FOCUS ENERGY MANAGEMENT
GREENGOALS As an example, if you control a building’s
ANDREW SPARROW, HEAD OF ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY,
PLATINUM FACILITIES ON THE WAYS SERVICE PROVIDERS
CAN HELP CLIENTS REDUCE ENERGY COSTS
Energy is a top priority for FMs, not only to
reduce carbon emissions but to operate
buildings more e iciently and save money.
Understanding the energy performance of
the building through accurate data collection
and analysis is a precursor for energy audits,
which allow the identification of energy and
sustainability improvements. Carbon Zero
audits can also be undertaken, determining
the best and most e ective ways of achieving
zero carbon emissions, in compliance with
the Paris Agreement.
We aim to not only reduce the energy and
water consumption in commercial buildings,
but also reduce the carbon emissions. The
easiest and cheapest ways of lowering carbon
emissions are firstly to procure Green Electricity
and secondly, to reduce the use of gas fired
boilers. Replacing boilers with ground or air
source heat pumps minimises gas consumption
and when the electricity is sustainable, the
building’s emissions will be reduced to zero.
Where suitable external space is available, we
can also install wind turbines and solar panels
to reduce the dependence on grid electricity.
Even if the electricity is green, we still want to
minimise its use and the associated costs.
32 APRIL 2021
The lighting in an average commercial
building uses 40 per cent of its electricity
consumption. This can be greatly reduced by
replacing conventional with LED lighting and
by improving the lighting controls. Over 70 per
cent of the lighting’s energy consumption
will be saved in a typical refit.
Of the remaining 60 per cent
of the building’s energy
consumption about two
thirds is consumed by the
Heating, Ventilation and
Air Conditioning (HVAC).
The opportunity
to improve the
e‡ iciency and building
performance exists
in most buildings and
the key performance
enhancer is upgrading
the Building Management
System (BMS). By rewriting
the strategy within a BMS with
energy e‡ iciency in mind it turns
it into a Building Energy Management
System (BeMS) – generating substantial energy
savings.
temperature to 22°C, the heating system
will heat it up to, and eventually over, 22°C.
This will then bring on the cooling system,
which will bring down the temperature to
22°C and eventually overshoot it - so that the
temperature is again lower than 22°C. This
will bring the heating back on, etc. with the
heating and cooling systems fighting each
other ad infinitum.
We utilise two setpoints one for the heating
and one for the cooling, with a deadband
in between the two. The larger the
deadband the better for energy
e‡ iciency. For instance, a
heating set point of 20°C
and a cooling set point
of 24°C, results in a
deadband of 4°C. The
heating heats up to
committed the UK to be Net Zero
Carbon by 2050, but we believe
that this can be achieved much more
20°C and switches o‡
and even if it does
slightly overshoot and
heats up to 21°C, the
cooling won’t come on
until the temp rises to
24°C. If the temperature
remains within this 4°C
deadband the heating and
quickly and have committed
ourselves to become Carbon
cooling will remain o‡ , saving energy.
The Government has
Neutral by 2030.”
We have saved over 50 per cent of the
HVAC energy in many buildings just by using
this procedure.
There are a lot of other quick wins for
energy e‡ iciency, the most obvious of which
is ensuring the operation of the systems
coincides with the use of the building.
Significant numbers of building systems
operate continuously 24/7, when there are
no occupants overnight or at the weekend.
Simple soš ware changes can quickly help
optimise a building, but in the medium to
long-term the big game changer is getting
all of the building’s control systems working
together.
REMOTE BUILDING MONITORING
A data analytics system can be remotely
connected to a building’s plant and lighting
control systems via an Energy and Controls
Bureau, to monitor performance. The
monitoring system analyses large amounts
of data on a continuous basis and looks
for ine‡ iciencies and ways to improve
the performance of facilities, reducing