INDUSTRY COMMENT Cutting back and moving forward


BCIA President Graeme Rees echoes some thoughts of his two predecessors and puts them into a new context as UK households and businesses try to manage the increasing cost of living


E


ffective management of commercial properties is a challenge at the best of times, especially larger premises and those which are part of a large portfolio of properties.” These are


the words of my predecessor Terry Sharp in this very column in June 2020 – just as the UK was beginning to ease itself out of the first lockdown. Although Covid is still very much about, Terry’s statement is perhaps now more applicable to the subject of the rising cost of living, from energy prices to fuel costs. With hardly any traffic on the road during lockdown, petrol and diesel prices plummeted. How quickly things can change… Many households are now having to scrutinise every penny of their monthly spending and curtail their spending, restrict their car journeys wherever possible and choose carefully which luxuries (if any) they can afford. Planning ahead plays a key factor in families’ month-by-month activities in order to ensure they have enough money to firstly cover the ‘essentials’, such as food, travel to school/work and bills. Similarly, planning ahead can also ensure a Building Energy Management System (BEMS) delivers its full potential in helping to save money. The biggest reasons for deploying a BEMS are


arguably, a) to monitor and subsequently reduce a building’s energy consumption and make it more environmentally friendly, and b) save money! The two for the most part go hand in hand and in the age of Net-Zero the environmental reasons have been heavily promoted in recent years and rightfully so. It is perhaps now a good time to highlight some of the financial benefits of a well thought out and properly planned BEMS.


A simple breakdown


It might seem obvious but only by establishing who the end users are and what their operational needs are can one understand what they will want the BEMS to achieve. Also, and very important when considering the full life costs of operating the building, knowing what the ongoing maintenance plan for the BEMS should be and how its data will be stored enables a robust outline can be built considering the full requirements of your BEMS. It should never be assumed that a BEMS will achieve its objectives unless they have been discussed with the controls specialist. Protecting the customer’s investment should also be integrated into the planning, for example by including an open protocol system from a supplier who has an open route to market. Open protocol ensures flexibility and simplifies options to integrate with other building systems in a simple and cost-effective manner. Keeping check on setpoints and time scheduling, being sure any temporary overrides put in place are returned to normal operation and that all sensing devices are kept clean and away from any erroneous influences that may alter readings will also help to reduce the end user’s energy costs.


In many cases, maintenance and repair jobs will involve call outs for engineers which means more money spent on fuel when travelling to different jobs. Again, the importance of keeping maintenance call outs to a minimum was previously highlighted by Terry Sharp. Back then it was in order to keep human contact to a minimum and reduce the risk of spreading Covid. Now good forward planning and implementing an effective and secure remote connectivity


system can reduce engineers’ need to carry out maintenance on site unless absolutely necessary and reduce their spending on fuel.


Back to basics


All of the above may be obvious and straightforward to many but quite often it is the easy stuff that is missed or forgotten about, whether it’s flicking off a light switch or only filling the kettle with as much water as you need. It is surprising what we can achieve when we adopt a ‘back to basics’ approach, and, to borrow a campaign by another former BCIA President, Jon Belfield, one small change really can make a big difference.


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5/7/22 12:14 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER AUGUST 2022 7


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