BSEE
With its ability to deliver high eciencies and keep heang and hot water costs down, CHP is proving a successful formula in student accommodaon developments across the UK, says Mark Gibbons, Baxi Heang’s naonal sales manager for CHP
provider for the UK student accommodation sector. While luxury, quality and high comfort levels are standard in this market, minimising building energy consumption is a key priority to make the schemes both financially and environmentally sustainable. For the building services industry, the challenge is to meet the high, continuous demand for heating, hot water and power within these buildings as efficiently as possible while keeping energy, emissions and running costs down. How, then, to achieve this? One solution that is proving hugely successful in schemes across the UK is Combined Heat and Power (CHP).
A Efficiency and economic benefits
The first benefit of CHP is that it is a highly efficient technology. By generating electricity and heat simultaneously on-site, CHP is capable of achieving total efficiencies in the region of 90%, making it the most efficient way of generating power from natural gas.
This in turn drives cost savings which are further boosted by the ability of CHP to generate onsite electricity that is cleaner, lower carbon and also lower cost than conventional generation methods. The greater the ‘spark spread’ – or difference between gas and electricity costs – the greater the savings from a CHP system. With the ratio between electricity prices and gas currently at 3:1, the financial case for CHP is clear. So where and how is CHP being used?
Short payback
Eclipse student accommodation in Cardiff is one example. Developed by Fusion Students, the luxury multi-million-pound complex offers 686 bedrooms across two buildings. With additional community facilities including a library, gym, cinema and even a nightclub, Eclipse is designed to make life very convenient and comfortable for students.
For project M&E Consultants Amber Management, ensuring that the most appropriate equipment was selected was key to comply with Part L of Building Regulations and achieve excellent energy performance. Having carefully researched the options, they decided on CHP. “Our Value Engineering exercise revealed that CHP brings the greatest benefits in terms of reduced energy requirements for projects like Eclipse,” said Amber Management’s Alan Howell. “They deliver day and night, 365 days a year and, as the calculations show, offer a very short payback on capital costs.”
The design identified a Remeha R-Gen 50/100 condensing CHP that provides pre-heat via indirect hot water cylinders to three Andrews Water Heaters ECOflo 380/1900 fully condensing direct-fired water heaters. Three Remeha Gas 310 Eco Pro 7-section boilers deliver energy-efficient space heating throughout the complex. It is a blueprint that is easily meeting the constant demand for hot water at Eclipse while reducing associated energy requirements and costs. For Fusion Students, using CHP in its student accommodation projects has become a tried- and-tested solution, as its Head of Construction Paul Miles explained.
“On the advice of Amber Management, we’ve used CHP on our last student accommodation schemes. It’s proven to be a successful formula that satisfies the demand for hot water while at the same time keeping heat and power costs down.”
BREEAM accredited
BREEAM accredited Bailey Street, UNINN Student Accommodation’s first project in Sheffield, also relies on a CHP unit to generate energy-efficient heat and electricity. With 220 rooms over eight floors, each with individual en-suite bathrooms, demand for hot water is understandably high. Energy efficiency was again a vital requirement. “As this project was BREEAM ‘Very Good’ accredited, early in our design process we identified energy efficiency as key to satisfy the constant demand for hot water while reducing energy consumption,” explained Leon Grant, Contracts Manager at Torsion Engineering Services. “We explored various renewable options, working closely with the Project Architect to suit their building design and plant constraints through the feasibility and early design stages. For this type of building and its demand, using a CHP unit was deemed to be the most suitable option.” A Remeha R-Gen SenerTech Dachs G5.5 Gen 2, working in conjunction with boilers, is now successfully achieving all the project requirements at this stylish, high-end development.
Maxing returns
In a well-designed system, a CHP can deliver a return on investment within three years. But for this to happen, the CHP needs to run for long periods during the day. Whether combined with boilers or water heaters, the emphasis must be on accurate sizing to ensure that the CHP takes control of the requirement for maximum returns.
22 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER APRIL 2020
Once installed and operational, regular monitoring is advisable to ensure that the unit continues to operate at optimum performance. This will enable organisations to evaluate continuous running hours per day and average heat and energy output against the CHP’s rated output.
Good manufacturers and suppliers will offer remote monitoring services for CHP units. The advantage of this is that if, for any reason, the unit stops working, is in alarm, or the performance drops, it can be picked up within hours and action taken to rectify the problem without prolonged downtime. As an estimated 85% of reported CHP faults are able to be corrected and reset remotely, this will help keep operating hours high for financial benefit.
Expert technical support
A remote monitoring service can also provide valuable support for end users and building operators, removing from them the responsibility to monitor or report on what is a specialist piece of plant.
David Petty is the Facilities Assistant at Ernest Place, the 362-bed student accommodation in Durham managed by Mansion Property Management. This scheme relies on a Remeha R- Gen 20/44 condensing CHP unit to meet the high demand for hot water.
“The CHP is working well, and any technology that saves money is clearly a bonus,” he said. “But from an FM perspective, it’s reassuring to know that the Remeha team are only ever a phone call away. If a problem should occur, it can be easily resolved – often without the need for a service visit.”
Transition to net zero
As the UK works towards carbon neutrality, the medium-term goal is to meet energy demand in buildings as efficiently as possible. In student accommodation schemes, CHP is proving key to generating the required high levels of performance and comfort with low ongoing running costs.
And with good suppliers supporting building services engineers and end users with in-depth technical advice and support at every step of the process – from supply through to commissioning and aftersales service – the full efficiency and economic benefits of CHP can be reaped.
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s UK and international students invest more in their education, development of purpose-built student accommodation has surged, according to research by StuRents, a leading services
BOILERS & HOT WATER
CHP: A winning formula in student accommodation
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