As Government cuts continue to affect the public sector, the need for local authorities to find cost effective and energy efficient ways of providing services is likely to increase. Kevin Boniface, senior associate at carbon reduction company Sustain, looks at one council which is looking to invest now to save money and resources in the future.
When Uckfield Town Council decided to review the performance of five civic buildings, there was one which stood out as a potential showcase for new green technologies.
The Victoria Pavilion at the Victoria recreation ground is used by a wide range of local groups and sports teams. It is also home to the Uckfield Town Football Club, which rents the first floor club area, and the Uckfield Cricket Club. The Council's grounds department, which has a workshop and garage on the ground floor, is also based there. A small meeting room is available and is used regularly by a mother and toddler music group.
The many different uses for the building mean that it can be
hard to monitor and manage the building's energy use - doors can be
left open, lights can be left on and electricity usage can vary
quite dramatically
depending on the sporting seasons.
Finding a way to minimise operating costs and tackle behaviour change is therefore a priority for the council and the best way to achieve this is by developing a sustainable energy strategy rather than implementing piecemeal measures.
We helped the council secure a project development grant for an energy options appraisal to evaluate which measures were most appropriate for the building. The study was part-funded by the Community Sustainable Energy Programme (CSEP) on behalf of the Big Lottery Fund.
As part of the study, a wide variety of renewable energy systems were assessed using actual energy data from 2008/2009 to establish a base figure against which the benefits of individual technologies could be compared. This allowed the Council to review factors such as installation costs, annual servicing costs and payback periods of each option.
The systems that we modelled included solar photovoltaic panels, air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, a biomass boiler and a wind turbine. These were combined with no and low cost measures such as loft insulation, pipe work and boiler room fittings insulation and motion sensors for lighting. All this needs to be underpinned with improved energy management practices and policies.
Having evaluated each option, it was recommended that lighting
controls that detect movement are installed in the ground floor
changing rooms and communal areas. Poor insulation in the boiler
room and store cupboard also needed to be rectified, which would
present an annual cost saving of £160 compared to an installation
cost of only £400. New shower controls and low flow heads would
also reduce hot water
consumption.
Renewable energy measures were an important part of the study - despite relatively high costs at the outset, they can generate significant cost savings and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
At Victoria Pavilion, our recommendations involved installing a wind turbine on the relatively exposed site, solar photovoltaic panels on part of the roof and replacing the first floor heating system with an air source heat system to provide heating and cooling throughout the year. The Feed-in-Tariff system makes these wind turbines and solar panels particularly attractive as it ensures regular payments are made by energy suppliers to anyone who generates their own electricity from renewable or low carbon sources.
For example, it would cost Uckfield Town Council around £50,000 to install a suitably sized wind turbine at the site but this could be offset by an annual Feed in Tariff payment of around £7,000. This is in addition to the annual cost saving which would come from generating electricity on-site rather than from the Grid. A detailed calculation shows that the capital cost of the turbine would be paid back after six years and an estimated profit over the lifetime of the turbine, around 20 years, would be £120,000.
Further funding, mainly from energy suppliers, is available for renewable energy systems which can make these options even more attractive. For example, money raised through EDF Energy's Green Tariff is invested into its Green Fund and used to award grants to community, non-profit, charitable and educational organisations to help cover the cost of renewable energy technology. It will fund up to £30,000 for any one scheme and normally expects half the funds to come from other sources. Funding rounds close twice a year and the next submission deadline is in February 2011. Other energy suppliers run similar schemes although each has a different set of criteria.
Estimated costs, equipment specification and recommended designs for each measure have now been presented to Uckfield Town Council. It is a comprehensive plan for the next five years which, if fully implemented, could see the building reduce its energy use by 58 per cent, CO2 emissions by 61 per cent and fuel costs could be reduced to zero. In addition, the Government's Feed-in-Tariff could see the Council enjoy an income of around £8,000 per year if installation of the solar panels and wind turbine goes ahead.
