Green building design is a smart business move, finds report

A reduction in sick days, an improvement in productivity and increased collaboration between workers are among some of the key business benefits that are being realised through ‘healthy’ and ‘green’ office design and operation.

Investment in green, healthy buildings is also a smart business move for building developers and owners as it can have a positive impact on property values and attract premium rents, according to a ground-breaking new report released by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) this week.

WorldGBC chief executive Terri Wills said: “While our earlier work presented the overwhelming evidence between office design and improved health and wellbeing of workers, this report breaks new ground by demonstrating tangible action businesses are taking to improve their workspaces.

“The results are clear – putting both health and workplace wellbeing, and the environment, at the heart of buildings, is a no brainer for businesses’ employees and the bottom line.”

The 50-page report, titled ‘Building the Business Case’ showcases 15 buildings from around the world that are leading the way in green building design through the likes of improved air quality, increased natural light and the introduction of greenery to create stronger connections between workers and the natural environment. These simple steps, the WorldGBC says, can have a dramatic impact on the bottom line by improving employee productivity and reducing absenteeism, staff turnover and medical costs.

Read more here at www.edie.net

 

UK remains one of the leaders for energy and environmental management certifications

UK businesses have maintained a leading level of take-up of energy and environmental management systems (EMS) standards according to new figures released by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).

The 2015 results of the ISO survey have shown that the number of certificates for the ISO 50001 standard of energy management increased in the UK by almost four times (289% increase) between 2014 and 2015, with 1,464 awarded.

This represents a huge rise from the 376 ISO 50001 certificates deployed in 2014 and makes up the lion’s share of the total number awarded since 2011 in the UK (2,317). ISO has attributed this rapid growth to the fact that ISO 50001 is relatively new to the market

This places the UK second in the world for the number of energy management certifications from ISO behind Germany, which saw almost 6,000 certificates awarded to businesses last year alone.

Read more here at www.cleanenergynews.co.uk

 

 

Salix announces new energy efficiency funding for Academies, MATs and Sixth Form Colleges

Salix has developed a new fund in partnership with the Education Funding Agency (EFA) that focuses specifically on energy efficiency projects.

The Salix Energy Efficiency Fund (SEEF) is available for all academies, including those in large Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) as well as sixth form colleges (SFC).

The fund is directed to those academies and SFCs that have energy efficiency projects that need capital to invest to save but may not meet the Condition Improvement Fund’s (CIF) condition need criteria.

This could include projects such as lighting or heating controls, LED lighting, insulation or boiler/heating system upgrades

Energys Group has helped many schools and colleges successfully apply for Salix funding, such as Hackney Community College, which is saving 320 tonnes of CO2 a year as a result of Salix-funded upgrades. We can support you through every step of the process, from application through to installation.

For more information on the fund, visit the Salix website; or contact Energys Group to learn more about how we can help.

Why does the 5th fuel, energy efficiency, remain underappreciated in the UK?

By Kevin Cox, Managing Director, Energys Group

kevin-cox-managing-director
Kevin Cox – Managing Director at Energys Group

For as long as I can remember I, and therefore Energys Group, have pushed the message that energy efficiency and demand reduction are cheaper than building more capacity to generate electricity.

You may imagine then I was pleased to see that The Climate Group has started calling efficiency the 5th fuel. This is a sensible approach; wherever we can coin useful phrases to push the positive story efficiency has to tell, the better.

We badly need messages like this, because today we face an unfortunate reality. In another recent article, The Economist noted that often energy efficiency is also known as the ‘invisible’ fuel.

Invisibility is just not good enough; the vast benefits of efficiency need to be high on central policy lists, well known by businesses, accepted as key to our future.  After years of lobbying, it seems to me that energy efficiency still faces unnecessary challenges with regard to take up and deployment.

This is a tragedy; energy efficiency is too often overlooked compared to generating more, yet we know it is the fifth fuel source and we know it needs to be prioritised.

In case you are after some proof, The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that since the 1970s, energy efficiency improvements in 11 countries saved the equivalent of 1,337 million tons of oil in 2011, worth US$743 billion.

This figure is larger than the combined total energy consumption in the European Union or Asia (excluding China) for the same year.

We must build energy efficiency in the UK, today

Fortunately, we have good news. Energys has been working with the government’s Electricity Demand Reduction (EDR) pilot, discovering how businesses that deliver lasting electricity savings at peak times could in future compete for funding with generation.

The enormous potential this approach has to do good is astounding. The concept affects relatively simple work too; projects that could win cash include improving motor or pump systems, installing energy efficient retrofit technologies such as LED lighting or making any other simple improvements to a building and its electrical equipment.

At Energys, we are delivering the lion’s share of the reductions for the 2016/2018 EDR programme. So far, that’s a total of 9,297kW out of the 23,307kW which the complete Phase II pilot is delivering.

Of course, we are very, very proud to be part of this early adoption drive, leading the way on UK energy efficiency.

But we are also aware of the pressing urgency to raise energy efficiency’s profile, and to banish efficiency’s unfair reputation as an ‘invisible’ fuel to history.

The deeper story to EDR and UK energy usage and resilience

Comparing energy efficiency’s story, there are some interesting numbers I would like to share.

Every kW of demand reduction in the EDR scheme, a key part of future UK energy plans, costs DECC £203.

Conversely, the cost of a kW of additional capacity using solar is around £1000. Solar contributes almost nothing to solving our peak capacity problem, as maximum demand occurs on winter evenings when the sun is set. Irrespective of how much solar capacity we bring on line, unless it is married to some form of storage solution, we still need sufficient generating capacity from other sources to meet our peak demand. I am not anti-renewables (far from it) but they are definitely not the solution to our capacity issues.

Wind generation is similarly expensive. Like solar, it too can only play a small role in capacity planning, as the high pressure weather systems that bring cold, dry, frosty winter days, also bring only light winds. The reality is that maximum energy demand often coincides with low wind.

Thus, from a demand planning point of view, we have to have sufficient capacity without taking renewables into account.

So, what about the generating methods where the amount of electricity we produce is in our control? Let’s consider Hinkley Point C. Even if the project is completed on budget (which is unlikely!), it will cost a whopping £5,625 per kW to build, and that is with no allowance for any future decommissioning costs. This makes it around 28 times as expensive as reducing demand.

There is a huge amount of angst at the moment as the UK faces several winters where peak demand is forecast to be at, or over, our capacity. The most cost effective way of solving this problem is to reduce demand rather than increase supply (and in any case increases in supply are often many years away).

Energy efficiency rules the roost

So, my call is this; get energy efficiency in there fast, into buildings we already have: Make businesses more profitable and their employees more productive, with better lighting and bespoke controls for lights or heat.

A beneficial ‘side effect’ of this approach is that we significantly reduce our carbon footprint – so carbon reduction becomes an automatic by-product of policy.

So, with new government programmes, let’s roll out more cash support to get this happening.

We have to get to work on really delivering energy efficiency today. We love the government’s EDR pilot. But we say; ‘there is so much more we can do’.

 

BRE partners with ESTA for new ESOS compliance guide

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has collaborated with the Energy Services and Technology Association (ESTA) to produce a new guide to help companies comply with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).

The guide, dubbed ‘Gaining Value from ESOS Audits’, has been aimed at businesses who qualify under ESOS’ remit and do not already have energy saving measures in place, and aims to instruct them how to both comply with the scheme and take advantage of potential efficiency measures.

BRE has claimed that while the scheme and its auditing process has been put into place to help companies save money, most regard it “purely as a cost or a time-consuming burden”. The paper has been produced to shed more light onto its benefits.

It outlines the basic principles of ESOS and offers guidance on the four main routes to complying with it whilst also touching onto other themes such as display energy certificates, ISO 5001 awards and non-domestic Green Deal assessments.

Read more of this story at www.cleanenergynews.co.uk

Meeting legal building emissions targets could deliver £45bn

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions from buildings will be a key part of tackling climate change, and meeting legal targets for around 2030 could deliver £45 billion in benefits including savings on energy costs, improved air quality and health, claims a new report.

The study, from the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) and the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), also argues that Government policies are set to miss the targets for cutting emissions from buildings by 18 per cent.

Furthermore, uncertainty over how well the policies will play out could mean emissions from homes and businesses could exceed the limits for the period 2028-2032 by 30 per cent, warns the report.

The research examined 48 policies that could reduce uncertainty and further cut emissions and makes 15 recommendations for the Government to take forward, with the Government having previously abandoned a flagship “green deal” home energy efficiency scheme, which had very low take-up and ditched targets to make homes “zero carbon” by 2016.

Recommendations in the new study include introducing minimum energy efficiency standards at point-of-sale for homes and businesses and tightening new building standards so they are zero carbon or near zero carbon, along with introducing a program of technical and financial assistance should help property owners meet standards for energy efficiency when they sell their buildings.

Read the full story on www.energyzine.co.uk

 

LED lighting for factories; a facility manager’s guide

For professionals wondering how to save energy in factories, retrofit LED solutions will deliver and perform better than legacy solutions. But choosing the best, well considered options and specifications depends on your exact scenario

The Carbon Trust says lighting typically consumes 20% of the electricity used in commercial and industrial buildings.

In these times of high energy prices, finding cost-effective ways to reduce levels of electricity consumed by lighting can deliver appreciable long-term reductions on business electricity bills.

But there is more to delivering sustainable solutions than picking the first LED that springs to mind.

Metal halide and industrial lighting; why bespoke knowledge makes better business sense

One Energys client, Parker Hannifin, has set a corporate objective of a 5% energy reduction per annum. EHSE & Facilities Manager Tony Woodward realised that one of the best ways to achieve this goal would be to phase out old metal halide lamps in favour of next-generation LEDs.

An estimated energy saving of at least £36,423 per annum helped convince Mr Woodward’s superiors LED replacements were the way to go. But the story wasn’t that simple.

“The fact is, I had looked at metal halide replacements in the past, but had not been able to find anything good enough,” he recalls. “But then I came across the Energys lamps. For a start, they offer the right colour temperature, an absolutely crucial requirement and one lacking from previous products I’d seen.

“An added benefit is they also have in-built fans to keep them cool. A test involving eight products further underlined my opinion of their excellent light quality.”

Consistency of light quality was a particular preoccupation for Tony, who was keen to ensure the required illumination throughout the manufacturing shopfloor.

The fixtures’ contribution to reducing radiant heat was another significant benefit; particularly given the firm’s aim of enhancing its healthy working environments by minimising staff fatigue.

The details prove an important point; LEDs are good, but you still need to do your homework. Picking the best supplier, like Energys, will deliver bespoke solutions that fit your precise needs.

Additional benefits of LED vs sodium SONs

Every factory is different, so every facilities manager must seek the right LED technology to suit the legacy replacements needed.

In the example of facilities using sodium SONs, Energys LEDs ranging from 20W to 100W will effectively replace SONs ranging from 70W up to 400W.

 Looking for energy saving advice for factories? Contact us for a free site survey