ENERGY
CASE STUDY COTSWOLD LEISURE CENTRE
footprint. The council’s carbon management plan, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 25 per cent before 2015, forms part of its Cleaner and Greener campaign, an initiative geared towards reducing the council’s overall environmental impact. In line with this campaign, the council identifi ed the Cotswold Leisure Centre as a facility where several sustainability targets could be met through a reduction in its electricity consumption.
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Recognising that voltage optimi- sation – an electrical energy saving technique in which a device is installed in series with the mains
otswold District Council in Gloucestershire is commit- ted to reducing its carbon
electricity supply to provide an opti- mum supply voltage for the site's equipment – can help lower carbon emissions and reduce energy costs, the council asked EMSc (UK) Ltd to complete a site survey to assess whether voltage optimisation could help it realise savings at the centre. “On the whole, the National Grid supplies a higher voltage than is gen- erally required,” says EMSc (UK) Ltd managing director Dr Alex Mardapittas. “Although the nominal voltage in the UK is 230V, the average delivered is actually 242V. This ‘over-voltage’ means that energy consumption is not only higher, but as a result, the lifespan of equipment is shortened.” Voltage optimisation has also been
shown to improve power quality by balancing phase voltages and fi lter- ing harmonics as well as transients from the electricity supply, leading to reduced maintenance costs as less
A Powerstar voltage optimisation unit helped reduce CO2 emissions
demand is placed on equipment. EMSc (UK) Ltd determined that
the centre could realise substantial savings by implementing voltage opti- misation technology and a 286kVA Powerstar unit was installed. The Powerstar installation helped reduce the leisure centre's direct electricity consumption – an over- all energy saving of 8 per cent was achieved – whilst CO2 emissions were reduced by 54 tonnes. The council also achieved an annual sav- ing of £7,800 on electricity costs.
A number of financial products are currently being developed by suppliers and financial houses to bridge the gap when it comes to paying your energy deposit
your contract and mitigate the risk to all parties. For example, a consul- tancy can tender out to suppliers and fi lter each one to fi nd, not only the best prices, but also to determine any obstacles that you may face when it comes to accommodating the deposit requests of the utility companies.
ADDRESSING THE CREDIT CRISIS A number of fi nancial products are cur- rently being developed by suppliers and fi nancial houses to bridge the gap when it comes to paying your energy deposit. Currently proving popular in the US is the utilisation of unsecured loans through merchant banks and if this solu- tion is rolled out in the UK, it will provide fi nance to the trader to pay the deposit for the energy contracts.
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Utility deposit bonds are also cur- rently available for larger deposits of between £50,000 and £1m, though these often require extensive security checks, including an insurance policy and a bank guarantee. The advantage of this option is that the customer will benefi t from a cheaper fi nancial tariff on the back of the guarantee provided to the utility company.
Though the health of your credit rating is critical to your energy pro- curement, there are ways and means of ensuring that payment for utilities won’t break the bank. Timing is every- thing. If you purchase your energy at the right time, you can tie yourself into a more economical contract. Poor credit coupled with UK govern-
ment pressure to reduce usage and carbon emissions is leaving compa- nies with a diffi cult dilemma. With the deposits taking up so much of a com- pany’s credit limit, little budget is left to purchase energy saving technol-
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital
ogy to meet UK government targets. In some cases companies have no budget at all to invest in consumption reduction equipment and systems. But there is a solution.
TAKE CONTROL
Companies should not be embar- rassed to discuss this with their utility provider. It is important to take an open book attitude with suppliers to ensure that a bank of evidence is available to support your accounts and to explain any anomalies. The are emerging ways for organ-
isations to seek funding for energy management and technology, ena- bling them to recoup savings to put towards further energy-effi cient meas- ures. The ever changing market is certainly one to watch. ●
The Energy Desk T: 0800 3777 889, E:
info@theenergydesk.co.uk www.theenergydesk.co.uk
ISSUE 2 2012 © cybertrek 2012
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