BSEE ENERGY MANAGEMENT
here are many unavoidable costs when running a business and for SMEs operating in the construction industry, energy can be one of the most significant outgoings each year. Getting the right advice and support can reduce your firm’s impact on the environment and ultimately save you money.
Becoming an energy savvy SME can be easier than many business owners think and there are lots of simple actions you can take to monitor energy consumption and keep your bills down.
We understand, however, that when it comes to working on site with other contractors, many follow different energy efficiency policies, which can make it more difficult to stay on track of your own energy usage.
Create an energy management action plan
Mark Bowen from ScottishPower shares advice on taking a back to basics approach to energy efficiency.
Taking a back to basics approach will help you to focus on how best to reduce energy waste across your business. Simple measures can make a big difference, which is why it’s important to create an energy management plan sooner rather than later and incorporate it into your daily operations. The first step is to engage with staff and start sharing your vision for energy efficiency, then drill down on exactly what you need to do and develop a strategy to get you there.
Educating your team on the importance of monitoring energy consumption will help to instil a culture of energy conservation across the firm. Involving them from the outset will help you to share ideas, set goals and create a simple plan of key actions that can be followed through. For example, consider putting an energy tracker in a prominent place like a site office or where the team congregate for lunch so the energy management message is reinforced. Plus, some energy efficiency posters will remind staff of the simple things like making sure appliances and lights are switched off when no-one is in the offices or encouraging them to only fill the kettle with the required amount of water.
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Building a more energy efficient future brick by brick T
Having an engaged and proactive team will help you to reduce your consumption more effectively with the energy efficient choice soon becoming routine procedure.
Making energy efficient choices
Remember, energy management starts before you arrive on site but there are a number of steps you can take to make every project as energy efficient as possible for the end user.
Whatever the project, be sure to incorporate as many energy efficiencies in the design and supply phase. For example: uLED light bulbs are an easy way to help cut electricity bills. What’s great about LED bulbs is that they use 85 per cent less energy than incandescent bulbs and have a lifespan of 25,000 hours. These little bulbs may be small, but they make a huge difference. uWith heating and ventilation, for each 1˚C of additional cooling, you add 8% to your air conditioning energy use. Ensure there is a dead band between the heating and air conditioning; no heating above 22˚C and no cooling below 25˚C. This will stop heating and ventilation systems competing against one another. uAlso avoid unnecessary heat loss by making sure the property is properly insulated, using both roof and cavity wall insulation or consider whether solar panels are right for the build. Although initially a costly expense, solar panels go a long way to reducing future electricity bills.
You don’t have to make big expensive changes to make a difference; a simple approach can help businesses ensure they are working in a more energy efficient way, while saving themselves money and building on their reputation for corporate social responsibility (CSR). For more information on operating an energy efficient business, visit:
www.scottishpower.com/smallbusiness ENERGY CASE STUDY
The newly installed £1.2 million solar photovoltaic (PV) system at BSkyB’s Building 2 in Osterley, West London, is among the many large contracts Photon Energy has recently won. The project was completed on a very tight schedule between September 2015 and February 2016, despite challenging windy and icy weather conditions, which affected just in time deliveries and scheduled crane lifts.
Biggest solar PV deal yet for Photon Energy N
ow fully commissioned, the solar photovoltaic (PV) system at BSkyB’s Building 2 in Osterley comprises 822 SunPower 345 Wp modules and 550 SunPower 327 Wp high efficiency PV modules, giving a total installed capacity of 463.4 kWp. SolarEdge inverters and optimisers are used to maximise the energy output from the PV system as parts of the array will be shaded at certain times of the day.
The PV panels are mounted on K2 Systems aluminium frames fixed to timber kerbs and plate upstands integrated into the flat roof of the building and were carefully installed to ensure long term weatherproofing. The installation is expected to generate a minimum of 441,100 kWh/year and save approximately 230 tonnes of carbon annually, equivalent to planting 760 trees each year. BSkyB Building 2 is a three storey, 41,000sq m mixed-use office and studio, production, research and development facility with its own fully equipped health and fitness suite and a new energy suite. On completion (July 2016) it was occupied by the Sky Academy.
Photon Energy won the contract to design and install the solar PV system in a competitive tender for Prater Roofing Ltd, the specialist contractor for the building envelope. The main contractor was Mace and the consulting engineer was Arup Associates.
Arup Associates specified the size of the system, both to meet the requirement for onsite renewable energy generation and to comply with the 2013 Building Regulations. “The client was interested in solar panels with the highest efficiency to maximise
26 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER OCTOBER 2016 ‘
the limited roof space available, making the decision to go with SunPower panels an easy choice,” said Photon Energy’s project manager, Abu Luswata.
Key features
The PV system incorporates many sophisticated features and is integrated with Building 2’s state of the art Building and Energy Management System (BEMS). The PV system operation is also integrated with the Building’s Energy Network Management System so that the PV system shuts down if the standby generator is started.
The SolarEdge optimisers constantly communicate with the 20 SolarEdge inverters which are daisy chained and connected online via a SolarEdge communication and control gateway. Using the SolarEdge communication and control gateway, the inverters
send real time PV system performance data to an online portal, which enables remote detailed analysis of the PV system performance down to individual PV panel level. The SolarEdge inverters are also connected to a fire fighter gateway (FFG) which is linked to the building’s fire emergency control panel. Jonathan Bates, Photon Energy’s Managing Director, said: “It’s fantastic to see BSkyB installing a large solar PV system on their new facility and very pleasing to see that premium products have been specified.
“The solar PV industry in the UK is still going through very difficult times and the industry needs all the positive news it can get. So when large multi- national companies, such as BSkyB are seen to be installing solar PV on their buildings, it gives a real boost to rooftop solar.”
http://photonenergy.co.uk/ VISIT OUR WEBSITE:
www.bsee.co.uk The solar PV
industry in the UK is still going through very difficult times and the industry needs all the positive news it can get. So when large multi‐national companies, such as BSkyB are seen to be installing solar PV on their buildings, it gives a real boost to rooftop solar.
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