Energy audits offer hope in new fuel era

Nine out of ten UK residents believe climate change is something that will not affect them during their lifetimes and almost one in ten believe it will never happen*1. Mike Malina* explains why this complacency is about to change and what building managers are doing to shift perceptions before it is too late.

It is all too easy to ignore the detail of energy saving in a society where most people are blissfully unaware of how much their fuel costs. Ask anyone how much an evening's TV viewing costs and you will get some wildly varying answers*2. Do you know?

We are, however, about to be shaken out of this comatose state.

As of next year, the UK becomes a net importer of natural gas for the first time. Most of our supply will come from Northern Europe and will be more expensive - security of supply is another issue, which will have to be confronted sooner rather than later. Our own supplies of gas and oil will be virtually exhausted by 2010. Our electrical power generation capacity will be reduced by as much as 30% by 2020 when the nuclear power plants go off line.

The Government is pinning its hopes on wind power, but we would have to cover our landmass in turbines to plug our supply gaps. This is not going to happen and the Government's own estimates have some big holes in them, not least that renewables, as a whole, will be expected to plug that missing 30% by 2020. Currently we produce 3.9% of our power from renewables (wind, solar, CHP etc.) can we really see that rising to 30% by 2020 or even the 20% targeted by the Prime Minister? Also, electricity generated by the planned 6,000 new offshore wind turbines costs 7.2p per kW/hr compared with the 4p of nuclear power (although, that does not take the cost of radioactive waste into account) and 5.4p of land-based turbines.

Rising costs will help to concentrate minds, but even doubling prices may not be enough to change habits and end users may not be able to do anything about it if they are stuck with poorly designed and managed building services. Carrying on at current levels of consumption is simply not an option and the steps have to be put in place now because very soon we will not be able to meet demand either by imported 'traditional' fuels or renewables. Reducing usage is our only option and, although this is not a new message, there is precious little evidence of movement in the right direction - quite the opposite.

Commtech has been carrying out a wide range of energy audits at various public facilities and private commercial buildings over the past year and the results are shocking. Basic energy mismanagement is leading to waste on a huge scale and the implications of this if factored out across our whole building stock frankly don't bear thinking about.

We have discovered widespread ignorance of simple 'good housekeeping' among energy and facility managers as well as rank bad practice in designing and commissioning systems in the first place.

Pipes not lagged, the BMS never properly commissioned and poorly understood so it is grossly underused, and lighting left on 24 hours a day in areas where it would be simple to either switch if off or control it more effectively - these are just some of the common problems our work has exposed.

The building services community has a huge part to play in ensuring the design is right in the first place, the systems are fully commissioned and handed over with appropriate documentation and training so that on-going operation can meet the design aspirations. Providing estimated running costs of proposed plant would also be a valuable step forward.

However, there are some even more basic rules of thumb that could be applied from the start and, also retrospectively would make a huge difference.

Lighting is a big one. Hotels and office complexes seem obsessed with leaving lights on constantly even in underground car parks. Why? When questioned they all mention the word 'security' suggesting that thieves will be lurking in dark corners waiting to pounce on unsuspecting drivers. Have these people not heard of microwave sensors? A system that activates high frequency lighting the instant somebody enters the area would pay for itself through energy savings in under nine months. Why not put them in the plant room as well?

The old excuse that the sensors constantly switch lights off again unless you wave your arms about is frankly, old hat. Designers also need to think more innovatively about use of natural lighting with passive infrared daylight linking sensors that ensure lights are not left switched on unnecessarily.

The ability to monitor and assess energy usage is a far more sophisticated science these days with a number of useful tools at our disposal. Only a few years ago you would have needed to go on a weight training programme before being able to carry the early generation of thermal imaging cameras around, but today they are about the same size and weight as a camcorder. These are very useful for surveying energy waste from poor insulation and building fabric design and to check that electrical systems are working properly. They are also ideal for evaluating more complex systems like chilled ceilings.

Energy logging is also much more effective than it used to be. It can also be Internet enabled so remote access to the information is available to help engineers assess and correct faults and fine-tune the performance of selected pieces of equipment from almost anywhere.

This is not rocket science and using common sense and good housekeeping could make many of the savings and improvements. Short cuts made during construction can also be blamed for the poor performance of this building - it seems even in PFI projects scant attention is being paid to this important long-term running issue.

Involving a company like Commtech right from the conception stage pays dividends from the design review right through to commissioning and handover. Remedial action is never cheap, but not adopting the right measures now mean this building and literally thousands like it will never measure up and will continue paying the price. The problem is part of a wider social issue, but we cannot afford to wait until dwindling resources force prices up further and put supplies under pressure. We can and must instil the principles of good housekeeping now in readiness.

Come the day building managers are sitting down at home worrying about how much it is costing them to watch TV, the right measures must already be in place otherwise it will already be too late.

*1 The findings of research carried out by the Energy Saving Trust to coincide with the launch of the film 'The Day After Tomorrow'.

*2 The electricity consumption for an average evening's TV viewing costs about 3p.

*Mike Malina is energy manager at Commtech.

Commtech Group,
Breakfield
The Ullswater Business Park
Coulsdon
Surrey
CR5 2HS

Tel: 020 8668 0312
Fax. 020 8668 0975
enquiry@commtechgroup.co.uk