Kevin Boniface, senior associate at carbon reduction company Sustain, looks at the important role energy audits have to play in helping local authorities take a lead role in managing and reducing their carbon.
Earlier this year, European Union ministers approved new energy
efficiency rules for buildings in a recast of the Energy
Performance of Buildings Directive. The aim is to help EU member
states hit targets of using 20 per cent less energy by 2020.
This will be achieved, in part, by building greener buildings with
high energy saving standards and renewable energy. However, some of
the biggest opportunities are in carrying out low-carbon
refurbishments of existing buildings.
For many local authorities, this is uncharted territory and can
seem like a huge task. Before rushing out and investing in
expensive new technologies, it's important that local authorities
have a full understanding of their buildings' energy performance so
that they come up with the most appropriate solution.
It's vital that energy management happens in the right order -
identifying where energy is being used, reducing it and then making
sure that the remaining energy usage is generated efficiently. And
this is where energy audits can help.
The audit process should take no more than a few weeks - from
appointing a consultant to carry out the audit, setting up a site
visit and completing the final report, but it's important that
local authorities are well prepared if they are to get the most out
of the exercise.
The first task is to pull together historic energy data for the
building, or buildings, to be audited. This should contain
information about how much energy has been used and at what cost
over a period of at least 12 months, or preferably two or three
years. This could be in the form of energy bills or a
database.
A building plan is also useful and ideally should be sent to the
consultant carrying out the audit a few days in advance of the site
visit.
On the day of the site visit, it's helpful to have someone
available who knows the building well, often a caretaker or
facilities manager. They can accompany the consultant on their
visit, during which all aspects of the building's energy
consumption, such as heating systems, lighting and ventilation,
will be reviewed.
During the visit, we look at how the authority is managing its
existing energy use. This includes reviewing its energy policy and
procedures and looking at how they raise awareness among employees.
We will also talk to a selection of staff, such as teachers or
caretakers, to see how these policies are working in
practice.
We also review how energy use is monitored, for example, there
could be a series of individual meters or one main meter for each
utility. Energy controls are also assessed and this includes
looking at how the heating, hot water and lighting are controlled.
There are often low cost improvements which could be
installed, such as loft and wall insulation and automated lighting
controls.
More expensive measures include replacing heating systems and
boilers and we can advise on how to offset these costs for example
by obtaining a Carbon Trust Energy Efficiency Loan.
At the top end of the scale, it may be appropriate to consider more
complex solutions such as solar energy, wind turbines, biomass
heaters or CHP. These have a 10 to 20 year payback so require
significant upfront investment but can make a huge difference to
energy consumption.
Following the visit, a report is produced which contains an action
plan with key recommendations.
The full report sets out site details and summarises what
improvements have been made to date. We also benchmark the site so
the authority can get a rough idea of how it is performing in
comparison to a similar building.
Full recommendations will be set out in the report explaining why
certain measures have been suggested, how they can be implemented
and what next steps should be.
It's all too easy to invest the time and money in the report and
then allow it to sit on a shelf gathering dust. At Sustain, we want
to make the process as simple as possible and can advise not only
on design and specification of equipment but can take
responsibility to implement the measures. This is followed up
by
regular visits and reviews - either quarterly or each year
depending on your requirements.
It may seem like a daunting exercise but, if done well, energy
audits can mark the start of an entirely new way of running
buildings and encourage people to change their behaviour, cutting
both cost and carbon.
CASE STUDY: Schools in Bath and North East Somerset
Sustain has completed energy audits for a mix of 10 primary and
secondary schools in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES). The
aim is to help the Council reach its goal of cutting carbon dioxide
emissions by 30 per cent by April 2014 from 2007/08 levels.
The local authority's 84 schools account for around half of its
total carbon emissions. The audits will play an important role in
identifying measures, such as installing flange and valve
insulation in boiler rooms at Hayesfield School and implementing a
robust regime to monitor and target energy consumption at all the
schools, to help reduce this.
The schools are a mix of modern as well as older buildings, which
are more difficult to adapt, but Sustain has come up with an
affordable programme of measures which will be eligible for public
funding and grants.
Sustain has also recommended tackling behavioural issues that
affect energy consumption. This includes the formation of an energy
team composed of staff and students, which would oversee the
development of an energy policy, strategy and action plan, and
provide a forum for issues to be debated.
The schools are now working with Sustain to implement the measures,
ensuring each authority will benefit from lower energy bills,
allowing more funding to be directed towards front line
teaching.
Does your authority need an energy audit?
If the answer is no to any of the following questions, it's
likely that you are missing opportunities
generated by cutting carbon.
- Is consideration for carbon reduction embedded across your
organisation?
- Has your organisation recorded its cost savings through energy
reduction so far?
- Do you have a list of future short, medium, and long term
measures to save energy?
- Does your organisation know how much money these measures will
save?
- Did you know that Sustain can access funding for your energy
audits?
