tariff meter connection or two… An extensive list of what can go wrong would take up the remaining pages of this magazine, and would almost certainly try the patience of any readers who have made it this far, so here’s a short list of a few of the more common pitfalls…

• Pulse Values: How hard can it be?

Harder than it looks is the answer!

The combination of ‘units per pulse’, ‘pulses per unit’, imperial and metric units and the sheer inaccessibility of some pre-existing meters means mistakes are easy to make. Religious attention to detail at both installation and commissioning stages is the only antidote.

• Misidentified meters or loads: Reading meters automatically is one thing.

Ensuring that they are all correctly identified is also important!

• Incorrectly installed or programmed existing assets: The world is full of meters that have been there for years and never worked properly!

• Tariff meter data connections: The professional sub metering/ AMR installer needs more than qualified staff. They must also hold MPU (Meter Pulse Utilisation) agreements with all the relevant Meter Operators, Meter Asset Managers and Utility providers to allow them to connect legally and properly to tariff meters. Otherwise the tariff meter connections end up as one of those pending jobs that never

Monitoring/Metering

get done, or worse still are carried out without proper authorisation.

Any one of the above can wreak havoc with accuracy and once confidence is lost, it is difficult to regain. As already stated, accuracy is a key requirement!

Future Proofing

Nothing, it is said, lasts forever, and that is certainly true of M&T software. In fact there is a wider choice of software on offer now than ever before, and as web-based solutions become the norm new ‘web tools’ have hugely increased the functionality delivered by the latest products. That in turn creates a need for portability at the data level, as users seek to take advantage of the latest and best products available.

This does not alter the fact that aM&T systems must be viewed as a package, but it does mean that all the important data must be readily transportable to whatever software solution fits the client’s needs now and in the future. It should be borne in mind that those needs may change at some point after the initial installation.

The Software

Notwithstanding the desirability of ensuring portability of data, if the right choice is made in terms of software there should be no need to change – at least for

many years into the future. So how should that choice be made and what factors should be considered?

The core requirement for effective energy management is one of the things that hasn’t changed, but the need to address a wider and non-expert audience is one of those that has. That fact significantly alters the must-have functionality list compared to a few years ago.

The traditional functionality list is as it always has been, but that doesn’t mean that it’s always present. It’s surprising how many products either don’t cover the basics, or don’t cover them in a confident manner.

The list must include easy normalisation of data (one click preferably) because there is a limit to how much can be achieved through waste elimination and the harvesting of the traditional ‘low hanging fruit’. At some point the impact of degree days, floor area, occupancy and production (to name but a few) must be assessed, and it must be easy to do.

Similarly, regression analysis must be present to provide additional power to the more usual presentation of consumption and cost profiles.

Measurement and verification (M&V) is a relative newcomer but it is increasingly important because it quantifies savings in standard in a repeatable way, which is one of the requirements of ISO50015.

Without the above functionality hard-core energy management cannot be done, so it has to be present, but there are now other ways in which good software is being used to improve energy and carbon performance. The umbrella term often used is ‘behavioural change’ and it addresses the biggest challenge of them all – the impact of people on that performance. It is people who override controls designed to optimise energy use, it is people who switch on heaters and open windows contemporaneously, and it is people who are almost always a significant factor in the gap between expected and actual energy performance in buildings.

The jury may still be out on the best way to encourage a workforce or users of a building to consider the impact of their actions on their organisation’s carbon footprint and utility bills, but one thing is certain – providing accurate and relevant information in a simple and accessible form is a key component, and the right software can do that very effectively. The term ‘dashboard’ is used fairly loosely to describe presentation screens that inform stakeholders of various aspects of performance in many key areas, but in the case of energy management the detail is important. Information has to be attractive, accurate, relevant and meaningful, which in the case of Elcomponent’s MeterWeb 2 is achieved by allowing an unlimited number of dashboard configs and login credentials to be created. This takes care of the relevance, and considering the subject matter above we can hopefully take accuracy as read, which only leaves ‘attractive’ and ‘meaningful’. The former is to some degree in the eye of the beholder but if the ‘standard’ presentations are readily customisable, all should be well.

Opinions also vary on what is meaningful in this context, but it should be borne in mind that non-expert does not mean stupid, and such favourites as league tables must be available in normalised format or their impact will be limited! However, once the audience is convinced that the data are accurate and fair, interest is much easier to maintain.

If these criteria can be met (and they can) M&T software finds itself with a whole new audience and an additional new role.

It has to be up to the task. If it’s combined with a properly designed, installed and commissioned metering package it will be.

For more information contact: Debbie@elcomponent.co.uk 01279 503 173 www.elcomponent.co.uk

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

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Lighting

Eltex Manufacturing • •

•

Lighting energy reduction of 64% per year £36,000 of financial savings and 100 tonnes of carbon over the lifetime of the fittings.

Return on Investment of 3 years

H

ow do you detect a broken weft yarn in a shuttle weaving machine? In 1962 Åke Rydborn and Ragnar Henriksson found the solution and developed a prototype of the world’s first Electronic Weft-Stop-Motion.

For more than 40 years Eltex of Sweden has been developing yarn sensors for textile machines. In 1976, Eltex Manufacturing Ltd was established in Templemore, Ireland and is now the primary production facility for the group.

Eltex consider innovation and sustainability as the way forward and have recently heavily invested into modern plant and equipment, a lighting refurbishment

- Case Study

being an element of their programme.

Luceco, a division of Nexus Industries, provided the lighting solution using the LuxPanel, a high efficiency, energy saving recessed LED luminaire, throughout their production facilities. A highly suitable replacement for fluorescent multi-lamp fittings, the LuxPanel is quick and easy to install with no maintenance requirements and comes with a 50,000-hour life.

LuxPanels are supplied with remote ‘plug and play’ drivers and are available in standard fixed output, dimmable and emergency options.

Other areas such as office and conference room facilities saw the Academy being employed. Complete with LED array, the Academy is designed to be an ideal replacement for linear fluorescent fittings, offering up to 50,000 hours of maintenance free operation. A high quality opal diffuser

ensures glare is reduced and the luminaire is also suitable for suspended mounting.

The combined result saw an energy reduction of 64% per year and £36,000 of financial savings plus 100 tonnes of carbon reduction over the lifetime of the luminaires with a return on their investment of just 3 years. A further example of energy saving sustainability for a forward thinking organisation such as Eltex.

E: zoe.nh@luceco.uk W: www.luceco.uk

Outdoor portfolio with high overvoltage protection

L

ED street lights and outdoor lights can be professionally dimmed with voltage-resistant TALEXXdrivers in the Premium OTD series from Tridonic. These drivers for luminaire installation offer impressive surge/ burst resistance of 10 kV and are extremely durable with a life of 100,000 hours.

Tridonic has extended its outdoor portfolio with the addition of the TALEXXdriver Premium OTD series for professional dimmable LED lighting solutions in luminaires of protection classes I and II. The drivers are housed in a fully encapsulated enclosure and are particularly suitable for use in harsh ambient conditions outdoors, providing reliable, flexible and cost-effective lighting with a high level of TALEXXdriver

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• TALEXXdriver Premium OTD devices can withstand 10 kV • Virtual midnight function offers additional savings

efficiency. There are five different versions with different outputs and variable output currents.

All the versions are equipped with one4all (DALI DT6, DSI, corridorFUNCTION) and ready2mains™/U6Me2 (chronoSTEP 2) interfaces. The drivers therefore have the flexibility to meet different lighting requirements. Luminaires can be easily configured via the power cable with the aid of the ready2mains programmer so there is no need for an additional communications interface. During production the ready2mains enables output currents to be set and tested, and dimming commands to be defined. Integration in automated test Output

Adjustable output current

LCA 30W 250–700 mA one4all C PRE OTD

30 W

250 – 700 mA

LCA 60 W 350-1050 mA one4all C PRE OTD

60 W

350 – 1050 mA

LCA 75 W 250-750 mA one4all C PRE OTD

75 W

250 – 750 mA

LCA 120 W 350-1050 mA one4all C PRE OTD

120 W

350 – 1050 mA

LCA 160 W 350-1050 mA one4all C PRE OTD

160 W

350 – 1050 mA

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

processes is also possible. Outdoors, ready2mains can be used to program individual LED street lights, or entire street runs can be programmed from the switching cabinet via the U6Me2 communication protocol with a high degree of flexibility. The chronoSTEP 2 function, which is also known as virtual midnight, offers additional energy savings. It takes into account reduced traffic on the streets at certain times during the night and enables the lighting to be programmed in eight individual dimming levels and times.

In accordance with their intended use outdoors, the drivers operate reliably in an extended temperature range from -40 to +70°C. Standby mode is particularly economical with a power draw of less than 0.16 W. www.tridonic.com

Lighting

Is There an LED Fallacy? why you should always check the figures

I

’ve been hearing a lot about companies changing their lighting over to Light Emitting Diodes and how these electronic lights are going to save the world from climate change but I’m a sceptic and never trust what the salesman tells me, so I’ve done a little research. I think the best way to measure the “efficiency” of lighting sources is to use the “luminous efficacy” which measures

the visible light produced in relation to the energy used to produce it (measured in Lumens per Watt (lm/W)). Manufacturers claim figures in the range 4.5-150 lm/W (I’ve heard reports of LEDs under laboratory conditions demonstrating figures of over 300 lm/W but I’ve also heard that the light was of such low intensity that it wasn’t visible to the human eye) and in comparison a candle (which we first used to light our caves and continued to be common even into the last century - and even now during power cuts or romantic evenings!) produces around 0.3 lm/W - so LEDs are massively better. On the other hand candles aren’t common as routine lighting anymore so perhaps a better comparison might be the incandescent light bulb as invented by Thomas Edison early last century (yes I know about Joseph Swan and the fact that the “modern” light bulb using inert gas and tungsten filament is a much more sophisticated device than the carbon impregnated thread and vacuum original) which comes in at 5-18 lm/W a vast improvement on the candle but inferior to most LEDs. On the other hand you can no longer buy a 100W bulb so how does the compact fluorescent compare? Well they are quoted as 46-75 lm/W so they are better than the worst of the LEDs (though half as efficient as the best) but at least twice as energy efficient as the old light bulb - hence the EU legislation outlawing the latter! So it is just possible that replacing a CFL with an LED might actually increase energy usage IF the LED is one of the lower performers (on the other hand the even longer life of the LED and quick start probably make it a good move anyway). As you may know I’m much more comfortable in non-domestic settings so maybe comparison with fluorescent tubes is more applicable? Ignoring T12 and switchstart T8 tubes as obsolete (on the other hand Voltage reduction works well on them if they are in place) ; T8 ballasted come out at 80-100 lm/W and T5 70-104 lm/W -so it is possible to do a T8 replacement with T5 and lose efficiency!

But do remember the “dimming” ability of T5’s (as reported in an earlier blog) allows much better control regimes.

So IF you are replacing T5/T8 tubes with LED your LED needs to produce over 104 lm/W if you are to be sure that it is to produce more light for less energy - do yours? Moving to more Industrial lighting types I have heard of councils replacing SONs (Sodium Lights) for streetlighting with

By Andy Clarke

LED. Now as SONs have a range of 85-200 lm/W and LEDs are up to 150 lm/W is that a good idea? Well disregarding the benefits of the white light from the LED and its long life (cherrypickers are expensive) I think the advice is -CHECK THE ACTUAL FIGURES FOR THE LIGHTS in question! (btb I’m sure any LED manufacturer reading this only sells LEDs that perform right at the top of the quoted range or even above it! I’ve also discounted the effects of heat generation on heating and airconditioning of the building and the effect of fitments/reflectors which can be significant if not exactly sexy) While researching this I came across an article reporting an LED that is 230% electrically efficient - now that is good! http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/201203/09/230-percent-efficient-leds

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

25

Lighting

More than just

The importance of lighting controls solut

W

ith significant developments taking place in the arena of lighting control technology, the scope for lighting controls to add value to educational buildings has increased drastically in recent times. Rob Crookes, Product Manager at CP Electronics, discusses some the factors impacting on the success of lighting control usage and some of the key drivers of change.

Important changes in legislation have impacted on the use of lighting control systems within the education sector.

Contractors are now legally obliged to provide lighting controls which deliver greater energy savings in line with increasingly stringent regulations around energy consumption and sustainability.

Additionally, these must be designed to meet the precise operational requirements of each institution. As such, the decision making process around lighting and controls is decidedly more complex than ever before.

of lighting controls solutions to enhance performance.

A valuable lesson While many of the broad principles surrounding lighting controls are the same, irrespective of the client, sector-specific knowledge can offer a real edge when servicing customers. As in any sector, when selecting a partner for lighting controls it makes sense to select one with significant experience in meeting the particular requirements of educational establishments.

For instance, occupancy sensing controls are recommended on the basis that they ensure lighting is used only as and when required. This creates a well-lit classroom that is suited to effective learning while minimising unnecessary energy consumption and cost.

Where schools and educational facilities differ from commercial spaces or offices is that the primary objective is the creation of an environment that is optimal for learning.

While there are, of course, other considerations, this is what takes priority.

Typically, there will typically be three or four banks of lighting in a classroom – one of which will be close to windows, with another at the front of the classroom where the whiteboard is. A lighting control system adjusts the lighting accordingly to account for the varying levels of artificial and natural light within the room.

Budgetary constraints have always been an important issue within the education

At the same time, lighting controls have become significantly more sophisticated in terms of functionality and quality. The flexibility this now offers allows specifiers and installers to select the most appropriate mix of products depending on each individual customer. As such, the level of expectation from end users around lighting controls has increased considerably – and rightly so.

Indeed, there is now greater emphasis within BREEAM on consultation with clients to truly get to the heart of their needs.

Similarly, the implementation of requirements around BIM from April means that specifiers, armed with an in-depth understanding of client requirements, will need to select products which are fully compliant to be incorporated into building projects.

Given the numerous issues at stake, special consideration must be given to the factors contributing to the overall success

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sector, therefore, solutions which enable schools to enjoy demonstrable cost savings both in terms of initial cost of purchase and ongoing reduction in energy usage.

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

The best of both worlds

Lighting

ust academic:

tions tailored for education applications Typically, this means that the row of lights nearest to the windows will be dimmable, and on a sunny day may dim down to as low as 25% of full light output.

Further into the space, depending how far the daylight penetrates, other rows of luminaires may dim down to, say, 75% – or they may even remain at 100% output.

With widespread use of interactive whiteboards and projectors in classrooms, dimmer switches play a valuable role in focusing students’ attention on the front of the classroom as these can be used to dim light elsewhere within the teaching space.

It is important to bear in mind that many classrooms, particularly in secondary schools, are used by a number of different teaching staff as well as by support staff outside teaching hours. This means that the interface to the controls needs to be very easy to use by teachers or caretaking staff, who may not be familiar with that classroom

and will have varying degrees of technical competence.

Versatility

Classrooms are often used beyond the normal school timetable for a variety of extra-curricular and community-based activities. To optimise the use of energy, it makes sense to implement flexible systems which can cater for use outside regular hours. The absence of such measures can lead to wasteful energy consumption and increased cost, as lights are left on even though only a handful of classrooms and connecting corridors and stairways are in use.

In much the same way, rooms in universities and colleges are occupied sporadically, highlighting the need for automated systems which ensure that lights are kept on only when they are in use. In this respect, occupancy detection is clearly beneficial but must be balanced against cost

considerations. Selecting the right form of occupancy detection can deliver significant savings. In a classroom, for instance, a single microwave detector may offer the same level of control as two or more PIR detectors, thereby reducing capital costs as well as cabling requirements.

The same principle applies to corridors, where the directional qualities of the occupancy detector can provide maximum coverage with the minimum number of sensors.

Learning spaces need to be flexible due to the breadth of activities that can take place within them and, in this regard, lighting can play an important part. The control strategy must reflect this need for versatility and simplicity, while optimising energy usage.

Conclusion Lighting controls, rather than providing a generic, one-size-fits-all solution, are continually evolving to meet and exceed the precise needs of the education sector. An array of factors must be taken into account when weighing up the solutions on offer, which, when chosen correctly, can help create the best possible classroom environment for learning to take place. In practice, this process is rather less straightforward. By seeking advice from those who have specialist knowledge and extensive experience in these crucial areas, this can help ensure clients end up with the best solution to suit their individual needs.

The cleverly engineered Vitesse Plus lighting control system by CP Electronics is an ideal solution for educational spaces.

For further information and to seek further advice on lighting control solutions for the education sector, visit: www.cpelectronics.uk.com

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

27

Lighting

By maximising on the potential offered by the latest developments in lighting, Energy Managers really will be able to manage a building Simon Blazey, Strategic Solutions Sales Manager at Tridonic explains more about how lighting and its integration into the Internet of Things is going be the next industrial revolution.

A

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ny specialist in the provision of innovative lighting components and systems can’t have failed to recognise the decisive role that lighting will play in the development of the Internet of Things (IoT). One such solution is Tridonic’s recently launched toolbox net4more which will not only connect luminaires with each other, but deliver a value add that goes far beyond lighting.

office: in addition to smoke detectors and thermostats there are often numerous presence sensors from different manufacturers for the different building services. One ensures that the light is only switched on if there is someone in the room. Another is part of the security system, a third turns down the heating and air conditioning when the last person leaves the room, and perhaps a fourth is there to control the window blinds.

Where are we now and how does this affect the Energy Manager?

Light is the omnipresent infrastructure

Sometime in 2016 the number of connected devices will overtake the number of people on the planet for the first time.

According to calculations by Gartner, the US market research company, last year around five billion devices were able to communicate via the Internet – whether smart phones or tablets, smart electricity meters, cars or factory machines. In 2016 the figure is expected to rise to between seven and eight billion. That’s more than the 7.4 billion people currently living in the world.

Analysts are already talking about 24 to 35 billion connected devices by 2020. This is an expansion rate of more than 40 percent per year. In addition market researchers from BI Intelligence expect total expenditure on hardware, application development and system integration to reach 6,000 billion dollars in the next five years.

The IoT is booming because of the large number of applications and the added value for users. Smart phones can be used to shop online, check in for a flight or find your way round an unfamiliar city. Electricity meters automatically send energy consumption data; traffic lights, washing machines, cars and trains all give early warnings that they need servicing, and pc boards in factories tell assembly robots which components they should pick.

But quantity brings complexity as any energy manager will confirm.. The problem is already obvious – just look at any modern

Simplification is what is needed.

How can the level of complexity best be reduced, how can communication among the devices be harmonised? Are there no existing infra-structure systems to which the Internet of Things can simply be “docked”?

In fact, there are. Wherever there are people, whether indoors or out on the streets, there is artificial light. In many of these luminaires there is still plenty of space for one or other digital sensor or microchip – after all, digital electronics is necessary for modern LEDs. What’s more, since the luminaires need electricity the power supply is already integrated. No one need worry any longer about cabling the individual sensors or changing batteries, which they would otherwise have to do every year or two or even more often – which in larger buildings or factories means a lot of work, planning and scheduling and can result in lost working hours or manufacturing down time. Another advantage is the majority of luminaires will be installed on walls or ceilings and are therefore in the best places for including sensors. As a final plus; communication with them and connection to the access points for the internet can be either wireless or via the data cabling that is already in place.

In short, the existing infrastructure for light is the ideal basis for the Internet of Things. Or to put it another way, the “Internet of Light” is the most powerful

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

instrument for developing the Internet of Things into the useful tool that it can be in the future.

How will this help the Energy Manager?

This all sounds great but how will it work in practice? For example: A single presence sensor integrated out of sight in a luminaire is sufficient for detecting whether an office is occupied or not. This data is then stored in the Cloud – in other words on an Internet or intranet server – evaluated and forwarded to the HVAC systems, window blinds, security management system and of course to the lighting control system. It can also be used for room management, i.e. to determine how efficiently and effectively meeting rooms, offices or communal areas are used. Building operators can use this data to optimize the usage of the building and make considerable savings in costs.

If there are presence sensors in a large number of luminaires then the data can be evaluated in much finer detail, for example to optimize the lighting and air conditioning for each individual desk in an office. This principle also applies outside the office environment of course. For example, presence sensors in car park lights or street lights can indicate where there is a free parking space, pass this information on to a satnav and ensure that they are clearly visible.

Indoor navigation will also be possible by using “beacons”, small Bluetooth transmitters, in the luminaires. With the aid of these radio transmitters anyone with an appropriate smart phone app will be able pinpoint their location to within a few meters – ideal for finding your way round shopping centres, hospitals or airports, locating a free desk in a company that operates a hot desking policy or even just for finding a particular product in a large retail store. Unlike with previous systems the beacons would no longer have to be installed separately or set up individually

Lighting because of a lack of a network. This is because in the examples described all these systems can natively co exist on the ubiquitous lighting IP infrastructure.

These few examples provide a good indication of the enormous potential if the Internet of Things is organised via an Internet of Light. By recognising this potential at an early stage, Tridonic has applied its expertise in electronics, sensor technology, software and LED luminaire control to develop a future-proof hardware and software platform, the net4more toolbox, which consists of LED Drivers, communication modules, sensors, routers, software and applications.

Partnerships will power the future In the autumn of 2016 a technological introduction phase will start in which the net4more system will be used in pilot projects. For this purpose a partner network will be set up and partners will be able to link their own hardware, such as sensors and communication elements, and their own application software with net4more. From spring 2017 net4more will then be

available to everyone. The crucial benefits that distinguish the net4more system is its open platform, flexibility and scalability. net4more was designed right from the start for interoperability and open hardware and software interfaces. For example, the software architecture is based on the open standard of the IPv6 Internet Protocol, wireless communication uses a low-power version with IPv6 which operates like a low-energy version of wifi with networking capability, and the application and communication layers also use the usual open standards. What’s more, net4more is the first system that enables both wired and wireless communication – and it is also scalable for any size of building or area.

All this makes net4more particularly future-proof, which is extremely important for areas of application which have to operate reliably for many years eg office buildings and factories. It also offers customers the option of integrating their own solutions, whether hardware elements or apps for data analysis or control, in net4more, or using net4more for those solutions. Basic solutions such as a Cloud platform, and apps for configuration and operation are already

included in net4more, but customers and partners can add their own solutions and services. net4more opens up the straightest, most efficient path to the Internet of Light with a large number of services that go beyond light. Tridonic is therefore focusing strongly on the convergence of new technologies, smaller and smaller communication modules and sensors, LED luminaires, apps and mobile internet.

This reduces complexity and costs and enables an enormous variety of additional services to be provided in the coming Internet of Things.

NEW FUTURISTIC STREET LIGHT LUMINAIRE FROM AURA LIGHT HAS SMART FEATURES

A

ura Light has taken a step into the future with its new Indico LED road and street light luminaire. The innovative exterior lighting solution not only breathes a stylish and contemporary design but incorporates intelligent features to create an advanced street lighting scheme.

Launched last year by Aura Light UK’s parent company in Sweden, the Indico luminaire is now available in the UK and across Europe to modernise street lighting.

The luminaire is available in 35W, 60W, 90W and 120W for a low-energy LED street lighting solution to replace less efficient HPS street lamps.

Aura Light has designed Indico for complete ease-of-use whilst producing exceptional energy savings for the ultimate solution for local authorities, architects and specifiers. The luminaire can be opened without using any tools by a small, discreet hatch on the side of the body which will automatically lock into position to increase the ease of maintenance. This feature is

supported by an automatic switch-off function using a 2-pole safety circuit breaker, which is activated when the body is opened to eliminate any safety risks.

The LEDs are incorporated using a modular design, which improves the lifetime of the luminaire as these, as well as the LED driver, can easily be replaced and upgraded.

Indico also offers variation within a scheme with a ± 15° adjustable bracket to change light distribution as required. This can be particularly useful for applications in car parks and pedestrian zones where a broader light distribution is required across large spaces. Narrower distribution can also be an effective way of lighting objects or safety routes.

Besides its innovative features, Indico is also a high performing luminaire with excellent energy efficiency. With the ability to produce up to 118 lumens per circuit watt and a total package of up to 12,000lm, schemes using the Indico luminaire can expect to see exceptional energy savings as well as a significantly improved light source.

Automatic night-dimming controls can also

be added to reduce light levels to 50% or 30% throughout the night to enhance the energy savings generated. The luminaire is available in 4000K colour temperature as standard, which will produce a cool-white light that will light dark spaces efficiently.

As an exterior luminaire, Aura Light has designed the Indico to ensure that it is able to withstand constant changes in weather and other damaging conditions.

The luminaire is housed in an IP66 rated die-cast aluminium streamline casing, with IK08 impact resistant front glass to ensure that it is fully protected from dust and water.

Cooling fins are also added to the 90W and 120W models to help regulate the temperature generated by the LEDs. Since its launch in Sweden, Aura Light’s Indico has proved popular in many industries, including the Municipality of Lessebo and leading hospitality wholesaler, Martin & Severa.

For further information please visit the company’s website at www.aura-light.co.uk

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

29

Energy Storage

New project launched to cut site energy costs and carbon footprint through optimised energy storage •

• • •

Project combines and optimises local energy storage, renewable microgeneration, and site energy usage - including electric vehicle (EV) fast charging Scalable energy storage solution uses second life Renault EV batteries Avoids distribution network upgrades required to meet growing demands such as EV fast charging Enables site-based optimisation of energy usage and exploitation of off-peak energy tariffs

A

PROJECT to manage and optimise complex energy requirements for industrial and commercial sites is now underway.

The Battery Optimisation and Storage System project (BOSS) creates additional on-site energy storage capacity with repurposed batteries from Renault electric vehicles (EVs). Used intelligently, this extra storage capacity enables sites to take control of their energy management, delivering substantial economic and environmental savings. An innovative combination of technologies, it also integrates and optimises other local infrastructure such as renewable energy generation and EV charging.

BOSS is led by EDF Energy, in partnership with Route Monkey and Connected Energy, a subsidiary of Future Transport Systems. It is part-funded by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK. Xavier Mamo, R&D Director, EDF Energy R&D UK Centre said: “Commercial and industrial sites are faced with an increasing localised demand for low carbon energy.

Project BOSS is bringing together experts from EDF Energy’s R&D UK Centre, Route Monkey and Connected Energy to demonstrate a cost-effective, local energy storage solution to help alleviate this growing pressure. This system aims to deliver greater capacity from existing assets, along with improved efficiencies and lower costs for the customer.”

BOSS combines technologies to encompass key aspects of local energy use and generation, including maximising the value of on-site renewables, minimising exposure to peak tariffs, and managing site peak loads as well as EV charging.

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For Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), enhanced local energy storage capacity can reduce the need for expensive network upgrades, required to meet growing energy demands from EV charging.

In addition to minimising energy costs for the site, the project will also evaluate opportunities for the system to provide services to the national grid.

The BOSS project will integrate a 50kWh E-STOR energy storage unit provided by Connected Energy, with a site energy management and optimisation system developed by Route Monkey.

The modular E-STOR system, which can be scaled to the requirements of each specific site, uses EV batteries from Renault that have completed their automotive life.

These second life batteries typically retain up to 75 per cent of their energy storage capabilities. E-STOR creates another use for them prior to recycling. Route Monkey’s complex algorithms automate and optimise energy management, in real time. Its unique software integrates generation from

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

micro-renewables, local energy storage and management, access to off-peak tariffs, and high capacity EV charging.

The project plans to commission an installation at a site in the North of England, where the system will integrate with and manage infrastructure including a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel array and EV charging stations. This site will also link to an existing E-STOR installation in Norfolk that also features EV charging, PV and micro-wind generation. In this way, the project can evaluate the benefits to individual sites, as well as the grid-level benefits achieved by aggregating and optimising the two systems.

EDF Energy is commissioning the demonstrator, and is responsible for overall project management.

Matthew Lumsden, managing director of Connected Energy, said: “The BOSS project enables us to learn more about how our E-STOR units can be commercially operated within a distributed energy storage portfolio. Combining E-STOR with optimisation software will help us provide our customers with maximum commercial and environmental benefits.”

Colin Ferguson, CEO of Route Monkey said: “Our solution optimises E-STOR, enabling energy from renewable sources or off-peak tariffs to be stored for later use.

This significantly reduces the cost and carbon footprint of the site’s energy needs.

Our ability to forecast aggregate energy demand for multiple sites also enables wholesale energy purchasing at more attractive rates.”

Solar Power

Your Energy Sussex and Tangmere Solar Farm

W

est Sussex County Council has a growing track record of delivering successful low-carbon projects and an understanding of the role that local authorities can play in the energy sector.

The authority has demonstrated its commitment to renewable energy over a number of years, having installed solar PV and other measures on its buildings and developed challenging energy saving and carbon reduction targets through its Sustainability Strategy. The authority is committed to delivering a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from its own activities by 2025 and will increase the percentage of its energy from renewable sources.

It is against this backdrop in 2012 that West Sussex County Council developed plans for a pan-Sussex energy partnership involving East Sussex County Council, Brighton & Hove City Council and 12 local district and borough councils. The partnership, called Your Energy Sussex, would help residents and businesses to reduce the amount of energy they use, cut carbon emission and save money. It would also help the local economy by recruiting Sussex-based SMEs to carry out much of the energy saving work – leading to an increase in investment, jobs, training places and apprenticeships. WSCC secured significant loan fund from the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to invest in energy projects that pay back and, in Carillion, procured a delivery partner with considerable energy services experience and the ability to deliver large projects successful.

With Carillion in place by 2013 and a pipeline of potential energy projects taking shape, the partnership started to look at the viability of a largescale solar development on council-owned land as its first major project. A search for suitable WSCC-owned land revealed a 25-acre field on the edge of the former RAF airfield near Chichester and the idea for Tangmere Solar Farm was born. Being relatively close to a grid connection, of limited agricultural value and unsuitable for other kinds of development, the site quickly became a clear front-runner for a proposed 5 MW solar farm capable of powering up the 1,500 homes. Its location close to other buildings, including a number of warehouses, and away from residential developments in the village of Tangmere added to its suitability and made a positive planning decision more likely.

By pre-registering the development and

securing, by current standards, an attractive feed-in-tariff the partnership was able to confidently forecast payback in less than 10 years for a 20-year project that would deliver income worth £13.8 million for the county council. With an estimated annual energy spend in excess of £11 million, the county council was also keen to use some of the energy generated at Tangmere through a power purchase agreement to offset its own costs and carbon footprint.

Building the solar farm With the planning process complete in January 2015 and permission to connect to the grid secured through the Distribution Network Operator (DNO), site preparations continued throughout the spring with an emphasis on meeting the rigorous planning conditions, particularly in relation to ecology and wildlife protection. Tree-work to minimise shading on the solar panels was finished just in time for the bird nesting season to begin. All work was carried out under the watchful eye of the county ecologist and great care was taken not to disturb natural habits. New habitats were created for birds and bats in line with the planning conditions and contractors carried out additional planting.

Given the wartime past of RAF Tangmere and the solar farm’s location next to the former runway which had been heavily bombed during the Second World War, the construction phase inevitably uncovered a few surprises from the past. In addition to rubble and asbestos clearance from a few derelict buildings, the unexploded ordnance (UXO) survey uncovered more than 4,000 metallic ‘items of interest’ at varying depths under the surface – all of which needed to be checked out. The larger items had to be excavated, which took time and put the project timescales under pressure. Thankfully, nothing more than a few rounds of soggy ammunition and electrical cabling was found - but it could have been much worse.

With the site preparation complete, the construction phase really gathered pace in August 2015. More than 2,800 piles were driven into the ground in 11 days and it took just 15 days to fit 18,300 solar panels.

Local contractors excavated more than 3km of trenches and the cabling laid was enough to stretch end-to-end from Tangmere to London. Site commissioning took place in early September and, with final sign off from the DNO, Tangmere Solar Farm generated

its first low-carbon electricity in early October.

Beyond Tangmere Although Tangmere Solar Farm has been a landmark success for West Sussex County Council and Your Energy Sussex, the reduction in solar feed-in-tariffs in January 2016 has fundamentally changed the ground rules for the renewable energy sector. Your Energy Sussex is re-shaping its plans accordingly While Tangmere Solar Farm will continue to provide income, reduce carbon emissions and contribute to energy security in the county, delivering a project of this scale that is reliant on feed-in-tariffs is no longer viable for Your Energy Sussex. A different approach is needed.

Included in the draft Your Energy Sussex business plan for 2016/17 is an explicit focus on linking medium to large scale solar developments to high energy consumers that are capable of using a high percentage of the low-carbon energy they generate. The partnership is talking to a number of public and private organisations with above-average energy consumption data and is involved in and EU-funded project to increase the amount of renewable energy generated and used by business parks.

The partnership is also committed to carrying out further energy saving and renewable energy work with Sussex schools, having installed eight roof-mounted systems in 2016. The systems, which are up to 30 kWp in size, provide the schools with cheap, low-carbon electricity and deliver a financial return for the county council. Your Energy Sussex will be working with schools this year to put together a new package of support that could include solar PV coupled with a range of complementary energy saving measures. www.yourenergysussex.org.uk

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

31

Solar Power

EvoEnergy completes UK’s largest solar carport at Nottingham leisure centre

C

ommercial solar PV developer EvoEnergy has completed the UK’s largest solar carport at a leisure centre owned by Nottingham City Council.

The 354-panel, 88.5 KWp system was designed and installed by EvoEnergy across nine separate, specially-built roofs at Ken Martin Leisure Centre.

It is the latest energy-efficiency measure to be taken by the city council and was built following the success of its first solar carport - the 67 kWp system at Harvey Hadden Sports Village which EvoEnergy delivered last year.

The array at Ken Martin should cut the council’s carbon footprint by 41 tonnes a year, generating 79,874 kWh of energy 100 per cent of which will be used on site.

Michael Brien, project manager for EvoEnergy, said: “We’ve partnered with the council on numerous solar projects now since 2011, including its first solar carport at Harvey Hadden last summer. This time around we’ve helped them build the largest solar carport in the country; an accolade which really highlights the size of the council’s commitment to energy efficiency.

“This installation posed a number of challenges to our team on-site, but the team at Ken Martin were extremely happy with the way we worked around their day-to-day operations, causing them as little disruption as possible.

“The results have impressed them too, thanks to the work of our technical team, who’ve made sure the latest technology was used to help keep it performing efficiently for the duration of its Feed-in Tariff (FiT).”

The Ken Martin solar carport was fitted over three months between November and January in time to beat the recent cut to the FiT. It will save the council around £10,000 a year on its energy bills, and should pay for itself within 11 years, after which point it will earn Nottingham City Council an income for the remaining nine years of the FiT. Rather than using a traditional string setup, which only performs as well as the least efficient module, it uses SolarEdge optimisers connected to pairs of modules to make the whole system safer and more efficient.

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Its heartbeat communication system lets individual panels talk directly to the inverter in pairs, so in • the event of one panel breaking or • losing efficiency during the next two decades, only two from the whole array will be affected; individual • module monitoring will also • allow EvoEnergy to swiftly remedy • any issues.

• As a result of an optimised system the inverters are half the size of standard inverters. Their performance • can be accessed in real-time online, and they make the whole PV system • safer by dropping the power supply from 1,000v to 21v in the event of a fire or broken cable.

Councillor Alan Clark, Nottingham City Council’s portfolio holder for energy and sustainability, said: “The solar carport is an ingenious solution for maximising our assets, generating income and lowering the city’s carbon emissions. Car parks although serving a practical purpose and very necessary for our thousands of customers that visit our leisure centres are not usually seen as cutting edge. It’s really exciting that we have been able to extend the usefulness of this space and invest in a green energy supply for Nottingham.”

Given the nature of the install, over a frequently-used carpark outside a popular public building, EvoEnergy took extra steps in order to minimise disruption. Ropes and scissor lifts were used to avoid any danger to the public during the panel fitting process, while the install was completed

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

System in detail 88.5 kWp solar PV carport array 354 panels (240 x Renesola 250W / 114 x Solarworld 250W) 3 x 25 kW SolarEdge inverters 581.6 sqm coverage 79,874 kWh generated (annually) 41 tonnes of CO2 saved per year (estimated) Minimum of £9.5k annual saving on energy bills (estimated) Payback time: 11 years (estimated) in staggered phases to keep as many car parking spaces open as possible.

Nottingham City Council has led the way in terms of local authority involvement in the solar energy sector. Over 3,000 of their social housing stock now have PV on roofs generating free electricity for tenants and income for the council via the FITs. As well as domestic properties the council has also utilised a variety of its commercial and public buildings to maximise its city wide PV programme.

Investment into green energy solutions such as this have put the council on track to meet its 2020 target to reduce its own carbon emissions by 31% and to meet the city wide target of a 26% reduction in emissions. jordan.mawbey@evoenergy.co.uk

Water Management

Sustainable water hygiene

M

aintaining water hygiene and sustainability may seem like unrelated tasks.

Poorly maintained systems, however, used for HVAC equipment in particular, will increase energy consumption through inefficient running. Reducing the use of these chemicals and taking a more bespoke and considered approach to water system design from the outset of a building’s construction, can improve a building’s environmental credentials, save money and maintenance time, says Steven Booth, Associate Director for Guardian Water Treatment.

Any water system has the potential to become contaminated with bacteria, such as Pseudomonas and Legionella. Apart from risking human health, in closed circuit systems in particular, Pseudomonas can clog pipes and components, causing the HVAC equipment that relies on it to run inefficiently and potentially break down, costing building managers in terms of repair and potentially unnecessarily high fuel bills.

In a bid to save money and often under the perceived guise of ‘sustainability’ we commonly see problems at the construction stage of a building’s life that translate into poor water hygiene further down the line.

This is not always the fault of the designer, they work to the guidelines provided, but, in our opinion these do not always go far enough, leaving problems in the future.

Value engineering: Cost-effective ‘fit and forget’ water treatment solutions are often favoured at the construction stage due to their low energy and low maintenance credentials. Unfortunately, however, in practice we see varied results.

Problems usually present themselves several months or years after commissioning, for example with magnetic water conditioners, due to the fact that lime-scale formation does not appear to be controlled throughout the entire water system as effectively as with traditional salt-based water softeners.

While magnetic water softeners are chosen because of their low energy credentials, in reality they lead to increased maintenance as lime scale needs cleaning and the system itself is far more likely to break down, making this a false economy long term.

Maintenance (PPM) regimes or their importance. Training is key, for all members of the building services and facilities management team.

Future proofing: One of the key reasons for an increase of Pseudomonas build-up in large commercial projects is dead legs in the water system. Often included to make way for future expansion, these potentially vast areas of stationary water present the ideal conditions for bacteria to grow. Once bacteria is present on a grand scale it can be very difficult to get back under control.

While removing ‘dead legs’ all together may not be practical, we suggest that designers include a bypass or flow around the dead end to combat the problem and implement a valve exercising regime to create full circulation.

Modern plumbing trends: Low flow fittings for taps and showers, can exacerbate risk, allowing water to stagnate, creating the right conditions for Legionella to grow.

From an energy saving point of view, low flow may seem like the better option and it many ways it still is, ongoing water system maintenance is essential, however, with regular cleaning and testing for the presence of harmful bacteria.

Too many chemicals: When problems do arise, the initial reaction may be to throw in more chemicals. Where possible, over use

of chemicals should be avoided. In the first instance, a water system should be continuously monitored so that dosing meets its specific requirements.

There are also non-chemical alternatives to water treatment, such as photocatalytic water purifiers which greatly reduce bacterial levels in the water, without the use of biocides. These systems can be very low energy and maintenance too, further contributing to sustainability.

Clean from the outset Making sure a water system is clean and contaminant free from the outset is essential. Pre-commissioning cleaning is a standard requirement of all new closed water installations under the latest BSRIA guidelines. This approach is far easier than more cost effective than cleaning up existing systems that have been left to the mercy of bacteria. Remediation cleaning is possible, but it will never render a system ‘as new’.

When it comes to water hygiene and delivering this in a sustainable and effective way, you’ve got to speculate to accumulate.

A thorough approach at the construction stage will pay dividends going forward, reducing maintenance requirements and breakdown risk, while potentially assisting in cutting a building’s energy consumption. A long term view is essential. www.gwtltd.co.uk

Lack of understanding: We see many examples of supplementary treatment devices like magnetic water softeners that end up failing or being turned off all together, due to a lack of understanding in terms of their required Planned Preventative

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

33

Procurement

Increasing heat, not greenhouse gases Affording heat pumps for buildings through energy financing Richard Baker, Sales Manager, Siemens

T

ime is running out for landlords of both commercial and private premises: the Energy Efficiency Regulations 2015 require that from 01 April 2018 privately-let commercial and domestic properties meet a minimum energy efficiency standard.

Landlords, often working with the support of a facilities management provider, must ensure that their properties achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least grade ‘E’ before granting a lease to new or existing tenants. This rating is based on the assessment of a building’s impact on the environment in terms of CO2 emissions. The UK government has committed to cutting emissions by at least 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.

Buildings account for 37 percent of total UK greenhouse gas emissions, with direct emissions due to the burning of fossil fuels for heat comprising almost half (45 percent) of this figure. Increasing the energy efficiency of space and water heating systems in properties therefore has the potential to contribute significantly to the UK’s carbon targets.

Against this backdrop, renewable heat generation technologies such as air and ground source heat pumps offer a sustainable option to decrease the environmental burden caused by heat production in buildings. In 2014, the reduction of CO2 emissions from heat pump stock in the UK amounted to 0.47 megatons; though the savings potential for the same year may have been much higher.

The European Heat Pump Association estimated a potential reduction of just under 20 megatons in CO2 emissions if heat pumps were used more broadly. Indeed, an improved energy rating is not the only benefit of renewable heat generation. Air and ground source heat pumps generate 3kW of heat output for every 1kW of energy input which means they have the potential to supply more power than they consume.

As a consequence, they harbour significant potential to reduce spending on electricity and fuel. Replacing conventional electric or central heating with air source or ground source heat pumps, therefore, can be a cost-effective means of delivering heat with low or zero greenhouse gas emissions. As

34

Financial Services Energy Financing

convincing an argument this might be, both in a financial and environmental sense, acquiring the necessary funding for the installation of renewable heat generation technologies can be a challenge for landlords and facilities management companies. The financing issue, however, does not have to render investments in sustainable heating unfeasible. Viable financing options for energy improvement measures are available in today’s market.

One such example is Energy Financing from Siemens Financial Services Limited (SFS). With the aim to provide alternative financing for organisations looking to acquire energy efficient, green equipment or technologies, SFS Energy Financing makes a practical connection between the expected savings in energy costs and/or income from energy generation to the financing arrangement’s monthly payments.

Effectively, through SFS Energy Financing, organisations can benefit from a financing solution that can make the investment zero net cost or even be cash positive if the savings are greater than the monthly financing payment.

This helps landlords and facilities management firms make carbon-friendly investments while keeping their existing lines of credit intact and preserving their working capital for other business activities.

Energy Manager Magazine • April 2016

The convenience of combining technology and finance removes the need to seek funding for equipment acquisitions externally since SFS Energy Financing provides customers with an affordable alternative to outright cash purchase.

Payments can be customised to suit each client’s requirements and budgets, meaning that landlords and facilities management companies can focus on finding the best solutions for their premises without capital budget restrictions.

As energy efficiency requirements become more demanding, landlords and facilities management companies are looking to effectively reduce their properties’ carbon footprint while maintaining their financial liquidity. The use of air and ground source heat pumps can be an attractive option to cut the running costs, energy consumption and carbon emissions of buildings. Installing renewable heating technologies has the potential to not only deliver financially in the long run but also make an important contribution to achieving the 2050 climate change targets.

Solutions like SFS Energy Financing harness the savings potential of such technologies to create an offer that incorporates the best-in-class technology with an affordable financing plan.

Recruitment

Routes into an Energy Management Career

E

nergy Management is a relatively new and evolving sector. At ALLEN & YORK we work across the whole spectrum from energy management and energy services, to low carbon design, building services and facilities management, across both private and public sector. The routes to energy management are equally as varied and we work with candidates from environmental, engineering and FM backgrounds.

A great example of an individual career journey is Senior Energy Manager at Starbucks, Jaz Rabadia who in a recent interview with EDT (Engineering Development Trust) described her route into energy management. This came when she was studying as a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate. She chose, as her final degree modules; renewable energy and energy management and created a dissertation project to look at ‘energy utilisation and management at Sainsbury’s’ where she was working as a student. She was inspired by the subject and had several ideas implemented by the store. Her enthusiasm and ingenuity ultimately led to a job offer from the Head of Energy.

Rabadia is now a STEM Ambassador and an enthusiastic and inspiring spokesperson for energy management careers. Her story gives a great insight into how a real interest and an application of practical ideas can be an entrance into a successful career.

A good understanding of electrical and mechanical systems, as well as knowledge of energy usage processes, are essential as an energy manager. Although a degree is not vital, there are now specialist subjects available that focus on energy and the environment, which can be very useful as a route into energy management. Subjects such as; energy engineering, sustainable energy, climate change and environmental science and management, are all good options for you to explore when looking to start your career.

As well as technical qualifications and experience, successful energy managers also need to have good commercial acumen and a firm understanding of how the implementation of energy efficiencies will affect an organisation’s bottom line.

Often candidates will have completed an energy in business module as part of their degree, and again, this can be very useful.

Energy innovation and entrepreneurship can also enhance a CV. The very best energy managers are those who can see the challenges and opportunities for developing new energy technologies and business enterprises. To reduce energy consumption, save on resources and have a 360 vision for the organisation.

Salaries within energy management are good, with graduate and junior positions between £22,000-33,000 (depending on sector and region), moving up to £30,000-45,000 after about five years and peek at around £60,000-70,000 for roles with significant responsibility and portfolio.

Energy management is an exciting and developing area, which is only going to grow as energy costs rise and we evolve towards a more sustainable planet. The opportunities across the public and private sector are wide and varied and we would encourage you to get in touch if you are interested in learning more about current career opportunities.

Bo Derkx, Team Leader Energy Management at ALLEN & YORK. E: bderkx@allen-york.com T: 01202 888 986 W: www.allen-york.com

BUILDING & ENERGY SERVICES

ENERGY RECRUITMENT SPECIALISTS 2'8+@ !2!+'1'2; f 3> !8#32 '9-+2 f <-£&-2+ '8=-$'9 f !$-£-ধ'9 !2!+'1'2;

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