Energy Manager September 2018

SEPTEMBER 2018

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LEDVANCE delivers lighting energy savings

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

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18

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Priva Blue ID BEMS selected for major Energy recovery centre

Planning a successful metering strategy for heat networks

Whiter than white

FRONT COVER STORY: LEDVANCE delivers lighting energy savings.

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www.ledvance.com

SEPTEMBER 2018

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INSIDE:

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First battery storage site to supply electricity to UK Balancing Mechanism

9

GDPR is here. So what happens next?

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LED lighting for Stapletons Tyres give mojor energy and CO2 savings

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So many businesses unknowingly throw money away on Reactive Power!

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RHI reforms boosts biogas as a future energy source

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New technology to solve UK’s electric car charging ‘conundrum’

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Water Companies: Existing Systems Can Be More Effective Than ‘Smart’ Tech says Report

ISSN 2057-5912 (Print) ISSN 2057-5920 (Online)

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

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NEWS

PRIVA BLUE ID BEMS SELECTED FOR MAJOR ENERGY RECOVERY CENTRE

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he advantages of Blue ID BEMS (building energy management system) technology from Priva are proving central to the success of a major energy recovery centre constructed near Bristol. Priva Blue ID will add value for the client and optimise energy usage at every level of the Severnside Energy Recovery Centre at Avonmouth, which is in its final build stages on a brownfield site adjacent to Seabank Power Station and the former Terra Nitrogen plant.

Upon completion, it is anticipated that the Severnside Energy Recovery Centre will be capable of processing up to 400,000 tonnes of non-recycled waste, with capacity to generate up to 34MW of electricity (the equivalent of powering 50,000 homes). The concept, which has been developed over the past 10 years, will also generate heating for the entire building.

Being delivered by owner Sita UK, the facility will provide new treatment and recovery operations to manage residual household waste from West London, which will arrive by rail.

Requirement for BEMS

Initially, SCS Group was brought in to provide the BEMS that would operate the heating, chilled and hot water systems, ventilation and five air-handling unit (AHU) plants, with every office having independent FCU (fan coil unit) control for user comfort. SCS Group was appointed by M&E contractor VVB Engineering, working for main construction contractor Sir Robert

McAlpine, which in turn is carrying out the work for its client Hitachi Zosen Inova AG, a specialist in ‘energy from waste’ projects.

From its facility in Cardiff supporting Wales and the West, SCS Group recommended the use of Priva Blue ID for this landmark project.

Priva Blue ID is a cost-effective and modular BEMS that is flexible and easy to use. Setting a new standard in the building control market, Blue ID combines reliable hardware and intuitive software that helps building managers to get even better performances from their buildings.

The hardware consists of a base on which individual functional modules, containing all mission-critical components, can be installed allowing the controller modules to be selected according to the project requirements.

Integration to other devices can be easily achieved using standard BMS protocols.

Additional needs

With the design of the BEMS approved, VVB tasked SCS Group with supplying damper monitoring and natural ventilation packages. The natural ventilation system regulates temperature within the process plant, which is critical to its operation. This functionality was duly integrated into the Priva Blue ID BEMS package for full control and monitoring. A fully integral, bespoke graphics system has also been provided.

“There are so many diverse systems on

this project, all communicating in different protocols, but we managed to get them all linked and talking to each other using Priva controls and a Niagara head end,” explains SCS Group’s Pre-Construction Manager Mike Jackson. “Our approach is the same on every multiple package project, which is to simplify the control of building services by combining two or more typically disparate systems to remove duplicate hardware, software and project management. This strategy provides a leaner, more effective solution, which saves overall cost for the client.”

Best quality and value

Ultimately, the combination of expertise from SCS and technology from Priva will add value and optimise energy usage at every level of the new facility. In short, the approach has ensured the best quality and value for money for the client. www.priva.co.uk

ISO 50001 for energy management gets a boost

Reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency are at the forefront of the global climate change agenda. ISO 50001, the flagship International Standard for improving energy performance, has just been updated.

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nergy consumption is on the rise, despite the fact that it contributes to nearly 60% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions1. At the same time, more than one billion people still lack access to electricity and many more rely on harmful, polluting energy sources2. It is no surprise, then, that addressing energy efficiency and climate change challenges make up a key part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

ISO 50001:2018, Energy management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, transformed the energy performance of organizations worldwide when it was first published in 2011, giving them a strategic tool to use their energy more efficiently 1.

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https://www.iea.org/weo2017/

and effectively. It provides a framework for managing energy performance and addressing energy costs, while helping companies reduce their environmental impact to meet emissions reduction targets.

ISO 50001 has just been revised, making it even more effective to tackle the world’s energy challenges. Roland Risser, Chair of the ISO technical committee that developed the standard, said the new version features updated terms and definitions and greater clarification of certain energy performance concepts.

“There is a stronger emphasis on the role of top management as well, as it is important to instilling an organisational culture change,” he explained. “It is also now aligned with 2.

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg7

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

ISO’s requirements for management system standards, making it easier to integrate into an organization’s existing management systems.”

ISO 50001 has become increasingly important since its release seven years ago. A total of 20,216 certificates to ISO 50001 were issued by the end of 2016, according to the ISO Survey, which reveals that certifications to the standard increased by 69% during that year. ISO 50001:2018 was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 301, Energy management and energy savings, whose secretariat is held jointly by ANSI, ISO’s member for the USA, and SAC, ISO’s member for China. It can be purchased from your national ISO member or through the ISO Store. www.iso.org

NEWS

Anesco’s Breach Farm becomes first battery storage site to supply electricity to UK Balancing Mechanism

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n a ground-breaking move for the UK’s renewables industry, a battery storage unit developed by Anesco has officially become the first battery storage asset to supply electricity to National Grid’s Balancing Mechanism.

Breach Farm, a 10MW battery storage site in Derbyshire, has participated in the scheme as part of a virtual power plant, overseen by aggregator Limejump.

According to Steve Shine, executive chairman at Anesco, the site’s entry into the Balancing Mechanism signals a major step forward for the industry and will further fuel the growing appetite for investment.

Steve commented: “We’re delighted that we’ve been able to achieve another first for the UK renewables industry.

By entering our storage assets into the Balancing Mechanism, the door has been opened to additional revenue streams for investors and further validates the opportunity that battery storage provides.

“It’s a major step forward for the industry, with the Balancing Mechanism

market offering frequent instances of profitable spreads for batteries to take advantage of. In addition, it removes much of the risk that suppliers face from uncertain system prices.”

He added: “While our storage units have previously taken part in frequency response and the wholesale market, they are now able to take advantage of these additional revenue streams and pricing opportunities. Because of the data we hold and our unique battery revenue modelling tool, we are able to provide investors with even more certainty, further bolstering the mounting appetite for stand-alone storage as well as hybrid solar and storage projects.”

Another high profile development now participating in the Balancing Mechanism is Anesco’s Clayhill solar farm. The hybrid solar and battery storage site was the UK’s first subsidy-free solar farm and features 6MW of energy storage, colocated with 10MW of solar power.

Erik Nygard, Limejump CEO & Co-

founder, explained: “It’s a fantastic moment for the industry and further validates our business model and the case for the development of renewable technologies, as a real solution to delivering sustainable energy future. It is through close collaboration with partners such as Anesco that these possibilities can be achieved.”

Anesco’s energy storage portfolio stands at 87MW of operating assets and is on track to exceed 380MW by 2020. The company has developed 102 solar farms to date, while its operations and maintenance service is currently monitoring more than 21,500 sites. www.anesco.co.uk www.limejump.co.uk

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NEWS

ENERGI MINE ANALYSIS OF UK BUSINESSES ENERGY CONSUMPTION

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nergi Mine has announced results of its analysis of UK business energy consumption figures1. From a top down perspective, the overall energy consumption by UK businesses is falling, with small (50> employees) and ‘micro’ (10> employee) companies reducing their overall energy consumption by almost 10GWh since 2006. Medium and large businesses have also made modest reductions since 2013, but very large companies of over 1000 employees have plateaued since 2014, in tandem with the UK’s slowdown of overall energy consumption reduction2.

With 97% of businesses in the UK classed as small or micro, the news that they achieved a 14% proportional decrease in electricity consumption and a 15% reduction in gas consumption seems like it should be cause for celebration. Unfortunately although they account for such a huge proportion of UK businesses, these smaller organisations only account for 27% of overall business energy consumption. A mere 0.1% of businesses in the UK (those that employ 250 people or more) consume 45 per cent of the total energy in the industrial and service sectors.

These businesses managed to reduce their 1.

Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy - Business Energy Statistical Summary Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy - Energy consumption in the UK

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electricity consumption by 12% and reduce their gas consumption by only 11% since 2006. This indicates that large enterprises are lagging behind their more nimble counterparts when it comes to saving energy.

Businesses face a wide range of costs for the energy they use to deliver goods and services. These costs can vary significantly between different industries and businesses, for example the energy consumption of businesses in the manufacturing sector is much higher than the service industry, and many larger businesses are dependent on high energy consumption to function.

Regardless of which sector a business belongs to however, opportunities to address inefficiencies and ultimately save energy and reduce costs are rife.

The four main energy saving drivers identified by the government’s reports are: policy and changes to business energy demands for economic reasons; building energy efficiency through improved insulation, ventilation and lighting; improving industrial process energy efficiency with technology such as heat recovery; and finally heat decarbonisation. Of all of these, policy changes to business energy demands are predicted to be the biggest saver, accounting for an estimated 45,000 GWh of potential energy savings. This is where Energi Mine’s unique rewards system can assist. The act of moderating temperature in an office,

lighting a shop or cooking food at a restaurant is directly controllable by companies and individuals, and presents a clear opportunity to save energy, which often goes unrealised.

Energi Mine’s reward platform can be applied to existing businesses in order to reduce their energy consumption by incentivising employees to care about it directly. They do this by providing a financial incentive for businesses and consumers to save energy with a blockchain based rewards system. Energi Mine provides its utility token, EnergiToken (ETK) to consumers and businesses in exchange for them engaging in energy saving behaviours such as using public transportation, purchasing energy efficient appliances to reducing energy consumption.

ETK can then be used as a means of payment through the EnergiToken Rewards app, part paying energy bills, charging electric cars or even be exchanged for fiat currency. As ETK has financial value it creates a ‘profit’ motivation for consumers to conserve energy, resulting in people who are naturally motivated to save energy due to an associated financial reward. The underlying blockchain technology and use of smart contracts ensures complete transparency and trustworthiness for all Energi Mine users.

For more information about Energi Mine and its energy-saving ETK reward scheme, or to become a partner, please visit www.energitoken.com,

SIM4BLOCKS: Adding flexibility to our energy markets

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he EU has set ambitious targets to significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases by 2020. One way to do this is by integrating renewable energy sources into electricity supplies.

Sim4Blocks is an EU-funded project looking to do just that by developing strategies for flexible energy use.

The Sim4Blocks project has been looking for ways to improve demand response. Demand response makes the management and use of electricity more flexible. Consumers choose to use appliances when energy from renewable sources is high and switch off when it is not. By encouraging demand response at the blocks of building scale, suppliers profit, too.

The Sustainable Places 2018 conference was co-hosted by the French National Solar Energy Institute of France and the University of Savoie Mont Blanc. Sim4Blocks were at the conference to speak in the workshop titled ‘Upgrading demand response capability in buildings and districts’. Ursula Eicker from HFT Stuttgart, representing Sim4Blocks, spoke about the new role for

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a cluster manager which is needed for blocks of buildings, especially when dealing with complex demand response products such as heat pumps with storage.

Eicker stressed that while such cluster management exists for simple technical systems such as electric heaters or batteries, and aggregators already have such clusters in their portfolio, development is needed for an intelligent cluster management system for more complex building technology.

While other projects deal with higher power systems in commercial applications, Sim4Blocks is one of the very few projects that explicitly addresses small power consumers in residential buildings.

“The smarter E Europe” event is an innovation hub for empowering new energy solutions. Sim4Blocks partner Enisyst had a booth at the EM-Power exhibition for intelligent energy use in industry and buildings, and gave a presentation titled ‘Efficient control of energy systems in distributed communal properties – an intelligent operation management

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

system helps to keep the overview’.

The presentation was focused on two areas: the integration of the power-to-heat system in the pilot site’s town hall, and the use of buildings’ thermal mass (through intelligent control) to increase the flexibility of the power-to-heat system operation for demand response applications.

With 30kWh of electrical storage, the school in the pilot site has an area electricity network installed with one connection to the grid. This one connection is to help increase the consumption of its own onsite generated electricity from a large photovoltaic (PV) system and to reduce peak power feed to the electricity grid. The battery will also be used for other demand response services including for other flexibility markets.

During the event, Enisyst displayed the Sim4Blocks project in their exhibition booth. Visitors were particularly interested in the use of local flexibility at building and district level in order to increase the consumption of electricity generated onsite. www.sim4blocks.eu

NEWS

‘LET’S #MOVETHEDATE OF EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY’ Schneider Electric partnered with Global Footprint Network to demonstrate how existing technologies can help to move the date of Earth Overshoot Day. Retrofitting existing buildings, industries and data centres and upgrading electricity production with renewables alone would move the date by 21 days.

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arth Overshoot Day marks the date in the year by when humanity will have consumed more from the planet, including food, fibres, timber, and absorption capacity for carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning than the planet’s ecosystems can renew in the entire year.

Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, believes that adoption of energy efficient and renewable technologies such as its IoT1 -enabled EcoStruxure platform, could move the date back by 21 days through retrofitting of existing building, industry and datacentre infrastructure and upgrading electricity production alone.

To demonstrate how this can be done and to promote new approaches to sustainable business thinking, the company has partnered with Global Footprint Network, the international research organization that is changing how the world manages its natural resources and responds to climate change. Global Footprint Network’s Ecological Footprint accounts enable to calculate Earth Overshoot Day.

CO2 savings through energy efficiency and renewable electricity

Schneider Electric believes this situation is reversible. The company has calculated that if 100% of existing building, industry and datacentre infrastructure was equipped with active energy efficiency technologies that are readily available and the electric grid was upgraded with renewable capacities, the world could move the date back by at least 21 days.

“Operating on a planet with finite resources requires creativity and innovation, said Xavier Houot, Schneider Electric’s SVP Global Environment. We team-up with our customers and partners to unlock the potential to retrofit existing infrastructure, adopting circular business models, and we measure how much this helps save resources and CO2. We work to see our growth path through the lens of the growing need of living within the means of our one planet.”

Schneider’s EcoStruxure is an enabler to move the date

This challenge is central to Schneider Electric’s strategy, which is focused on EcoStruxure, the company’s ecoDesigned, IoTenabled, plug and play, open, and interoperable architecture and platform, aimed at all power-consuming sectors, including Homes, Buildings, Data Centres, Infrastructure and Industries.

EcoStruxure Building is just one example of the platform in action. The technology can deliver up to 50% energy efficiency while reducing energy costs by 30%. EcoStruxure works on three key levels: • Connected Products: In buildings, connected sensors and meters improve the efficiency of networked lighting, heating and air conditioning, enable to increase security and to optimise the use of space in the building; • Edge Control: The layer gives users the capability to manage the data from IoT connected products on-site, with day-to-day optimization of energy consumption through remote access and advanced automation;

•

Apps, Analytics & Services: Visualized reporting on energy consumption through interactive dashboards, detection and diagnosis of faults, performance analysis, and asset monitoring enable to detect additional energy efficiency opportunities and to transition from curative to predictive maintenance.

“Schneider Electric’s business case is aligned with moving humanity out of ecological overshoot, said Global Footprint Network CEO Mathis Wackernagel. Leading companies like Schneider Electric are rising to the challenge of managing natural resources differently, measuring them more accurately, and developing products and processes that use them not only more efficiently, but also reduce their overall use.”

Schneider Electric partners with Global Footprint Network to #MoveTheDate

To drive awareness of Earth Overshoot Day, Schneider Electric has partnered with Global Footprint Network to support its ambition to #MoveTheDate from August 1st to December 31st and beyond. www.schneider-electric.com

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

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NEWS

4 HIDDEN WAYS OF IMPROVING THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF YOUR PROCESS COOLING SYSTEM Industrial cooling and refrigeration equipment accounts for up to 50% of a plant’s total electricity cost. However, while targeting the mechanical elements of a chiller – such as compressors, pumps, and fans – is a wellknown way of cutting a process cooling system’s energy consumption, there are a few lesserknown tactics that can be employed to maximise marginal efficiency gains for industrial end-users.

Richard Metcalfe, Sales Director at ICS Cool Energy, explains more: 1.

2.

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Free cooling Free cooling uses cool ambient air temperatures to reduce the energy consumed by a cooling circuit as well as the electrical power load of a system.

“The UK’s mild climate presents a significant opportunity for energy savings in process cooling applications via this method” says Richard. “Capital expenditure may put some industrial end-users off investing in free cooling systems, but the great news is that most systems offer a pay-back period of just 18-24 months.”

Refrigerant type. When it comes to refrigerants, endusers have the opportunity to reduce operating costs and

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improve system efficiency while complying to current legislation, by opting for low GWP (Global Warming Potential) refrigerants.

Richard explains: “The best example of this is that newer chillers, more often than not, incorporate screw compressors, meaning they can operate using the likes of R513A which is both non-flammable and efficient, and benefits from a much lower GWP than its predecessor, R134A.” Heat recovery “The benefits of re-using excess heat from hot discharge refrigerant are undeniable, and include tangible efficiency savings, more comfortable working conditions and reduced environmental impact to name but a few,” says Richard.

“To access these benefits, end-users must purchase equipment which facilitates heat recovery or retrofit an existing chiller of 250kW upwards with a heat recovery unit. With the latter scenario though, endusers should consider the age and condition of the plant, as well as its thermal output

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

and load profile, to ensure a healthy return on investment.”

4. Power factor correction Power factor correction, which measures how effectively electrical power is converted into useful output, is often overlooked by industrial endusers, despite its impact on energy efficiency.

Richard explains: “With a chiller, compressor efficiencies average a power factor of around 0.86 but many operate with a power factor as low as 0.81-0.82.

Industrial end-users should target any areas with lower power factors and correct them to as close as 0.95 as practical to reduce on-going running current and, therefore, utility bills.”

Thinking outside of the box and adopting some lesser-known techniques when it comes to improving the efficiency of temperature control equipment will quickly help industrial endusers to take back control of their site’s energy consumption and improve profitability. www.icscoolenergy.com

OPINION

GDPR IS HERE. SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? After more than a year of build-up, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is now in force.

But the real journey for the housing sector is only just beginning as Daniela Flores, in-house counsel and GDPR Office at heat network metering, billing and payment specialist, Insite Energy, explains.

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he deadline of 25 May certainly created a sense of urgency, but the scope of GDPR extends far beyond this first milestone.

Forward-thinking housing associations and local authorities are well aware of this and, rather than seeing it as an administrative nightmare or tick-box exercise, are focused on the bigger picture; where data protection flows through operations at every level and is an important part of corporate values. In this context, it is not just a legal necessity, but crucial to protecting and maintaining a business – so needs to be taken seriously.

At Insite Energy, we manage metering, billing and payment services for heat networks, which involves processing an enormous volume and detail of data on behalf of our clients. With over 180 communal heating schemes and 20,000 units, putting an effective GDPR strategy in place has therefore been a priority.

We believe that now is the ideal time to reflect on what has been achieved so far, identify where to make improvements and define the shape of things to come.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT In the rush to take action many organisations showed themselves to be confused about a number of different aspects of GDPR. A basic principle of GDPR is consent.

From the volume of emails sent out the day before GDPR came into effect, I suspect many believed this to be the only legal basis for processing personal data. But this is not the case.

For our clients in the housing sector, it is sufficient to provide tenants with an agreement with suitable data protection clauses, as well as a privacy notice setting out how data is used and the legal basis for processing it. As a contractual relationship, additional “consent” is not needed.

What they also need to be clear

on, however, is that they responsible for all contractor compliance; everyone in the contractual chain must be compliant before any personal data is transferred to a third party.

The role of Data Protection Officer (DPO) also needs to be fully understood.

Many organisations appointed one “just in case”; without knowing if they had a legal obligation to do so. While it may have seemed prudent to take such action, there is actually a lot more to it than simply giving someone a title.

The company must, for example, ensure the DPO has expertise in data protection law and practices, as well as a complete understanding of the IT infrastructure, technology and organisational structure. It can, in theory, appoint an existing employee - but only if their other responsibilities do not interfere with their ability to perform the role of DPO. An internal appointment such as this could also raise issues with confidentiality and conflict of interest, so it would be essential for the business to put relevant policies in place.

Last but not least, it’s important to know that neither the controller nor processor can instruct the DPO on how to do their job – in fact, the role must report to the highest level of management. In addition, the DPO cannot be dismissed or penalised for performing their duties.

They must have adequate resources to carry out assigned tasks, and so the list goes on. With so much to consider, if a company is under no legal obligation to appoint a DPO, they should think very carefully before doing so.

STRATEGIC APPROACH The fear of hefty fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for non-compliance was behind much of the reactive response to GDPR. Of course, this threat is still very much present, making it more important than ever that organisations

adopt an effective long-term strategy to reduce the risk of any infringements. There are a number of steps to think about, such as: • Cyber security: Ensure software is updated and patched regularly to avoid weak spots for hackers to exploit. The Achieving Cyber Essentials certification will also demonstrate IT security to government standards.

• Risk assessments: Carry out vulnerability reviews to address any changes or new threats to data protection. Consider all aspects such as data storage and remote access for employees. Personal data should at least be encrypted - and this includes work laptops.

• Staff training: Enrol all staff on a GDPR course to ensure everyone is aware of key compliance obligations and handles data appropriately. Awareness of sensitive data and security should be part of a company’s culture.

• Breach detection, investigation and reporting procedures: The ICO has very useful guidelines on this, but we all have to realise that human error is always a risk.

• Formal accreditation: Although there is as yet no certification specifically dedicated to GDPR, organisations looking for the next level of accreditation should consider ISO27001.

CLEAR VISION Clarifying these issues and putting correct processes in place is only part of the GDPR story. To think otherwise would be a mistake.

It is now a real-time legal framework that will develop as new practices and technologies emerge. Organisations will need to constantly re-evaluate practices against these changing circumstances to ensure ongoing compliance.

The ones who will thrive in this new age of data protection are those that see it as an opportunity, rather than a constraint.

We know that consumers are more inclined to share data with organisations they trust – and isn’t transparency what GDPR is all about? www.insite-energy.co.uk

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

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OPINION

ENERGY MANAGER OR SOOTHSAYER? Andy Clarke, BSC CEng MIGEM MEI AIEMA CMVP, Chartered Energy Engineer, Committee Member UKAEE and NE Branch Energy Institute

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he modern energy manager has to have a wide range of highly developed skills; they need to be numerate both to handle the financial elements and the vast amount of consumption data they can now have available from advanced metering, they need to be a salesman to persuade others to take steps to improve performance, they often need to be a people manager, they need presentation skills, they need to be literate – the list goes on and on.

Well we can add another difficult skill; they need to be able to foretell the future!

Now some elements of that requirement can be handled relatively easily, future consumption can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by using skills (like those developed in the CMVP course/qualification ) and past consumption or plant specifications and anticipated weather or production rates to extrapolate into the future but others are less easy.

We are often asked to predict energy cost sometimes just for a financial year (or the remainder of one1) but sometimes we need to predict further ahead. One example of this is Whole Life Costing (see box) where we are expected to determine charges for the entire lifetime of the equipment. To predict that we need to understand a lot of things that are definitely not under our control like inflation, legislation, world markets and labour rates. The problem is that many “experts” are paid a great deal to make those predictions by big business and governments and they have a reputation for always getting it wrong!

The simple rule of thumb was always to assume that energy unit costs, standing charges etc. would increase significantly across time and that capital costs would decrease in real terms because of improving technology. Taxation could also be expected to become more expensive and complicated.

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The trouble is that experience tells us that doesn’t work all the time – from the early 1990’s through the turn of the century the UK experienced a massive apparent decrease in gas and electricity prices. (we’ll ignore questions of deferred investment) but new taxes like CCL, ROC’s (and administrative challenges like CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and ESOS) have managed to increase the complexity and confusion. (to add to that it would appear that a “Volte-face” may take place doing away with CRC and lumping the revenue for HMG onto Climate Change Levy as a pure tax).

And some more fundamental changes occur which we couldn’t expect. Intelligent energy managers have for many years advised the use of Mains (Natural) Gas as the “least worst option” because of its competitive (low) pricing, effective utilisation and the lowest carbon footprint of any fossil fuel. The last included mains electricity because the majority of generation was by the combustion of fossil fuels (including Natural Gas) and it was thereby one of the fuels with the largest carbon emissions per kWh. So many of us specified – and even wrote into policy documents- that electricity was not to used for space heating and thereby reduced Carbon Emissions significantly. The trouble is very soon we will be wrong! Because of the unprecedented (and surprising) growth of renewable generation the UK generation mix has now often got a rate for Carbon Dioxide production per kWh BELOW that of Natural Gas – and it will get even better as Coal and other Fossil Fuels are phased out to decarbonise the network. There are issues about peak load requiring high Carbon Generation plant being employed but that will be for a limited period each year.

Now we were right to act as we did and will have saved a massive amount of

Carbon from entering the atmosphere and adding to Climate Change but much of that plant will continue to emit more Carbon than an alternative for years to come. The question is “could we have foreseen the change”?

A few years ago some of us became excited by the first generation of wind turbines – small (2kW at most) they were designed to be fitted to new and existing buildings and provide a supplement to their electricity supply. Comparatively cheap – what could go wrong? Well they didn’t work effectively because no one understood the turbulence around buildings2.

At the moment one of the exciting technologies is electricity storage but we’ve already heard stories of poor installations without an economic outcome (and many more which seem to work well) – so should we be installing this technology – or another one?

So, do Energy Managers need a crystal ball or maybe a coin to toss?

Either might have a better outcome than expert opinion (especially if you could hire Nostradamus’s press agent) but responsibly we can only listen to the opinions of “experts” where we can find them and extrapolate what “facts” we can identify using the best estimation of apparent trends. But then of course the UK voted for Brexit and Donald Trump was elected US President – events which were not predicted by the experts! Both those events also add to the difficulty of predicting the future…

Good Luck and expect to be proved wrong sometimes…

Email: andycenergy@gmail.com Andy Clarke is speaking for the Energy Institute at Teesside University on “What if Carbon Dioxide isn’t causing Climate Change?” on the 18th October.

Any other Energy Managers ever wonder why the financial year ends in April when March is the most unpredictable month for weather?

Warwick University study www.warwickwindtrials.org.uk

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

LIGHTING

LED LIGHTING FOR STAPLETONS TYRES GIVES MAJOR ENERGY AND CO2 SAVINGS

Ecolighting UK Ltd has recently won an £850,000 contract with Stapletons Tyres to install LED lighting into all its 11 warehouses around the country saving the company in excess of 50% energy and CO2 costs as well as significantly improving light levels.

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tapletons Tyres, part of the Japanese Itochu Corporation, is the UK’s largest national wholesaler and distributor of car tyres, each year supplying 5 million tyres 24/7 with twice daily deliveries. The Kwik Fit tyres retailer is also part of the Group.

The full lighting project started following a successful trial with LED lighting at Stapletons Tyres’ Letchworth distribution centre – indeed Ecolighting had lit it previously with the then energy efficient T5 fluorescent tubes back in 2013.

This scheme was soon followed with the installation of LED lighting to Stapletons Tyres’ newly acquired Peterborough 200,000 sq.ft. warehouse which Ecolighting completed well ahead of schedule. With a start date of October the scheme needed to be finished by early February but it was actually completed at the end of November.

Stapletons Tyres are delighted with the results of the project as Group Director Ian Kirkpatrick comments, “We chose to work with Ecolighting based on our past experience with them not only providing value for money but also their high customer service levels.

The team at Ecolighting are incredibly responsive and very flexible if there is a potential issue that could cause delays. They really do focus on customer service and operational needs and are always very professional and efficient.”

For Stapletons Tyres, there were big benefits in switching to energy efficient LED lighting within the context of ESOS (the government energy saving opportunities survey) as the lighting provided huge reductions in energy and carbon footprint – here some 1,174 tonnes of CO2 was saved on

the company’s carbon footprint. Ian Kirkpatrick adds, “All but two of our eleven distribution centres have now been completed and in the last three or four months since the first distribution centres were completed in Guildford, Maidstone and Portbury, we have achieved a 50% reduction in energy which is excellent.”

The projected financial savings put forward by Ecolighting illustrate a very short return on investment, with payback averaging just 1.75 years across all the distribution centres. In addition by investing in the LED lighting schemes, Stapletons Tyres attracts an enhanced capital allowance (ECA) of 19% of the investment able to be reclaimed in the first year.

Depending on the actual distribution centre building, Ecolighting has installed LED lighting in the warehouse aisles, at mezzanine level, in the despatch areas, under the external canopies, in the car parks and in many distribution centres there was office lighting installed too.

Unlike many other lighting companies, Ecolighting has its own team of lighting and electrical installation engineers as well as carrying out the lighting scheme design with Relux software in the early stages of client lighting projects. The company also manufactures its luminaires in the UK and uses UK-sourced Osram control gear and LED chips. All of this means that the company has much better control than many and can present better value for money to clients.

The company is also a Carbon Trust Accredited Supplier, assessed to BSEN ISO 9001:2015 and are members of the Lighting Industry Association.

For the Stapletons Tyres lighting installations, Ecolighting drew on its

extensive portfolio of LED lighting products, particularly its Pegasus LED Highbay luminaire and Altos emergency LED Highbay fittings used in lighting the main warehouse aisles. They also used their Sapphire LED linear fittings for the mezzanine areas, plus LED floodlights for yards and car parks and its 600 x 600 LED modular fittings where offices were lit. All of the Pegasus LED Highbay luminaires feature DALI drivers and Pir occupancy sensors to dim the lights down or turn them off when no-one is present, both making a large contribution to the energy savings achieved whilst ensuring health and safety remains a priority.

As one of the UK leaders in LED lighting solutions to commerce and industry, Ecolighting has worked with many other big name companies such as Kuehne Nagel, Man Truck & Bus, Carlsberg, Debenhams, Culina and Cadburys.

Further information on energy saving LED lighting schemes is available from Ecolighting on 01455 552511, by emailing enquiries@ecolightinguk.com or by visiting the company’s website at www.ecolightinguk.com.

Ecolighting is supported by Vantage PR.

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

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LIGHTING

LIGHTING EFFICIENCY IS KEY AT ABILITY INTERNATIONAL A recent lighting upgrade using LEDVANCE Damp Proof LED fitting increases illuminance in the manufacturing facility by 20% and delivers 68% energy cost savings.

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eterborough-based Ability International has selected LEDVANCE Damp Proof LED luminaires to retrofit its entire warehouse, in a project to improve the working environment and reduce energy and maintenance costs.

The UK company specialises in providing working-at-height solutions, custom-built to client’s specifications and requirements.

With more than 23 years’ experience of manufacturing aluminium scaffold towers and access equipment, Ability International offer many of its solutions custom-built to client’s specifications and requirements.

The company had been based at the site for just over a year when it became apparent that the lighting in the manufacturing facility needed to be updated. The existing lighting installation included 51 six-foot fluorescent linear luminaires with two tubes per fitting. It was using 8.7 kW per hour and costing the business £273 a month. Staff had also voiced their concerns about the lack of light over the work benches and machines.

Retrofitting the entire warehouse area with LED fittings enabled the company to improve the working environment whilst reducing energy and maintenance costs.

Project contractor Lighting Electricians Limited chose LEDVANCE Damp Proof LED luminaires 55W to complete the installation. These luminaires provide uniform light with a wide beam angle of 105° and a high luminous efficacy of up to 115lm/W. IP65 protection makes it ideal for industrial and storage facilities.

The LEDVANCE 55W Damp Proof LED luminaire range is designed to offer easy installation, with stainless steel clamps and safety screws provided alongside mounting accessories (suspension kit, theft protection kit). Reliable luminaire quality with a lifetime of up to 50000 hours, is backed by a five-year guarantee.

Ease of installation and assembly was particularly useful to the team at Lighting Electricians. As part of their commitment to reduce the impact on their client’s operations during a project, the company pre-assembles and completes as much of the installation as possible in their workshop facility off-site. The LEDVANCE

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products ensured that their time onsite was as efficient as possible. After completing the installation, the contractor recorded that illuminance has improved by 20%. The new luminaires reduced energy demand of the installation by 5kw per hour, saving the client 68% on their energy costs.

Ease of installation was a decisive factor according to contractors Lighting Electricians: “The LEDVANCE luminaires offered an excellent luminous efficacy, at a very reasonable price and with a good guarantee. They look and feel like quality fittings. For us, the deciding factor will always be ease of install. The LEDVANCE

fitting connected simply using push-fit connectors with all additional parts included.

It was an easy choice after that.”

Delighted client Ability International said: “The end result was a great surprise to us all.

The brightness and clarity of light is stunning, with a high visual comfort. It is a lovely clear white light with a great spread, leaving no dark areas a very important feature in an engineering environment. As for the power consumption, the measured energy reduction looks very promising. The figures from the monitor indicate that we should reduce our lighting bill significantly!”

Further information can be found at www.ledvance.co.uk

LEDVANCE: DELIVERING EFFICIENT LIGHT

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inding the right partner in the lighting industry to help you identify energy efficient lighting solutions for each area in the building you are wiring, managing or creating is essential.

LEDVANCE, a global lighting business with over 110 years’ experience in the lighting industry, is that partner. We offer Irish electrical contractors, facilities managers and architects innovative and energy efficient lighting products backed by exceptional service and expertise.

The LEDVANCE product range includes traditional lighting, modern LED lamps and standardised over-thecounter luminaires. Additionally, we offer connected smart lighting solutions

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

to deliver even higher cost savings.

LEDVANCE – A TEAM OF EXPERTS At LEDVANCE we look at things from a whole new perspective and as a team of experts assembled from diverse disciplines, we’re contributing fresh ideas and smart solutions to a modern, interconnected world. But light isn’t just our core business – it’s our vision. Operating in over 120 countries, our global team of around 9,000 employees has a great deal of flexibility and freedom to deliver outstanding products and services to our customers.

Further information can be found at www.ledvance.com

LIGHTING

LEDVANCE OFFERS OPTIONS TO ADDRESS THE HALOGEN BAN With the sixth stage of the ErP Regulation (EC) 244/2009 coming into force on 1st September 2018, prohibiting certain inefficient nondirectional Halogen lamps on the market, LEDVANCE conducted a consumer study that has revealed a lack of knowledge about the ban in Europe.

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n international consumer survey commissioned by LEDVANCE has highlighted a significant lack of knowledge about the imminent “ban” on halogen lamps. Sixty four per cent of UK consumers are unaware that, among others, the popular halogen light bulb can no longer be put into circulation anywhere in the EU from September 2018.

And that figure is a further 10 percent higher if the consumers who have heard about the “ban” but are unclear about the consequences are included. A truly remarkable finding is that many of the people, who have not heard of the “ban”, consider themselves to be knowledgeable about lighting.

Since the autumn of 2009 energyinefficient lamps have gradually disappeared from the market in accordance with a European directive. For retailers and producers there are more changes from 1 September this year when the next stage of the “halogen lamp ban” comes into force.

After that date the relevant products may no longer be put into circulation in the UK or anywhere else in the EU. The “ban” mainly covers the popular classic halogen light bulbs that are typically made of glass, emit light all round, have an E27 or E14 screw base and are operated without a transformer. Some non-directional halogen lamps with G4 and GY6.35 plug-in bases are also affected. There will be a certain delay before consumers feel the effects of the “ban”,

however, because retailers are allowed to sell their residual stocks. Consumers therefore have sufficient time to upgrade their lighting to modern LED lamps.

AWARENESS OF THE HALOGEN BAN IS LINKED WITH AGE, EDUCATION AND INCOME The results of the international consumer study commissioned by LEDVANCE clearly show that there is a considerable need for more information about the “ban” and its effects. In the UK alone nearly two thirds (64 percent) of respondents had never heard of the imminent “halogen lamp ban”. If we add in the number of people who had heard about it but knew nothing about its consequences, that figure increases by 10 percentage points to 74 percent.

Also noticeable is the fact that nearly four fifths (79 percent) of those who were unaware of the “ban” are in the 50 to 60 age group. Even more surprising is that just over half of the respondents (54 percent) who had not heard about the next stage of the ban considered their knowledge of lighting systems to be good or at least adequate. By contrast, awareness in the 18 to 39 age group and among those with high incomes and high levels of education is particularly high.

AWARENESS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES In contrast to the UK, at the top of the table is Italy with 58 percent of Italian respondents being aware of the imminent “ban”. Germany ranked mid-table with 49 percent in terms of awareness of the halogen directive, and the British came in last with only 35 percent, just behind Sweden with 39 percent.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING LED LAMPS From the autumn of 2018 consumers need to rethink. There are already a large number of energy-efficient and cost-effective LED alternatives to halogen lamps on the market, such as those from LEDVANCE, which look remarkably like their halogen predecessors. LED retrofit lamps equipped with the latest filament technology are a good example as they can be used as direct replacements for old halogen light bulbs. The replacement products are available as all-glass versions, dimmable versions, and either clear or frosted. To ensure that during the transition phase consumers can familiarize themselves with the new products they should check the following information provided on the packaging by the manufacturers: • The LED designation • The wattage information which includes both the “old” wattage of the incandescent lamp and the “new” wattage of the LED lamp, providing an indirect indication of potential energy savings • The shape: either classic glass bulb or spotlight • The base: E27 or E14 screw base or plug-in base (e.g. G4 or G6.35) • The light distribution: either allround (for the classic bulb shape) or directional (for spotlights) • The lifetime, given in hours and years, which is considerably longer than that of the halogen “predecessors” • The light colour, ranging from warm white to cold white Please contact LEDVANCE for more information on the halogen ban and suitable alternative luminaires: www.ledvance.co.uk

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

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LIGHTING

PATTONAIR TRANSFORMS WAREHOUSE WITH HIGH OUTPUT LED LIGHTING FROM GOODLIGHT Market leading LED lighting brand, Goodlight, today announced that Pattonair, a global aerospace and defence supply chain provider has reduced lighting energy costs by 40% by replacing the fluorescent tubes at its 3,400m² European hub in Derby with long life, energy efficient G5 LED Battens from the Goodlight range.

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he installation in April has directly resulted in a 40% reduction in kilowatt hours and Pattonair anticipates this figure to rise throughout the winter months but is spot on target with their original forecast. The G5 LED Battens have been surface mounted throughout Pattonair’s low-level warehouse and suspended in the inspection and kitting areas.

Pattonair carried out a company-wide environmental review to assess the most effective way to reduce energy costs and ensure its carbon footprint was as low as possible and LED lighting came out top.

Following a site survey, Goodlight LED lighting was chosen to supply and install low energy, high performance LED lamps to replace the outdated, energy hungry fluorescent tubes.

Chris Snowden, HSE Manager for Pattonair said “Installation of the new lighting solution for our facility was efficient and did not interrupt operations. Service from LED Eco Lights was professional at all times.”

Goodlight supplied Pattonair with G5 LED Battens which deliver very high levels of

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light output, offering up to 110 lumens per watt. The G5s are rated to IP65 and provide further protection from dust, ice, heat and corrosion ingress. They are a direct drop-in replacement for standard 2ft, 4ft and 5ft fluorescent tubes and are available in daylight, natural and warm white colour temperatures. Housed in a sleek body, and IP65-protected, the G5 maintains an attractive appearance for front-of-house as well as being robust and durable in work areas. The lamps

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

come with a 5 year warranty and have a lifespan of 50,000 hours.

Commenting on the success of the project, Saima Shafi, Sales & Marketing Director at LED Eco Lights says “We are delighted to support Pattonair with their conversion to LED lighting. Our Goodlight range ticked all the boxes – efficiency, maintenance reduction, ultra-long lifespans and value for money. Another project delivered without fuss, to budget and on time.” www.goodlight.co.uk

LIGHTING

HILCLARE OFFERS EXTENDED LIGHTING SOLUTIONS FOR HAZARDOUS AREAS

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ollowing the growth in demand for specialist lighting in areas where there is a high risk of contamination and combustion, Hilclare - the Manchester-based commercial lighting supplier and official UK distributor for the world-renowned Sammode lighting - has widened its range of Sammode branded impervious luminaires and light fittings.

Sammode products are well-known for their durability, reliability and high performance. Nowhere is this more important than in hazardous and volatile areas where the high resilience, quality, and safety of luminaires is necessary. Hilclare’s product line-up now includes a comprehensive range of Sammode specialist luminaires and LED fixtures - something still relatively niche in this sector - that are capable of solving maintenance issues for end users and installers working within hazardous areas.

Sammode luminaires meet all compliance criteria in terms of

robustness, resistance and performance in all environments, including the most extreme. With IP ratings from IP65 to IP68, and compliant with both national and international standards, this extensive range includes a variety of heavy duty tubular corrosion resistant lights.

Specialist lighting is also available for explosive environments with their Atex certifications, tunnels, water treatment and food factories. In areas where hygiene is critical, Sammode lighting is exceptionally resistant to detergents.

Chris Pearson, Managing Director at Hilclare commented: “Over the years, we have become renowned for our expertise in hazardous lighting, and our extended line-up of Sammode products now means that we are able to satisfy even more environments that

Pictured here; the Boyle 133 luminaire by Sammode - an impervious light fitting that is ideal for difficult explosive environments.

require added protection.

“We have enjoyed a long standing relationship with Sammode and are proud to be their official UK distributor for the 5th consecutive year. Sammode is recognised around the world for its knowledge, experience and expertise in light fixture design for challenging industrial environments, and they make the ideal brand partner for Hilclare,” adds Chris.

As well as hazardous lighting, Hilclare also offers a wide range of industrial and commercial lighting solutions across both business and public sectors. From initial designs created by an in-house design team, to product innovation, the company offers customers a fully integrated luminaire and lighting service.

For further information contact Carolyn Holland, Marketing Manager 0161 274 3626 or visit www.hilclare.com

ANNUAL ENERGY SAVINGS OF £190,000

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ith Brooke Weston and Ormiston Trusts spending over £2.7 million a year on energy and needing to spend over £1 million on lighting replacement over the next 5 years, both Trusts urgently needed to put in place energy efficiency programmes which would achieve a number of priorities: reduce the trusts’ energy bills; address the challenge of lighting conditions; reduce the environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions from the trusts’ estates and deliver a procurement model and benchmark data which would allow the project to be replicated by other Multi-Academy Trusts.

Energy saving upgrades in public sector buildings are frequently only achievable with the assistance of Government funding. The key funding available for educational establishments is the Salix scheme.

In May 2017, the Education and Skills Funding Agency launched a MAT Loans Pilot project, to analyse

whether interlinking MATs could enable collaborative working to achieve longterm benefits for their estates. The project saw EO Consulting bring together the two trusts on a project to investigate the long-term strategic difference this approach had on their estates.

Energys Group was successful with its tender bid, awarded in June 2017 through the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) framework, to manufacture, supply and install over 15,000 LED light fittings to 12 Academies in the Group, awarded on a mix of price, technical specification, quality and ability to deliver on a very tight timescale.

Following the award of the tender each site had a full lighting survey carried out, and proposals were submitted over a two week period to the end of June 2017.

A full programme of works upgrading the LED Lighting was commenced in July and completed by November 2017. Where possible, the work was carried out in the summer

break or during out of hours in termtime, resulting in no disruption to the operation of the Academies.

A range of Energys Group’s New Vision LED Panels, linear LED, downlights, wall-lights, floodlights, high bays and street lights was installed. Over 15,000 light fittings were upgraded to LED across the project. The majority of fittings incorporated individual occupancy and daylight harvesting sensors to maximize the potential energy savings. A 10 year warranty was provided on all fittings.

Massive energy savings across the 12 Academies are being delivered, amounting to 1.7 million kWh per annum, and equating to £190,000 per annum savings, based on a rate of a minimum of 10.5p per kWh. www.energysgroup.com

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

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MONITORING & METERING

SO MANY BUSINESSES UNKNOWINGLY THROW MONEY AWAY ON REACTIVE POWER!

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ased on recent feedback from a specialist power quality improvement service business, the issue of high reactive power and poor power factor is becoming increasingly common in the UK today, an issue which apparently used to be considered much more widely by electrical engineers and facility managers.

While many business owners and finance directors appear to put great effort into saving a few percent on their energy bills through negotiating better energy prices, many remain oblivious to the fact that as much half of the electricity being consumed by their business could be literally going to waste.

Julian Grant from ChauvinArnoux UK, explains what reactive power is, and discusses how it is causing many businesses to be seriously falling short of what is required to be electrically efficient. An issue, that could be alleviated with some simple monitoring and correction equipment, significantly cutting energy bills.

Apart from high energy bills, high reactive power also impacts on the reliability of the network itself, it impacts on the capacity to add new loads when a business expands, and can cause a variety of electrical issues that may result in the early failure of capital equipment.

This equipment often gets replaced at great expense without the root cause ever being observed or identified.

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Saving money by using a cheaper supplier and employing an energy comparison consultant to get the best deal is an obvious thing to do, and easy to justify. However, high reactive power levels indicated by poor power factor, is now such an issue that the businesses installing power factor correction, and saving their customers thousands of pounds on their electricity bills by doing so, are literally inundated with work.

WHAT IS REACTIVE POWER AND POWER FACTOR? Some electrical equipment used in industrial and commercial buildings requires an amount of Reactive Power in addition to Real or Active Power in order to work effectively. These tend to be items with copper windings in them, especially transformers, motors, induction heaters, arc welders and compressors, etc., even fluorescent lighting.

Reactive Power (kVAr) is the vector difference between Real or Active Power (kW) and the total power consumed, which is called Apparent Power and measured in kVA. Power factor is a ratio of the Real Power that is used to do work and the Apparent Power that is supplied to the circuit.

In an electric power system, a load with a low power factor draws more current than a load with a high power factor for the same amount of useful power transferred. The higher

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

currents increase the energy lost in the distribution system, and require larger wires and other equipment.

Because of the costs of larger equipment and wasted energy, electrical utilities will usually charge a higher cost to industrial or commercial customers where there is a low power factor.

It’s quite easy to understand if you consider a pint of beer, where the whole glass that you pay for is the apparent power, the bit you want most (the beer) is the active power, and the bit you want as little of as possible (the head) is the reactive power.

A full pint with no head would represent a power factor of 1, or unity power factor, and in that situation, there would be no reactive power. In reality a power factor greater than 0.95 is generally aimed for, 0.98 if you can get it. A pint with a nice small head on it!

Most installations will have reactive power levels measured, and power factor corrected using a power factor correction (PFC) system, when they are first connected. However, changes to the electrical system and the equipment connected to it, expansion of a business over time, and the gradual degradation and failure of PFC equipment, will almost guarantee that it changes.

According to The Carbon Trust it is not uncommon for industrial installations to be operating with high levels of reactive

MONITORING & METERING

power giving power factors of between 0.7 and 0.8, which is surprising since measuring power factor is not at all difficult. It can be routinely measured using portable test instruments, or alternatively, can be permanently monitored in real-time with constantly displayed values, while also showing a multitude of other useful parameters including voltage, current and energy consumption. In this situation it is also possible to set alarms to remotely warn the facility manager if the power factor strays below a pre-set limit.

Similarly, while specification of a PFC system to reduce reactive power requires knowledge of several factors including the voltage level and typical usage of the reactive loads on-site, the usage profile across the site, and the power quality required by the on-site loads, all of this is easily measured and calculated. PFC systems are a fraction of the cost of the potential savings they can bring.

The simplest form of PFC involves fitting capacitors, and it is worth shopping around and taking expert advice on the system that will suit you.

If a single machine has a poor power factor, capacitors can be connected in parallel with the device, so that they compensate for the poor power factor whenever the machine is switched on.

If the power factor of a site is permanently poor and no single item of equipment is solely responsible, fixed PFC can be connected across the main power supply to the premises.

Where many machines are switching on and off at various times, the power factor may be subject to frequent

change. In this case the amount of PFC needs to be controlled automatically.

In other words, the banks of capacitors need to be selectively switched in and out of the power circuit appropriately.

There are various solutions on the market for performing this capacitor bank switching automatically.

CASE STUDY Following a request in June 2016 to monitor its electrical supply by a metal fabrication business specialising in the design and manufacture of tubular and sheet metal sub-assemblies and screens, an average power factor of 0.73 was measured over a period of 4 days.

To put that into perspective, a power factor of 0.7 requires approximately 43% more current to do the same thing as an installation with unity power factor. A power factor of 0.5 requires approximately 200% (twice as much) current to handle the same load.

After the installation of appropriate

automatic power factor correction equipment in January 2017 the average power factor monitored over a complete week increased to 0.98. The apparent power was reduced by just over 13%.

Current dropped by between 10% and 17% per phase, and reactive power was reduced from 119kVAr to less than 8kVAr. These reductions were made even with a slight increase in demand during the 6 months between the initial measurements and the corrective action.

Based on a real to apparent power difference prior to the power factor correction of 38.7 and a real to apparent power difference after the power factor correction of 2, and assuming an electricity cost of £0.15 per kWh, this would equate to a saving of over £8800 per year in reduced electricity charges.

In light of the ever-growing price of the electricity you are buying, it is probably about time you checked your power factor to see how much of that electricity is being paid for but not used. www.chauvin-arnoux.co.uk

www.energymanagermagazine.co.uk

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MONITORING & METERING

PLANNING A SUCCESSFUL METERING STRATEGY FOR HEAT NETWORKS A successful metering strategy is crucial to delivering high performing district heating schemes, says Ian Allan, Head of Research and Development for Switch2 Energy.

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eat metering is essential to the efficiency, compliance, and transparency of any community or district heating project. Unless you have a firm understanding of how, when and where heat is being consumed, it’s impossible to know whether it is being supplied efficiently and effectively, and to pinpoint any waste that might be occurring.

REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS The Heat Network Billing and Metering Regulations make it mandatory to fit final customer meters in new build projects and most buildings undergoing major refurbishment. It is also compulsory for all heat networks to install point of entry meters, which record the amount of heat delivered into the building. The legislation also

rules that heat customers must be billed using actual meter readings, rather than estimates, at least one a year, and that billing information must be transparent and informative.

HEAT METERING BENEFITS But getting your metering strategy right is not just about compliance and billing, there are big benefits in raising energy efficiency, operational performance, and delivering higher standards of customer service.

Your metering should be of the right type, installed in the right place, and measure the right factors. It should provide reliable and accurate data, which can inform the successful operation of your scheme. A range of stakeholders should be involved in the process - from designers and developers - to end customers.

DATA INSIGHTS A good metering scheme will monitor and record essential data, such as flow rates and temperatures. This can cut heat losses, reduce overheating and reduce pumping costs, which can have a significant impact on cost, carbon performance and comfort levels.

The data insights can pinpoint energy waste, enabling remedial actions to be taken to optimise system operation, and increasing affordability and sustainability. These insights can also highlight problems with the heat network infrastructure, such as faulty equipment, leading to greater operational efficiency.

A well-designed metering system also provides greater transparency for end customers, demonstrating whether they are being charged fairly for the heat they are consuming. When heat meters link in to advanced smart metering solutions, transparency can be taken to a new level. New technologies, such as Switch2’s smart pay-as-you-go meters, which include an in-home display, enable residents to see precisely how much energy they are using and how much it is costing, as well as providing a convenient payment and budgeting system.

Improving transparency and customer service is especially important given current Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) proposals to regulate the heat network sector and promote customer protection.

FOUR STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL HEAT METERING There are four key components to a successful heat metering strategy. These are: 1. Planning your metering strategy. The objective is to present a clear and detailed proposal of the metering that will be installed, and how it will be connected for data collection and management.

Key to this is producing a clear and complete schematic, including a detailed meter point schedule, that can be easily understood by all stakeholders.

2. Sufficient metering and sub metering. Skimping on heat

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ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

MONITORING & METERING HVAC

metering is false economy as this can result in impaired performance and compliance failures. There must be enough heat meters, installed at the meter points, and in the right places, to measure energy supply and consumption by each customer. The further the heat network is broken down into smaller subsystems with their own sub metering, the better the operational control and efficiency of the entire district heating scheme.

3. Reliable equipment. It is essential to use quality heat meters from a supplier with MID approvals, and to follow the supplier’s installation instructions. Heat meters must provide complete reliability to ensure that that energy bills are accurate and to ensure continued monitoring of how well a network is running.

Effective commissioning of equipment is also paramount.

4. Effective data collection.

Reading meters is possibly the biggest challenge. Automatic meter reading (AMR) is the best option and should be fitted with an M-BUS communications module, which will facilitate the process and ensure the serial number to the feed is correct.

Decide how you will use the information and how often you want to collect the meter readings. A daily service is good for billing purposes, but you may also want to retrieve information on an hourly or half hourly basis to monitor system performance, particularly to analyse the system at high and low demand periods.

Heat metering is the intelligent ‘artery’ of district and community heating schemes and must be considered from the outset as part of the project design and planning process.

Switch2 Energy has launched a programme of accredited Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminars – covering all aspects of heat network delivery, metering and compliance. Further information: www.switch2.co.uk

BUSINESS ENERGY SAVINGS Specialist outlines smart meter requirements to reduce costs

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K industrial electricity prices are among the highest in Europe and, in light of this, a number of businesses are taking direct action to reduce their energy consumption.

Power quality specialist, REO UK, has published a SlideShare on LinkedIn, which outlines three tips for businesses looking to reduce their energy savings.

Many businesses have integrated smart meters into their facilities to reduce energy costs. The latest SlideShare from REO UK highlights the value of businesses using smart meters to control their energy consumption and what managers need to do to ensure they are used effectively.

“While smart metering helps businesses to identify how they can be more conservative with their energy usage, many do not realise that smart metering itself can interfere with power quality,” explained Steve Hughes, managing director of REO UK. “This is because smart systems rely on simultaneous data and energy transfer, which increases the levels of disruptive electromagnetic interference (EMI).

“If left unmanaged, this can affect the accuracy of any data recorded

and reduce the reliability of the electrical system. To filter out reactive currents and improve power quality, businesses can use PLC filters like our CNW 161 and CNW 163 filters.

“Both filters are able to automatically filter signals in the frequency range from 50kHz to 20MHz. This protects the smart meter and helps managers to ensure compliance with the EC Directive 89/336/EEC.” Smart meters provide businesses with accurate energy monitoring, which can be analysed and assist in helping to reduce a facility’s overall energy usage. Businesses cannot achieve this, however, without protecting their smart meter from poor power quality and the issues that occur as a result. http://www.reo.co.uk/news

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

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ENERGY SUPPLY

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SMART GRID

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y the early 20th century, local grids worldwide were growing, driven by the demands of the industrial revolution. Becoming very large, mature and highly connected by the 1960s, power grids were able to be metered on a per-user basis, allowing appropriate billing according to the varying consumption of different users.

However, limited data collection and processing capability meant fixedtariff arrangements were common.

Alongside the less-than ideal billing options, the growing request for power meant supply sometimes outstripped demand, particularly at peak times and power quality became affected.

Between the 1970s and 1990s, events such as blackouts, power cuts and brownouts, where voltage is dropped for minutes or hours, were not uncommon in many developed countries.

MILLENNIUM More recently, from the turn of the century, technology has advanced to a stage where many of these limitations have been overcome. Peak power prices no longer need to be averaged out and passed on to domestic and commercial customers equally.

However, new challenges, including the instability of renewable power, have also become apparent. Concerns over environmental damage from fossil fired power stations and a reluctance to uptake nuclear power has resulted in the use of renewable energy technologies on a large scale.

According to REN21’s Global Status Report, 19.3 per cent of the global final energy consumed was provided by renewable energy, with modern renewables increasing their share to approximately 10.2 per cent.

Renewable energy capacity grew through the use of solar photovoltaic cells, while hydropower continued to represent the majority of generation.

Renewable energy is key to fighting climate change, but it does produce highly variable power, which could lead to lower energy margins and potentially even blackouts on cloudy, still days.

These risks, combined with a need for a highly distributed

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Japan faces a unique power delivery challenge because of its two entirely incompatible power grids. The odd system is a legacy from the 19th Century, when local providers In Osaka used 60Hz generators, while German equipment purchased in Tokyo worked on a frequency of 50Hz. Here, Nick Boughton, sales manager at leading systems integrator, Boulting Technology, explains how the timeline of power grid modernization, including the convergence of disparate systems, has led to the evolution of the smart grid. grid with power generated and consumed throughout, has led to the development of smart grids.

INVESTMENT The first step in a smart grid upgrade is to improve infrastructure, to produce what China has coined a Strong Grid.

Next is the addition of the digital layer, making the grid smart, followed by business process transformation, which is necessary to capitalize on the investment. Nowadays, much of this work is grouped as smart grid upgrades.

The smart grid is the end goal to take advantage of the full suite of features available for power grids.

These include state estimation technology, which improves fault detection and allows self-healing and multiple power routes that improve reliability, resilience and flexibility.

Modern smart grids can also handle two directional energy flow, pushing further toward the goal of distributed generation. This is achieved by allowing power from photovoltaic cells, fuel cells and charge from the batteries of electric

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cars to reverse flow. Two directional flow increases safety while reducing reliability issues in an intelligent manner.

Algorithms can use data fed back to the system to predict how many standby generators will be needed to cope with rapid increases in grid load. This promotes load reduction that can eliminate stability issues.

Smart grids are a natural evolution of the power grid for most countries and an obvious choice for developing countries investing in power infrastructure or upgrading cities to smart cities. The benefits have brought about results in more stable power quality for commercial properties, manufacturers and other industries alike.

Smart grids effectively eliminate or account for many power quality and reliability issues. Desite the many advantages of a smart grid upgrade, Japan’s separate grids might require more work before becoming compatible. www.boultingtechnology.co.uk.

ENERGY FROM WASTE

RHI REFORMS BOOSTS BIOGAS AS A FUTURE ENERGY SOURCE With drastic global changes in weather patterns, hurricanes and a diminishing ozone layer, today investing in a clean, renewable energy source is the way of the future. In fact, generating energy from waste is a topic often spoken about in the fight against climate change and the role it holds in promoting longer term environmental impact is only getting more relevant. Here, Graham Sanders, Major Account Manager at Geotech, looks at this topic and how the recent changes in legislation are driving the industry forward.

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overnments and councils worldwide are constantly faced with energy targets and we need more innovative ways of creating and using renewable energy.

Generating Energy from Waste (EfW) is a process that sees waste treated to produce energy in the form of electricity or heat. With energy targets constantly on government agendas across the globe, EfW is definitely an innovative way of dealing with the waste in the throwaway society we live in today.

Technology used to extract energy from waste has been evolving through the years and today there are varied ways to do this. Recyclable material must be removed from waste first, and energy is recovered from what remains, i.e. from the residual waste. Anaerobic Digestion (AD) – which uses microorganisms to convert organic waste into a methanerich biogas – is one such method. Biogas or biomethane produced from this can be combusted to generate electricity and heat or converted to biomethane.

AD is an environmentally friendly, cost-effective solution of dealing with much of what we consider to be “waste material”. Instead of the organic waste being burnt or sent to rot at a landfill, AD plants could potentially turn that organic “waste” into 10% of the UK’s domestic gas demand. This means less landfill, stable energy prices, fewer carbon dioxide emissions, and financial savings across the country. According to the Anaerobic

Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA), AD has the potential to provide up to 75 TWh of energy by 2032, which would be enough to heat a city twice the size of Birmingham and is equivalent to 30% of the UK’s domestic gas demand.

Change to legislation today has made EfW compatible with the UK Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) – a UK Government scheme formulated to encourage the uptake of renewable heat technologies amongst householders, communities and businesses through financial incentives. As the first of its kind in the world, the UK Government expects the RHI to contribute towards the ambition to achieve 12% of heating from renewable sources by 2020. Biomethane which is produced by recycling organic wastes and treating purpose-grown energy crops in biogas plants to produce heat, is therefore eligible for support under the RHI. After over a year’s delay, reforms to the RHI scheme were finally given the seal of approval from the House of Lords in May this year. On the 22nd May, the new tariffs came into effect, ushering in a better deal for AD plant operators and a much-needed push to get the UK investing in biogas.

The ADBA has welcomed these changes, with Chief Executive Charlotte Morton saying: “Green gas produced through AD not only produces much lower levels of emissions than natural gas but is also home-grown, allowing the UK to increase its energy security and be less reliant on energy imports from abroad. AD is already reducing

gas imports by 2% and has the potential to reduce them by as much as 16%.

“The restored RHI tariffs will give a vital boost to the AD industry’s ability to produce green gas over the next few years, but with emissions from heat accounting for a third of all UK greenhouse gas emissions and no clear government strategy yet identified for decarbonising heat, it’s imperative that the government commits to long-term support for green gas beyond 2020 while the industry works to bring down costs to become financially self-sufficient.”

The new tariffs for biogas and biomethane are as follows, with the rates for biomethane being reset to 1st April-1st July 2016 levels: • Biomethane Tier 1 - 5.60p/kWh • Biomethane Tier 2 - 3.29p/kWh • Biomethane Tier 3 - 2.53p/kWh • Small biogas combustion (<200 kWth): 4.64 p/kWh • Medium biogas combustion (200 kWth<600 kWth): 3.64 p/kWh • Large biogas combustion (≥600 kWth): 1.36 p/kWh However, there are a few T&Cs to be aware of – the tariff rates are applicable to new schemes or applications for additional capacity only. Biomethane installations registered between 14 December 2016 and 22 May 2018 also qualify for an uplifted tariff.

Under the revised regulations, at least half of the biogas produced by AD plants will have to be derived from feedstocks classified as wastes or residues (agricultural waste like manure, crop and food waste) in order to receive the full tariff.

THE FINAL WORD According to the ADBA, the number of new AD plants being built in the UK has fallen in recent years, in line with decreases to the RHI tariffs.

With the new RHI regulations providing a much-needed boost to the amount producers can claim, ADBA forecasts that the restored tariffs will encourage between 40 and 50 new plants to be built over the next two years.

This could generate up to an extra 2tWh of renewable heat per year, equivalent to an almost 50% increase in the biomethane industry’s output. www.geotechuk.com

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BOILERS & BURNERS

WHITER THAN WHITE David Keely at Lubron Water explains how to keep laundries running efficiently and economically

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hether it’s a summer’s afternoon cricket match, a hospital doctor on his rounds or a bunch of schoolboys in uniform shirts, nothing impresses quite like clean whites. We take it for granted that the laundry will do a good job, but let’s just pause for a moment and consider the laundry’s water.

Typical “in-premises” laundries – that is those in institutions like hospitals, large hotels, prisons and schools – and commercial laundries will use, depending on the soiling that has to be removed, around 15-20 litre of water per kg of wash load, at least 50% of which is heated. Let’s just go back to basics of water chemistry.

A lot of UK water supplies are “hard”, that is they contain significant concentrations

of calcium and magnesium salts.

These salts, unusually, show a decreasing solubility as the temperature increases. But the real problem is calcium bicarbonate, aka temporary hardness. When water containing calcium bicarbonate is heated, the salt decomposes to form very insoluble calcium carbonate (chalk) and carbon dioxide. The insoluble carbonate forms the familiar white scale that we find in hot water systems. Let’s put that into some sort of perspective. A typical UK hard water, if there is such a thing, might have a total hardness of about 300mg/l as CaCO3, of which about half is temporary hardness. This means that washing a tonne of laundry, using 15m3 of hot water, would result in the deposition of just over a kilogramme of

calcium carbonate. Whether your hot water is heated by indirect steam, high temperature hot water or electricity, 1mm of calcium carbonate scale will reduce heat transfer efficiency by about 90%. That means a higher temperature in the heat source, resulting in a significant increase in fuel costs and a concomitant increase in carbon footprint. If scale deposits are allowed to build up they can cause valve failure and even block pipework. Water softening removes calcium and magnesium from the water, thus preventing scale formation.

Neil Sayer, Maintenance Supervisor at William Harvey Hospital, says “We extended our existing boiler house water treatment service contract to include the water softeners in the laundry, keeping all the maintenance in the hands of the experts.”

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BOILERS & BURNERS

Of course many commercial washing powders contain polyphosphates to make the washing machines live longer. These chemicals allow calcium carbonate to form microcrystals rather than adherent scale, and they are very effective. But the polyphosphate turns into orthophosphate in the drain, creating a problem at the sewage treatment works which has to comply with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. This sets a maximum allowable phosphate concentration in discharges to the environment in order to prevent eutrophication in rivers and lakes. So reducing the use of polyphosphates by water softening is environmentally friendly.

If you’re not already convinced, there is another important point in our chemistry lesson. Calcium and magnesium react with detergents to form scum. Not only does this adversely affect the finish on the laundered clothes but it uses up the expensive builders (sequestering agents) in the detergent. A 2012 Danish study1 found that softening laundry water could reduce detergent use by as much as 50%, so water softening not only helps to save the planet but 1.

“ With 800 boys plus resident staff our laundry is very busy”, says Maria Davies, General Service Manager at Harrow School. “Soft water means lower fuel bills, no shutdowns for descaling and no need of fabric conditioner.” also, and perhaps more immediately relevantly, helps to save operating costs.

But these are not simply hypothetical savings. Harrow School and the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, which launders all the linen for the hospitals in the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust, are two typical examples of in-premises laundries that have discovered the economic advantages of water softening.

Softeners are readily available, fully automatic standard units and are,

generally, given little attention, but they are critical to the laundry’s operation. Like any automatic plant, a water softener’s performance is only as good as the servicing it receives. So it is essential to ensure that your water softener supplier can not only supply equipment to meet water quality specifications but can also routinely service it and provide emergency cover in the event of a breakdown.

Email: info@lubron.co.uk Web: www.lubron.co.uk

Godskesen, Hauschild, Rygaard, Zambrano, & Albrechtsen. (2012). Life cycle assessment of central softening of very hard drinking water. Journal of Environmental Management, 105, 83-89.

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BIOMASS

TALKING TRASH: WHY STEAM COULD BE THE HIDDEN GEM OF YOUR BIOMASS HEATING SYSTEM Imagine being able to use industrial waste to heat a building. Now imagine the ability to use steam to generate electrical power.

Waste products may not be the first thing we think of when we look at power, but as the future of fossil fuels is more widely discussed, steam and waste may just become the power couple of the future green economy.

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n the world of industrial heating, chicken farmers are sitting on a goldmine. High in nitrates and phosphorus, chicken waste has typically been used as a farming fertiliser. This has, however, come with its own issues, such as water-course contamination from run-off, as well as transportation costs. Now, thanks to advances in technology, chicken waste, or litter, has become the fuel warming the very chickens that created it. Talk about recycle, reuse, reduce.

“Biomass is a significant area of growth for commercial industry,” says Angelo Giambrone, business development manager for Spirax Sarco UK. “As pressure from government bodies continues to mount, so too does the push towards greener, more

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sustainable fuel sources.”

The biomass industry has developed strongly over the past few years, and as the technologies advance, so too does the number of products that can be burned as fuel for heating.

“Biomass, biofuels, anaerobic digestion – they all encompass the concept of creating energy from sustainable sources, which can include waste products,” Angelo says. “Combustion technology is helping to drive this change, as is a rising awareness of the benefits of managing your own fuel source.”

The UK government in particular has taken an interest in the potential of biomass to contribute to the UK’s CO2 emissions targets, and has introduced the

BIOMASS

Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to encourage more businesses to invest in biomass heating systems.

“The RHI was first launched for domestic properties in 2014 and is the first of its kind in the world,” comments Angelo.

“For chicken farmers, for example, it’s like the cherry on top of an already sweet deal. Not only are they burning animal waste as an inexpensive source of fuel, but they also receive money from the government in the form of a quarterly payment.”

The RHI is open to businesses and organisations across England, Scotland and Wales but, as Angelo explains, there are a few caveats.

“You can’t stick a woodchip boiler in the back garden and claim the benefit. You have to be able to demonstrate that the biomass installation is making a valid contribution to your energy requirements.”

WHERE DOES STEAM FIT IN? It’s all well and good to have biomass heating a building, but why would you then need steam?

Angelo explains: “Industries that implement biomass have a fantastic opportunity to increase the RHI that they receive, while generating a small

amount of power for their plant.

“Generating steam instead of hot water in a biomass system allows the latest technology in electrical power generation to be used. This production of electricity from a ‘renewable’ fuel then allows users to claim a doubling of their RHI benefit. Furthermore, once the power is generated, you can convert the steam back into the hot water that you need.”

Today, steam plays a vital part in industry worldwide, from pharmaceuticals to clothing, food production to healthcare.

Angelo continues: “Combustion advances and government initiatives have now brought the hi-tech world of

steam to a whole new group of users, who stand to benefit in a big way.

“You only have to return to the example of the chicken farmers to see what a difference it can make.

They’re using animal waste (which they have in abundance) to generate steam that powers a turbine to provide electricity, before being recycled back as hot water to warm the chicken coop.

It’s a win, win and win situation.

“Any industry can benefit from this.

Adding steam to your biomass system is a greener way of turning a good opportunity into an unmissable one.”

For more information, visit http://www.spiraxsarco.com/ global/uk/Pages/home.aspx

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

PROPTECH FIRM AIMS TO REVERSE DECLINE IN COMMERCIAL RENEWABLE INSTALLATIONS

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nstallations of renewable energy generation have been declining month on month since February 2016. arbnco believes one of the main reasons behind the decline in renewable energy installations is due to a lack of understanding and inability to evaluate the feasibility of all renewable options available to a specific building.

The latest renewables update from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) revealed that cumulative capacity on non-domestic properties had grown by just 10% in the last year – down from the previous growth rate of nearly 60% the year before. The decline in installations means that fewer and fewer commercial properties are adopting renewables, preventing the UK from reaching its carbon reduction targets.

The number of new commercial installations peaked in Feb 2016, at 1,023 in that month alone. Since then, the number of installations has declined to just 134 in March 2018 – a drop of 87%.

The Glasgow-based firm has launched a new service, arbn renew, which provides a first stage feasibility study for the deployment of a whole range of renewable energy systems at any site, based on location, geometry and consumption of heat and power.

It is the latest software platform to be added to the suite of building modelling

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Proptech firm arbnco is aiming to help the UK reach its full clean energy potential, by reversing the trend in declining renewable installations in commercial real estate. solutions at arbnco. Dr Parag Rastogi, lead building physicist at arbnco and visiting researcher at the RIKEN Institute for Advanced Intelligence Project, Japan said: “Usually, the trigger for a commercial property is considering one renewable installation individually, be that solar PV or biomass CHP. The consideration of all available renewable technologies, or combinations, each requires considerable time and effort, far more than is feasible for the average project.”

“We have created software that rapidly analyses the feasibility and business case for seven renewable technologies tailored to the specific

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building, equipping commercial real estate owners and managers with the information needed to make a decision on what combination of renewable technologies would be most beneficial.” arbn renew considers seven renewable technologies: PV Ground Mounted Solar, PV Roof Mounted Solar, Wind, Biomass Heating, Biomass CHP, Gas CHP and Battery Storage to determine which would be the most beneficial for a specific building.

The online feasibility tool helps organisations realise the benefits of deploying a range of onsite renewable energy generation technologies by producing highquality financial assessments to support a business case, identifying energy cost and carbon savings.

Simon West co-founder of arbnco said, “Volatile energy prices, tight supply margins, grid constraints and environmental legislation mean that there has never been a more appropriate time to consider onsite renewable energy generation. arbn renew has been designed with the aim to reduce an organisation’s total cost of energy consumption, and therefore, reduce their carbon footprint.” www.arbnco.com

DRIVING THE FUTURE

NEW TECHNOLOGY TO SOLVE UK’S ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING ‘CONUNDRUM’

Smart city road and rail safety manufacturer, Crown International, launched its latest cost-saving innovation, a double EV Charge Point offering a seamless kerbside installation and rapid charging experience to drivers, with the added capability of filtering NOx from the environment – at Traffex Seeing is Believing show.

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esigned and manufactured in the UK, the new intelligent Double EV Charging Point is predicted to give local authorities and facilities management organisations a potential economic saving of around £3 billion.

By simply retrofitting around existing street furniture, eliminates the need to dig up the roads to install new cables, an installation saving of £3-4K per charging point.

Mark Stacey, MD, Crown International said: “Limited availability of rapid-charging stations is today the biggest hurdle for the uptake of electric cars. There needs to be fast charging infrastructure in place.”

“Our Smart Urban approach aims to de-clutter the smart city, by providing intelligent infrastructure which aids operation and maintenance and reduces overall cost of ownership.”

An estimated requirement of 100,000 electric vehicle charging points are needed to cope with 1 million vehicles predicted to be on the road by 2020.

Designed specifically for the urban environment, the compact and unobtrusive charging unit offers a better charging experience for drivers: • Two sockets, allows charging of two vehicles at once.

• No purchase of cable, keys or RFID cards needed.

• Retro-fitted into existing 7.5 million streetlights across the UK. • Connects to an existing electrical supply.

• 7KW charging capacity per socket for faster and consistent charging.

• Full control over access via an intuitive app.

• Additional feature option – NOx filter system

Crown is also working on the next generation of chargers which will further enhance user experience by allowing the charging point to be pre-booked via an intelligent mobile app so the driver is assured of being able to charge the vehicle and pay securely for the electricity consumed.

Mark Stacey added: “Local councils are facing a tough challenge today, building the infrastructure to encourage more people to change their vehicle to electric, whilst ensuring it doesn’t clutter spaces, particularly in residential areas. The spread, location and accessibility of electric charging points is key. Our EV charging point offers a flexible and intelligent power system.” www.crown-international.co.uk

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DRIVING THE FUTURE

ENERGY NETWORK ‘SUPERHUBS’ ON EDGES OF TOWNS AND CITIES HERALD SUSTAINABLE AND ECONOMIC REVOLUTION FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES

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limate change is making UK cities re-think how they source energy and power transport.

In Birmingham, the city council is working to deliver tens of millions of pounds worth of cycling routes, while in Bristol an ambitious MetroBus system is under construction.

Meanwhile, Leeds is planning this year to trial autonomous vehicles in the city centre to ferry commuters from A to B. Cities are getting serious about tackling congestion and improving air quality.

However, the scale of sustainability does not stop at public transport.

By 2020, an estimated 1m electric vehicles are predicted to be on UK roads as consumers and businesses start to prepare for the phasing out of all new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040. As a result, the challenge of creating enough charging infrastructure in towns and cities will fall squarely at the feet of local authorities.

One company already thinking through the implications of this is Pivot Power. This summer, we unveiled plans to create a network of out-of-town grid-scale battery and rapid electric vehicle charging stations across the UK, the first of its kind in the world. We expect our inaugural site, planned for Southampton, to be up and running by the middle of next year, subject to

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Matt Allen, CEO, Pivot Power planning approval, with a further nine sites completed over the next 24 months.

The placement of EV charging points at such energy ‘superhubs’ will act as the equivalent of fuel stations, with commuters and visitors ‘topping up’ their EV vehicles while leaving or entering a city.

BENEFITS OF ENERGY STORAGE The £1.6bn energy storage initiative, which aims to create 45 similar energy hubs across the UK over the next five years, is designed to cut emissions as well as create more sustainable journeys for commuters, businesses and government organisations which own or plan to operate EV vehicles in the future.

Other benefits of the network, which will store enough electricity to power 235,000 average homes for a day, include the smoothing out of the imbalances between electricity supply and demand as the UK transitions to renewables as the dominant provider of energy.

Taking advantage of advice on the right kinds of infrastructure that will work for them, local authorities will be able to enable drivers, businesses and public services to switch to EVs with the peace of mind they will be able to find costeffective and efficient ‘energy on the go’.

Additionally, by placing EV fleet depots or Park & Rides with significant charging capabilities at strategic transport locations, councils will also be able to specify that only electricpowered buses or taxis can be used in the space. In doing so, councils will be at the cutting edge of sustainable

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transport policy, not just in the UK, but globally.

In meeting the anticipated demand for more EV charging points for the future, local authorities will also have the satisfaction of knowing their plans for the EV-switchover are meeting present, but also future transport needs.

For example, in Southampton a hub on the outskirts of the city needs to account for the fact it is home to two universities, a port, an airport, and receives just over 41,000 commuters to the city each day, fifty-per cent of which travel in by car or van.

SPACE CONSTRAINTS The reason edge-of-town EV charging stations work for UK cities is down to current geography and technology. The UK is currently not set up to make it possible for every household to have an EV point because each street typically has enough spare power for just a handful of domestic EV chargers, while an office may only have room for five to 10. The amount of energy required per authority area will be the equivalent of powering a small town. Many local authorities have the appetite or resources to effectively become an energy supplier. Neither will there be enough space inside cities to provide the high numbers of charging points demanded by drivers when EV vehicles start to be used en-mass.

The only solution is to build the infrastructure before the cars arrive on the doorstep. Doing so will also encourage more commuters to ditch their fuel-guzzling vehicles early. The strong take-up of EV vehicles in Norway and the Netherlands followed the governments of both countries clearly signalling their commitment to the

DRIVING THE FUTURE creation of the necessary charging infrastructure, avoiding the usual ‘chicken and egg’ debates about sustainable transport. Analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance are predicting EVs getting close to price parity by 2022 – we need to make sure range anxiety isn’t still putting people off then, when switching could save them money, clean up our air, and contribute to our climate change goals.

THE TECHNOLOGY Pivot Power’s superhubs, which will be positioned near motorways, on the edge of towns and cities, will connect directly to the transmission network substations in order to supply the level of energy needed for EV vehicles. Each hub could potentially support 100 rapid 150KW chargers, which would be able to ‘re-fuel’ a vehicle in 45 minutes. The technology is expected to develop to the point of using 350KW chargers, once the latter become available in the UK, which would enable a car to be fully charged in under 20 minutes – the equivalent of a cup of coffee and rest at a traditional service station.

Each rapid EV charging station will have a 20MW connection, which

is enough to supply a town of 10,000 homes. Combining the batteries and EV charging points will also drive down building and operating costs, as well as secure maximum value and efficiency from the use of the land, strengthening the company’s financial standing and making them a more reliable partner for risk-averse local authorities.

Indeed, battery-based energy systems are the most cost-effective commercial solution when it comes to providing additional and flexible energy support. They also make a significant contribution to the UK’s pledge to keep the global temperature rise within two degrees. The sites, which store energy obtained directly from the National Grid’s extra-high-voltage transmission system, do not have the construction overheads of gas turbines, the cost of which inevitably makes it way to the consumer.

The entire network will be able to discharge energy equivalent to two thirds of Hinkley C’s nuclear power station, the energy stored will be used to charge EV vehicles or sold back to the National Grid, thereby providing a valuable revenue opportunity for Local Authorities under significant pressure

to generate income to make up the shortfall created by increasingly constrained budgets.

AN ENERGY MODEL FOR THE FUTURE The energy superhub model could be extended into nearby commercial areas such as retail parks, supermarket car parks or other logistics spaces. Local authorities could also choose to utilise land they may own for such sites, thereby making a direct contribution to the creation of a low-carbon economy. Other benefits include job creation, and thus the supporting of higher living standards, democratic and costeffective access to energy for citizens, and attracting investment from more sustainablyminded businesses keen to know that the needs of their operations will be served.

Renewable energy needs to grow substantially in order to meet the UK’s decarbonisation targets. Having a flexible system inside the grid to provide energy as and when needed will be crucial to ensuring our towns and cities stay both productive and sustainable in years to come. By utilising proven technologies, councils can enable the transition into the low carbon era safe in the knowledge that it won’t cost the earth. www.pivot-power.co.uk/

“ Deploy a smart-charging system or face a total collapse of consumer confidence in EV’s,” says Off Grid Energy CEO

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ith the power demand from charging electric vehicles too great for the already buckling London power grid, Danny Jones, Founder and CEO of Off Grid Energy – a leading energy technology company – today stressed the importance of battery storage and smart charging systems as the take up in EVs increases exponentially.

Earlier this year, UPS – in conjunction with UK Power Networks Services – installed Off Grid’s UBESS system which had the task of reinforcing the local grid using battery storage to allow the powering up of the company’s fleet of EV delivery vehicles from the current limit of 65 to all 170 vehicles at its Camden depot.

“The primary issue with the Camden installation was that the incoming grid supply was insufficient to support the additional power demands of the new fleet of EVs. The cost of reenforcing the grid at the substation jeopardised the business case for full

electrification of the fleet,” said Jones.

Issues such as these are not exclusive to UPS – EV applications are demanding more power and they need it now. Logistics operations and bus companies are looking to electrify their fleets to help in the fight against air pollution and climate change but are often held back by a lack of grid capacity.

“At Off Grid, we have the ability to install and have energy storage solutions up and running in a matter of weeks and bring the benefits of battery storage to the fore,” added Jones. “The benefits of deploying these systems are manifold and are absolutely necessary to prevent a delay in EV deployment because of the cost and lead-in times to reinforce the electricity network at substations, not to mention they can start working right away with minimal installation time needed.”

The UBESS battery storage solution from Off Grid can perform other capabilities over and above the primary function of enabling the introduction and maintenance of the EVs. For example,

when the depot does not need the power, the unit has the ability to provide energy back to the grid for DSR (demand side response) which is a monetizable service for the electricity network operator. The system can also be bolstered with the potential addition of solar panels which can be used for self-consumption and further ROI from the system itself.

“Battery storage and smart charging systems like UPS Camden are already being adopted in other industries such as bus companies, materials handling corporations, multiple occupancy buildings as well as the car rental sector. Rapidly deployable smart-charging and storage systems are an absolute necessity for cities to reap the benefits of EVs,” concluded Jones.

For more information, please visit http://www.offgrid-energy.co.uk/index.php

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WATER MANAGEMENT

WATER COMPANIES: EXISTING SYSTEMS CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN ‘SMART’ TECH SAYS NEW REPORT TALIS publishes new report to help companies better harness the potential of their existing capabilities

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ALIS, one of the world’s leading providers of water flow control solutions, has published a new report showing how water companies can gain quick and simple improvements in network efficiency and reduction in non-revenue water, without the need to invest in innovative, but expensive, ‘smart-tech’ systems.

In its latest report ‘Bringing Pressure Under Control’, TALIS shows how, by harnessing the potential of commonplace components such as control valves, improvements and savings can be achieved quickly and with the minimum of investment. Helping water companies better meet performance targets in the most cost-effective way possible.

Herve Dumont, product strategy director at Talis, says: “Control valves are an elegantly simple solution to control water pressure, flow and levels, that have been in use for over 80 years.

“Despite their simplicity, each device has the potential to provide thousands of functions to help improve the management and control of water

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networks. Crucially, this function can be altered by changing the pilot device (either its settings or the device itself) rather than the valve. Meaning network control can be adapted quickly and with minimum disruption or cost.

“These autonomous devices run 24 hours a day to deliver this control across the network. Their effectiveness makes control valves a very powerful tool for supporting water network management and efficiency. The original ‘smart’ water network – if used properly and as part of clear strategy.”

TALIS’ report highlights how, by using control valves across a network to better regulate pressure, it is possible to increase network effectiveness (by 5% in the case of one network), reduce emergency interventions by 60% and also reduce the amount of water lost through leakages through better pressure control (30% reduction in leakages for every 2 bar reduction in the initial pressure used).

Herve Dumont says that taking a fresh look at control valves should be top of the agenda for any water companies that can’t answer the

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six, simple questions set out in the report.

He said: “Through the report and the questions it poses, we’re encouraging water companies to take a fresh look at the technology they already possess but are not using to its full potential.

“Innovations such as the new HYDROBLOC Premium, part of the BAYARD range from TALIS are placing control valves at the heart of modern water management. It allows any control valve to be turned into a sophisticated means to control network pressure, without the need for significant disruption or staff training.

“It features an entirely hydraulic pilot circuit that adjusts automatically, setting pressure in accordance to the demand within the network. Therefore, when demand is low (e.g. during night time) water pressure is automatically reduced. Accordingly, when demand then increases, it raises water pressure so that the network can better service this need.

“This offers significant and immediate benefits to any network by helping to increase the efficiency of its operation and reduce wastage.”

To access the full report, please visit www.talis-group. com/talis-group/user_upload/ TALIS_ControlValvesPaperAW.pdf

WATER MANAGEMENT

NEW BOOSTER SETS FROM ARMSTRONG FLUID TECHNOLOGY DELIVER ENERGY SAVINGS WITH FASTER INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING

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rmstrong Fluid Technology has launched the new Design Envelope 6800G Boosters which are easier to install and commission, save space in the plantroom, and offer outstanding energy efficient performance across a wider operating range than ever before. Bringing together the benefits of Armstrong’s Design Envelope control technology and high-efficiency IE5 rated motors, the new 6800G packaged booster range offers the contractor major advantages in installation savings and reduced commissioning time.

In addition, the integrated variable speed intelligence embedded in the controller optimises energy efficiency throughout the booster’s lifetime, delivering the building owner/occupier the best return on investment.

The new Armstrong Design Envelope 6800G Boosters address the water delivery challenges of high-rise buildings by combining Vertical Multi-stage pumps with advanced variable speed controls. Supplied fully-assembled and integrated, Armstrong 6800G packaged booster sets can be configured with 2, 3, 4 or 5 pumps to suit the application.

Product selection is simple and quick, with purpose-designed online selection software, along with a Return on Investment calculator tool to help contractors quantify savings for their customers based on actual project data.

Off-site manufacture means that the packaged booster sets are fully-tested prior to delivery, for quick, trouble free installation and commissioning, with minimal wiring and mounting required on site. And if design iterations occur during this process, the booster sets are capable of accommodating reasonable changes in operational demands, either during the design phase or in the future, without the expense of replacement, or a reduction in energy efficiency, due

to Armstrong industry-leading Design Envelope approach. Armstrong Design Envelope solutions are sized on the basis of efficiency across a wide range of duty points, protecting against the need for reselection, and providing energy-efficient performance across a wider range of operating conditions than other models.

Accurate assembly is guaranteed, as the boosters are manufactured

by Armstrong’s own engineers, with product-specific fluid dynamics expertise underpinned by ISO quality procedures.

Designed using the last 3D computer modelling, the 6800G range offers minimal footprint, and typically delivers a space saving of around 25% over competing models, with mounting on a baseframe enabling easy lifting and positioning during installation.

After handover, the building owner and occupants can be assured of lower energy and operational costs. Embedded control logic ensures optimum efficiency at all times, adjusting pump speed, and staging pumps on and off as needed during periods of high and low demand. Users can also select different operating set-points for different seasons. This optimised control capability, combined with IE5 highefficiency motors, enables the boosters to deliver energy savings of around 15% compared to alternative models.

Visibility of pump operating data is also outstanding. Leading BMS communications protocols are

supported, including Modbus, BACnet MSTP and BACnet IP. The booster package also has its own 107mm colour touchscreen with 128MB flash memory providing a comprehensive range of information, including energy profiling and real-time pump data.

Complying with industry association codes such as WRAS certification, the Armstrong Design Envelope 6800G also provides peace of mind. And if there is a requirement to re-charge the system with water, the fully-automated Softfill feature reduces the risk of hydraulic shock damage and water hammer by controlling the pump speed to ramp up gradually to a fill setpoint. Email: marketing@ armstrongfluidtechnology.com

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

APPLICATIONS FOR PLATE HEAT EXCHANGERS ON THE RISE Paul Sands of Stokvis Energy Systems offers an insight into how plate heat exchangers (PHEs) can help bring the best from renewable energy sources and solve other issues for building services professions.

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ith oil as well as wholesale energy prices on an upward trajectory again, and new nuclear seemingly no nearer to coming on line, renewable heat sources are increasingly seen as both sustainable and economically attractive by policy makers.

In fact, the planet’s gradually diminishing fossil fuel reserves and environmental pressures are making technologies, such as solar thermal, ground or water source heat pumps and harvesting waste heat, worthy of consideration for many new residential and mixed-use developments. High performance plate heat exchangers are ideally suited for different applications within such schemes.

One of the most stable sources of renewable energy is open water, including rivers, estuaries and lakes, though harvesting it is complicated both practically and from the aspect of protecting aquatic life.

For a recent project drawing water from the Thames near Waterloo, however, a Stokvis bare plate heat exchanger was installed to transfer heat from the river water to water source heat pumps. The unit operates at 99% efficiency while protecting the WSHP’s components contamination and corrosion. Where salt water is involved, stainless steel plates can be swapped for titanium.

Plate heat exchangers can similarly operate on the input/primary side for projects drawing waste heat from power plants and industry, or as an interface where individual buildings connect into the heat mains of a district heating scheme; also referred to as

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heat networks. Then at the consumer end of the distribution mains, specifiers can make use of standard or custom built heat interface units (HIUs) to deliver space heating and domestic hot water for occupants.

Another application for plate heat exchangers is growing in popularity due to the number of ‘tall buildings’ being constructed; while hundreds more are planned around our major cities. In these instances, PHEs are used as a pressure break, where heating, water service or chilled water is being pumped up multiple storey heights.

Typically, where boilers are located in a basement plant room and the maximum working pressure is say 6.0 Bar, a pressure break can be created at the appropriate point on the riser with a plate heat exchanger to ensure the maximum pressure on the boiler does not exceed 6.0 bar, this pressure break could be created again if necessary, as the risers continue up the building, though sensibly there would be a couple of degree drop in temperature which

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

must be taken into account at the starting point.

In other applications, bare plate heat exchangers can be utilised to convert from a medium temperature hot water system, to a low temperature one for the delivery of services; or simply specified to protect boilers against contamination from old pipework in retrofit situations.

Such is their versatility that bare plate PHEs are also widely used in industry: interfacing with steam circuits, or being used to heat chemicals in process engineering.

With pressure to continue building upwards in our congested urban areas, and a growing reliance on renewable or sustainable heat sources in place of fossil fuels, it seems the specification of high efficiency plate heat exchangers can only grow. www.stokvisboilers.com.

RINNAI HOT WATER DELIVERY – PAY AS YOU GO HEATING

Jennifer Williams looks at how continuous flow hot water delivery systems are fast overtaking the old technology of heating and storing water ready use.

Reports from the market on hot water heating system delivery in the commercial sector are showing a transition away from older technologies, which commonly use large volumes of cylinder stored and reheated hot water, are reaching a ‘tipping point’ with continuous flow units vastly out-perform them in terms of capital costing, economy of fuel, plant room space and lifetime efficiency.

Each family is said to use 80 litres of hot water daily and the older technologies employed by traditional means of stored hot water heating systems are increasingly unable to economically and sustainably meet these market demands.

Stored types of systems feature an insulated cylinder or container that keeps large quantities of water heated by either a boiler or immersion heater, and reheated when temperatures drop below a useable temperature. Thus, when there is demand, stored water is released and used, and then the cylinder refilled and reheated to remain at optimum temperatures (above 60°C) until next use.

The market today requires and expects instant access to hot water, and in most domestic and light commercial applications there is no need for an inefficient system that can have a significant lag in recovery time to fully reheated water reserves.

The major claimed benefits of storage systems lie in large commercial applications, such as a gyms or hotels, which need very large volumes of water at peak times – however, this can be easily accommodated by using a cascade system of continuous flow units.

According to an AECOM independent study (AECOM is the largest building services consultancy in the world) the life cycle costings of continuous flow systems in comparison to equivalent storage systems, on average a ‘continuous flow water heating system can be up to 7% more economical’. At 89% efficiency on average, a storage system will encounter heat loss and wasted energy - reheating at times when there is no demand, for example. A continuous flow unit will maintain an efficiency level of 96%, increasing the returns on investment; or in other words, major savings on ongoing costs.

Continuous flow hot water delivery is disrupting the old ways with new ways of doing it better, faster and more economically.

The continuous flow units and systems offer heating efficiency, reliability, space saving, Legionella prevention and environmentally conscious Low NoX outputs - plus a Limescale Check system which ensures optimum performance throughout the life of the unit by constant monitoring and alerts for any buildup of lime-scale residue. Limescale can build exponentially if left and ignored, where a 1.6mm depth of limescale on a heat exchanger means a drop in efficiency of at least 12% - and a cut in the efficiency of any system means higher running costs.

‘The payback investment over the 10 years-plus life of a single Rinnai unit can be measured and shown to out-perform cheaper and much less efficient water heaters in a matter of months’, adds Chris Goggin, Operations Director.

For more details on RINNAI products visit

www.rinnaiuk.com ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

PORT POWER

The journey from tree to power station can be treacherous for the humble wood pellet, but there is a lot riding on the successful delivery of this biomass fuel to power stations across the world.

The cornerstone of the journey of these wood pellets are the ports that import this valuable cargo to be delivered to power stations across the UK. So, what would happen if these ports where to lose mains power supply? That’s exactly what happened to a port in the North of England, causing a shortage of biomass fuel for neighbouring power stations.

FROM FOREST TO FUEL The delivery of fuel has one of the biggest effects on businesses and society.

The journey begins in vast working forests in the US, where huge masses of wood pellets are loaded onto container ships for a transatlantic journey. When the ships pull into ports in the UK, these wood pellets are removed from the ship’s hold and transported onto conveyor belts, before being loaded onto a train.

This process operates like clockwork.

In fact, the four major biomass fuel ports in Britain process up to 12 million tonnes of biomass every year combined.

From here, the trains carry large loads of pellets to the designated power stations across the country. Once at the final destination, conveyor belts carry these wood pellets from rail storage domes and into the furnace. The pellets are then combusted, which boils water to create steam that turns a generator, and hey presto, we have power.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY Power stations rely on this seamless transportation process to operate, so it makes sense for a power station to invest in this delivery and distribution infrastructure.

Several power stations have done just that, including a large 2017 civil engineering project, which saw a total of £300 million invested into infrastructure of a well know port in the North-East of England.

The relationship between port and power station is more important than ever before. Ports handle millions of tonnes of fuel, from coal to wood pellets every year. Therefore, if anything were to go wrong at the port, it would have huge knock-on implications for the power station later down the line.

With ambitions for improved energy security, environmental sustainability and an increase in jobs, it could be argued that it is crucial that the infrastructure

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of ports, an essential part of the energy supply chain, is reinforced.

Ironically, it is the power supply of ports in Britain that will be a huge factor in this investment. If the port is without power, the conveyors will be down, and power stations could be without fuel. So, what kind of investments and systems are being put in place to prevent this potential cause of downtime?

Most facilities will have some sort of UPS system in place, a backup power system that uses charged up batteries. However, the duration of autonomous power supply will vary depending on the UPS product.

As part of a larger infrastructure investment, CP Automation recently installed a Riello 3/1 phase UPS system at 40 kVa at one bustling UK port to improve the duration of its power supply. But first, the company needed to determine the correct UPS system for its site.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT UPS SYSTEM Before implementing a new UPS system, the installer needs to determine whether the customer needs a single- or 3-phase UPS. This requires examining the loads the UPS will protect and assessing voltage range or kVa value. Generally, loads of 20kVA or less can safely use a single-phase UPS, whereas larger loads will likely need a 3-phase UPS. For port conveyor applications like this one, a 3-phase UPS is usually required. The next consideration is whether to use a 3/1 or 3/3 configuration. A 3/1 UPS takes in 3-phase power and outputs a single phase, while a 3/3 takes in 3-phase power and delivers 3-phase to the downstream loads.

In 3 phase systems, the power circuit combines three alternating currents that vary in phase by 120 degrees. As a result, the power would never drop to zero, making it possible to carry more load, delivering more

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

pellets to the power plant, more quickly.

Most businesses choose a 3/3 phase UPS, but for an application used to keeping critical equipment in a port up and running, it could be argued that a longer UPS duration is needed.

With this in mind, a Riello 3/1 phase UPS system at 40 kVa was installed to improve the ports power supply, complete with 80 rechargeable batteries.

This provided the port with 1.5 hours of power autonomy during power outage, much longer than it would have been if a 3/3 UPS alternative has been chosen.

The batteries are charged by the rectifier; so that if mains power fails, the UPS uses this energy source to power the inverter. This means the associated power stations waiting on fuel supplies do not feel the effects of unplanned power outages at the port.

Active harmonic filters were also installed at the site to mitigate harmful harmonics at the facility. A total of six Comsys ADF P300 Active Filters were fitted to ensure the harmonics from all the variable speed drives (VSDs) on site were eliminated.

With this type of investment, whether by the port itself, or the associated power stations, the power station should see rapid return on investment (ROI) generated by decreased downtime and reduced delivery hold ups. www.cpaltd.net

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

NOW AVAILABLE FROM RINNAI – THE HD55I Rinnai hot water – instant, continuous, limitless and sensibly economic for every type of commercial site

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ow available from Rinnai is the HD55i, a heavy duty high efficiency gas fired continuous flow water heating unit with optimal fuel consumption, and in like-for-like comparisons with more traditional methods, is more cost effective over a lifetime. Rinnai is an acknowledged global leader in the manufacture of tankless hot water heating units with group sales approaching £2 Billion.

The Rinnai HD55i Internal water heater is a wall hung, gas fired, continuous flow water heater capable of producing hot water at 820 litres per hour at a 50°C rise. The HD55i has a 125mm concentric flue which can be extended up to 15m, less 1m per 45° bend. As with the whole of the Rinnai range the HD55i is ErP A-rated and is super low- NoX ready for the next phase of eco-design.

The unit is compact, reliable and combines industry standards with innovation and quality. The HD55i operates between 1-10 bar pressure, which is suitable for mains cold water supply and systems with booster pumps and reaches water temperatures of up to 85°C, making the HD55i suitable for secondary return systems.

Rinnai Heavy Duty continuous flow gas fired water heaters feature outputs up to 58kW and water can be

delivered at very precise, high volume temperature control. The smart digital controller regulates to within +/- 1ºC without any variation of temperature even with additional outlets. All models have full electronic ignition with no pilot light and operate on demand only, consuming no gas when not in use.

The Rinnai HD55i is a fully modulating 52.6kW unit that can also be installed in a manifold arrangement.

This ensures that the system can and will meet any hot water demand at all peak times, no matter what the demand.

Typical applications include major restaurant chains, industry offices, hotels, sports centres, schools, sports clubs, shower blocks in holiday parks – anywhere with a need for extremely reliable supplies of hot water delivered economically and at energy efficiency levels surpassing all building regulations and European standards. www.rinnaiuk.com

ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018

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One rotation of this giant can power your laptop for 333 hours.

And he has 1000 friends.

Whoever said size isn’t everything clearly never worked in renewable energy. With a wingspan of 164m – twice that of an Airbus A380 – our latest turbines generate 13.33 kWh of electricity in a single six second rotation – enough to keep your laptop running for over 333 hours.

All told, we’ve erected over 1000 turbines of various sizes worldwide and that’s helped us deliver the most important number – the price.

Because our green energy is the same price as traditional fuels. That’s right, the same. Equal to. Not higher. So give us a click and find out why our energy doesn’t cost the earth and how we can save you money.

orstedbusiness.co.uk