21 minute read
The Warren Report
Andrew Warren is chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation
09.20
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Why has lighting been left in the dark?
We can now take advantage of the Green Homes Grant. But there is one glaring omission in the technologies available to UK’s homeowners
This month the Government’s Green Homes Grant scheme Average begins its life. This is the first publicly funded scheme offering grants to any Year Energy % Drop since 1990 cost per household (assuming average household, no matter how affluent, to is 16p/KWh) encourage installation of a wide range of energy saving products since the original 1990 26.6TWh 0 £164 Homes Insulation Grant scheme was abandoned back in 1988. 2007 20.7TWh 22% £127.40
Over the next six months, £1.5bn has 2010 19.3TWh 27% £118.77 been allocated to offer two-thirds of the costs of installing energy saving –products 2016 14.2TWh 47% £87.38 interestingly the exact same percentage as was on offer for the 15 years of that 2025 2.6TWh 89% £16 original scheme.
There are two fundamental differences. explaining what products would qualify. Average UK household spend The first is that individual households In the list, as reproduced endlessly, was on lighting from 1990 can now receive up to £5,000 from the “energy-efficient lighting”. Treasury. And the second is that every But when one month later the single measure must be installed by Government issued its definitive list an official tradesperson, each with of qualifying products, there was no qualifications acknowledged under the mention of anything to do with lighting. TrustMark scheme. What might have caused this U-turn?
So, no DIY rolling out insulation in lofts. There was a warning from the world’s No fitting your own thermostatic radiator most powerful man, the Tweetmaster-invalves. And certainly, no internal wall chief. It concerned the merits (or in his linings done by old Bob, who used to work view the demerits) of installing LED lamps. in the building trade years ago.
The over-riding objective is to provide Lightbulbs 'can cause cancer' registered employment within the I quote verbatim from a tweet issued by construction industry. Tens of thousands Donald Trump at 8.39 a.m. on July 17. It of new jobs will be delivered, according to reads: “Remember, new ‘environment Business Secretary, Alok Sharma. friendly’ lightbulbs can cause cancer. Be
And that sadly means that one of the careful - the idiots who came up with this products that has already brought some of stuff just don’t care.” the greatest electricity savings of all, but Or it may have been the knowledge has the potential to deliver so much more, that opinion surveys of LEAVE voters in has been unceremoniously disbarred the 2016 referendum reveal that buying from entry from the entire grants scheme. lightbulbs familiar to the late Victorians,
When, in early July, Chancellor Rishi is up there as a “patriotic” icon akin to Sunak announced the grants scheme, blue passports and selling vegetables by briefings were sent out to all the media the pound rather than the kilo. Which
means that there is a portion of the population that may well regard more environmentally friendly lightbulbs with hostility.
Already much attention has been given to the undeniable fact that both the compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), and latterly the LEDs, which have been replacing incandescent lightbulbs, are so much more expensive to purchase. This places, it is argued, a quite unreasonable burden upon, in particular, “just about managing” households.
What receives rather less attention are two key benefits that more modern illumination technologies bring. The first is their relative greater longevity. The second is that they require much less electricity to provide the same amount of illumination.
And there is the (occasional) complaint that these new-fangled bulbs simply don’t provide as much light as the originals they replace is entirely soluble. The Observer recently splashed complaints from those in County Down, Northern Ireland living close to a lighthouse regarding its changeover to LEDs, with just a paragraph devoted to the positive response of the mariners such a lighthouse exists to assist.
The proof of how important modern lighting can be comes in the remarkable table (above) prepared by the Lighting Association.
In 2016, at the time of the last survey, the average household spent just £87.38 each year on lighting - only 17 per cent of the electricity bill. If consumption levels had remained as in 1990, the average household would now have been paying out £164 a year for illumination. The Lighting Association reckons that if, LEDs can replace all incandescents by 2025, then household lighting bills will have dropped to just £16 p.a. An annual financial saving of £148 per household.
Sadly, there will apparently be no means of assisting this trend coming from the new Grant scheme. Which given the need to combat the absurd prejudices I cited earlier, could prove a serious missed opportunity.
Heating Technology
For further information on Panasonic visitwww.eibi.co.uk/enquiriesand enter ENQUIRY No. 125
Housing for the future
Could this project be the future for low-carbon heating and local generation? A collaboration of specialists has led to a new concept in sustainable living
Aground-breaking project in Berlin could show the way to the way homes are built and operated.
Residents of the Future Living Berlin development can generate up to 90 per cent of their own energy needs through air-to-water heat pumps, and solar photovoltaics linked to a battery storage system.
The FLB project comprises 90 residential apartments and 10 commercial units in the Smart City Quarter technology hub in the south of the city. Groundbreaking for the Photovoltaics and heat pumps combine to supply residents at units by developer GSW Sigmaringen Future Living Berlin with up to was in July 2017, with the heat pump 90 per cent of energy needs installation taking place in December 2019. together with university test labs we To achieve further sustainable and
The main technology provider, achieved an improvement of used green objectives, residents can take Panasonic, has installed 17 Aquarea energy by up to 15 per cent.” advantage of green car sharing, and heat pumps on the site along with Utilising the renewable energy, the shared washing machines. 600 HIT PV panels. air to water system is used for space
Panasonic has also developed an heating and warm water generation Digital and connected goal intelligent energy management but can also be used for cooling. The digital and connected goal of solution to optimise the use of energy For increased performance, the Future Living Berlin starts within and couple electricity with the heat pumps include a cloud-based the residential apartments. The heating sector. Ralf Becker, project connectivity feature for installers equipment follows the idea of being leader energy group, Panasonic R&D called Aquarea Service Cloud which smart and connected. Panasonic Centre Europe, said: “The solution makes them even more reliable. TVs and smart speakers are part of is a world first, developed as a It saves further CO 2 emissions as an overall IoT infrastructure, which joint-venture with leading research maintenance visits can be organised includes an apartment manager as institutions for decentralised much more efficiently and partly the central hub. energy management. In simulations even conducted remotely. Digital and connected solutions
are further extended to include wider security, safety, and smart building solutions that enhance the overall comfort of residents.
This comfort is enhanced by very high building standards. Triple glazing is standard, making the heat requirement very low. According to Birgid Eberhardt, head of smart home at GSW, air source heat pumps were preferred for two reasons. “The climate conditions in Berlin are better suited to air source and the very sandy ground conditions would make ground source extremely expensive and unsafe.”
FLB is taking advantage of German Mieterstrom regulation or ‘tenantgeneration.’ Residents can choose the microgeneration package as an option from the energy provider Polarstern. The price of electricity is around 15 per cent cheaper than the alternative from the grid, FLB says.
Panasonic has no doubts that the technologies could be reproduced elsewhere in Europe. “There is ample scope to reproduce it in the UK,” Enrique Vilamitjana, managing director Panasonic AC & Heating Europe told EiBI.
“We need to find the right partners but we are definitely looking at the UK,” he added. “This market has always been promising but the German market has been difficult, too. Now with a good framework in place we see a market growing 30 per cent a month. This will happen in the UK. We are offering the ability to optimise energy performance – to offer technology that solves the complexity issues.”
Although Panasonic is working on hydrogen projects in Japan, Vilamitjana does not believe there will be “a realistic hydrogen market for a while. There is some way to go.”
Panasonic has been working on similar projects in Japan for the last six years. At Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (SST), 50km north west of Tokyo, more than 1,500 residents have moved into the over 500 detached houses. The aim here is to reduce CO 2 emissions by 70 per cent (compared to 1990) and water use by 30 per cent. A third of energy comes from renewables. The town includes PV panels, battery storage, and residential smart energy management systems. And also features a domestic-sized hydrogen fuel cell.
Heating Technology
For further information on ELCO Heating Solutions visitwww.eibi.co.uk/enquiriesand enter ENQUIRY No. 126
Mark Ferris is key account and training manager at ELCO Heating Solutions
View things differently
Mark Ferris discusses how the latest boilers meet the challenges head-on and have evolved considerably to remain the heat generator of choice
On paper, specifying the correct commercial boiler for a project is simple. But as many a building services engineer can testify, not every boiler is the same – even if their specifications match! Indeed, when it comes to comparing the gas-fired commercial units on the market today, there are still vast number of options available, but some significant differences beneath their white metal exteriors.
So, how do building services engineers specify the right units for a project? First, it’s important to remember that, despite manufacturers hitting the ‘ceiling’ of achievable efficiencies, commercial boilers are continuing to develop and evolve, with the aggregate of smaller, marginal gains helping to offer improved performances – even if they are not always in plain sight.
The main area of focus for established manufacturers is a commercial boiler’s heat exchanger. This vital component requires careful examination, as it will heavily reflect on a unit’s longterm performance and its lifetime efficiency. Inside a heat exchanger’s complex fusion of metals lies an extremely harsh environment, which puts an appliance under tremendous stress from the very first minute it’s fired. As a result, this requires careful attention for a number of reasons.
Despite most boiler efficiencies plateauing in recent years, it is still critical to maximise heat transfer in a heat exchanger. As a result, manufacturers spend hundreds of man hours carefully designing water flows to ensure they are as turbulent as possible, alongside bespoke burner designs and ‘flame pictures’. This combined approach enhances heat transfer and extracts every possible joule of energy from the water. In addition, it is becoming more common for a heat exchanger to utilise laser-welded fin tubes. This
Boilers continue to develop thanks to the targeting of marginal improvements
attention to detail further promotes the best possible heat transfer between tube and fin.
NOx emissions criteria Of course, there is another key attribute to any modern gas condensing boiler and that relates to its NOx emissions. This is certainly not a new concept for specifiers and building services engineers, as promoting the use of low emission levels has been used in the environmental assessment scheme BREEAM since 1990. The ‘Pol 02 NOx emissions’ project criteria under BREEAM aims to ‘encourage the supply of heat from a system that minimises NOx emissions, and therefore reduce pollution of the local environment’. NOX emissions are given greater credit under BREEAM, offering the maximum two credits to the assessment criteria.
Another consideration when examining a commercial boiler’s heat exchanger is whether it has evolved in any way. It is often assumed that boiler technology cannot be reinvented, or indeed viewed differently during the design process. ELCO Heating Solutions has taken a new stance on boiler design, especially where the heat exchanger is concerned. For example, our new THISION L PLUS and TRIGON L PLUS units have built-in redundancy, thanks to their dual heat exchanger design. This creates a cascade system within one boiler, with the two heat exchangers capable of working independently from each other. Such an approach has huge benefits, offering a cascade setup for enhanced turndowns, plus built-in backup should one heat exchanger require attention. We have also developed these latest boilers to include optimised combustion zones to achieve the very best NOx results. In fact, both of our new units achieve annual NOx emissions of less than 24mg/kWh – with specific models reaching 21.7mg/kWh, in accordance with EN
15502. This level of manufacturing expertise ensures all boilers are future proofed against any upcoming tightening of standards in the near future.
An important aspect to consider when specifying a commercial boiler is the material a heat exchanger is manufactured from. This is absolutely key – not only for the boiler’s immediate operation, but throughout its entire lifetime. Stainless steel is often chosen because its properties allow a heat exchanger to maintain published performance figures for its entire operating cycle. However not all materials behave in the same manner, for example some aluminium heat exchangers have shown a reduction in efficiency over their lifetime, due to gradual corrosion of the metal (on the gas side) under certain conditions. The acidic nature of products of combustion (pH about 5 for natural gas) can affect aluminium – and detailed castings – over time, with a subsequent possible reduction in heat transfer efficiency. If the pH is outside the values of 4-9, then the protective layer (alumina) is likely to be removed and heavy corrosion may take place. Stainless steel, on the other hand, has an inherent resistance to corrosion, which is especially important when a heat exchanger is exposed to the demanding conditions inside a boiler’s hydraulic system.
As outlined, not all commercial boilers are necessarily the same; many models remain static in an advancing market, whereas others continue to develop and evolve, thanks to the targeting of those marginal improvements. For specifiers and building services engineers selecting a boiler, examining the different heat exchangers, emissions levels and materials used are three crucial starting points. As a result, it will soon become clear which models are pushing the boundaries and those that are not!
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Heating Technology
For further information on Baxi Heating visitwww.eibi.co.uk/enquiriesand enter ENQUIRY No. 127
Dan Martindale is commercial sales director at Baxi Heating
The rise of prefabrication
As energy managers strive to improve energy efficiency in their buildings, heating is a natural target. Dan Martindale looks at the rising use of prefabricated heating technologies
In recent months, COVID-19 has, understandably, been at the forefront of our attention. But while the crisis may have forced many energy managers to reflect on their processes, prioritising the energy efficiency of their building stock continues to make perfect economic and environmental sense.
A reliable, well-controlled heating system will not only minimise building running costs in these difficult times but is central to generating a comfortable and productive environment for returning occupants. And with more fresh air needing to be brought into a building’s HVAC system or windows opened to improve ventilation and prevent transmission of the virus, the heating system will need to work even harder to optimise thermal comfort.
In the many buildings that still rely on old or failing boiler plant for their heating, upgrading to modern, highly efficient condensing boiler technology remains one of the most cost-effective solutions. The challenge is to adhere to the safety guidance around such work while still achieving the required highquality results.
Fortunately, technology is already available that can help ensure both quality installation and on-site safety at all times. One such option is to use prefabricated heating equipment.
Off-site fabrication is wellestablished in construction as a means of delivering quality, customisation and cost benefits with reduced waste.
On larger-scale heating projects, off-site manufactured packaged plant solutions are increasingly used to achieve the same benefits and more. By carrying out most of the manufacturing off-site, using specialist machinery in a qualitycontrolled factory environment, the highest build quality can be achieved through improved control procedures and end-of-line testing.
At the same time, this technique reduces waste, leading to a lower environmental impact.
When it comes to boiler replacement projects, the opportunity to use prefabricated rig systems for multiple boiler installations again brings numerous benefits. The prefabricated rig systems approach can be applied to the full range of installation sizes from single boiler systems to multiple high output wall hung or floor standing boiler arrangements. Turnkey solutions like these minimise disruption through faster project completion, reduce safety issues through controlled off-site fabrication and maximise energy savings benefits through best quality installation.
Mini plant room system What exactly do we mean by a prefabricated rig system? Effectively, it is a mini plant room system, complete with a bespoke configuration of boilers, pumps, low loss headers or plate heat exchangers, and ancillary items including a dosing pot and pressurisation unit.
The multi-boiler rig arrangement increases the turndown ratio and improves the modulation
The opportunity to use prefabricated rig systems for multiple boiler installations brings multiple benefits
capability of the boilers, maximising efficient energy use and reliability. Customised controls and panel can also be integrated into prefabricated rig designs to deliver optimised operation at all times, further reducing energy demand and costs.
The rig design also addresses long-term performance as individual boilers can easily be taken off-line for servicing as required, with minimal disruption or impact on system performance.
Manufacturer ‘flat pack’ cascade packages are, of course, widely available to simplify multiple boiler installation. But they still require a significant amount of on-site assembly work. In contrast, a prefabricated rig system is designed and delivered pre-assembled as a complete package, ready for easy connection to the system.
With installation and commissioning taking just days rather than weeks, using a solution like this dramatically reduces any system downtime for building users. It also provides energy and facilities managers with the opportunity to carry out numerous boiler room refurbishment projects within the same fixed time scale, and the ability to complete any previously interrupted projects across their sites swiftly and safely.
Crucially, in the current climate, prefabricated rig systems remove the need for ‘hot works’ and any on-site fabrication related to the boiler assembly. This enables health and safety requirements to be more easily met and policed for the benefit of both site workers and building occupants.
Good manufacturers will offer either bespoke-designed or standard prefabricated rig systems to provide rapid, flexible solutions for plant rooms of all sizes.
A key benefit of the bespoke rig system is that all project and site requirements – from space and access limitations to project-specific controls and optimal pipework for connection to the system – can be resolved from the outset, at the design stage.
Typically, each boiler rig system will be designed using BIM tools and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) systems. Front-loading the design in this way provides energy and facilities managers with the opportunity to provide input at the early stages, while bringing assurance of a quality outcome.
The drawings then form part of a comprehensive operations and maintenance documentation manual, part of the building’s ‘golden thread’ of information, to facilitate easier future servicing and replacement.
Energy efficiency is a key pillar in the UK’s approach to net zero – and action is needed now. We and other manufacturers are actively exploring the feasibility of integrating clean hydrogen into the future energy mix to offer a low disruption solution to low-carbon heating in our older building stock. But while we innovate with future heating technology, it’s important not to neglect the existing opportunities to reduce energy waste and emissions from heat in our buildings.
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Heating Technology
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Double addition to heat pump range
Rising demand for low carbon heating and hot water solutions has prompted manufacturer Lochinvar to add two new product ranges so that it now offers an extensive portfolio of heat pumps suitable for a wide range of non-domestic applications.
Amicus LT air-to-water heat pumps provide low temperature hot water (LTHW) at up to 60°C for space heating and domestic hot water systems. The technology works by capturing energy extracted from ambient air.
Amicus Boost water source heat pumps are designed to be used as part of hybrid systems. They extract energy from water sources such as heat recovery and reclaim systems.
LT models are suitable for supplying low temperature heating systems such as underfloor heating or hybrid systems with high efficiency gas-fired boilers and water heaters. They can also be integrated with an Amicus Boost heat pump to provide even greater energy and carbon savings.
They can achieve a coefficient of efficiency (COP) of 4.61 (more than 400 per cent energy efficiency) at an indicative temperature of 7°C and flow temperatures of 30°C to 35°C. They have heating capacities from 22 to 464kW and will operate successfully at outdoor temperatures as low as -20°C delivering seasonal COP ratings of up to 4.13.
The key to the LT’s high efficiency is its use of stage compressors. As the operating temperature approaches set point, the controls automatically turn off one or more of the unit’s compressors. This ensures the heat pump achieves its target output with the lowest possible energy consumption.
Amicus Boost heat pumps have heating capacities from 30kW to 496kW. They have a COP of up to 5.14 (over 500 per cent efficiency) and can provide water temperatures up to 78°C.
Radiant ceiling panels give added heating flexibility
Zehnder Group UK has launched the Zehnder ZFP, range of radiant ceiling panels to ensure businesses and other organisations can heat and cool their buildings comfortably and efficiently, while achieving substantial energy savings.
The panels are suitable for a wide-range of environments requiring heating and cooling solutions – from sports halls and showrooms, to logistics facilities, fulfilment centres and factories. Zehnder ZFP delivers a number of benefits and advantages including an optimum indoor climate all year round, while the panels can achieve a proportion of radiation of over 80 per cent.
The individual elements of the Zehnder ZFP are designed as an innovative modular system that can be combined with each other according to the project requirements to create tailored project solutions. Each solution is produced to a customer’s exact requirements and supplied in line with the on-site workflow. The individual product components can be combined to suit the needs of each project. For example, a design for a sports hall may include ball guards, raised headers, perforation and acoustic insulation, while a solution for a logistics hall could incorporate LED light fixtures.
David Simões, marketing and product manager - RHC at Zehnder Group UK, said: “The technology… can be operated with a broad range of system temperatures. That is why it can be combined with heat pumps with their lower flow temperatures without any problems.”
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Back-up boilers meet heat networks’ needs
UltraGas 1550 is the latest addition to Hoval’s UltraGas family of ultra-efficient condensing gas boilers (15kW to 2,300kW) with net efficiencies up to 109.9 per cent and average NOx emissions of less than 40mg/kWh.
With the growth of heat networks using combined heat and power (CHP) as the primary heat source for base loads, there is also a need for suitable back-up boilers to meet peak heat loads efficiently – as well as appropriate low carbon and renewable heat sources.
Hoval general manager, Ian Dagley, explained: “Resilience, reliability, efficiency and low emissions are all key criteria for heat network projects, and we have a range of products to meet these needs. Our UK-manufactured steel-shell boilers, for example, are ideal for many such projects because of their wellestablished quality and long life.
“Many heat network projects also face a problem of limited plant room space, so the latest addition to our UltraGas range, the compact UltraGas 1550 – with a footprint of just 3.3m2 for a capacity of 1,550kW - is proving popular for saving space,” he added.
