October 2019 by Energy In Buildings & Industry

OCTOBER 2019

PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

www.eibi.co.uk

In this issue Lighting Technology Batteries & Energy Storage CPD Module: Drives & Motors Water Management

Smart office redefined Connected lighting technology

EIBI_1019_001(T).indd 1

Battery storage Are we on the cusp of a revolution?

Data-driven buildings BEMS extend their influence

04/10/2019 10:30

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 04/10/2019 14:53 Page 2

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 1

OCTOBER 2019

PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

www.eibi.co.uk

In this issue Lighting Technology Batteries & Energy Storage CPD Module: Drives & Motors Water Management

Smart office redefined Connected lighting technology

Battery storage Are we on the cusp of a revolution?

Contents

www.eibi.co.uk

Data-driven buildings BEMS extend their influence

EIBI_1019_001(T).indd 1

04/10/2019 10:30

OCTOBER 2019

FEATURES

Lighting in Focus

A lot can be found out from the building’s BMS sensors without the need to install meters, believes Malcolm Anson (34)

A new generation of ‘smart’ wireless solutions is easier to implement and makes it far easier to achieve optimum results, says Colin Lawson

Delivering a building that can encourage employee wellness is becoming integral to securing new investment, says Gavin Holvey (36)

LuxLive is the leading event for anyone who supplies, buys, specifies and designs lighting. The exhibition and conference returns to London’s ExCel, November 13-14 (16) Innovative lighting controls in Norwegian office redefines the smart building (18)

20 Batteries & Energy Storage The ability to store energy on site and use that power when required is an increasingly important capability for large manufacturing and industrial sites, says Graham Oxley

The potential for battery storage is huge. Rob Samuelson believes we are on the cusp of a revolution in this sector (22) The major power outage on August 9 brought into sharp focus the need for businesses to make provision for loss of power, says Stuart Browne (24)

Energy 32 Building Management Systems

It’s straightforward to capture data but the difficult part is turning all that information into meaningful actions, says Richard Lewin (38)

39 Indoor Air Quality 41 Water Management

Dr Peter Barker examines how poor air can impact the health and well-being of building occupants

Diane White discusses how chemical-free disinfection can beat water-borne diseases in swimming pools Carl Turbitt explains how variable speed drives can improve system resilience (42) Heat exchanger fouling can come in many different forms. Matt Hale gives some advice on identifying problems (44)

46 Energy Monitoring

Beverly Quinn examines how the use of BEMS is filtering down to smaller buildings

Remote monitoring can provide a valuable insight into the operating data of a building’s assets. Graeme Ross explains

REGULARS 06 News Update Primary energy consumption continues to tumble while Government is damned over approach to fuel poverty

12 The Warren Report The UK has looked set to align itself to European energy standards. But now there are worrying signs that the Government may move away from that policy

19 Products in Action

A heating system for a Kent school and heat pumps for new homes in Cambridgeshire

25 The Fundamental Series: CPD Learning

47 New Products Among the new products new to the market this month are gas-fired water heaters and a modular energy meter

Electric motive power dominates all our lives. Adetunji Lawal examines how to reduce energy consumption in drives and motors

30 Purchasing Energy Chris Quinn explores how the English non-domestic water buying market has changed in the two years since it was deregulated

40 ESTA Viewpoint Mervyn Pilley examines how ESTA can adapt to the changing commercial and political landscape

50 Talking Heads Amelia Woodley is responding to demanding energy-saving targets at South Western Railway with an innovative power generation project

Follow us, ‘like us’ or visit us online to keep up to date with all the latest energy news and events www.eibi.co.uk OCTOBER 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 03

EIBI_0919_003(T)_NEW.indd 3

07/10/2019 18:26

editor’s opinion

Mixed messages

et’s have a little bit of good news. Energy

standard will require new build homes to be future

efficiency in the UK is working. Energy

proofed with low-carbon heating and “world-leading”

consumption fell last year, not by a huge

levels of energy efficiency. This is a long-overdue step

amount (1.1 per cent) but it continues to go

forward but should be welcomed.

in the right direction (see page 6). During this century

On the other hand, Boris Johnson’s Government

there have been massive improvements in energy

has failed to recognise the need for any

intensity throughout the economy. Several sectors

representation of climate change and energy

have enjoyed a 35 per cent gain in efficiency between

efficiency at cabinet level. The role is being

2000 and 2018. These include the commercial and

undertaken by Lord Duncan of Springbank (I hadn’t

public sectors, railway transport and the proportion

heard of him, either) who isn’t even in the Commons!

of household disposable income needed to maintain

In addition, and much more disturbing, is that the

reasonable standards of warmth. These household

UK seems to be moving surreptitiously away from

gains have been achieved via “insulation measures,

Theresa May’s policy of maintaining the EU’s energy

boiler and other appliance efficiencies.”

standards of efficiency thereby helping to continue

On a longer timescale, continuing improvements

the trend of energy reduction. But now the BBC has

in the energy efficiency of heating in both the

revealed (see page 12) that, post-Brexit, the UK could

commercial and residential sectors has resulted in

adopt very different, if any, minimum standards for

an overall fall in gas sales by over a quarter since

energy use.

2004. But will this encouraging trend continue? Well,

This could lead to a flood of cheaper, yet less energy efficient products, hitting the UK market.

www.eibi.co.uk

the EiBI team editorial Managing Editor Mark Thrower tel: 01483 452854 Email: editor@eibi.co.uk Address: P. O. Box 825, Guildford GU4 8WQ Social Media Assistant Sam Jackson tel: 01889 577222 Email: info@energyzine.co.uk

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

it is going to have to continue if we are going to hit

However, UK companies would still have to meet

the 2050 target or get anywhere remotely near it.

European standards if they still wish to sell their

Currently, we seem to have very mixed messages

products in to Europe. Government must unscramble

coming from Government. On the one hand it has

these mixed messages.

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

Standard with its proposed options to increase the

MANAGING EDITOR

circulation

energy efficiency requirements for new homes. The

Mark Thrower

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

launched a consultation for the Future Homes

classified sales

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

THIS MONTH’S COVER STORY As the only showcase specifically dedicated to innovation in lighting, LuxLive is where more than 200 international brands launch new solutions and discuss innovative technologies with an influential audience of over 6,000 specifiers and end-user buyers. Its location in London, a global lighting design hub, and its historical ties with the UK market, make LuxLive a firmly established date for both suppliers and manufacturers selling into the British market. It also offers a platform for those companies seeking to get involved in international projects via architectural and consulting engineering practices who operate out of the capital. See page 16 for more details Cover photo courtesy of LuxLive 2019

publishing Directors Chris Evans Russ Jackson Magazine Designer Tim Plummer For overseas readers or UK readers not qualifying for a free copy, annual subscription rates are £85 UK; £105 Europe airmail; £120 RoW. Single copies £10 each. Published by: Pinede Publishing Ltd 16-18 Hawkesyard Hall, Armitage Park, Nr. Rugeley, Staffordshire WS15 1PU ISSN 0969 885X This issue includes photographs provided and paid for by suppliers

Printed by Precision Colour Printing Origination by Design and Media Solutions ABC Audited Circulation Jan-Dec 2018 12,179

04 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 0CTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_004(M).indd 3

07/10/2019 16:37

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 07/10/2019 12:16 Page 5

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 2

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

UK teams up for 3 per cent efficiency target The UK is to collaborate with 14 other countries and businesses and institutions to reach a 3 per cent annual global increase in energy efficiency. The targeted increase, up from 1.3 per cent in 2018, is to be spearheaded by the Three Percent Club, a new initiative launched by the EE Global Alliance that aims to significantly increase global momentum on energy efficiency, a critical concern since global energy efficiency progress has been slowing since 2015. The coalition, announced this week at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York, also includes Argentina, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Portugal and Senegal. Major corporations and supporting organisations – including Danfoss, EDP, Johnson Controls, LeasePlan, Saint-Gobain, Signify, Thermo King, Trane and the Global Green Growth Initiative – have also committed to take action to significantly improve the efficiency of their own operations and to support energy efficiency policy development or implementation in countries involved in the coalition. Jason Hartke, president, Alliance to Save Energy, states that the EE Global Alliance is thrilled to be working with leading companies and organisations from around the globe that are “stepping up” to support the ambitious commitments of the Three Percent Club countries. “With such strong private sector involvement and collaboration with organisational partners, countries can reap all the potential of energy efficiency to combat climate change, while cost-effectively meeting their energy needs and growing their economies,” he said. The Three Percent Club builds on International Energy Agency (IEA) research showing that the right efficiency policies could deliver over 40 per cent of the emissions cuts needed to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, without requiring new technology.

FALL OF OVER 1 PER CENT IN 2018

UK energy consumption falls again Primary energy consumption across the UK fell again in 2018, according to the latest official Digest of Energy Statistics published by the Business Department. On a temperatureadjusted basis, energy usage went down by 1.1 per cent between 2017 and 2018. Simultaneously, there was an even greater improvement in overall energy efficiency, called the energy intensity ratio. This measures the reduction in the amount of energy needed to underpin each unit of Gross Domestic Product. During this century there have been massive improvements in energy intensity throughout the economy. Several sectors have enjoyed a 35 per cent gain in efficiency between 2000 and 2018. These include the commercial and public sectors, railway transport and the proportion of household disposable income needed to maintain reasonable standards of warmth. These household gains have been achieved via “insulation measures, boiler and other appliance efficiencies.” One caveat is that, whereas all other statistics are UK-wide, all household calculations have been

drawn from Wales and England alone. Given the extra attention to residential energy efficiency to be found in Scotland and Northern Ireland, these improvements may actually be an understatement. Industrial energy consumption has remained stable over the past 12 months. But industrial energy intensity has improved by 30 per cent since 2000. The greatest gains are identified as being in the “vehicle manufacturing, chemical, and iron and steel sectors.” The energy intensity of air transport has got better by 22 per

cent since 2004. Conversely, road transport’s energy intensity has only improved by 7.7 per cent since 2004. However, between 2017 and 2018 petrol sales did fall by 1 per cent. This was the first decrease since 2013, and helped compensate for a slight rise in residential consumption - itself prompting the first increase in gas consumption since 2013. On a longer timescale, continuing improvements in the energy efficiency of heating in both the commercial and residential sectors has resulted in an overall fall in gas sales by over a quarter since 2004.

On-line retailer pledges net-zero carbon emissions E-commerce giant Amazon has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040, after its staff lobbied for the firm to take more bold action on climate change. The commitment will see Amazon invest in energy efficiency measures, renewable energy, and low-carbon technologies over the next three decades. As a first step, the company has committed to order 100,000 fully electric delivery vehicles, the first 10,000 of which will be added to its global fleet by 2022. The remaining 90,000 vehicles will be phased in by 2030. All of the vehicles will be purchased from Michigan-based carmaker Rivian, which Amazon previously backed with a $440m investment. Amazon has additionally placed a deadline on its previously

announced ambition to source 100 per cent renewable energy across its global operations, setting the deadline at 2030. This target is bolstered with an interim goal to source 80 per cent of the firm’s energy mix from renewable sources by 2024. To date, Amazon has invested in 15 utility-scale wind and solar projects and has installed more

than 50 onsite solar arrays at its fulfilment centres and sort centres. The move from Amazon comes after a string of protests from its employees, with some staff in the company’s home state of Washington having founded a staff activism movement called ‘Amazon Employees for Climate Justice’ in 2018.

06 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_006-7-8-10(T).indd 1

07/10/2019 14:02

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

FUEL POVERTY COMMITTEE

IN BRIEF

Committee slams fuel poverty policy

Airport switches to renewable power

The Fuel Poverty Committee for England has issued its most damning criticism yet of the failure of government energy efficiency programmes- and it has been posted in full on the BEIS website. Responding formally to Government regarding the forthcoming revision of its fuel poverty strategy, the Committee points out that between them, the government and energy companies are spending £2.1bn per year in assisting householders to pay their energy bills. In contrast, only onequarter of that amount (£0.55bn p.a.) is allocated to improve household energy efficiency levels. The committee concludes: “In an era aspiring to ‘Net Zero’, this is not logical.” Overall, it argues there needs to be more joined-up thinking between Government’s view of what

In a significant step towards reducing its carbon footprint, Bristol Airport has switched to a 100 per cent renewable electricity supply. The new three-year agreement with global renewable energy supplier, Ørsted, will see the airport’s annual electricity use of 17m kWh powered entirely by renewable sources.

is cost effective from a fuel poverty perspective, and what they consider to be cost effective from a Carbon Budgets perspective. It emphasises the “misalignment of policies” which has ensured that only 57,000, out of a total of 1,076,000 fuel poor households with solid walls, currently have proper insulation - and that under existing policies only 5,000 such homes are due to be upgraded each year for the next three years. “Government is not

providing these funds as they now deem solid wall insulation measures to not be cost effective from an energy efficiency perspective. This results in Government risking missing both fuel poverty milestones and carbon budget milestones.” The Fuel Poverty Committee, formed in 2016, has previously been widely criticised regarding its failure to publicise the growing disparity between official targets regarding fuel poverty elimination, and actual delivery on the ground. The number of households in fuel poverty has not been reduced since the 1990s. Yet again, it reminds the UK government that unlike those based in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, ever since 2012 there has been no government-funded programme to improve the energy efficiency of fuel poverty homes in England.

Bristol searches for investment for zero-carbon target Bristol City Leap, an ambitious project to deliver a zero-carbon, smart energy city by 2030, has launched a global search to deliver up to £1bn of investment and provide significant economic benefits for the people of Bristol and its businesses. Led by Bristol City Council and Bristol Energy, the city’s energy company, City Leap will establish a joint venture with another organisation or group of organisations to support the delivery of the UK’s first carbon neutral city by 2030. Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol said: “City Leap is a world first. We are creating a decarbonised local energy system that Bristol can be proud of. “City Leap is leading the way on carbon reduction, while at the same time addressing important social and economic challenges.

“The inclusion of Bristol Energy is integral to delivering smart energy propositions utilising City Leap’s projects by weaving a number of technologies together, helping to ensure that the company continues to deliver clean energy and social value for local people. Following its unveiling last year, City Leap attracted interest from over 180 local, national and international organisations, including technology firms, investors, community organisations as well as innovative energy and infrastructure developers. The procurement process will now run for a number of months. City Leap will support the Mayor’s ambitions for Bristol to be carbon neutral by 2030. Over £50m has been invested in Bristol’s low-carbon and renewable projects since 2012, and the council has cut its own emissions by 71 per cent since 2005.

Funding for Devon hospital trust Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust have been awarded £6.38m of 100 per cent interest-free funding from Salix Finance as part of their £7.15m energy performance contracting programme. The programme takes a holistic approach across three hospitals to install several energy efficiency technologies. Energy saving measures include a new combined heat and power plant, boiler upgrades, insulation, LED lighting upgrades, solar PV, heating controls, AC controls and air handling unit upgrades, estimated to save the Trust over £1.58m and 1,676 tCO2e annually. Meanwhile, Salix has hit £100m of committed funding within the NHS, enabling savings of over £24m annually. The government-funded organisation has supported over 600 energy reduction projects across 70 NHS trusts in the last decade, with future savings of up to £391m over the lifetime of the energy-efficient technologies.

Executive director steps up at OFGEM Jonathan Brearley is to take over as chief executive of UK energy regulator Ofgem, succeeding Dermot Nolan. Brearley, currently the regulator’s executive director for systems and networks, will take the hot seat when Nolan steps down at the end of February 2020. Nolan, originally appointed as Ofgem chief executive in 2013, last December agreed to an extension of his contract until at least February 2020, as the regulator searched for a successor and to oversee the introduction of Ofgem’s price cap.

OCTOBER 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 07

EIBI_1019_006-7-8-10(T).indd 2

07/10/2019 14:02

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

Network to create clean energy plans Siemens has signed a partnership agreement with UK100, a network of 94 political leaders from across the UK to work with the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to bring together financing from local authorities, private capital and government investment to create clean energy projects at commercial scale. A survey of local authorities by UK100 and an extrapolation of local energy transition strategies developed by Siemens have shown that there is a pipeline of over £100bn clean energy projects which could be rolled out with support from both public and private sector participants. However, only a small proportion of these are at the point of commercialisation, with the remaining at either conceptual or feasibility stages. This partnership builds on the development of five Local Energy Hubs which are being established by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to provide practical support and expertise local authorities.

Data reveals scale of saving potential New data from EDF Energy has revealed that simple energy efficiency changes could deliver over £45m in savings per year across just 4,150 analysed sites. By putting in place various simple energy efficiency measures, the average organisation could achieve a total saving of as much as £46,316 per year. These energy savings would also have a significant environmental impact, and could save over 147,671 tonnes of CO2 per year. This is equivalent to carbon emissions of 80,256 flights between London and Sydney. EDF Energy analysed energy consumption remotely at locations including schools, hospitals, hotels, police stations and offices, using this data to understand the potential for efficiency and carbon reduction at more than 4,150 sites across the country. Across the vast majority of locations, EDF Energy found that as many as 62 per cent of the sites analysed could make huge cost and emissions savings simply by installing energy efficient lighting.

INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY INITIATIVE

Global body to examine energy policy A new high-level global commission has been created, charged with examining “new and stronger policy action” for energy efficiency. It has been formed under the auspices of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which will provide the secretariat. It follows growing concern at the slowdown in the rate of installing energy efficiency measures throughout the developed world. Examples given for the UK include the 90 per cent drop in installation of insulation measures in buildings recorded since 2012. The chair of the IEA global commission is the Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar (above). Included on the board are several current and former ministers drawn mostly from developed nations, plus senior

figures from the fossil fuel and power generation businesses. Surprisingly, there is scant representation from companies directly involved with manufacturing or delivering energy efficiency materials or services. The only Briton included is the Financial Times columnist Nick Butler, whose background is exclusively in the oil industry, latterly for BP. While

his weekly column concerns energy issues, there is no record of his ever having written directly about energy efficiency matters or policies. The high-level commission is due to conclude its work during 2020. It is anticipated that the final report will include recommendations upon the policy actions needed that will rapidly accelerate progress with stimulating greater investment in energy efficiency measures. This initiative appears to mirror similar action taken within the European Union, where the Energy Directorate of the European Commission has put in place a taskforce drawn from 27 national governments, designed to look at how to close the growing gap between energy savings aspiration and reality.

Rapid global uptake of batteries ‘could slash emissions’ A rapid acceleration of battery uptake among the global transport and power sectors could slash their collective annual emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, a new report has concluded. For this reduction in emissions to be delivered – which would notably align the two sectors with the Paris Agreement’s 2C trajectory – the report’s author body, the Global Battery Alliance, claims that the global battery value chain would have to expand to 19 times its current size over the next 11 years. The Global Battery Alliance states in the report, entitled ‘A Vision for a Sustainable Battery Value Chain in 2030’, that $550bn of cumulative investments would be needed to realise this growth and that such investments would need to be spread across the battery value chain, from mineral extraction to waste management. Key investment areas touted in the report are integrating batteries at grid-scale, increasing the productivity with which batteries are used and creating a circular economy for end-of-life batteries.

On the latter, the report notes that battery recycling, if properly supported by policy and infrastructure, could deliver 13 per cent of the world’s demand for cobalt by 2030, with that figure standing at 9 per cent for lithium and 5 per cent for nickel. Wider benefits of growing the global battery value chain in line with the report’s recommendations are halving battery value chain emissions by 2030, and putting the sector on track to hitting net-zero by 2050.

LEM developers ‘must take steps to future proof’ Developers of local energy markets (LEMs) should take steps to future proof them in light of regulatory changes, the Energy Systems Catapult has said. The ESC’s latest policy review, commissioned by the Energy Revolution Integration Service (ERIS) programme, outlines various regulatory and market changes that could effect LEM projects. While many of the changes cited in the report could have positive impacts

on LEMs - for instance the transition of DNOs to DSOs, market-wide half-hourly settlement reform and potential changes to the supplier hub model which currently restricts peerto-peer trading - the report has issued a series of key considerations for the design of future LEMs: • interoperability with future electricity system operator (ESO) and distribution system operator (DSO) platforms and other markets, with technical capabilities to “speak” to

other platforms; • revenue stacking opportunities, including outside of the LEM; • maintenance and coordination of price signals to manage conflicts in market demands and signals that could arise due to there being multiple potential purchasers of energy and flexibility services; and • the balancing and settlement processes within the LEMs, as well as how the LEMs would interact with system-wide settlement processes.

08 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_006-7-8-10(T).indd 3

07/10/2019 14:07

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 03/10/2019 16:41 Page 9

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 3

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

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

High-quality equipment Technically advanced gas-fired unit heaters Reznor, part of Nortek Global HVAC (UK) Limited continue their tradition of manufacturing high efficiency heating equipment, which includes the highly efficient UDSA heating unit. The UDSA units are a technically advanced range of gas fired unit heaters designed to deliver outstanding energy, efficiency, performance and economy for reduced operating and life cycle costs. The heat exchanger achieves 92 per cent (ncv) thermal efficiency reducing energy and consumption and running costs. UDSA units are fitted with a high airflow axial fan for freeblowing applications with model heat outputs ranging from 11kW – 146kW. All units are available for natural gas (g20) as standard but alternatively can be specified for use on Propane (G31) • For more information please visit www.reznor.eu

EUROPEAN COMMISSION EVALUATION

‘Outdated’ taxation rules on products “Outdated and ineffective.” That is the stark, dismissal conclusion made by a formal European Commission evaluation report on the 2003 Energy Taxation Directive (ETD). That directive laid down rules for the taxation of energy products used as motor or heating fuels and for electricity. The fitness check reveals that the ETD is considered to be no longer in line with current climate and energy policy. Commissioner-Designate Frans Timmermans (right) is now tasked with the review of the directive as part of the new European Green Deal (see EiBI Sept 2019). But back in 2015, a very similar Commission initiative failed to persuade national governments to alter the strategy. Energy taxation is entirely a national government matter

throughout Europe. The harmonisation of energy taxation through the ETD was meant to avoid harmful effects from energy tax competition between the 28 Member States. It was intended to encourage national governments to use taxation policy in support of other policies, such as environmental protection, achievement of international climate-related commitments, and greater energy

efficiency. Taxation is recognised as a critical way to influence behaviour regarding investment decisions and the use of energy products. The ETD could therefore be an important tool to enhance energy efficiency. The 2016 Energy Efficiency Directive specifically refers to it in the context of potentially funding alternative systems to energy efficiency obligation schemes. To confuse matters further, an increasing number of countries are claiming energy savings from energy taxes that were introduced long ago for state revenue purposes - one egregious example being the VAT charged on fuel. In the UK it is levied at 5 per cent for energy consumption and at 20 per cent upon energysaving items like double glazing, DIY insulation or solar panels.

Brexit uncertainty boosts threat to regulations Greener UK has warned that threats to environmental regulations related to climate change, waste, air quality and natural resources are escalating due to the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, according to Greener UK. In its latest Brexit ‘Risk tracker’, the coalition of environmental organisations has expressed concerns that a departure from the EU will take place without the implementation of national policies that are to the same standard or exceed the EU’s “relatively strong rules and regulations” on the green agenda. The tracker criticises a lack of detail provided by the Government as to why it wants to diverge from EU regulation. Greener UK also warns that a focus on the fallout of a potential No-Deal Brexit, delayed policy bills and rushed trade agreements with the likes of the US all place national environmental standards under increasing threat.

Greener UK’s chair Shaun Spiers said: “Ministers once promised a ‘green Brexit’, but it is hard to remember a point over the past three years when the environment felt more under threat. “The government must now spell out why it wants the freedom to move away from the high environmental standards we currently enjoy. Rhetorical commitments to “world-class” policies are not enough.” The tracker identifies the risks across the areas of climate and energy, waste and resources, air quality, nature and land use, water and chemicals. On climate and energy, the tracker warns that the ramifications of a No-Deal Brexit would “dominate” the civil service, creating delays in implementing policy and action points that enable the UK to meet its net-zero target. Key risks outlined by Greener UK include a rise in energy bills due to the volatility of the market and a drop in a carbon price.

Utilities giant to move to carbon neutral by 2040 German utilities giant RWE has unveiled a new strategy to transform itself into a carbon-neutral company by 2040 by funnelling billions into renewables projects, decommissioning existing coal-fired plants and backing carbon capture and storage technology. The company will also commit €1.5bn annually in net capital expenditure on onshore and offshore wind technology and solar photovoltaic and storage solutions RWE has already slashed its carbon

emissions by more than 30 percent over a six-year period since 2012 – a decline of more than 60m tonnes of carbon. The new carbon-neutral goal would see an additional 70 per cent reduction on existing levels achieved by 2030, leaving a 10-year window to remove the remainder. “This presents RWE with a huge task,” the company’s chief executive Rolf Martin Schmitz said. “But we have a very clear idea of how to achieve our goal: We will phase out fossil energy sources both consistently

and responsibly. We will make huge investments in wind and solar power as well as in high-capacity storage technologies. “The new RWE is and will remain one of the major players in the electricity generation business.” RWE has announced that it will decommission its last coal-fired power station in the UK, before then taking its coal-fired plants in Germany offline, following the recommendations of the Commission for Structural Change.

10 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_006-7-8-10(T).indd 4

07/10/2019 14:08

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 03/10/2019 16:42 Page 37

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 19

THE WARREN REPORT

10.19 Andrew Warren is chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation

Will the UK move away from European standards? Since the Brexit referendum the UK has looked set to align itself to European energy standards. But now there are worrying signs that the Government may move away from that policy

K electricity consumption is 18 per cent lower than 15 years ago. Some two-thirds of that drop can be ascribed to implementation of European Union energy-using product policy. Effectively, this policy is implemented via two distinct, but related, streams of activity. The first sets minimum standards of efficiency for energy-using products, outlawing the worst fuel-wasters from sale. The second ascribes labels to each of those products, ranging from A to G , revealing likely running costs. Such requirements are currently in place for 28 energy-using product groups. These include domestic products like washing machines and TVs, and business products like power transformers and commercial refrigeration. For the first three years following the Brexit referendum, every single indication from Theresa May’s government was that both of these successful policies would be continued seamlessly even when the UK was no longer formally part of the EU. So UK product policy on energy usage would remain aligned with that in operation right across Europe – likely to remain UK manufacturers’ largest single market. This continuity would have ensured that the energy savings already achieved would remain for future years. And as new products continue to be added to the substantial list of those covered, the expectation had been that UK manufacturers operating in each sector

would continue to make products that, at minimum, always complied with European standards. It is now becoming clear that this is no longer the policy of the new Johnson-led Government. Initial revelations from respected sources like the Financial Times and the Economist magazine have hinted that the international trade department is informing those in non-European countries that such “environmental” standards could become “more flexible.” The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, tweeted that this was his understanding too. Then the BBC’s veteran environmental analyst Roger Harrabin revealed that he had been sent a formal statement that effectively confirmed that. Post-Brexit, the UK could adopt very different, if any, minimum standards for energy usage by relevant products. He also revealed that Downing Street zealots were restricting UK officials even from attending formal EU meetings that were considering future initiatives regarding product policy. This diktat is applying even though the UK is still formally a member of the EU.

Potential ramifications for UK manufacturers All this has considerable potential ramifications for UK manufacturers of any such products. Even if the UK were in future to opt to run its own esoteric energy standards, that would still leave UK manufacturers seriously disadvantaged. It would mean that – in order to be able to sell anything into the entire continental European market- such UK-made products would inevitably need to comply with the EU’s requirements. The other big difference is that UK-based firms would no longer have any formal say in deciding the detail of all new standards being adopted. Essentially, becoming rule-takers, rather than rule-makers. As it happens, there is already one example of this absurdity around. Last month the Business Department launched a public consultation concerning another set of proposed product changes. This covers product areas like chargers for mobile phones, monitors and computers - of which 80m are sold in the UK annually. Details can be found by Googling Ecodesign requirements for external power supplies: draft regulation. Responses are due by October 15.

‘If the UK were in future to opt to run its own esoteric energy standards that would disadvantage British manufacturers’

This consultation follows precisely the same procedure as has occurred for every single product category covered under this directive. As usual, it includes a very comprehensive economic impact assessment of the proposal. This demonstrates persuasively that, while there are some gross costs in introducing such minimum standards, taken overall, the benefits that will accrue will be substantial. The benefit cost ratio is 2.3. These gains are financial, providing lower running costs for consumers. And by reducing energy usage, there are very beneficial ecological consequences. The impact assessment includes two other options. The first follows common practice, to establish whether the same market improvements could be achieved by a voluntary agreement with relevant companies. Earlier consultation with relevant companies across Europe has revealed this to be a non-starter. But the second alternative option is a distinct Brexit novelty. It explores the pros and cons of not proceeding with this proposal in the UK at all. It states that “the main reason why this option has not been pursued further is that, without regulation, manufacturing decisions and consumer behaviour is likely to be dictated by upfront costs more than energy efficiency”. Effectively, this a succinct restatement of the entire justification for introducing regulation into the marketplace, so as to increase investment levels in energy efficiency. At the end of October, a big EU consultation forum will be held in Brussels , under this same Eco Design Directive. This time dealing with water pumps. There are, as ever, considerable UK manufacturing interests likely to be affected. As of now, UK government officials will not be attending. Nobody officially will be able to put the case for British businesses. Options exist which could detrimentally affect such interests. Leaving that empty chair may be portrayed by some as an overt gesture of true Brexit purity. Those operating in the real world might describe it as another pointless gesture that is truly a dereliction of duty by government. And a giant step back from ever achieving net zero carbon. 

12 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_012_(M).indd 1

04/10/2019 12:53

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 07/10/2019 15:33 Page 13

EV BRIEFING HOSTED BY TOTAL GAS & POWER 14 NOVEMBER 2019 THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, ONE GREAT GEORGE STREET, WESTMINSTER, LONDON We’re proud to invite you to this free MEUC half-day event, ﬁnishing with round-table discussions over lunch, which will provide insight into upcoming developments in EV charging infrastructure, storage and metering. For further information, please contact: claire.slade@meuc.co.uk or call 0203 432 0332

PUTTING ENERGY TO WORK

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 28

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

Wireless-based solutions allow energy managers added flexibility in the operation of buildings

Simplicity is the key Where once individual and overall building systems inclined towards the unwieldy and complex, a new generation of ‘smart’ wireless solutions is easier to implement and makes it far easier to achieve optimum results, says Colin Lawson

s the need for building systems to perform both effectively and costeffectively has become more acute, so has the demand for control solutions that allow building managers and other end-users to get the most out of their systems. With the debate around climate change and the shift towards a carbon-neutral economy intensifying again in recent months, the expectations of control networks will only continue to grow. The good news is that, increasingly, technology is catching up with customer needs. Until recently, the preponderance of wired networks meant that connecting even medium-sized lighting installations to control systems could be expensive and time-consuming. Traditionally, luminaires have been connected through wired networks that incorporate each and every fitting to achieve total control. While the benefits of such networks – often controlled using the DALI protocol – can be considerable, they can also lead to significant additional cabling requirements for contractors and designers, with all the attendant cost implications that one would expect. Intricate cabled networks are

also more difficult to amend when luminaires fail or need to be updated. These legacy-style systems have also tended to possess limitations in terms of flexibility. The fact that they have generally required a central access point to act as the building management system has reduced the capacity for remote operation and/or control by multiple users. Needless to say, this has also contributed to overall lighting installations being more complex and, arguably, more susceptible to faults and security threats.

Wireless infrastructure The benefits of moving from a wired to wireless infrastructure are extensive and begin with the luminaire itself. In a wireless system, integrated wireless nodes are housed within the luminaire and communicate with each other, eradicating the need for a connected network with substantial cabling requirements. Other components include integrated PIR and daylight harvesting sensors, with each node communicating with the overarching control system – allowing basic but critical parameters for each fixture to be amended quickly and easily.

‘Contemporary lighting systems are far more conducive to tracking energy’ Not only do wireless systems facilitate greater flexibility in the present, they also open up more opportunities in the future. With the extra cabling needs removed, networks can be scaled up with a minimum of fuss, while additional spaces or even separate buildings can be brought under the control of the same system. For designers and consultants, this means that lighting installations at the time of commissioning no longer need to be set in stone. Instead, they can be adjusted painlessly as the occupancy and usage patterns of individual spaces or entire buildings change. Contemporary lighting systems are also far more conducive to tracking energy consumption and making adjustments accordingly. For example, live energy monitoring allows building managers to be better informed on how their facility is being used and make corresponding amendments to lighting schedules and settings. It’s also easier to

Colin Lawson is head of sales and marketing at Tamlite Lighting

set up individual lighting scenes and schedules, with sensors and photocell receptors able to be customised to suit the requirements of different groups and usage patterns. Scenes can be set and reset, and then controlled by end-users via wall-panels. Inevitably, safety and security are priority concerns with all building systems, and lighting is no exception. Once again, it’s an area in which the latest generation of smart wireless systems can prove their worth, with the vast majority operating at a frequency (often 868MHz) outside of the spectrum occupied by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth systems. This renders them significantly less susceptible to disruption, allowing the wireless network to operate in a secure and stable way. Not surprisingly, an increasing number of vendors are now moving away from wired systems towards wireless-based solutions. Tamlite is among them, and at this year’s Smart Buildings Show – which takes place at Olympia, London, from 9-10 October – the company will launch its new Vision Smart lighting system. In collaboration with wireless lighting control specialist LiteIP, the new system is wireless – making it ideal for retro-fits as well as new-builds – and is scalable for installations ranging from a single office space to an entire building or multiple facilities. Smart applications with PIR, daylight and emergency options allow building managers to optimise their use of energy, while it is also possible to set individual luminaires to different light levels. This allows users to select the scene that suits their needs, for example in a meeting room, the lighting can be immediately dimmed to ‘presentation’ mode, if needed. Where once the commissioning and maintenance of building systems could be a fraught affair, the latest generation of smart systems is reducing the impact on facilities’ cost-base, infrastructure and personnel. And with wired systems set to be consigned to the history books in the not-too-distant future, it is the vendors who are able to offer the most user-friendly methods of monitoring and optimising energy usage who are certain to be in the greatest demand. 

14 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_014(M).indd 1

04/10/2019 13:01

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 03/10/2019 16:41 Page 15

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 7

LuxLive Preview For further information on LuxLive visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 126

Education and illumination

LuxLive is the leading event for anyone who supplies, buys, specifies and designs lighting. The exhibition and conference returns to London’s ExCel, November 13-14

s the only showcase specifically dedicated to innovation in lighting, LuxLive is where more than 200 international brands launch new solutions and discuss innovative technologies with an influential audience of over 6,000 specifiers and end-user buyers. Its location in London, a global lighting design hub, and its historical ties with the UK market, make LuxLive a firmly established date for both suppliers and manufacturers selling into the British market. It also offers a platform for those companies seeking to get involved in international projects via architectural and consulting engineering practices who operate out of the capital. You will be able to meet some world class, industry leading lighting manufacturers including; LEDFLEX, Bluetooth, Signify, P4 Fastel, Osram, Recolight, Thorlux, Seoul Semiconductor, Hacel Lighting and LiteIP. Co-located with LuxLive is ‘lightspace london’, the ultimate event for architects and lighting designers to discover inspirational ideas from iconic and new-to-market international brands. Both LuxLive and lightspace benefit from the interaction between their audiences, maximising their attendance in London to deliver two days of unmissable business generation, networking and learning. The organisers, Clarion Events have secured over 100 world-class industry speakers to deliver cutting edge sessions packed with inspiration. Smart Spaces and Wellbeing, Emergency Lighting, Women in Lighting, and the Illuminated City, are just some of the exciting features visitors can enjoy over two days, completely free of charge. Access to all sessions is on a first-come, first-served basis.

relevant standards and is maintained and tested regularly. In this special conference we’ll bring together the top experts in the field to answer all the key questions and we’ll explore emerging technologies and protocols such as automatic testing, internetconnect systems and stay-put lighting.

Lighting for Workplace and Wellbeing The biggest trend in workplaces right now is wellbeing. Younger employees are shunning grey and formal corporate headquarters and instead demanding engaging, healthy and playful environments. And lighting is playing a key role. In this special conference, we explore how light – both natural and electric – is delivering the workplace of the future.

The role of digital technology and the Internet of Things will come under the spotlight at LuxLive

on the lighting design community to respond creatively, sensitively and responsibly to how we illuminate our urban environment for its inhabitants. In this timely seminar, the transformative power of lighting interventions in challenging urban areas will be explored and a range of successful projects both in the UK and overseas will be examined.

Smart Spaces + Smarter Lighting If you are a developer, landlord, tenant or technologist responsible for delivering the digital workplace, this is your must-attend seminar track.

The Illuminated City With over half the world’s population now living in cities, it’s incumbent

Women in Lighting Learn how digital technology, including the Internet of Things, is creating enhanced environments and delivering data for actionable insights into productivity and utilisation

Emergency Lighting At this time of heightened concern about fire safety standards, it’s more important than ever that emergency lighting is fully compliant with all

Women In Lighting is an inspirational digital platform that profiles women working in the field of lighting design. It aims to promote their passion and achievements, narrate their career path and goals, celebrate their work and therefore help elevate their profile in the lighting community. Starting with lighting designers, the scope will expand to include women in all aspects of lighting - education, journalism, manufacturing, art and research. The project launch is being supported by formalighting, a familyowned lighting manufacturer with over 50 years and two generations dedicated to architectural lighting. A keynote address will take place at the lightspace arena with networking and refreshments to follow at the lightspace café on 13th November at 4.30pm. This special event will kick off with Project co-founder, Sharon Stammers from Light Collective and lead into a special keynote from Paule Constable, award winning lighting designer.  • Delegates can secure their registration at the links below: LuxLive – www.luxlive.co.uk

16 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_016(M).indd 1

04/10/2019 13:06

‘Xx xx xx xx

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 07/10/2019 18:11 Page 17

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 8

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 9

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 07/10/2019 12:22 Page 18

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

Connected lighting technology brings smart office closer Norwegian IT systems integrator Atea has redefined the meaning of “smart office” with its office building in Stavanger, Norway, thanks to connected lighting technology from Signify and network technology from Cisco. Described as a “living lab”, the office acts as a showcase for integrating the latest in connected technology on a single converged network. Key to smart office capabilities at Atea is Interact Office from Signify, a suite of connected lighting monitoring and management software, and connected sensors and luminaires from Signify. Atea wanted the newest technology available. New technologies within Interact include a personal control app for the lighting system, an accurate indoor location system that uses a combination of LED lighting and Cisco DNA Spaces, and even LiFi for lightbased, high-bandwidth wireless connectivity. Atea staff and building managers can now: • adapt their workspaces to their needs. With

light-based indoor positioning and a smart phone app, employees can tailor the lighting levels and temperature to their preferences; • optimise space requirements and workspace design; • eliminate meeting room hassle and find workspaces,

facilities, and colleagues; and • get a natural boost. With bio-adaptive lighting installed in the atrium, employees are able to benefit from enhanced alertness, comfort, as well as productivity. “The converged IP network powers and integrates all of the building’s different systems with IEEE standards, and efficiencies are gained through this approach,” added Derek Wright, global sub-segment manager, office, education and municipal buildings at Signify. “With Cisco and Atea, we’ve gone beyond just theory and have implemented a real-world example of the smart office of the future.” At Atea Stavanger, the connected lighting system is an integral component of the building’s IoT platform. Connected luminaires and their multi sensors transmit data via the IP network, which is deployed using Cisco Ethernet switches. Many of the building’s luminaires connect to the converged infrastructure using Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) —meaning these luminaires are powered and controlled through the Ethernet infrastructure, without the need for separate electrical wiring, and can easily transmit collected data to the cloud. ONLINE ENQUIRY 127

London school set to make savings thanks to LEDs Lansbury Lawrence Primary School is on track to save almost £9,000 a year following an upgrade to LED lighting financed by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Carbon Offset Fund and supplied by Energys Group. Lansbury Lawrence Primary School was designed to provide open spaces for learning with large windows to maximise levels of natural light and, nearly 70 years later, students are still benefiting from its modernist design. Nevertheless, utility bills are a major overhead for the school, following behind salary and PFI costs. With running costs increasing by 5-10% a

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 10

year – in a climate of falling income – there was real pressure on the school’s management team to identify ways to make operational savings. Sensibly, the school had invested in new housing and diffusers for its lighting a few years ago. As such, it

appeared that a straightforward bulk retrofit of LED lighting would be all that was needed to make a real impact on its energy bills. Whilst the school can call upon its PFI contract for standard maintenance work, an upgrade of this scale fell outside the scope of that arrangement. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets set up the Carbon Offset Fund to support projects that bring similar benefits. The team at Lansbury Lawrence had explored the potential for financial support with energy managers at the local authority and then presented a detailed business case to them for

financial support of £27,600 for this project. This upgrade included both internal and external lighting for the whole school and the LED Retrofit Tubes, LED Linear fittings, LED Panels, LED Wall lights, Emergency Light fittings, LED Flood lights and Outdoor Wall lights were all provided from Energys Group’s own range. Raj Gunasekaran, business development manager at Energys Group said: “Students will now benefit from all the known benefits of LED lighting, including reduced eyestrain and improved alertness and cognition.” ONLINE ENQUIRY 128

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 07/10/2019 12:22 Page 19

Products In Action

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

When Gothic architecture meets modern efficiency

Radiant panels bring warmth to Kent school It was a case of natural selection when Dunham-Bush Evolution radiant panels were installed at the recently refurbished sports hall and gymnasium at the Charles Darwin School in Biggin Hill, Kent. When selecting heating for large volume spaces, such as sports halls, there are specific environmental considerations that need to be taken into account, in particular siting flexibility and energy efficiency. Radiant panels are often the preferred choice because they can be installed at high level, either freely suspended, ceiling mounted or high on a wall. As the panels are sited remotely from the activities, there are no concerns about damage, obstruction or air movement that might impact on the activities themselves, (badminton for example). The installation included 144m of Evolution with a total output of 80kW for the main sport hall, which includes a full-size basketball pitch and 60m of Evolution with a total heat output of 33kW for the gymnasium, which also features a trampoline facility. “It made good engineering and economic sense to replace the old gas-fired tubes system with low temperature hot water radiant panels,” said William King, director of H & V Building Services, main contractors for the heating work. “The Evolution radiant panels have the additional benefit of being highly efficient, maintenance free and aesthetically attractive,” he added. Earlier phases at the school included upgrading the heating in the classrooms and 52 Dunham-Bush Series AM fan convectors were ONLINE ENQUIRY 101 installed.

Studley Castle Hotel has been sensitively redeveloped to offer guests the glamour of Gothic architecture with the benefits of modern energy efficiency, achieved with the help of Kingspan Industrial Insulation. The Warwickshire-based hotel is steeped in a fascinating history which spans life as a family home, women-only college, and offices. British hotel owners, Warner Leisure Hotels, has expanded and restructured elements of the site to enhance its architectural appeal, and deliver luxurious spaces for guests to escape to when it opens in March 2019. A key stipulation for the £50m renovation was to drastically reduce its carbon footprint. To ensure that the services were as effective as possible, Chase Insulation selected Kingspan Kooltherm Pipe Insulation to insulate the pipework to help reduce primary energy use and carbon emissions. Studley Castle’s refurbishment and extension has been designed to exceed the current energy performance requirements for Building Regulations

compliance. With an aged thermal conductivity as low as 0.025 W/mK (at 10°C mean), Kingspan Kooltherm Pipe Insulation could help meet this target. As a result, 15,318 lm was specified in thicknesses ranging from 15 mm–25 mm throughout the site for all heating and domestic water services to work towards future proofing the hotel. The pipework supplies 200 guest rooms in the original castle and across a contemporary three-storey wing, restaurant, lounges, and a health suite within a converted stable block which includes a pool ONLINE ENQUIRY 103 and spa.

Air to water heat pumps meet customers' expectations Spire View, a development of 20 new executive four and fivebedroom homes in the market town of March in Cambridgeshire by James Development Co. Ltd, has been equipped by Panasonic distributor Oceanair with renewable Panasonic Aquarea Monobloc air to water heat pumps to supply heating and domestic hot water to each home. With sustainability and quality high on the agenda for this new modern development in March, Cambridgeshire, making the right choices through intensive research for all elements in the specification throughout the properties, was very important to the developer. Marcel Cooper, construction director of James Developments

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 11

commented: “We find that today’s prospective purchasers are far more aware of environmental issues, emissions and the need for their homes to be sustainable. Purchasers increasingly look for cleaner, greener homes and are far more mindful of potential running costs. By comparison, we installed air source heat pumps in a development of 36 homes about ten years ago but then,

purchasers were not aware of the benefits and economies that air source heat pumps offered although they were all very pleased with the way the homes functioned once they had moved in. Now, information online and in the media has made the average purchaser visiting site today more aware that air source heat pumps are a desirable way to provide renewable heating.” Spire View consists of 20 new high-end, executive four- and five-bedroom homes, with the four-bedroom homes having one en-suite and a family bathroom while the five-bedroom homes have three en-suites and a family bathroom.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 102

Batteries & Energy Storage For further information on ENGIE visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 129

Plug in to the flexible benefits of battery storage The ability to store energy on site and use that power when required is an increasingly important capability for large manufacturing and industrial sites, says Graham Oxley

he UK’s energy mix is moving towards a greater proportion of renewable generation and a reduction in more stable and consistent fossil fuel-based generation. From National Grid’s point of view, that means more electricity storage and flexibility is required in the network to help stabilise supply and demand, given the increasingly intermittent power generation mix. For businesses, advancements in battery technology (in both performance and cost) mean that installing battery energy storage on site is now a more viable and affordable option than ever – and one that offers multiple benefits beyond simple power back-up. Batteries can be specified to complement the capacity of any site. Large batteries on industrial sites can be stored securely outdoors. Batteries are connected into the site’s electricity load ‘behind the meter’ – so charging the battery will increase the site load, and discharging the battery will displace (reduce) site load. Batteries have no effect on site processes, and can be connected to both low-voltage and high-voltage networks. All battery control and monitoring can be optimised remotely from a non-site based control centre. At the simplest level, batteries provide essential back-up power to protect a site from power cuts, voltage dips or other power-quality issues. It means the business will always have a source of power on site to keep essential processes running at all times, preventing disruption to operations. Batteries can be used to replace older diesel generators, offering a more environmentally friendly back-up that contributes to reducing carbon emissions for the business. One of the most lucrative benefits of battery storage is participation in National Grid’s balancing services.

National Grid requires demand-side participants (businesses) to help it balance network supply and demand. Electricity stored in batteries can provide much-needed flexibility to National Grid, enabling businesses to earn revenue by offering their battery capacity to the network.

Dynamic frequency response Batteries are particularly suited to participation in dynamic frequency response. To provide this service, a business’s batteries will be connected directly to the grid and be automatically charged or discharged in response to frequency variations – helping National Grid to maintain control over system frequency. A site with batteries connected to the grid can provide the service continuously, and will receive ongoing payments for participation. By drawing on battery power to reduce demand from the grid at peak times, businesses can reduce their exposure to the high charges associated with Distribution Use of System (DUoS) red bands, Triads and Capacity Market charge periods. By contracting with an experienced battery solutions provider, a site’s batteries can be discharged and recharged remotely in response to price fluctuations, helping to

dynamically shift load to avoid the highest costs. Regulations are changing, however, and Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR) has altered the way Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges are levied, so they will no longer be associated with Triad periods (from 2022-2023 onwards). That will remove the incentive to reduce consumption during Triad periods for many businesses. However, the Forward Looking Charge Review (FLCR) is underway and will change the incentives for demand flexibility. It means that opportunities for load shifting to avoid peak charges will change, but the flexibility provided by battery energy storage will always give a business the best chance to

Integrating batteries into a business’ energy management regime could soon become commonplace

Graham Oxley is ENGIE managing director of Energy with Services

capitalise on whatever incentives and regulations are in place over the long term. Traditionally, on-site batteries have been associated with storing electricity generated by solar panels. But using batteries solely to store excess electricity generated when the sun shines can be a challenging business model. Batteries can certainly be used for this purpose, but to optimise battery capabilities, solar and storage warrants a more complex run regime for the battery – a regime that maximises opportunities for generating revenue, reducing costs and implementing carbon-reduction strategies. Once batteries are installed, they can be maintained and monitored remotely. As part of a managed run regime, batteries can be charged and discharged continuously to optimise opportunities for revenue generation and cost reduction. Such continuous battery deployment will take into account a business’s operational needs, alongside prevailing market rates, regulatory charges and balancing mechanism opportunities. Industrial-scale batteries are a relative newcomer to the demandside market, and ENGIE is exploring new opportunities for businesses to maximise revenues from these assets. One emerging opportunity is the potential to participate in National Grid’s wholesale energy market balancing mechanism. Previously, only large-scale generators successfully participated, but an increased focus by National Grid on smaller loads along with ever developing technology is increasingly opening up this income stream to demand-side participants, offering new opportunities for businesses to generate revenue from their on-site battery energy storage capacity. Integrating batteries into a business’ energy-management regime could soon become part of business as usual for many large manufacturing and industrial organisations. Batteries are so much cleaner, easier to maintain and simpler to deploy than diesel generators as a source of back-up power. But the real advantages come in the opportunities that batteries unlock for participation in balancing market services and in managing energy flexibly. 

20 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_020(M).indd 1

04/10/2019 13:15

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 07/10/2019 12:03 Page 21

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 12

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 13

Batteries & Energy Storage

Rob Samuelson is business development director for energy storage and distributed energy at Bryt Energy Ltd

For further information on Bryt Energy Ltd visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 130

Take the long-term view The potential for battery storage in a changing energy landscape is huge. Rob Samuelson believes we are on the cusp of a revolution in this sector

ith consumers becoming more climate aware and groups such as the RE1001 committing to 100 per cent renewable electricity, the energy landscape is changing. There’s more demand than ever for businesses to behave ethically and sustainably, and a potential £860bn market for brands who promote their green credentials2. Battery storage may not seem like an obvious part of the solution, yet it will be key to decarbonising the UK. With renewable power, it can help us reach our 2050 net-zero emissions and minimise business electricity costs along the way. Battery technology is a key component of upgrading the grid’s infrastructure in the most cost-effective way. As a balancing technology, it can manage peaks and troughs in supply and demand, and encourage more renewable generation both locally and nationally. It also provides cost savings, revenues, flexibility and resilience to businesses. The growing uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) is an excellent example of the critical role batteries will play. EVs are putting increased stress on

the grid because of their charging demands. Locally, businesses electrifying their fleets may need costly network upgrades to manage peak power demands. Installing a battery on-site can ease the strain on supply; they can store energy for discharge at peak times to avoid overloading the network connection. This also provides businesses with carbon savings which can contribute to ESOS requirements3. However, the risk is that nonrenewable sources will power EVs at times of high system demand, moving from one carbon intensive fuel (petrol or diesel) to another (electricity generated by fossil fuels). On-site batteries can help with this by storing zero carbon, renewable electricity for use at peak charging times. This will give businesses the peace of mind that their EV fleets are truly green and powered by renewable sources. Battery storage also has the potential to help the environment, by creating more capacity for renewables on the grid. During peak times, non-renewable, carbon emitting generation sources are more likely to be used to meet demand. By charging batteries during off-peak hours, it is more likely that the electricity

comes from renewable, carbon free generation sources. On the other hand, discharging stored renewable energy during these peak periods can help meet demand and reduce the amount of carbon emitting generation being used on the grid. The same can be done locally if a business has an on-site generation source, such as Solar PV.

High disruption costs Resilience (i.e. back up power) is key to certain industry sectors who value continuity and have high disruption costs from downtime. On-site battery storage can offer a back-up solution, by separating businesses from the grid in the event of a power cut or poor connection. Perhaps most importantly, installing a battery system can reduce long term energy and network costs for businesses, by moving the demand for electricity away from expensive times of day. Therefore, it mitigates the problems of a volatile energy market, driven by international fuel prices, supply and demand, and power plant availability. This will offer greater price certainty and budget security to businesses. Additionally, an on-site battery can help to negate hidden costs, such

as excess capacity charges, through peak shaving (reducing power spikes) and load shifting (moving demand from peak consumption periods). This can help to reduce businesses’ total electricity bills and free up finances to reinvest elsewhere. The obstacles to battery storage uptake include a lack of knowledge around the increasing variety of systems available, as well as their applications. For example, COMAHregulated businesses4 (Control of Major Accident Hazards) may carry the misconception that a battery installation isn’t suitable for their sites. However, recent technological advances mean there are now lowrisk, non-lithium battery options specifically suitable for them. Another concern is the high capital expenditure required for a system. A battery requires significant investment and forethought, providing a longer-term payback than many businesses may traditionally consider. Additionally, in some businesses there may be conflict between financial and environmental considerations among decision markers, preventing investment. These pre-conceptions and anxieties mean batteries still have a low uptake rate. But manufacturers and suppliers are creating innovative funding solutions to encourage their adoption. There are more diverse, scalable and low-cost battery solutions available to your business than ever before. The key is to work with a supplier that can educate you not only on the right battery technology, but how to use it to provide your business with flexibility. With funding and finance options now available for some batteries, an attitude shift needs to take place. We should no longer view batteries as an expensive purchase in the shortterm, but a long-term investment that’s integral to the future of both businesses and the energy industry. 

References 1) http://there100.org/ 2) Unilever Study https://www.unilever. com/news/press-releases/2017/reportshows-a-third-of-consumers-prefersustainable-brands.html 3) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energysavings-opportunity-scheme-esos 4) http://www.hse.gov.uk/comah/index.htm

22 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_022(M).indd 1

04/10/2019 13:17

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 03/10/2019 16:42 Page 33

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 16

Batteries & Energy Storage For further information on Hoppecke UK visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 132

In search of security The major power outage on August 9 brought into sharp focus the need for businesses to make provision for loss of power. Stuart Browne looks at where organisations should start

n today’s climate of heightened commercial risk one of the main issues facing businesses is that of security of energy supply. Most accept that a quality UPS has to be at the heart of an energy resilience strategy to ensure data security and business continuity. What they don’t realise is that even the very best of UPS systems is only as good as the batteries that power it. August 9, when almost 1m electricity supplies went down, brought into sharp focus that a reputable UPS is effectively the best insurance policy for minimising business disruption. Initially attributed to a lightning strike, the outage gave rise to major issues across large parts of England and Wales. While power was restored in around 4 minutes, the incident sent a shockwave through the system. The grid has 1,000MW of reserve back up power but the scale of the power loss in this incident exceeded 1,400MW. So, although the grid’s reserve satisfies current regulatory standards, it proved to be insufficient to meet demand. Who is to say that a combination of the factors experienced on August 9 could not recur, leading to a similar, or worse, power failure at a future date? Following its review of the incident, National Grid says its programme for improved blackout safeguards will be brought forward to ensure greater resilience. In the short term, concerns centre on the disruption to dayto-day business operations due to unscheduled downtime, equipment damage, lost inventory and data loss. Over time there could be damage to brand, reputation and important commercial relationships that is harder to repair. Businesses need to review their strategies for coping with a major energy failure. It means making a serious commitment to investing in backup power generation to combat the threat of what many consider to

Huge demand has prompted the world’s suppliers of battery systems to ramp up R&D investment

be the grid’s increasing vulnerability and ensuring that both generators and UPS are tested at regular intervals. In terms of cost, a medium-sized operation should expect to spend tens of thousands of pounds on an appropriate UPS. Few businesses appreciate that the cost of the batteries alone can be equal to the cost of the UPS. Battery capacity and system load must be matched so opting for cheaper or smaller batteries in an effort to save money and reduce overall expenditure on a UPS, however tempting, would be a mistake. Installing batteries that are The humble battery is at the heart of technological innovation that will offer greater energy flexibility

not suited to the application could weaken the entire UPS, seriously undermining an otherwise sound energy resilience strategy and potentially putting the business at even greater risk.

Maintenance programme Battery build quality is vital and, along with a proper maintenance programme, should result in a design life of up to 12 years. However, this drops to around 5 years and the ability to deliver the expected ampere hours is reduced by up to 30 per cent where batteries are incorrectly specified

Stuart Browne is operations director - sales and service at Hoppecke UK

or poorly maintained. This gap in performance can present a huge and unforeseen risk. Maintenance of modern valve regulated UPS batteries is minimal, yet is important in preserving design life and should be the remit of experienced engineers. Since the units are sealed and it is impossible to see or access inside, it takes an expert eye to conduct a visual inspection of the case. Taking voltage and impedance readings on an annual basis, year on year, is recommended as it provides a sensible comparison and helps determine whether the cell is deteriorating. The best advice is to work with a reputable supplier that will take responsibility for everything from product manufacture, supply and installation to maintenance, ensuring both the batteries and their ongoing maintenance are afforded top billing in any reserve power installation. Of course, the bigger picture is that the power system we all rely on is transforming, as governments endeavour to phase out the use of fossil fuels to reduce their impact on our climate. As we switch from diesel to electric in a variety of fields, from materials handling equipment to cars and trains, the demands on the grid are set to become ever greater. Simultaneously, we are making the transition to renewable sources of energy and solar storage. It is estimated that within two decades around 65 per cent of electricity will be produced this way. We are also starting to use more distributed energy supplies, all of which will impact the grid. Huge growth in demand for this technology has prompted the world’s leading battery specialists to ramp up investment in R&D. It means that once we have collected energy from renewable sources we will be able to create reserves of power by storing it across any number of chosen locations until it is required. Then it is simply a matter of supply to homes and businesses via highly efficient charging stations. The humble battery then, is at the heart of technological innovation that will give us greater flexibility whilst also helping to protect the future security of our energy supply. 

24 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_024(M).indd 1

05/10/2019 12:18

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

SERIES 17 | MODULE 05 | DRIVES & MOTORS

Make drives and motors efficient By Adetunji Lawal, BSSEC Associate

n electric motor is a device for converting electrical energy to rotary kinetic (movement) energy in order to power a process. Examples of processes include HVAC fans and pumps, a washing machine, and a process conveyor belt. Indeed, motors are found in a vast majority of equipment in our everyday life. Electric motive power is likely to form a large part of an organisation’s energy consumption, especially as a typical motor will consume energy ten times its purchase cost over its lifetime. Motor use is significant in the UK, Europe and indeed across the world. In the UK fans use approximately 40 per cent of all electricity in HVAC systems. In the USA electric motordriven systems and motor-driven components in appliances and equipment account for more than 25 per cent of the primary energy consumption in both the residential and commercial sectors. According to the European Union electric motors and appliances that they power use almost 50 per cent of the electricity in Europe. In industry, machines driven by electric motors consume two thirds of all electrical energy. They are found in machines such as elevators, cranes and cooling systems. More efficient motors could save EU member states around 135TWh of electricity by 2020 – equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of Sweden. This means over 60m tonnes of CO2 emissions will be avoided. When an electrical current is applied to the motor, a rotating magnetic field is created around the stator. This induces currents and associated magnetic fields in the rotor, causing the rotor and shaft to spin. The shaft is mounted on bearings and is thus able to rotate freely.

There are three mains types of motors: alternating current (AC) (see Fig. 1) motors, direct current (DC) motors, and electronically commutated (EC). AC induction motors are either single speed or variable speed motors. Single speed AC motors are fixed-speed caged induction motors which use conventional alternating electric current (AC). They are ideally suited to applications where a constant motor output speed is required. When viewed from the electrical input, there are single-phase and

3-phase induction motors. Single phase motors generally move small loads but can suffer up to a 10 per cent loss in efficiency compared to three-phase motors used in commercial buildings. Electronically commutated (EC) motors are essentially brushless DC motors. Electronically commutated motors are now in wide use in the lower power categories due to their higher efficiency performance especially at part-load conditions. In recent times permanent magnet motors have become increasingly used. A permanent magnet motor

Fig. 1. How it works. The AC motor

Produced in Association with

OCTOBER 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 25

EIBI_1019_025-28(M).indd 1

07/10/2019 14:52

SERIES 17 | MODULE 05 | DRIVES & MOTORS

is a type of brushless electric motor that uses permanent magnets rather than winding in the field. For residential and commercial sectors, they are becoming common, due to being increasingly cost-effective, and non-energy benefits such as reduced noise and the ability to reach higher rotational speeds. Motors can range in size/scale from small motors (<0.75kW) for a remote control car to medium (0.75-375kW) to very large industrial shredder motors (over 375kW). Electric drives are normally classified into three groups: individual, group and multi-motor drives. If a single motor is used to drive or actuate a given mechanism and it does all the work connected with this load, it is called an individual drive. When groups of machines are organised on one shaft and driven or actuated by one motor, the system is called a group drive or line shaft drive. This can be economical overall as a single large capacity motor often costs less than multiple small motors. A multi-motor drive consists of several individual motors which serve many mechanisms in production applications. This type of drive finds its application in complicated machine tools, travelling cranes, rolling mills, etc. For example, in a travelling crane three motors are used, one for hoisting, other for long travel motion and third for cross travel motion Electrical motor efficiency is the ratio between shaft output power and electrical input power. If power output is measured in Watt then efficiency can be expressed as: ηm = Pout / Pin where: ηm = motor efficiency Pout = shaft power out (Watt, W) Pin = electric power in to the motor (Watt, W)

Date

Motor Range

EU Minimum Efficiency Standard

June 2011

Small and Medium: 0.75 kW to 375 kW

IE2 (with fixed or variable speed control)

January 2015

Medium: 7.5 kW to 375 kW

IE3 (with fixed or variable speed control) IE2 (with variable speed control)

January 2017

Small and Medium: 0.75 kW to 375 kW

IE3 (with fixed or variable speed control) IE2 (with variable speed control)

power lost in the primary rotor and secondary stator winding which is from resistance; • iron losses: they occur as a result of magnetic energy dissipated when the motors magnetic field is applied to the stator core; • mechanical losses: these include friction in the motor bearings and the fan for air cooling. • stray losses: These are the losses that remain after primary copper and secondary losses, iron losses and mechanical losses. The largest contribution to the stray losses is harmonic energies generated when the motor operates under load. These energies are dissipated as currents in the copper winding, harmonic flux components in the iron parts, leakage in the laminate core.

Difficulty dissipating heat In general, as motor power increases, the efficiency of the motor at full load also increases. This is partially due to the difficulty in dissipating heat in smaller motors. Higher power motors also operate close to peak efficiency for a wide range of loading conditions. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has published an international standard that defines five energy efficiency classes for single-speed, three-phase motors (IE1, IE2, IE3, IE4 and IE5). This standard has also been adopted as Fig. 3 Power path in an electric car

The efficiency of electric motors is different depending on the type of the motor. It is higher in high-power machines and lower in the low-power ones. It usually varies between 75 per cent and 95 per cent. Efficiency losses occur in motors from a variety of sources: • copper losses: this is electrical

Fig. 2 IE Code motor efficiency

94/9/EC; and • brake motors, where the brake cannot be removed or separately operated.

Growth of electric cars

a European and UK Standard (BS EN 60034-30:2014). Using the graph in Fig. 2, it can be seen that an IE1 10kW motor is around 86 per cent efficient and an IE5 10kW motor is around 95 per cent efficient. The manufacturer Grundfos states that changing an older pump with IE5 motors can result in 10 per cent energy savings and a 25 per cent reduction in payback time. European electric motor energyefficiency legislation (regulation 4/2014), was designed to ensure all motors sold in the EU from 2017 are rated at IE3 efficiency – unless connected to a variable speed drive, in which case an IE2 motor is acceptable. However there are some exclusions: • motors designed to operate wholly immersed in a liquid; • motors completely integrated into a product (e.g. pump or fan) where the motor’s energy performance cannot be tested independently from the product; • motors in potentially explosive atmospheres as defined in Directive

Nobody could have failed to notice the growth in the use of electric cars. An electric car is propelled by one or more electric motors, using energy stored in rechargeable batteries. These developments could not have been possible without advances in motor technology alongside battery technology. In practice, electric vehicles take in electricity into the batteries which store energy in direct current (DC), electricity is then fed into a DC/AC inverter where it is converted to alternating current (AC) electricity and this AC electricity is connected to a 3-phase AC motor to drive the wheels, It is notable that DC motors are also often used. In recent production vehicles, various motor types have been implemented; Induction motors within Tesla cars and permanent magnet machines in the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt. Several electric cars now have a regen feature, such that during braking, the motor turns into a generator and delivers power back to the batteries. The power of a vehicle’s electric motor, as in other vehicles, is measured in kilowatts (kW). 100kW is roughly equal to 134 horsepower, but electric motors can deliver their maximum torque over a wide RPM range. This means that the performance of a vehicle with a 100kW electric motor exceeds that of a vehicle with a 100kW internal combustion engine, which can only deliver its maximum torque within a limited range of engine speed. Energy is lost during the process of converting the electrical energy to mechanical energy. Approximately 90 per cent of the energy from the

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

EIBI_1019_025-28(M).indd 2

07/10/2019 14:09

SERIES 17 | MODULE 05 | DRIVES & MOTORS

battery is converted to mechanical energy, the losses being in the motor and drivetrain. There are now over 227,000 electric vehicles in the UK, this includes pure-electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). In the first eight months of 2019, more than 35,000 plug-in cars have been sold.

Starting induction motors Different starting methods are employed for starting induction motors because the motor draws more current during starting in order to overcome its initial inertia. To prevent damage to the windings due to the high starting current flow, different types of starters are employed. The simplest form of motor starter for the induction motor is the Direct On Line (DOL) starter which essentially connects the motor direct to the supply. It is viable for scenarios where the load driven by the motor can cope with shock produced by the high starting torque. This control method is often used to start small water pumps, compressors, fans and conveyor belts. Star-delta or soft starters connect the motor to the power supply through a voltage reduction device and increases the applied voltage gradually or in steps. With this form of starter, the three-phase supply voltage to the stator windings can be switched between star and delta configurations. Variable-speed drives (VSD) are now the most energy-efficient method to control motors. VSDs provide a means of driving and adjusting the operating speed of a mechanical load. Although they are also known as variable frequency drives (VFD), a VFD refers to AC drives only, while a variable speed drive (VSD) refers to either AC or DC drives. VSDs can also implement soft motor starting and control based on external parameters such as temperature, low, humidity, and proximity sensors which detect when a system or motor is required to operate. A VSD saves energy based on the Cube Law, by the Cube Law, power is proportional to the speed cubed, this means that a small increase in speed requires a lot more power, and

Fig. 4. Schematic of a VSD

a modest speed reduction can give significant energy savings. The main components of a VSD are: • rectifier: this changes the incoming alternating current (AC) supply to direct current (DC); • intermediate circuit: the rectified DC supply is then conditioned in the intermediate circuit, normally by a combination of inductors and capacitors; • inverter: the inverter converts the rectified and conditioned DC back into an AC supply of variable frequency and voltage. This is normally achieved by generating a high frequency pulse width modulated signal of variable frequency and effective voltage; and • control unit: this monitor and controls the rectifier, the intermediate circuit and the inverter to deliver the correct output in response to an external control signal, i.e. temperature sensor. Energy consumption of motors depends on the system load, configuration, and duty-cycle. Therefore knowledge of the specific duty and utilisation is key to defining

the savings opportunity. There are two main ways to control the speed of a VSD: networked or hardwired. Networked involves transmitting the intended speed over a communication protocol such as Modbus, Modbus/TCP, EtherNet/ IP, or via a keypad, while hardwired involves a pure electrical means of communication. Variable speed drives were previously marketed as “usable with any standard motor.” However, premature failures of motor insulation systems began to occur as fast-switching, VSDs were introduced.

Avoiding motor failure To avoid motor failure when considering a VSD upgrade consider the following: • locate the VSD controller as close as possible to the motor, ideally less than 5m; • contact the motor manufacturer for guidance on motor/drive compatibility; • consider replacing the old motor with a premium efficiency ‘inverterduty’ motor; and • prioritise the use of a single VSD controller for each motor. It is always useful to consider lowcost options for energy saving prior to installing costly frequency drives. Motor sizes can be reduced if the drive train is more efficient, the load is well understood, and installed motor is deemed as oversized. It is sometimes more cost-effective to replace a failed motor with a

higher efficiency motor (HEM), rather than repair it. This is because rewind cost, especially for smaller motors can be high. Also, a failed motor that has been rewound can be 0.5-2 per cent less efficient than it was previously. Therefore, reduction in energy efficiency results in increased running costs. The replacement decision should be based on a comparison of the annual cost to own and operate the motors. For small motors and HVAC applications consideration should be given to EC motors. VSDs are commonly used for cooling tower fans but variable flow cooling water loops with cooling towers are a recent innovation and are well worth consideration. Because air-cooled chillers are typically equipped with multiple fans, the fans can be staged for part-load operation, delivering energy savings of up to 30 per cent. Compressors currently used in self-contained commercial refrigeration are single-speed, hermetically sealed reciprocating compressors. Therefore, there is an opportunity for improved control at scale. A variable speed drive (VSD), speed-controller or frequencycontrolled air compressor automatically adjusts its motor speed to the air demand, whereas fixed speed or load/unload compressors, are either on full throttle or off. VSDs can deliver energy savings of 35 per cent on average in this application. With a VSD, you avoid peak currents at start up and therefore reduce the peak load on the industrial or commercial facility, avoiding excess capacity charges and lower DUOS costs. An alternative to VSDs could be sequential controllers. Where multiple fans, pumps or compressors are installed, sequential controllers can be used to sequentially start and stop equipment according to the process demands. While not as precise as variable speed control, significant energy savings can still be achieved. PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) can be used to build ‘intelligence’ within a system. They can be programmed to predetermined schedules, or react to sensor inputs, and to ensure the motors operate only when required.

For details on how to obtain your Energy Institute CPD Certificate, see entry form and details on page 28 OCTOBER 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 27

EIBI_1019_025-28(M).indd 3

07/10/2019 14:09

SERIES 17 | MODULE 05 | OCTOBER 2019

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

QUESTIONS 1. Which of the following is not a type of motor? ■ ■ ■ ■

Alternating current motor Direct current motor Alternating flow motor Electronically commutated motor

2. A 10kW motor purchase in the UK in 2019 needs to be minimum motor efficiency of ? ■ IE2 (with fixed control) ■ IE5 (with fixed control) ■ IE4 (with variable speed control) ■ IE3 (with fixed or variable speed control) 3. A variable speed driven compressor will achieve energy savings of what per cent compared to a fixed speed compressor? ■ ■ ■ ■

5 per cent 15 per cent 35 per cent 65 per cent

4. According to the EU motor efficiency legislation motors designed to operate wholly immersed in a liquid should achieve what efficiency class? ■ IE2 (with fixed control) ■ None, they are excluded ■ IE4 (with variable speed control) ■ IE3 (with fixed or variable speed control) 5. An IE5 10kW motor operates at an efficiency percent of about? ■ ■ ■ ■

72 per cent 95 per cent 86 per cent 99 per cent

6. Rewinding a failed motor can reduce its efficiency by? ■ ■ ■ ■

65 - 70 per cent 18 – 20 per cent 35 - 45 per cent 0.5 – 2 per cent

7. Which of the following is not a typical loss within a motor? ■ ■ ■ ■

Copper losses Academy losses Iron losses Mechanical losses

8. What does the regen feature in electric cars achieve when the car is breaking? ■ It quickly stops the car ■ It alerts the driver of battery power level ■ The motor turns into a generator and delivers power back to the batteries ■ It reduces driver fatigue 9. What statement best describes electronically commutated motors. ■ It is a motor that provides nuclear capabilities to any standard motor ■ Electronically commutated motors are the largest size motors known to man ■ Electronically commutated motors only work in sea water ■ Electronically commutated motors are essentially brushless DC motors 10. Energy consumption of motors does not depend on which of the following? ■ ■ ■ ■

System load Hours of operation Energy provider Utilisation

How to obtain a CPD accreditation from the Energy Institute Energy in Buildings and Industry and the Energy Institute are delighted to have teamed up to bring you this Continuing Professional Development initiative. This is the fifth module in the seventeenth series and focuses on Drives & Motors. It is accompanied by a set of multiple-choice questions. To qualify for a CPD certificate readers must submit at least eight of the ten sets of questions from this series of modules to EiBI for the Energy Institute to mark. Anyone achieving at least eight out of ten correct answers on eight separate articles qualifies for an Energy Institute CPD certificate. This can be obtained, on successful completion of the course and notification by the Energy Institute, free of charge for both Energy Institute members and non-members. The articles, written by a qualified member of the Energy Institute, will appeal to those new to energy management and those with more experience of the subject. Modules from the past 16 series can be obtained free of charge. Send your request to editor@eibi.co.uk. Alternatively, they can be downloaded from the EiBI website: www.eibi.co.uk

SERIES 16

SERIES 17

MAY 2018 - APR 2019

MAY 2019 - APR 2020

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

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

* ONLY available to download from the website after publication date

Terms: in submitting your completed answers you are indicating consent to EiBI’s holding and processing the personal data you have provided to us, in accordance with legal bases set out under data protection law. Further to this, EiBI will share your details with the Energy Institute (EI) with whom this CPD series is run in contractual partnership. The EI will process your details for the purposes of marking your answers and issuing your CPD certificate. Your details will be kept securely at all times and in a manner complaint with all relevant data protection laws. For full details on the EI’s privacy policy please visit www.energyinst.org/privacy. • To hear more from the EI subscribe to our mailing list: visit https://myprofile. energyinst.org/EmailPreferences/Subscribe

Please complete your details below in block capitals Name ......................................................................................................................................................................... (Mr. Mrs, Ms) .................................... Business .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Business Address ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ .................................................................................................................................. Post Code .............................................................................................. email address ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Tel No. .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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

Produced in Association with

28 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_025-28(M).indd 4

07/10/2019 14:09

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 03/10/2019 16:42 Page 29

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 15

PURCHASING UTILITIES

For further information on Kinect Energy visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY 131

What are the business benefits? Chris Quinn explores how the English non-domestic water buying market has changed in the two years since it was deregulated and how England can learn from the Scottish market

uite simply, deregulation means choice. Since April 2017, over 1m businesses in England have been free to switch to a new supplier around the country instead of their regional supplier. It was the largest shakeup of the industry for almost three decades, and followed the same change in Scotland, the first country in the world to deregulate non-domestic water supply nine years ago. The Scottish water deregulation opened up the floodgates for non-domestic customers, allowing them to reap the benefits of a more mature, competitive market. It gave businesses the freedom to negotiate deals with numerous suppliers and achieve significant savings on their water and wastewater services. Being the first off the blocks, the Scottish open water market was slow to start, and results didn’t start coming through until a few years down the line. Eleven years on, however, businesses are now benefitting from savings that at times can be 30 per cent, straight off the bottom line. England deregulated its water market two years ago in April 2017 and has since been playing catch up with its Scottish

counterpart. Despite being two years into deregulation, there are still improvements to be made before the English open water market is deemed a success.

Seeking affordable water Before the deregulation in 2008, Scottish Water dominated 99 per cent of the country’s water infrastructure. With prices on the rise, businesses sought affordable water and wastewater services from a trusted and efficient supplier, which led to political pressure for a review of the market. Opening up the Scottish water market steered the creation of the Scottish Water Business Stream, which saw several new retailers join the marketplace. Buying water services from the now wholesaler Scottish Water, these new retailers opened up the opportunity for businesses to find a supplier that offered better customer service, bespoke added-value packages, and make cost savings on their water supply. Previously water customers stayed with their incumbent local supplier because they had to, but the deregulation of the market gave them the choice to switch if they felt their current supplier was not delivering what they wanted. Commercially,

Chris Quinn is water services director at Kinect Energy

suppliers were now having to fight for their customers’ business. Since England opened up its competitive water market in 2017, new retailers have entered the market, with some challenging the more established suppliers, resulting in competitive pricing and the emergence of new retailers. In the early days following deregulation, it was taking months for businesses to switch supplier and for bills to come through. These days, however, customers can expect to switch in a matter of weeks and bills are going out on a more regular basis. Ofwat, the water regulator for sector for England and Wales, originally set limits on what prices retailers can charge businesses that hadn’t yet taken advantage of the open market. These wholesale and default prices were introduced as part of its PR14 policy and established when the market first deregulated in 2016 and were protected until 31 March 2019. Ofwat is currently working on its new Price Review regime PR19 which will determine domestic and non-domestic charges for the next regulatory period from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025. England has a considerably larger market than in Scotland, therefore, its open water market should progress a lot quicker, being able to learn from its neighbour’s tried and tested processes, and we should start to see a bigger impact over the next few years. It certainly has the potential to transform the water market to the benefit of millions of business customers. As well as the clear potential for cost-savings, there are other benefits to deregulation. There has been a positive switch in the customer service culture; in order to win and retain customers, retailers have had to become more transparent and responsive to customers’ needs, reducing tariffs, and encouraging customers to maximise their water consumption and be mindful of potential water shortages. Businesses with sites across the country, have been able to consolidate their bills under one supplier (previously they would have had to use different suppliers for each region), making administration and negotiation much easier. Automated meter readings ensure you avoid estimated charges and historic and current bill validation allows you to gain a greater insight into invoices and understand your business’ water usage and how to consolidate bills. 

30 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_030(M).indd 1

07/10/2019 15:23

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 07/10/2019 12:05 Page 13

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 5

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 6

Building Energy Management Systems For further information on TÜV SÜD visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 133

Beverly Quinn is environmental engineer at TÜV SÜD

Building a better BEMS The trend towards smarter, software and data-driven buildings is set to continue. Beverly Quinn examines how the use of BEMS is filtering down to smaller buildings

n the past, a BEMS was used only by larger businesses due to cost. However, now it is a more widely accepted and cost effective option for a broader set of organisations. Likewise, as all buildings need and use controls nowadays, BEMS can be cheaper than individual controls, when you go beyond first costs and consider whole life costs compared to energy savings. For example, the new Gorbals Health and Care Centre in Glasgow, which combines four GP services, dental services and a wide variety of social care services under one roof, now benefits from the installation of a BEMS. The facilities management (FM) contract requires the FM team to collect the energy and water consumption data, compare the data to what was expected and then analyse any discrepancies, with a view to adjusting systems if they are not operating as designed. The inclusion of the BEMS now makes this process a very manageable and efficient task. The metering configuration at the new health and care facility also makes it very easy to extract energy usage data for individual departments via the BEMS interface. The industry is now also focusing on performance in use, by seeking ways to close the gap between regulated/predicted/designed energy consumption and what is actually being consumed. The BEMS is the key to this goal as it is much more than just a tool for energy conservation and is being used increasingly as a strategy to reduce both energy consumption and overall operational costs. A key advantage of a BEMS is how easy it is for users to review the performance of controls and easily make immediate adjustments. As a BEMS monitors energy consumption, building operators can better understand what is going on at any one time and can therefore control usage more effectively to make savings on utility payments. For example, sub-meters can be used to troubleshoot and pinpoint problems,

by detailing the consumption of each individual active system and identifying any high-end consumers. As the BEMS records historical energy data, this can also be used for longer-term comparison and benchmarking purposes. Detailing of the sub metering strategy at design stage has become increasingly important on both our commercial (such as the recent Scottish Power HQ in Glasgow) and public projects (including multiple NHS Healthcare Centres throughout the west coast of Scotland) alike. Establishing this at design stage allows the facilities management teams to follow a protocol, ensuring that information can be accessed easily in a suitable way that makes it meaningful. A BEMS will also allow the building manager to more effectively respond to HVAC-related complaints. As remote monitoring and control is possible there is also potential for facilities management savings, as A BEMS cannot compensate for an inherently inefficient building so its specification must be planned at the design stage

‘A BEMS can also help improve productivity and well-being’ fewer operatives may be required to run the building. For example, some organisations are employing offsite third-party companies to test whether systems are needed, and switch off plant that is not required inside and outside hours of building occupancy.

User-friendly system interface As BEMS cannot compensate for an inherently inefficient building design, its specification must be planned at the design stage. The user-friendly nature of the system interface is also a very important consideration from the start. There must also be some level of investment in regards to employing and training suitable and

knowledgeable staff to operate the BEMS, alongside a trained building manager who is the single point of responsibility for its operation and upkeep. The ability for the BEMS to integrate with other new and existing/legacy hardware and software should also be considered. For example, if closed protocol systems are deployed the end-user will be tied to a single manufacturer and the system’s various components may not be able to communicate. For example, the ability to interrogate local outstations should be considered as this will enable local checking of functional integrity following maintenance, and also deliver greater working flexibility to BEMS operatives. If you are not monitoring energy consumption, you cannot manage it effectively, with the result being spiralling building operating costs and decreased occupant comfort. While BEMS delivers reduced energy consumption and associated cost reductions, it can also improve the wellbeing and productivity of people within buildings. While the implementation of a BEMS may require a certain level of initial investment, in the long-term it will deliver significant payback by ensuring that a building operates at maximum levels of efficiency by removing uneconomical energy usage. This also addresses the concerns of end-users as they become increasingly conscious of their role in global energy consumption levels. Building owners and operators who want to improve the quality of the internal environment and reduce energy consumption must move beyond simple energy conservation efforts, towards practices that optimise effective building controls which increase the efficiency of their energy usage and deliver utility savings. If a BEMS is designed and operated correctly it will without doubt save energy, cut operating costs and reduce a building’s environmental impact. 

32 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_032(M).indd 1

05/10/2019 12:20

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 07/10/2019 12:01 Page 33

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 17

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 18

Building Energy Management Systems For further information on Clarkson Controls visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 135

Malcolm Anson is managing director of Clarkson Controls

Control first, meter later With a little bit of ingenuity, a lot can be found out from the building’s BMS sensors without the need and cost of installing meters, believes Malcolm Anson

t costs an enormous amount of capital to construct a building, part of which is to provide comfortable conditions and be energy efficient. In every large building, be it school, hospital, college, retail or office block building, control systems play a large part of wellbeing and being sustainable. It is important that value engineering is minimised when it comes to the control of the building (remember 20-80 -20?). With metering becoming part of the controls package which further reduces the control content, with limited resources and current financial constraints, it makes sense to ‘control’ first and ‘meter’ later. Why spend capital money and effort installing and monitoring energy meters in your building but cut back on the control system—the part that provides the energy savings and comfort conditions. At the end of the day a meter is not ‘smart,’ it only tells you in retrospect how much energy is used.

Take control of energy use With a little bit of ingenuity, a lot can be found out from the building’s BMS sensors without the need and cost of installing meters. As you get to know your building and you know what it is used for, when it is occupied, what times it needs to be warm, what times it needs to be cool, when to heat it and when not to heat it, an efficient building management control system will allow you to take ‘control’ of your building’s energy usage reducing your building’s operating costs. It makes more sense to install more control sensors and control valves that will improve your energy usage. Once you have a good control system in place you can then consider additional ways to make savings and decide whether a meter or additional zone valves will achieve savings. You can save energy with a

A lot can be found out from a building’s BMS sensors without the need and cost of installing meters

well-planned and efficient control routine. It is surprising how many problems can be identified and remedied easily without the additional need to install expensive monitoring and metering equipment. It is possible with the use of a simple control strategy and

control algorithms to identify if a cooling unit or heating system is operating unnecessarily out of hours, wasting energy and money. For example, a time-controlled LPHW heating system can be monitored and alarmed such that if the boiler temperature is still hot sometime after it should be off, it can be investigated, (usual cause being the boiler being left in manual mode).

‘Why spend money installing meters but cut back on the control system’

With building controls, a little software writing and with existing sensors, the problem can be quickly identified, and an alarm can be raised, and investigated to discover the cause. This can then be rectified quickly. However, if you are relying on just meter data, you won’t identify the problem immediately, the meter will just confirm the problem exists over time, wasting time and energy. To aid client comfort, measures can be taken to make space temperatures more acceptable. In the summer air conditioning equipment continues to cool down to a fixed low temperature irrespective of the outside temperature. How many times have you been in a restaurant, department store or on the train in the summertime and found it uncomfortably cold leaving you shivering and deciding to reach for your coat or leave quickly without a purchase? Why not let the room set point rise in warmer weather, where is the summer/winter shift control? This not only provides client comfort but saves energy and increases sales in the case of retail premises.

Emergence of the energy valve We have recently seen in the market place the energy valve, which is basically the equivalent of a heat meter, flow meter, PIC control valve in one package. With this you can monitor and control (in the cloud or otherwise) the delta T of the circuit, room conditions and adjust the flow rates via the smart algorithms in the BMS, resulting in less water flow and subsequent savings in pump running costs. All this being concurrent and not after the energy is used, a truly smart solution - the best of all worlds. To provide comfortable working conditions and an acceptable wellbeing environment in our buildings, the most economical way is control first and meter later. 

34 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_034(T).indd 1

07/10/2019 11:39

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 03/10/2019 16:42 Page 23

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 14

Building Energy Management Systems

Gavin Holvey is sales manager Priva UK & Ireland

For further information on Priva UK & Ireland visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 137

Join the wellness revolution Delivering a building that can encourage employee wellness is becoming integral to securing new investment. This translates to some exciting opportunities, says Gavin Holvey

t’s official: wellness is rapidly rising up the priority list for new commercial real estate developments across the UK. Thanks to a new report issued by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) UK and released at a sustainability forum event in Birmingham in July, we now know quite how important the issue is becoming to a broad group of developers, consultants, valuers, analysts, investors and fund managers. Sponsored by E.ON, ‘Picture of health: the growing role of wellbeing in commercial real estate investment decision-making’ – which can be downloaded for free from the ULI website1 – constitutes the first occasion on which a comprehensive survey of property experts has been carried out to find out how health and wellbeing are informing investment decisions across the real estate industry. The headline statistic is that of over 100 participants, 86 per cent said they expected to increase their investment in wellbeing in the next three years, with 17 per cent anticipating the increase to be ‘significant’. The report provides plenty of welcome context. The wellness trend, it notes, “is part of wider changes in the workspace towards flexibility and shared space, as well as companies looking for improved office environments as a way to meet the expectations of the younger generations in the competition for talent.” Indeed, it is clear that investment in wellness is being driven in part by a growing awareness that healthier workplaces can make a real difference to companies’ long-term personnel situation. As Victoria Lockhart, co-chair of ULI UK’s Sustainability Forum and director of market development at the International WELL Building Institute, remarks: “As companies seek to attract top talent, wellbeing is increasing prioritised as fundamental to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

Many companies are now expecting to increase their investment in wellbeing in the coming years

Companies are looking closely at the workspaces they offer as well as how the workplace can help translate a company’s values and build a culture of health.” Crucially for both energy managers and technology suppliers, the report notes that at present “wellbeing investment is mainly influencing decisionmaking in the areas of design, fit-out and development stages”. It therefore follows that the effective identification of technologies that can aid wellness is more likely to lead to larger-scale investment; and for all kinds of businesses, the more those solutions can deliver reduced energy costs the better. Fortunately, the last five years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the availability of systems covering multiple core functions – heating, lighting, ventilation – that can accommodate all these requirements.

A few examples underline the extent to which synchronicity now exists between technology for energy-efficiency and wellbeing. For instance, ventilation systems have become significantly more efficient over the last decade, and when combined with sophisticated climate controllers that picture is improved further still.

Building a strong case Lighting is another prime example, and one around which energy managers can easily build a strong case. In terms of cost it’s really a no-brainer as the latest, LED-based systems can deliver a very quick RoI

‘Keeping employees healthier for longer is going to become even more critical’

and routinely lead to energy bill reductions in the region of 60% – not to mention much lower replacement and maintenance costs in the future. But with more consistent and appealing lighting quality, as well as more recent systems being tunable in accordance with circadian rhythms, they can have demonstrable benefits for employee wellness. But perhaps the best single investment an energy manager can secure is for an overall, integrated building management system (BMS). By bringing all primary building systems under the auspices of one control infrastructure, it is possible to monitor and optimise energy consumption, and ensure that working conditions are always favourable. It also makes it easier to respond to employee feedback about the operations of a building – something that successive studies suggest is increasingly forthcoming. Often a combination of dedicated hardware and software, a BMS makes it easier to deliver updates that benefit all aspects of a building’s operation. So, as thinking around wellness continues to evolve, building systems can adapt to the expectations of employees – and employers. At the time of writing there are more calls for people to work longer in order to cope with the financial implications of an ageing population. For companies of all sizes and shapes, keeping employees healthier for longer is going to become even more critical. Therefore, energy managers who can make the link between the latest-generation systems and wellness are going to stand a significantly better chance of winning those all-important investments. 

Reference 1) Picture of health: the growing role of wellbeing in commercial real estate investment decisionmaking’ can be downloaded at the ULI website: https://ulidigitalmarketing.blob.core.windows.net/ ulidcnc/2019/07/ULI-Picture-of-Health_WellbeingInvestment-in-Commercial-Real-Estate-2019-FinalReport.pdf.

36 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_036(M).indd 1

07/10/2019 11:42

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 03/10/2019 16:42 Page 51

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 26

Building Energy Management Systems For further information on Utilidex visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 136

Making sense of data It’s straightforward to capture data but the difficult part is turning all that information into meaningful actions. Richard Lewin suggests some simple steps energy managers can take

he buildings and buildings construction sectors combined are responsible for 36 per cent of global final energy consumption. Access to accurate, energy consumption and cost data is allowing greater interaction between a building and those who manage it to adapt, improve and optimise, and is essential to operating smarter buildings. However, it is not the capturing of this data that is key, but the ability

to translate it into something usable and understandable; data views that can be interrogated, analysed and transformed into meaningful actions and improved ways of doing things, reducing cost and resource demands and allowing problems to be detected before they become issues. And this data needs to be shared with all stakeholders in a way that they want to see it, with the information most relevant to them. With access to billing and fiscal

‘Looking for erratic HH consumption can identify problems’ metering data, there are a number of simple steps that managers can take to make significant impact on smart buildings strategies. Are there potential savings opportunities from vacant energy? Once you can see your energy profile by HH in kwh and in pounds and pence, you can understand when

ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DRIVES ADDED VALUE FOR CCS Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is responsible for an energy portfolio worth £1.6bn per annum, the largest value outside of the big six. Utilidex will supply CCS with the Utilidex Energy.Hub energy management system. They will be using some of the key features of the solution, which will enable them to drive added value from both a trading and commercial perspective. CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services and serves over 1,200 public sector energy customers. In 2017/18 they helped 17,000 buyers save £601m of public money using CCS commercial agreements. The service is available to new and existing CCS customers and delivers: • increased data accuracy via direct data up/downloads from suppliers and system operators; • improved data management to facilitate a more accurate understanding of the estate position of each department and improved accuracy in tracking usage profiles, allowing efficiencies/savings to be identified

and delivered; • bespoke report building, enabling the identification of benchmarks of similar sites to highlight areas of high consumption patterns, where changes to the buildings could lead to reduced consumption; and • an increased ability to self-manage energy estates, including self-serve on-boarding and estate changes (the ability to add/remove sites) The ability for CCS to access live customer data through the Utilidex Energy.Hub will inform the development and delivery of trading strategies and energy efficiency and demand management initiatives through the full suite of CCS Energy framework agreements. Colin Formby, head of energy operations, said: “The Utilidex Energy.Hub will help enable us to achieve CCS’s ambitious energy and buildings strategies. We’re excited to be able to offer a more unique energy management system to our customers and are looking forward to working with Utilidex.”

Richard Lewin is corporate business director, Utilidex

energy isn’t being used efficiently and discern whether there is a behavioural change opportunity, for example, ensuring lights and heating or air-conditioning are being turned off systematically when a particular office or shop is shut. Technology allows the scrutiny of thousands of sites’ data and the instant identification of vacant energy outliers - far more time and resource-effective than analysing one site at a time. Operations managers should expect their energy management system to automatically alert them should a vacant energy outlier occur, by how much the site has exceeded the expected norm and the associated cost, allowing corrective action to be taken promptly. As the price of electricity and non-commodity costs increase, understanding what is being charged at which period in a clear, easily-visualised way, is instrumental in making informed decisions about energy efficiency measures, such as where potential behind the meter generation could be embedded and how potential adjustments of power could be made. Looking for erratic HH consumption can help identify problems, and alert users to prompt investigation before they become larger issues. With triggers that most energy management platforms offer around spike detection and corrections, sites managers should be closely monitoring consumptions that look irregular to the norm. Cost, consumption and carbon data, including tracking of potential energy reduction schemes, can easily be communicated to building occupants. Managers who are not already doing so, may want to consider the use of wall boards and dashboards where users see targets and current energy reduction status. Benchmarking also enables and promotes healthy competition between building managers, to continue to meet targets and reduce consumptions. There is potentially a new era of how large organisations promote energy reduction performance, with some organisations looking to publicly give access to live data. 

38 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_038(M).indd 1

07/10/2019 11:45

Dr Peter Barker is manager product development at Tata Steel Europe, Colors

Indoor Air Quality For further information on Tata Steel Europe visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 141

The perils from the air

How can we improve the indoor air quality of our buildings? Dr Peter Barker examines how poor air can impact the health and well-being of building occupants

n recent years, there has been a lot of discussion around the nation’s deteriorating air quality. In fact, recent research revealed that air pollution in several parts of the country is in breach of EU safety limits. It’s a problem that affects us all, with researchers believing that 28,000 deaths a year in the UK can be attributed to air pollution. Despite all the evidence, it’s still hard to surmise if enough is being done to combat the issue. What’s more, any action that has been taken has exclusively focussed on outdoor air quality, which ignores the problem of poor indoor air quality. Many of us assume that the air we breathe in on a daily basis is safe. Unfortunately, this is often incorrect and akin to outdoor air quality, poor indoor air quality can pose a significant threat to your health. Additionally, as people spend up to 90 per cent of their lives indoors, the effects of indoor air quality have the potential to be far more damaging. To this end, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ranked indoor air pollution as one of the top five environmental risks to the public health in 2016. Indoor air pollutants can take many forms, but the most common are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These carbon-based chemicals are present in a plethora of everyday household goods, such as air fresheners, cleaning chemicals and paints. At any one time, there can be between 50-100 individual VOCs in the air. However, as the chemicals evaporate easily at room temperature and tend to be odourless it can be difficult to know if they’re present. What’s more, there is often not a single cause of indoor air pollutants within a home and the problem can be the by-product of underlying structural issues. In recent years, as home design has shifted towards more secure, energy-efficient builds, indoor ventilation in some

homes may have suffered. Poor ventilation can contribute to a higher concentration of VOCs in the atmosphere. To further compound the issue, some older homes in the UK have been built from materials that are laden with harmful chemicals.

The threat from VOCs For people suffering from asthma, or other respiratory conditions, high levels of VOCs pose a real and immediate threat. The same applies for young children, or old people, both of whom are highly susceptible to the effects of pollution in a home. Regardless of pre-existing conditions, anyone can suffer if exposed to poor indoor air quality

It’s vital that more action is taken to raise awareness around the subject of poor indoor air quality

for a prolonged period of time. Studies have shown a link between contact with VOCs and a number of serious health conditions. Short-term exposure to high levels of VOCs can cause symptoms such as throat irritation, headaches, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, and the worsening of asthma symptoms. More seriously, long-term exposure to high levels of VOCs can lead to an increased risk of liver damage, kidney damage, cancer, and central nervous system damage. The thought of developing any of these conditions is frightening, as many can prove fatal. Additionally, the effects of poor indoor air-quality don’t only manifest physically and the issue has been linked to poor

mental health management and weight gain. For a long time, the only solution to dealing with harmful VOCs was to limit the use of cleaning products that contained the dangerous particles. However, not all VOCs are emitted by household cleaning goods and therefore, simply limiting use of such products might not fix the problem. Fortunately, manufacturers are now developing products that emit low level VOCs. This is also recognised by environmental assessment systems such as LEED. For example,Tata Steel is now producing steel products that have been subjected to rigorous industrial testing for VOCs. Products such as Advantica L Control, Colorcoat Prisma and Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra pre-finished steel have been independently tested in accordance with EN ISO 16000-9, which determines the emission of VOCs from building products and furnishings. All achieved an A+ rating, which is currently the highest level of rating available. What’s more, not only do the products push the boundaries for indoor air quality performance, they also meet the highest European corrosion resistance standards for both internal and external environments, while being fully chrome free. There are people around the country working in environments that could actively contribute to the deterioration of their health. As such, it’s vital that more action is taken to raise awareness around the subject of poor indoor air quality. To this end, it’s important to ensure solutions with the highest level of ratings are specified. With politicians more concerned about outdoor air quality, it falls on the industry to solve the problem itself. Fortunately, we’re in a better position than ever to do just that and to make our nation’s buildings healthier. 

OCTOBER 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 39

EIBI_1019_039(M).indd 1

07/10/2019 18:11

ESTA VIEWPOINT

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

Order among the madness In the last six months we have witnessed no end of domestic political and environmental upheaval. Mervyn Pilley examines how ESTA can adapt to the changing landscape in the UK

have just passed the six-month mark as executive director of ESTA. So this is a good time to do a mini ‘state of the union’ look at where we are and what is potentially ahead. After taking on and getting fully immersed into the role, the world and certainly the UK do seem to have gone slightly stir crazy. Greta Thunberg (above), Extinction Rebellion, the Climate Change Committee report, numerous climate emergencies being declared, a change of Prime Minister, a meltdown in the political traditions, just some of the events that have occurred in the last few months. This should be the perfect time to showcase our members’ capabilities to provide a total energy efficiency solution platform and help me deliver on my promise to do everything I can to deliver work streams to our members. I say should be, as the political situation seems to be causing something of a paralysis in the business sector at the very moment that full-on action is needed. It is hardly surprising that many businesses, especially the SME sector, where I have been trying to engender some combined action, are more focused on staying in business after the end of October than in worrying about putting

energy efficiency measures in place. There has been a knock-on effect in other areas of our work with members struggling to find work where clients are not making any decisions until the economic outlook going forward looks clearer. The concerning thing is that on the 1st November, or indeed any alternative date to be discovered, no one is going to wave a magic wand and solve all of the problems that UK plc is going to encounter. I am constantly being reminded that membership of a trade association is a voluntary expense which means that ESTA has to work harder than ever to keep members on board and engaged. We are getting ready for our October conference that has the theme ‘2050 are we too late?’ We are aiming to get a very wide audience with as many end users as possible in the room. Everyone/every organisation seems to be focusing on different dates with varying degrees of urgency. At my age, 2050 seems too far away especially when I have seen views that we only have 11 years left before we may need to book that flight to the moon. The key purpose of the conference is to look at ways that different groups are dealing with the emergencies and to see how our members can support all of those initiatives. We are continuing to

Mervyn Pilley is executive director of ESTA

work on our behaviour change programme – now known as the “Energy Conscious Organisation” - and the focus remains on gathering IPMVP verified case studies. Part of the conference will involve presentations of these case studies and we are developing a new website facility to house them. The behaviour change work is important to us and we continue to talk to BEIS to see how much support can be given. However, Government has been slow to accept that behaviour change can be a high-return, lowcost way of saving energy. I am very aware that we mustn’t lose sight of the technical solutions offered by our members using both current technology and newly emerging technologies. It is interesting to see the recent Government announcement of huge sums of money going to scientists globally to further develop such solutions. It is debatable whether spending this money on existing solutions of all types would be far quicker in tackling the problem. However, it is also important to recognise that not everything in terms of saving our planet can be left up to the free market economy to solve. Direct Government involvement through joined-up policy and tax incentives and grant mechanisms are needed. It has been disappointing that at the very moment everyone is focusing on our futures many carrots have been taken away and many sticks have been introduced. Going forward, we are working on new divisions for ESTA including Community Energy, Academic, Public and Third Sector, and Property Professionals. The aim of these divisions will be to ensure that our members will be fully involved with providing energy efficiency solutions wherever they are needed. We are also working on wider collaboration and looking internationally. One thing for certain is that the challenges are totally global in nature, Brexit or no Brexit! Membership benefits and enhanced communication methods are being implemented. New training accreditations and opportunities are being sought and created. Membership enquiries are growing although not surprisingly everyone is looking to defer their applications until the last quarter of 2019 and some into the first quarter of 2020. Hopefully by the time the next edition hits your desks there will be a lot more clarity/answers for all. I continue to look forward to the challenges of making ESTA a leading light in the energy sector. 

40 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EiBI_1019_040_ESTA(M).indd 1

07/10/2019 16:39

Diane White is European sales and after sales manager at Evoqua ATG

Water Management For further information on Evoqua ATG visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 138

Come on in, the water’s lovely There is an alternative to chlorine when it comes to swimming pool management. Diane White discusses how chemical-free disinfection can beat water-borne diseases

ndoor swimming pools in leisure centres, spas and hotels are a major attraction for customers but also for a number of waterborne diseases from folliculitis to cryptosporidiosis and legionnaires’ disease. Not surprisingly, water hygiene is a high priority for building services engineers, and disinfection by chlorination is the traditional weapon against these water-borne pathogens. However, high levels of chlorine can result in complaints from bathers and even cause skin itching and rashes. Before we look at the problems of disinfection we need to understand where pathogen contamination comes from and what it is. With make-up water of drinking water quality, the main source is from the bathers themselves. Skin, mucus and faeces are the principle sources of microbiological contamination, but bathers also contribute sweat, organic matter and urine to the water and these have an impact on chemical disinfection. If disinfection is inadequate, filmforming bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa can form adherent biofilms on pipework and infest activated carbon filters providing ongoing contamination that is difficult to remove. Chlorine reacts with water to form hydrochloric acid and hypochlorous acid. Hypochlorous acid is very effective against bacteria like E Coli, Pseudomonas and Legionella, but protozoans like Cryptosporidium and Giardia, common causal agents of sicken and diarrhoea, are notably resistant to it. The hypochlorite ion is strong oxidising agent which reacts with ammonia (the breakdown product of uric acid, urea, histidine and creatinine in sweat and urine) to form monochloramine and, at higher concentrations, dichloramine, trichloramine and eventually, nitrogen gas. These chemical reactions have to be completed before there is a sufficient “residual chlorine”

Water hygiene is becoming a high priority for building services engineers

concentration to kill bacteria. This process, called “breakpoint chlorination”, consumes a significant amount of chlorine. Chloramines are responsible for the chlorous smell and eye irritation that so many bathers complain about, but have also been identified as a contributory cause of asthma and of corrosion of structural steelwork. Further, hypochlorite and hypobromite can react with organic matter to form carcinogenic trihalomethanes. However, halogen disinfectants have the overriding advantage that they provide a stable “residual disinfectant” concentration in the pool water.

Powerful oxidising agent To overcome some of the problems of chlorination, many pools opted to change to ozone as a secondary disinfectant, with just a low dose of chlorine as a residual. Ozone is a powerful oxidising agent, but it is highly toxic and has to be removed from the water before it re-enters the pool. On a swimming pool scale, ozone is generated from air or pure oxygen by passing the gas through a high voltage (about 10kV) corona discharge at about 1kHz. The electrical discharge provides energy to convert oxygen (O2) into ozone (O3). Allowing for preparation of pure oxygen if used and cooling of the ozonised gas, at average

dose rates for swimming pools, the energy consumption is around 25Wh/m3 of water treated. Ultraviolet radiation, on the other hand, offers a chemical-free alternative to ozone. The process works by exposing the water, after filtration, to electromagnetic radiation in the UV-C range (200280nm wavelength). This range coincides with the absorption spectrum of the DNA molecule (peak absorption 263 nm). Exposing micro-organisms to UV radiation acts on the DNA molecule to prevent replication, so the organism cannot reproduce. By taking much of the microbiological loading, UV disinfection reduces the required Ultraviolet radiation offers a chemical-free alternative to ozone treatment

residual chlorine concentration in the pool water. The UV-C range also covers the bond energies in chloramines: monochloramine (NH2Cl) 245nm, dichloramine (NHCl2) 297nm and trichloramine (NCl3) 260nm. So UV disinfection has the added advantage of being capable of destroying chloramines by photolysis. Typically, swimming pool water is dosed at 60mJ/cm2 and the power consumption is around 15Wh/m3 of water treated – almost half that typical of ozone systems. Barr + Wray Ltd recently replaced ozonation at four leisure pools in Glasgow with Evoqua’s ATG WAFER WF medium pressure UV systems. Since their introduction the client’s feedback has been very positive, particularly regarding the ease of installation and the quality of the water. Medium-pressure lamps, which produce polychromatic radiation, are preferred to monochromatic low-pressure lamps for this application since low-pressure lamps produce only 254nm radiation and do not, therefore, have the capability of all chloramine destruction. Evoqua’s ATG WF model ranges of medium pressure UV systems are designed specifically for the swimming pool industry and are among the most compact currently available. Another benefit of using UV technology is crystal clear water. This contributes to safety and maintenance because clear water allows easier observation of what is going on below the surface, whether it is an emergency, like a bather in trouble or a pollution incident, or simply better maintenance. It also means fresh, clean air with chloramine concentrations well below the 0.5mg/m3 discomfort threshold and a significant reduction in skin and eye irritations. In most cases, combined chlorine levels are reduced to as little as 0.2mg/l, representing up to 75 per cent reduction on conventional chlorination systems. 

OCTOBER 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 41

EIBI_1019_041(T).indd 1

07/10/2019 14:50

Water Management

Carl Turbitt is HVAC Drives UK sales manager at ABB

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

VSDs build in resilience Overworked water pumps in commercial installations can lead to catastrophic equipment failure. Carl Turbitt explains how variable speed drives can be used to improve system resilience

n commercial buildings anything other than 100 per cent uptime for water pumping systems is unacceptable. However, distributing water, particularly in high rise buildings, is a challenge. Traditionally, pressure switches are used to switch pumps on if water pressure falls to a particular point (e.g. 20 psi) or turns them off if pressure exceeds a particular point (e.g. 50 psi). These setpoints will depend on the number of floors, the length of pipework across each floor, and the amenities being supplied. However, a pressure switch system means that pumps are typically running either at full speed, or not at all, and many pumps are run without any form of speed control. This makes precise regulation of pressure much more difficult. Irregular pressure can have knock-on effects. Water hammer is caused by pressure surges created by water suddenly changing direction, resulting in noise and vibration in pipes. It also causes wear on pipework, bearings and seals, leading to reliability issues and higher likelihood of failures. Any form of water supply outage will very quickly upset a buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s occupants, while a fault that results in damage to any fixtures, fittings and other contents must be avoided at all costs. Inconsistent water pressure also leads to wastage. If a hot water tap does not immediately start flowing at the right temperature, people will run the tap until it does, wasting large amounts of water. Running pumps using traditional controls such as Direct on Line (DOL) or Starr Delta alone is highly inefficient for pumps, and the motors that power them. Ramping up motors from an inert state all the way up to full speed, and then back down again, is much like trying to drive a car by putting your foot all the way down on either the accelerator or the brake. Clearly this is not a sensible way to drive a car, as it does not provide accurate speed control, and puts considerable strain

Hotels and leisure centre are sectors that can feel the full benefits of variable speed drives

on components, leading to surges that can damage equipment. A solution to this is available in the form of a variable speed drive (VSD). This allows precise control of pump motor speed, ensuring they run at the required speed to achieve and constantly maintain the correct level of water pressure and optimising the plant. By allowing pumps to be run at lower speeds, rather than either running at full power or not at all, this vastly reduces equipment wear, leading to a reduced risk of failure and lower cost of maintenance. VSDs can also have a major impact on energy efficiency. The cube law applies to pumps that are variable torque applications (i.e. centrifugal). Therefore, the reduction in energy

use is proportionately higher than any reduction in speed. In practice it means that a pump running at 80 percent speed can require just half the energy compared to a pump running at full speed.

Operating multi-pump systems The savings can be extrapolated further across multiple pumps by adjusting duty configurations. Many multi-pump systems are operated in duty/standby, whereby the lead pump is run when required, and when it fails, the standby pump takes over. This means that the lead pump is overworked, and due to the demand, the pump is often oversized at the specification stage. Running pumps using more efficient configurations can allow smaller

pumps to be used, thus reducing stress on existing pumps and associated controls. Applications here include duty/standby, duty/ assist/standby and parallel pumping. Utilising multi-pump controls along with the cube law means that less energy can be consumed compared to a single duty pump. A VSD allows duty cycles to be rotated between pumps to spread the load, and subsequently improving the lifecycle. Failures are generally caused by frequent starts, rather than length of time in operation. Running motors for longer at a lower speed will prevent wear rather than intermittently powering motors up and down. VSDs can reach and maintain a required pressure level using PID (proportional, integral, derivative) control, which provides a constant feedback loop to ensure that pumps are always operating at the correct speed. This means that when external factors affect supply power dips, the VSD will quickly and automatically compensate. Several pump motors and drives can be linked together via fieldbus, ensuring that pumps are not overworked, while pressure levels are maintained. New solutions are also available to bring pumps into the digital ecosphere, turning pumps into intelligent devices. For instance, the ABB Ability Smart Sensor for pumps attaches wirelessly to monitor critical parameters such as vibration and temperature to determine the pumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s condition and performance. This data is logged for trend analysis or to identify and rectify fault conditions, while alerts can be used to draw attention to maintenance issues or inefficiencies. Improved efficiency and reliability of building pumping systems leads to an improved experience for occupants. VSDs provide better control of pressure levels leading to increased uptime, while reducing equipment wear, and lightening the load on pumping equipment. ď&#x201A;˘

42 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_042(M).indd 1

07/10/2019 15:17

pub1153013i

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 07/10/2019 18:14 Page 43

Safety, availability and energy performance of your electrical installations. Power Switching, Monitoring & Conversion Energy Storage - Expert Services

www.socomec.co.uk

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 22

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 23

Water Management For further information on HRS Heat Exchangers visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 140

Matt Hale is international sales & marketing director, HRS Heat Exchangers

Beat heat exchanger fouling Heat exchanger fouling can come in many different forms. Matt Hale gives some advice to energy managers on identifying problems and suggests some preventative methods

hen handling difficult materials, such as sewage sludge or corrosive chemicals, heat exchangers can be particularly susceptible to fouling. Fouling can generally be divided into four categories: chemical fouling (including scaling), biological fouling, deposition (or sedimentation) fouling, and corrosion fouling. In all cases prevention is better than cure, but as each of these different types of fouling is caused by a different combination of chemical and physical reactions, prevention will take different forms. Limescale is the most familiar chemical fouling agent, as for many of us it builds up in our kettles and pipework. In industrial applications scaling is particularly problematic where cooling water has a high mineral content. Symptoms are the classic limescale build up inside the heat exchanger (and usually the whole water line, including pipes and pumps), although local factors and different minerals will result in a different appearance. Prevention takes the form of chemical dosing of the water (for example with salt or acid for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; water), and chemical agents are required for cleaning or removal. Struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate) is a phosphate mineral which often precipitates in urine (it is the material that forms kidney stones), particularly in humans and animals which have plant-based diets (which are high in magnesium) or which are infected with ammoniaproducing organisms. Struvite can be a particular problem in sewage and waste water treatment, especially systems which include anaerobic digestion as this releases ammonium and phosphate. Struvite forms a hard scale on many surfaces, including inside pipes and heat exchangers. The same considerations which apply to chemical fouling and scaling also apply to preventing struvite

Fouling deposits can occur on the tube- and shell sides of the heat exchanger

formation in heat exchangers. Keeping water temperatures below 65oC will help prevent struvite formation, as will restricting the amount of phosphorus added to the digester. It can often be physically removed.

Water temperatures too high Vivianite (ferrous phosphate) is a particular problem where ferric chloride (also known as pickle liquor) is added to sludge to control hydrogen sulphide (H2S) emissions. Where water temperatures are too high this can lead to the deposition of a hard blue/green material (vivianite) on the heat exchanger surface. As with struvite, keeping water temperatures below 65oC will help prevent vivanite formation, as will carefully controlling the chemicals added to the sludge stream, although this is usually determined by other factors. Cleaning is very difficult, often relying on the use of hydrochloric acid solution. Algal fouling is particularly

encountered where untreated river or canal water is used for cooling. Environmental regulations prevent the use of chemical additives and also limit the temperature increase and so algae quickly grow in what is an ideal environment. Using high velocities or even scraped surface heat exchangers can prevent fouling, as can the use of construction materials such as copper or brass. A regular cleaning regime is usually necessary. In some wastewater treatment sites, final filtered effluent (FFE) taken after the filter press is used as a free cooling medium. However, due to the high level of biological material contained in FFE, it has a high fouling potential and fouling can quickly occur, depending on the exact nature of both the FFE and the heat exchanger design. UV treatment of the FFE can help to reduce the biological load, and therefore the potential for fouling, but cleaning normally relies on caustic cleaning-in-place (CIP)

Corrosion fouling (left) occurs only in specific situations while biological fouling occurs with river water

systems. Sediment is the most common type of heat exchanger fouling and is caused by particulates in the treated fluid settling out on the surface of the heat exchanger. It will usually be prevented by good heat exchanger design and choosing the right heat exchanger for the job. Burn-on occurs where the water temperature is too high, causing the sediments (particularly organic materials) becoming baked on to the tube wall/s. It often occurs where a malfunction has arisen, for example heating has continued while product flow has stopped, resulting in overheating of the material. The likelihood of burn-on can be reduced by good design of the overall system and interlocking the controls for both water and sludge pumps, so that if one stops, so does the other one. Control of the water temperature (ideally keeping it below 80oC) will also help prevent burn-on. Corrosion fouling usually occurs in specific circumstances where either the material being treated, or the construction of the heat exchanger itself, is particularly susceptible to corrosion. For example, aluminium and copper can be highly reactive and frequently suffers from galvanic corrosion or the formation of oxides on the tube surface where they have been used for the manufacture of heat exchanger tubes. Using a material which is resistant to such corrosion, yet maintains good thermal transfer properties, such as stainless steel, will overcome most of these issues. Heat exchanger designers and engineers will use a combination of materials analysis and the calculated fouling factor (a mathematical value which represents the thermal resistance of the deposit/s) to ensure that the heat exchanger recommended for a particular purpose not only resists fouling for as long as possible, but that if fouling does occur, it can be cleaned and dealt with efficiently and effectively. ď&#x201A;˘

44 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_044(M).indd 1

07/10/2019 16:17

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 03/10/2019 16:42 Page 45

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 24

Remote Monitoring For further information on Resource Data Management visit www.eibi.co.uk/enquiries and enter ENQUIRY No. 134

Stand back and observe Remote monitoring can provide a valuable insight into the operating data of a building’s assets, allowing energy managers to identify potential problems. Graeme Ross explains

emote monitoring is an essential tool to optimise a building’s infrastructure. Integrating a comprehensive remote monitoring strategy for HVACR assets into the management of any facility can increase its efficiency and reduce operating costs. It can provide insight into the operating data of each asset, which allows users to identify not just issues but also opportunities for improvement. A Forbes study has found that asset management software, when used to its full potential, can lead to a 22 per cent reduction in operation and maintenance cost as well as a 15 per cent reduction in working capital. There are many challenges managing a facility or estate, depending on the type of business. Remote monitoring software can help address these, and there are certain features to look out for to ensure the right kind of solution is implemented. Additionally, the Internet of Things (IoT) can help utilise remote monitoring software to its full capacity. The following represent some of the most pertinent challenges that are faced when managing large estates or multiple sites, which remote monitoring software can solve: • which work is each asset doing?; • are the assets under or overutilised?; • what is their lifetime value?’ • when will they need to be replaced?; • how are staff members alerted to problems?; and • how can problems be foreseen and prevented? Remote monitoring software works by processing data it receives via cloud technology from a frontend control system that is in place at a facility. This system, in turn, receives data from the control solutions installed throughout the facility. With remote monitoring

Remote monitoring software provides complete visibility of operating data

software in place, facility managers do not need to physically visit a site, to understand how assets are performing. All the information they require will be at their fingertips, simply by logging into the program from their desk. An efficient remote monitoring solution will consolidate maintenance, energy and incident management into a single dashboard. This will streamline processes and remove the need for time-consuming manual tracking and monitoring. Daily reports about the functioning of the equipment can be created, which enables facility managers to identify issues before they become serious. As a result, proactive rather than reactive maintenance is possible, which can save costs and time. Pre-set workflows and intelligently connected devices

enable equipment to function automatically. More specifically, they streamline energy efficiency and simplify reporting, while also minimising costs and labour requirements.

Determine asset performance The IoT facilitates managing physical assets by enabling device connectivity. Multiple devices can be monitored remotely, and sensors can determine asset performance and trigger notifications according to preset conditions. Additionally, cameras can ensure that assets are protected. Where records were previously kept in the form of handwritten notes or manually coordinated excel sheets, they can now all be easily coordinated between different sites using the IoT - reducing the risk of error. Another main advantage the IoT provides is the ability to monitor sites at any time from anywhere. Whether it’s from a desktop or mobile device, reports will be available when needed. Effective remote monitoring systems will analyse and interpret data for businesses using HVACR equipment, all of which will benefit from streamlined incident filtering, energy management and predictive maintenance.

Graeme Ross is UK & EMEA sales director at Resource Data Management

Using customisable pre-defined filters such as site, event type, date and time, remote monitoring software can analyse incident notifications. Determining their urgency, it can decide whether human intervention is required. Store managers can be alerted if any incidents outwith pre-set ranges occur. This type of incident notification filtering reduces maintenance call-outs as it ensures that only critical incidents are acted upon. Statistics compiled by British Gas show that in 2018 46 per cent of business energy was consumed outside of regular business hours: between 6pm and 8am. Stricter controls are needed during that time to curb unnecessary energy consumption. Remote monitoring software offers a solution, as it provides complete visibility of operating data. Energy trends can be analysed and measures implemented to streamline performance to reduce energy consumption. According to studies, HVACR plants waste up to 40 per cent of their capacity. Stops, speed losses, interruptions and defects all contribute to this. Additionally, 60 per cent of maintenance costs are unnecessary and preventable. With an efficient remote monitoring software in place, energy baselines can be generated and benchmarked to predict potential failures, to ensure systems are operating effectively and that assets are protected. As a result, costs associated with energy inefficiency and downtime are reduced and there are fewer demands for labour and data analysis. For businesses in the food industry, it can also prevent stock loss. Resource Data Management’s remote monitoring solution ActiveFM can provide all features mentioned above. Offering complete visibility of HVACR assets, ActiveFM incorporates IoT connectivity to report on the health and performance of infrastructure whenever and wherever it is needed. The user-friendly interface manipulates complex operating data from HVACR infrastructure and presents it in an easy-to-digest, interactive format. 

46 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_046(T).indd 1

07/10/2019 16:37

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 07/10/2019 19:08 Page 47

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

Thermal camera with inspection software FLIR Systems has introduced the FLIR T860, the latest addition to the highperformance T-Series family. This new thermal camera is the first to feature onboard Inspection Route software, ideal for streamlining inspections of critical assets, including power substation components, distribution lines, manufacturing equipment, or facility electrical and mechanical systems. By running a pre-planned route through the camera, thermal inspectors can spend less time in the field and face less hassle when creating survey reports. Featuring the FLIR T-series camera platform’s awardwinning design, the FLIR T860 has an ergonomic body, an LCD touchscreen visible from low angles, and an integrated colour viewfinder for sun glare conditions. The 640×480-resolution thermal camera incorporates FLIR’s advanced Vision Processing, including patented MSX and UltraMax image enhancement technologies to provide enhanced image clarity with half the image noise of previous models. This thermal camera includes advanced measurement tools such as one-touch level/span and laser-assisted autofocus, which helps users quickly find problems and make critical decisions. It also features an onboard routing system that works with the FLIR Thermal Studio advanced reporting software to create numbered, labelled inspection routes that users can create from the camera. This system allows users to record temperature data, thermal, and visual imagery in a logical sequence for faster troubleshooting and repair. The FLIR T860 camera includes the new subscription-based software, FLIR Thermal Studio Pro. This professional-level program provides access to all the timesaving features and benefits of FLIR Thermal Studio ONLINE ENQUIRY 107 Pro as well as free software upgrades.

Cost-effective, multi-input energy meter Elcomponent Ltd has introduced Smappee, a modular, multi-input energy meter that is claimed to provide a cost-effective solution for any metering situation. Smappee reduces the cost of sub metering by 30-40 per cent and is adaptable, easy to install and configure. It can be used as a stand-alone system or part of a larger energy management solution. The compact plug-and-play system is robust and reliable, with hubs connecting current clamps (CTs) and Rogowski coils. The CT Hub is the main component of the monitoring system. It is possible to connect up to 4 CTs or Rogowski coils to the CT Hub to measure different currents, ranging from 50A to 1,000A. This allows for accurate sub metering of a group of appliances. It is possible to daisy chain up to seven CT Hubs to measure different installations, up to a distance of 100m. The Power Box is the heart of the monitoring system as it provides power to all components. It measures the line voltage of the different connected phases and transfers the data via the Smappee Bus. The Genius is the gateway between the monitoring system and the Smappee Cloud, ensuring secure data storage from different components. It also interacts with third party components, Smappee Gas & Water and Smappee Switch. Thanks to these various options, Smappee Genius allows Smappee Infinity to take on the role of a Home or Building Energy Management System (BMS or HEMS) and guarantee optimised self consumption. Smappee is compatible with Elcomponent metering systems meaning it is possible to combine technologies without changes to data collection or software. Elcomponent believes Smappee can be deployed on SME sites where previously this was cost prohibitive. In addition, Smappee allows larger ONLINE ENQUIRY 106 sites to be metered at a much more granular level. | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 4

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 25

EIBI_1019_056-57 Directory_EiBI Directory nov 10 2 07/10/2019 12:24 Page 48

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

New Products

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

Air Conditioning

Low-NOx version joins gas-fired water heater range Lochinvar has developed a low NOx emission version of its Charger direct gas-fired commercial water heaters to help contractors and end users meet air quality targets. The new Charger Low NOx range consists of three models, with storage capacities ranging from 294 to 328 litres and hot water recovery rates from 850 to 1600 litres/hour. NOx emissions are between 33mg/kWh and 45mg/ kWh depending on model – comfortably below the 56mg/kWh maximum stipulated by the new regulations. The largest model – at almost 90kW output – will deliver 1,600 litres of hot water per hour at a temperature rise of 50ºC. This is, by some distance, the highest output water heater of its type available in the UK. Each of the three models can replace any manufacturer’s comparable atmospheric water heaters and comes with the option of low-level draught diverters to ease the installation process. Charger water heaters are built using an enamel-lined steel storage vessel, enabling them to operate at pressures of up to 8 bar. Each vessel includes sacrificial magnesium anodes to provide cathodic protection and the burner sits at the base of the unit. The use of baffled flue ways improves heat transfer and provides fast hot water recovery. A multifunctional control valve incorporates flame failure safety, operating thermostat and high limit thermostat. “Providing low NOx versions of some of our most popular water heaters is essential to give contractors and end users choice and flexibility,” said Lochinvar sales director Liam Elmore. “When it comes to replacing ageing units, we will always encourage users to switch to higher efficiency condensing water heaters, but often this will not be an option. “For example, replacing the flue system can be complicated, disruptive and expensive depending on the type or layout of the building. Therefore, often the most convenient and costeffective way to replace an old non-condensing water heater is with a similar product and, by offering low NOx versions we can ensure customers also comply with ErP legislation and the UK’s wider ambition to improve air quality.” Lochinvar introduced a low NOx version of its equally popular Knight range last year. Both Knight and Charger low NOx water heaters are held in stock at Lochinvar’s Banbury headquarters making delivery available to most areas of the UK within two working days.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 104

Temperature sensors help beat legionella risk As legionella continues to pose a real but avoidable risk to public health, ATC Semitec is making available a range of IP67 rated pipe clip temperature sensors. The company says they can be simply and quickly attached to the water pipe without the need for drilling holes or making special couplings for conventional probe sensors. This ensures that water temperatures are maintained at lower than 20°C or higher than 45°C. The BTS3 sensor from ATC Semitec enables you to accurately and quickly sense water temperature from the outside of a metal pipe. The sensor simply fastens over the pipe and is held in place by a strong stainlesssteel clip. This keeps the NTC sensor firmly against the pipe surface and thus ensures a fast-thermal response and accurate temperature monitoring. In addition, for ease of maintenance, they can be simply unclipped and quickly replaced with another, without the need to drain the water system. These surface temperature sensors are ideal for use within antilegionnaires systems, domestic and industrial water systems, hot water showers, gas boilers, heating and air conditioning systems.

ONLINE ENQUIRY 105

To find out more about promoting your business to over

12,000* readers ring Sharon on 01889 577 222 or email classified@eibi.co.uk *12,179 ABC circulation January-December 2018

48 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

Boilers

EIBI_1019_056-57 Directory_EiBI Directory nov 10 2 07/10/2019 12:24 Page 49

DIRECTORY CONTACTS

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

Compressed Air, Industrial Gases & Vacuum

Energy Consultancy Services

Humidity Control

Meters - Water, Oil, Gas & Heating

Begin your compliance journey:

Meters - Water, Oil, Gas & Heating Cooling

Energy Monitoring & Targeting

Lighting Controls

Control & Automation

TURNKEYaM&T Meter and monitoring any utility. In house designed hardware and software. SME’s, City Wide Projects, Large Organisations. Pulse, Modbus, Mbus. www.energymeteringtechnology.com enquiries@energymeteringtechnology.com Tel: 01628 664056

Meters

Controls & Inverters Heat Networks

Temperature Sensors

METERING DOCTORS LET US SOLVE YOUR METERING PROBLEMS

EMT resolve issues with meters and aM&T systems that have been badly ﬁtted and are inappropriate or wrongly installed, systems that have never functioned properly and unsuitable or wrongly conﬁgured software. We have considerable knowledge and can help assess, recommission or replace any aM&T system to render them as useful tools for your utility management needs.

Call Sharon to discuss your advertising on 01889 577222 Or email classified@eibi.co.uk

For more information on how we can help, Tel: 01628 664056 Email: enquiries@meteringtech.com www.energymeteringtechnology.com

OCTOBER 2019 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | 49

TALKING HEADS Amelia Woodley

Amelia Woodley is head of sustainability at South Western Railway

On the right track Amelia Woodley is responding to demanding energy-saving targets at South Western Railway with an innovative power generation project

guess it had to happen. You’re 20 minutes late for an interview with the head of sustainability at South Western Railway. And the cause is, of course, signalling problems on South Western Railway. Amelia Woodley offers her apologies but it’s not her role to make the trains run on time. She has her own sustainability timetable to keep to. As part of the franchise agreement agreed between 2017 and 2024 the organisation has been set some demanding energy reduction goals. “We have a target to reduce energy use by 41 per cent by 2024 in our estate and carbon emissions by 56 per cent on everything that happens on the track,” Woodley told EiBI. Woodley has the experience to make an impact. For the last nine years she has worked in the rail industry for contractors and consultancies. “In my previous position as the Thameslink programme environment manager I looked at the upgrade from Bedford to Brighton including the redevelopment of Blackfriars, Farringdon and, most recently, London Bridge stations.” A cut of well over half of the emissions caused by the running of the trains is a formidable target to hit. “Network Rail purchase the electricity that we use so we are doing our best to work with them and encourage them to use as much of a renewable mix as possible,” she said. “They purchase it in ten-year blocks so we are dependent on them. Our decarbonisation comes from the mix they purchase. But we are looking at a number of options such wrapping trains in solar film and optimising heating and cooling. “At the moment 89 per cent of our trains are electric and 11 per cent are diesel. The diesels will run for this franchise and we are looking at technologies that can be retrofitted to reduce their impact.” But one of the most exciting developments that could have wider implications for the whole of the UK’s train network is happening under Woodley’s watch. SWR has hosted a public drop-in event for a pilot solar energy project, Riding Sunbeams, to power trains through connecting solar panels directly into the

Woodley: 'passengers are interested in sustainability and it was good for us to show that we are responding'

‘We have a target to reduce estate energy use by 41 per cent by 2024’ railway system as traction current, without first distributing it to the grid.

First of its kind in railway industry Riding Sunbeams is the scheme first of its kind in the UK rail industry. It was developed alongside climate change charity 10:10 and is aimed at developing renewable energy sources to reduce emissions and future transport running costs. For the pilot project, Riding Sunbeams and other project stakeholders will install 135 solar panels on vacant land near Aldershot station in Hampshire. The 30kWp ‘First Light’ demonstrator photovoltaic (PV) array will connect to an ancillary transformer on the traction system to power lights and signalling equipment. 10:10 will use the data to design and test systems that can directly supply solar power

to the DC traction network. According to 10:10, solar traction power could provide 10 per cent of the energy required to power trains on the UK’s thirdrail 750V DC electrified lines every year. Woodley developed a relationship with Riding Sunbeams and managed to secure the trial at Aldershot. “This could be a solution to help decarbonising train use . We are also discussing where else it could be applied across our network. We are looking forward to seeing the results,” she added. SWR's recently held open-day for customers to see the Riding Sunbeams project drew enthusiasm. “The reaction was very positive,” she commented. “Passengers are interested in sustainability and it was good for us to show them that we are responding to the challenge.” A further initiative to engage with customers is the installation of 60 electric vehicle charging points at six stations on its network. SWR has invested £100,000 in the construction and installation of the 13-amp trickle charging points that will allow passengers to plug-in and charge their electric vehicles while they are parked for the day. “The new charging points are designed to charge passengers’ cars while they travel but have the flexibility to support both current and future generations of electric vehicles,” added Woodley. She is also very keen to involve SWR staff in sustainability. “We run training programmes so they understand how it applies to their role. When we are designing projects we need to give them the skills to understand that energy efficiency is an important part of that. We try to get people to look at the bigger picture as well as their own personal life. There are lots of people in the organisation who are passionate about it.” Woodley has already begun to make progress towards hitting the 41 per cent target for an estate that comprises 184 stations and seven depots. She has concentrated on lighting and installing PV panels. “We are rolling out LEDs across the stations in front-of-house, customer-focused areas. Lighting has a huge impact so that’s where we are focusing efforts. At three depots we are installing PV panels as well as assessing where CHP might work for us.” Woodley is facing quite a challenge to meet the energy-saving targets under the franchise agreement. But her efforts to introduce the Riding Sunbeams project could lead to a revolution in the way our railways are powered. 

50 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | OCTOBER 2019

EIBI_1019_050(M).indd 1

07/10/2019 14:32

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 03/10/2019 16:41 Page 11

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 4

EIBI_1019_002-0 Edit_Layout 1 03/10/2019 16:43 Page 52

eibi.co.uk/enquiries Enter 27