THE OVERLOOKED CARBON COST OF POOR ENERGY HABITS
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s the public sector increasingly embraces sustainable building design – with BREEAM accreditation mandatory for new government buildings,
schools and hospitals – it can seem difficult to fathom that our lean, green, highly-insulated building stock could still be a source of energy waste. Yet organisations continually find that, in spite of the sustainable measures in place, their buildings still do not run at optimum energy efficiency.
Why? Quite simply, the problem is people. They leave the lights on when leaving a room; they turn up the thermostat instead of putting on a jumper. Most people assume that energy in the built environment is primarily wasted when it disappears through the fabric of a poorly-insulated building, populated with outdated, energy-draining equipment. In fact, this is only part of the story. The amount of energy wasted due to the poor habits of staff and visitors is largely underestimated. Incredibly, heating costs go up by 8% each time you turn up the thermostat by just one degree (according to sustainability advice body, The Carbon Trust).
BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE “Traditionally, organisations have
looked to ‘behavioural change’ programmes to help encourage their staff to use energy more wisely,” comments sector expert, Peter Lawrence, General Manager, Steinel (UK) Ltd. “However, psychological research into changing ingrained habits has found that getting people to use less energy is far from a simple undertaking. Holding a seminar on the importance of environmental responsibility, distributing leaflets, or putting up posters can be effective measures. However, in ‘behavioural change’, backsliding is common – people must be continually reminded to save energy, otherwise their good habits lapse.” Public sector organisations face an even bigger challenge when it comes to encouraging behavioural change, since so many of their buildings are open to the public. For buildings with high visitor footfall and those that are inhabited by transitory populations – such as hospitals and universities – it can be even harder to
Poor staff and visitor habits are derailing carbon-reduction programmes. Nicola Martin asks, how can organisations circumvent ‘the people problem’ of needless energy waste?
inspire good energy habits. If people have little ‘stake’ in the building, energy can seem like a remote, limitless resource. Since a visitor does not pay the bills, they see no financial benefit from switching off the lights or heating, so they find little incentive to do so.
PRESENCE DETECTION
It is no surprise, therefore, that public sector organisations are increasingly seeking ways to circumvent ‘the people problem’ altogether. New innovations in the sphere of presence detection are making it possible to take people out of the equation altogether when it comes to lighting and heating within a building. Retrofit presence detection technology allows lights – and, in many cases, heating systems – to switch on automatically when a person enters a room (and switch off when they leave). Quite obviously, the resulting impact on energy consumption can be dramatic. In fact, presence detectors have been shown to reduce energy waste and costs by 35–45% (according to the California Energy Commission). In the past, however, organisations have perceived presence detection as a rudimentary solution – lights connected to sensors might be slow to start up when a person entered the room, or simply cut out if inhabitants sat still for too long. The good news is: presence detection is evolving in line with modern needs. “Presence detectors must work in a way that requires absolutely no thinking on the part of either the people using them or the electricians fitting them,” comments Peter Lawrence of Steinel (UK) Ltd, which is established as the market leader in lighting sensor technology. “In light of this, we’ve taken a thorough look at the demands made on sensor technology today by listening carefully to users, planners, architects, consultants and electrical fitters.”
RESPONDING TO FEEDBACK Feedback from people in the trade led Steinel to develop its Control PRO range of presence detectors, which have innovative square-shaped detection characteristics. In contrast to traditional round-shaped presence detectors, Control PRO makes it possible to cover ‘regular’ areas, such as small offices and meeting rooms, as well as large, unusually-shaped areas that may contain ‘obstructions’, such as open plan offices, large conference rooms and restrooms. “The most effective presence detectors become invisible to the people within a building,” says Mr Lawrence, “allowing the lighting to start up instantly when they enter a room, and staying on for as long as they remain in the room. Due to the energy burden of heating and ventilation, we also supply presence detectors that provide automatic control of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, in relation to whether or not people are present in a room. Steinel has even introduced a measuring device, PROLog, which allows organisations to build up an exact picture of how much energy they could save using presence detectors, before committing to the financial outlay of an installation.” There are now more solutions than ever for dealing with ‘the people problem’ of unnecessary energy waste within public sector buildings. Alongside traditional behavioural change programmes, presence detection technology is taking its place as an effective tool for carbon reduction. We are reaching the point where costly energy drains, like lights and heating left on in empty rooms, can be a thing of the past.
www.steinel.co.uk
PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY • VOLUME 1 ISSUE 3 31
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