Getting their teeth into Energy Saving

One of the fastest, most effective ways for a business to save money is to reduce its energy use, according to analysts. Energy savings also contribute to reducing carbon emissions, thus benefiting the environment. A grownupgreen user has been exploring how The General Dental Council has found ways to reduce its energy use.

General Dental Council survey their energy use

To help organisations of all sizes to assess potential energy savings the Carbon Trust offers a number of tools, including an Energy Survey—an evaluation of possible savings followed by expert advice on how to make them.

The General Dental Council (GDC), a statutory regulatory authority based in central London recently commissioned such a survey, via the Carbon Trust, from Andrew Peel, a senior consultant with the Energy Management Technical Advice Consultancy (EMTAC). Andrew carried out a survey of the GDC’s Wimpole Street premises. The aim was to identify areas of energy conservation, to establish an energy policy for the site and put its recommendations into action.

The GDC came pretty well out of the survey. It had already made good progress in reducing energy costs and was well aware of energy issues. Its business planning took account of increasing energy costs and it recognised the importance of looking at no-cost and low-cost energy saving initiatives before moving on to energy projects requiring capital expenditure. A lot of organisations tend to concentrate on technological solutions to energy saving, and the benefits that can be gained from simple improvements in energy management often come as a surprise.

The basic electricity meter is an amazing and under-used energy management tool. Meter readings enable an energy profile for the building to be drawn up, and provide a basis for investigating the fluctuations resulting from activity in the building. The building performance can then be compared with the consumption benchmarks published in the Carbon Trust’s Good Practice Guides for different buildings and processes. By simply monitoring use and introducing targets based on the benchmarks an organisation can achieve energy savings of up to 20%.

The survey found that 28% of the GDC’s electricity demand was used to power IT equipment. There are over 100 desktop PC’s. Monitors have recently been replaced with energy-efficient TFT screens, but not all internal power saving feature were activated and users were not in the habit of switching the machines off when not in use.

Lighting also made a significant contribution to the energy use. This is an area where even small changes can save energy and can actually improve the working environment. The GDC were already using low wattage compact fluorescent bulbs and the new generation of fluorescent lamp known as T5 technology. These lamps – which can be used with dimmer switches – use considerably less electricity, last longer and produce a better quality light with no flicker. This had reduced electricity bills and maintenance costs and enhanced working conditions. But there was still scope for improved practices: lights, for example, were being switched on first thing in the morning and left on all day, even if they were not needed.

The overall standard of energy efficiency at the GDC was high, however, so Andrew’s next step was to advise on using a microprocessor-based building management system (BMS). A BMS uses intelligent controls to adjust boilers, pumps, fans, lights and security systems according to factors such as time, temperature and light levels. This is not new technology—such systems have been in use for over 30 years. But they have become increasingly popular in the last five years as microprocessors have become cheaper and interfaces more user-friendly.

Gas consumption was one area where the GDC’s results were well outside the benchmarks. The problem was the design of the heating system which had long pipe runs, leading to heat loss, and which heated more water than was needed during the summer months. There was a central boiler room, which was convenient for maintenance and control; but smaller boilers or water heaters located around a building are better when it comes to reducing heat loss through the pipes, and they also ensure that only the amount of water that is actually needed is heated. The survey recommended shutting down the centralised boiler during the summer months and installing local electric water heaters in toilets and kitchens and a small domestic combination boiler for the two studio flats.

The overall outcome was that implementing the recommendations of the survey should result in a 35% reduction in energy consumption, with corresponding cost savings – and benefiting the environment!

www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy
www.emtac.co.uk

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SP - 09/08/06

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