BSEE A


With ongoing polical and economic uncertainty and ghter environmental targets, improving the energy eciency of our exisng building stock has arguably never been so important. Mark Gibbons, naonal sales manager at Remeha CHP, looks at how one organisaon is turning to CHP to improve energy performance across its estates


s businesses and organisations look to reduce energy consumption to minimise related costs and emissions,


addressing the energy efficiency of our existing building stock offers a practical starting point. One organisation that is leading by example is Cheshire East Council, which recently announced its ambition to become carbon neutral by 2025.


A key area of focus for Cheshire East Council is its leisure centres as these sites are typically intensive energy users. Heating and hot water provision accounts for a large proportion of energy bills, particularly in facilities with swimming pools. Electricity usage is also high, especially in centres that use it extensively for air conditioning, ventilation, lighting, fans, pumps and more.


With a 25-metre swimming pool and a learning pool in addition to a fully- equipped gym, studio and changing facilities, Macclesfield Leisure Centre is one of the Council’s largest leisure complexes. As such, the Council’s energy department was keen to monitor energy use across the site and explore ways of reducing energy demand and costs where possible. A mechanical condition survey consulting engineers SVM-Building Services Design (SVM-BSD) for Engie, the Council’s principal contractor and FM Provider, revealed that 60% of the existing boiler plant was not operational and beyond repair. Replacement was therefore essential to avoid an emergency situation and potential building closure.


Low NOx condensing CHP


Cheshire East Council put a programme in place to upgrade the plant as part of multiple refurbishment projects at the Centre. SVM-BSD’s recommendation was to refurbish the heating system with an ultra-low NOx condensing CHP unit operating in conjunction with high efficiency condensing boilers. This was a particularly effective solution for Macclesfield Leisure Centre given its year-round requirements for electricity and heat.


uWith high, constant demand for heat and power, leisure centres with swimming pools, like Macclesfield Leisure Centre, are parcularly well suited to CHP


CHP is effectively a super-efficient micro power station that generates heat and power in a single process at the point of use. Instead of rejecting the ‘waste’ heat to atmosphere like traditional power stations, the heat generated by CHP can be re-used to provide high grade heating and hot water.


MAINTENANCE & REFURBISHMENT CHP is going swimmingly at leisure centre


“CHP was the obvious choice for us when the opportunity became available for the Council energy department to improve the efficiency of Macclesfield Leisure Centre,” said Colin Farrelly, energy manager at Cheshire East Council. “The leisure centre is one of our largest energy users and, as such, the impact of applying CHP will be significant across the whole estate.”


The design scoped by SVM-BSD identified a Remeha R-Gen 50/100kW ultra-low NOx condensing CHP unit working in conjunction with six Remeha Quinta Ace high-efficiency condensing boilers to optimise overall system efficiency. The R-Gen CHP unit operates as the lead boiler with the condensing boilers providing additional heat during peak periods when required.


“We had already specified Remeha boilers on this project as we are very familiar with them and find them reliable and efficient,” said Sean Langton, director at SVM-BSD. “Remeha had previously provided us with a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminar on CHP which was extremely informative and, as a result, we commissioned them to look at the project,” he continued. Minimising disruption was the key concern for Engie as the leisure centre needed to remain open throughout the works.


“Ensuring that the building and its services were unaffected during the works required careful planning, co- ordination and collaboration,” explained Karl Durber, Engie’s senior projects manager. “Working in a live environment can present complex logistical challenges. But this was a really good team effort, with regular progress meetings ensuring excellent communication throughout the project.”


For SVM-BSD, there were clear advantages of using one supplier for all the components.


“Working with Remeha has ensured a smooth delivery and installation process,” said Langton. “It will also simplify future maintenance and servicing, as all spare parts can be accessed immediately from a central hub.”


Paul Towler, director at CM Oxendale, the project M&E Contractor agreed. “Having one point of contact certainly makes life much easier,” he said. “A major benefit for us is that the Remeha team have an in-depth understanding of both technologies which has resulted in a well-integrated system. They supported us throughout, from the design stage and hydraulic


uThe Remeha RGen CHP unit operates as the lead boiler with the condensing boilers providing addional heat during peak periods when required


arrangement to the final ‘fine tuning’ of the system for optimum performance.”


The long-term maintenance of the CHP has also been addressed with the implementation of a Remeha service plan to ensure that the CHP operates continuously and at optimum performance. As an estimated 85% of reported CHP faults are able to be corrected and reset remotely, enabling remote monitoring is an important factor in the smooth running of the CHP.


From an FM perspective, the remote monitoring service at Macclesfield Leisure Centre provides Engie with peace of mind that, if a problem should occur, it can be easily resolved – often without the need for a service visit.


Now commissioned and fully operational, the CHP has been running continuously for the last two months, using all of the 100kW of heat it generates per hour to heat the swimming pool, provide space heating throughout the leisure centre, feed the Air Handling Units and serve the hot water demand.


CHP typically reduces energy bills by around 30%, but the ability of CHP to generate on-site electricity at lower gas prices boosts returns still further. The greater the ‘spark spread’ – or difference between gas and electricity costs – the greater the savings from a CHP system. So, with electricity prices currently at around four times the cost of gas, Cheshire East Council is anticipating significant energy and cost savings at Macclesfield Leisure Centre in the months ahead.


The scheme has proved so successful that the Council has planned a second Remeha R-Gen CHP installation in another of its leisure centres.


“Since 2009, when Cheshire East Council was established as part of structural changes, the local authority has reduced its CO2 by 40%,” added Farrelly. “Alongside our environmental goals, the Council has the ambition to improve the health of residents by providing them with access to leisure centres. So, it makes perfect sense to make them as efficient as possible – and CHP is helping us do just that.”


14 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER DECEMBER 2019 Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


‘


The longterm maintenance of the CHP has also been addressed with the implementaon of a Remeha service plan to ensure that the CHP operates connuously and at opmum performance


’


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50