case study
Fact file
the Kerrygold Company earmarked £500,000 of its £30m building budget specifically for
green technologies in the new factory. these include:
n sun-pipes
45 sun-pipes replace circa 90 electrically operated lighting fittings. this saves 5kW of energy
in daylight hours and is said to have an added bonus in that the system promotes a sense of
well-being through natural lighting throughout the internal offices.
n Latest lamp technology
168 twin tube fittings replace 252 conventional twin tube fittings. latest technology lamps
known as t5 fluorescent tubes are used within the production areas. the lamps last for
18,000 hours (two years) and produce a greater light output than conventional fluorescent
lamps. this reduces the quantity of lamps required and reducing energy usage. a lesser
amount of material used reduces the waste levels that increase environmental impact.
n Passive infra-red (PIR) lighting control in non-production areas
this provides lighting on a ‘needs-only’ basis.
the PiR controllers dim the office lighting when good natural daylight (via windows and
sunpipes) is available. the PiR controllers sense the natural light and automatically reduce
the artificial lighting level. this in turn reduces energy consumption. additionally the PiR
controls will automatically switch off lights when office areas are unoccupied. a reduction of
CHP generates 100kW of electricity.
56% energy is predicted.
n Photovoltaic cells
10kW of ‘free electricity', contributing to the reduction in carbon footprint. Photovoltaic cells
convert daylight to electricity, which is then converted to the building supply voltage (230
Volts) and injected into the electricity distribution system. this replaces the electricity taken
from the utility company’s grid (100% sustainable electricity from daylight source).
n cHP plant
Generating 100kW of electricity and providing 225kW of waste heat to pre-heat water for
washing and cleaning assessed at 250kW maximum load.
Combined heat and power (CHP) comprises a gas engine generator that in producing
electricity also produces heat that is used to provide the building hot water supply. the
idea is that the gas has a lower carbon footprint than electricity and therefore reduces the
building’s Co2 emissions by up to 10%.
n Free-cooling to the production hall when ambient air permits 150,000kW hr energy
reduction prediction
the production hall requires an operating temperature of between 10-12
o
C. in winter
months, the external air temperature can be lower. Roof-mounted air dampers open with
cool fresh air bought in via fans, where it is filtered and used for the production hall space.
this negates the need for artificial cooling and reduces energy consumption of the plant.
Kerrygold's cheese grating machines.
n Inverter driven motors on pumps and fans
56% energy reduction against the rated motor loadings.
the inverter controls the speed of electric motors so they can be matched to the mechanical
load being imposed by the plant and system. a standard speed motor would consume
energy constantly, regardless of the loading imposed. by reducing the speed via an inverter
drive, you proportionally reduce the energy used.
n air-cooled refrigeration plant
using air as the cooling media leads to a 60% reduction in electrical consumption.
this is a state-of-the-art chiller that incorporates variable screw compressors using the
external ambient air condition for cooling the refridgement area, which in turn provides
chilled water.
n Modern technology control systems
Plant will operate to its optimum efficiency, relative to the load at the time.
Permits centralised management and monitoring, while key alarms highlight deviations.
Provides management information for future operations.
With respect to the production hall cooling load, this may vary significantly between periods
of high production compared with weekends and bank holidays, when the plant is lower.
the control system provides an energy input for cooling relative to the actual cooling load
required having the ability to vary between 0 -100%.
45 sun-pipes replace 90 electric lights.
Simply put, this allows energy output to equal actual energy needed.
SuStainable SolutionS april 2009 51
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