Within this article, Vicky Kenrick at Sustainability Recruitment Specialists, Allen & York provides valuable insight into energy procurement within the public sector and explore energy initiatives such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) and The Pan Government Energy Project, and how these can benefit energy procurement for the public sector, with particular reference to schools. 

Energy procurement represents a significant percentage of public sector expenditure, accounting for some £3.25 billion annually. Clearly, an effective approach to collaborative purchasing offers the scope for real savings for the public purse.

The public sector is potentially a very powerful purchaser and is uniquely placed to play a leading role in sustainable procurement and in helping the UK to meet its targets of reducing CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.  Furthermore, with the UK public sector faced with a growing need to provide greater operational efficiencies as well as demonstrate their commitment to be among the leaders in the European Union (EU) for sustainable procurement, the need to secure best value through collaborative working has also become ever more critical.

Sustainability was recognised by the former government as a core component of good procurement, and in 2008 significant steps were taken by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and other departments to improve their leadership and governance on the issue. A number of developments since 2008, such as The Pan Government Energy Project (PGEP) have kept sustainability at the forefront of current issues in procurement practice.  

It is schools and higher education establishments that have been one of the last sectors to actively move from a fixed price, fixed term contract to a flexible, risk managed contract as recommended by government.  The Energy Consortium (TEC), whom contract for over 70% of the higher education sector, are actively working with the PGEP to help educational establishments understand the benefits of moving from a fixed price contract to a government recommended flexible solution.  As a result, the PGEP have an excellent understanding of a school’s energy requirements, and allow schools the opportunity to access increased benefits when following their recommendations and working with a central purchasing body. The PGEP, sponsored and chaired by the Ministry of Defence, has developed best practice recommendations for energy procurement in consultation with customers and public sector buying organisations.

If done incorrectly, energy procurement can cost a school thousands of pounds that could have been avoided. For schools, the cost of employing an energy specialist is often not feasible, and this can leave schools open to higher supplier margins and increased costs. In light of this, schools are currently being urged to access the benefits of using this government recommended solution for energy procurement.

By following the two recommendations outlined in the PGEP, schools can firstly benefit from making substantial financial savings through aggregation, for example, because a central purchasing body can purchase larger portfolios of energy and attract lower supplier margins, some by up to 5%.  In addition, schools that follow this government recommendation can also take advantage of market prices throughout the duration of the energy contract and have access to greater transparency of costs that make up the delivered energy price.

Mark Vidler, Energy Group Manager at Allen & York comments that:

“Purchasing energy in this way could also see organisations and schools mitigate against price rises and deliver savings.  Organisations can further benefit from the advice of skilled Energy Managers, who play a vital role in ensuring sustainable cost savings throughout the energy procurement process”

The second recommendation of the PGEP highlights how schools need to reduce their energy consumption.  If the purchasing of energy is carried out by experts in energy procurement then schools are able to benefit from experienced team management of all portfolio needs as well as have access to new products and initiatives, which include tools such as Automated Meter Reading (AMR) and advice, guidance and tool kits which can also assist with their Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC).

In fact, 15% of public sector carbon emissions arise from activities in the English schools system and about a third of this is directly from energy usage in school buildings. In light of this, the Government aims to make all schools, sustainable schools, by 2020, by not just promoting sustainability through teaching methods but also by encouraging schools to participate in local authority carbon reduction commitment opportunities and other initiatives in order to reduce their energy consumption.  There is a clear need for public sector organisations, such as schools, to seek the support of Energy professionals and consultancies in order to work towards sustainability targets. 

Sustainability Recruitment Specialists, Allen & York, are witnessing a large increase in the demand for sustainable Energy professionals and the growing variety of roles within this sector.

Allen & York Energy Group Manager, Mark Vidler, comments:

“It is increasingly necessary for schools to recognise the importance of sustainability and its application in every aspect of energy management.  In particular, the renewable energy sector plays a vital role in this, it is now more important than ever before that we look to alternative sources of energy to meet our demands. By embracing and fulfilling its renewable energy potential, the UK’s public sector has the opportunity to not only demonstrate strong leadership domestically, in the fight against climate change but it also has the opportunity to set the standard for public sector organisations to follow globally.  Here at Allen & York we have almost 20 years of experience within the Sustainability industry, we recruit Energy sector professionals at all levels for both private and public sector organisations, nationally and internationally”.

It is clear that sustainability and environmental considerations are playing a bigger role in outsourcing energy procurement decisions.  Looking at the economic reasons for the move to sustainable energy procurement – large cost savings can be made by establishing a robust and effective energy management policy.  In addition, the development of the CRC scheme and PGEP stresses the importance of reducing carbon emissions and encourages public sector establishments to improve their energy efficiency, and ultimately save money, something which is particularly relevant today, as the public sector cuts begin to take shape.

Allen & York are a leading international Sustainability Recruitment consultancy, offering jobs in Environment, CSR & Sustainability, Renewable Energy and Carbon Management, plus Health and Safety Management. 

To explore the latest career opportunities and Allen & York’s services to employers, please visit the website at: http://www.allen-york.com

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Options

‘As the Government gets firmly behind renewable energy with the confirmation of the Renewable Heat Incentive, installers need to look at the options available for making the most of these ‘green’ technologies,’

Adrian Troop, Nu-Heat’s Sales & Marketing Director.

Renewable energy encompasses any technology that takes its energy from the natural resources of the sun, wind, tides and ground. ‘Renewable’ simply means that this energy, unlike fossil fuels, is self-replenishing. There is an increasing range of renewable products, from wind turbines and wave hubs to biomass boilers, heat pumps, solar thermal and photovoltaic.

What has become increasingly apparent is that no single technology offers a complete solution, and that the way to achieve the most energy efficient systems for customers (and also to meet the increasing levels of the Code for Sustainable Homes) is in the integration of different technologies.   

Heat pumps with underfloor heating

The low flow temperature of warm water underfloor heating makes it an ideal partner for heat pumps, both ground source and air source.  When UFH is specifically designed to be fed by a heat pump, additional tubing and more efficient floor constructions facilitate the lower flow temperatures whilst still achieving the required internal temperature. Factors such as the thermal resistance of the floor covering are included in the heating calculations to determine the correct tube spacing. A floating floor panel with variable centres such as Nu-Heat’s Tri-Panel allows the most suitable tube density to be selected for appropriate flow rates, whilst screed offers the greatest flexibility and is arguably the best floor construction for conductivity. 

Heat pumps with radiators

Conventional thinking has questioned the viability of heat pumps integrated with radiators from the simple fact that reducing the flow temperature from 75 to 50°C requires a standard radiator to be approximately 250% bigger than normal. However, high output, low temperature radiators such as Jaga Strada’s DBE range go some way to answering this issue. The Strada features low energy fans activated by an intelligent temperature monitoring function to boost output by precisely the right amount.     

Heat pumps with underfloor and radiators

A combination of UFH downstairs and radiators upstairs may be a possible solution for a retrofit situation. Again, using the more energy efficient radiators available makes this a viable option. The goal of a combined UFH / radiator installation is to keep the UFH and radiator temperature exactly the same in order to maintain the efficiency of the heat pump system; low temperatures and a good Coefficient of Performance (CoP).

Sizing a heat pump

A system must be designed to deliver the best possible performance. Nu-Heat, for example, uses highly regarded design capabilities to ensure the correct sizing of a heat pump. Specialist software runs a simulation of performance over an average year, based on local monthly weather data. Heat pump systems are designed to an outside temperature of -3°C and an optimum bivalent point (the point at which supplementary heating cuts in). Once a heat pump has been sized, Nu-Heat calculates a year’s heating and hot water requirement giving an assessment of the Seasonal Performance Factor, including an estimate of the total heating and supplementary energy usage and an approximate cost for running the system.

Heat pumps, underfloor heating and solar thermal

To help achieve an even more efficient system, solar thermal can be integrated into the design. For domestic hot water, a cylinder such as Nu-Heat’s EnergyMaster HP Solar 360L hot water tank with solar coil will be appropriate. Each element of an integrated system is supplied with its own product-specific control so attention must be paid to insuring that there is no conflict between the controls. Information about what times of the day the heating and hot water will be used helps with the correct programming of the heat pump and solar controllers, ensuring maximum efficiency from both. The underfloor heating can be set back to reduce building heat loss whilst not in use. When specifying an integrated system, it helps if the supplier knows the estimated water usage – the number of bathrooms, power showers and so on to allow correct sizing of the system.

In summary, to achieve the best energy efficient system for customers, accurate design is of paramount importance as is the necessity to ensure that all of the technologies have been configured to work together in one integrated system with control systems that complement each other by making the most of their individual operational characteristics.

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Teaching resources in our school science class can explain how fossil fuels are produced during  biology, geography and physics lessons. This abundant natural production facility has just one flaw. It cannot keep up with demand. Thus we won’t run out totally but there’s a catch. There will be a slight delay of several million years whilst the next batch of oil is produced.

Whether you agree with the greenhouse effect;  pollution from fossil fuel emissions, political unrest or corruption from third world suppliers, the effect of oil on our lives is colossal. But there is a key feature which should accelerate the swing to renewable energy education. The cost of oil will rise. How much  depends on many factors, dwindling accessible stocks, currency exchange rates, inflation, profitability of oil suppliers, political unrest,  supply route interruptions, cross border transport – all have their two penny worth in the end user price. And and lets leave taxes out on this one because as oil disappears governments would find an alternative source of tax income.

The International Energy Agency’s  World Energy Outlook Report said in 2008 that estimates of remaining proven reserves of oil and natural gas lie between 1.2 to 1.3 trillion barrels, enough to last 40 years at the current consumption rates. Half a lifetime away maybe but  a desperately short period to complete a universal switch over to other energy sources in time. A couple of changes in government, natural human complacency and reluctance to change, and 15 years could easily slip by.  Then with only 25 years left panic measures could set in. Protectionism, hoarding and price hikes that would even outshine banker’s bonuses would emerge. Significant investment is required in university research programmes to assess viable alternatives.

Children in school need to understand the implications  to motivate a progressive swing into science and technology. It will inevitably be up to them to develop the future generations of efficient renewable energy technology. But research should not stop at producing green energy but equally how we use it. Sustainability is equally crucial. Recycling, reuse and upgradability need consideration. We should not be dumping PC and laptops to gain greater performance but be able to pay for component upgrade exchange. Maybe we should be forced to keep electronic goods for 10 years before being able to replace them  or pay a thumping great levy.

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What’s the best energy efficiency measure you’ve taken at home. It may be the one that saved you the most off your heating bills, or the easy, quick fix that blocks off the draught that used to howl around your ankles while you watched TV. Or maybe it’s the ingenious bodge job, that didn’t cost you a penny.

Whatever you’ve done we want to hear about it, so that other people can copy it, and stay warm for less this winter too.

To encourage you to share your triumphs with us we’re giving away two fabulous Geo Minim energy monitors. They make it easy to see how much energy you’re using at a glance, by using a visual representation as well as numbers.

Entering the competition is easy, just add a photo or text onto our facebook page YouGenUK. There will be prizes for the best idea and for the best photo.

But you’ll need to do it soon. The competition closes on 30 November.

First published on YouGen blog. For more information on  energy effieciency or renewables visit the YouGen website.

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Why is it that people starting renovation projects have “so much to think about it is difficult to know where to start”? I am yet to meet a self-builder undertaking a new build that makes that complaint. Maybe the answer is that renovation is not treated with the same consideration and respect as a new build.

The essential first step is to plan and cost the renovation in the same way as a new build would be. So many renovations start work on the day the property is purchased, with a fixed budget that is simply the amount of money available, regardless of how much is needed.

A YouGen visitor has asked what energy efficiency measures should be considered in the renovation of: An 1840s brick, solid wall construction house. Current heating: a rayburn for hot water plus economy 7 night storage heaters. It’s off mains gas, has a south facing roof, and land which offers potential for wood supply and maybe a wind turbine. The windows are single glazed with rotten frames. Currently no insulation at all. 

To plan properly the renovator first needs to understand how the building was designed to work. For example, does it have breathing walls, where are the air bricks, is there ventilation in the roof space, what are the ‘must-do’s’ (rotten window frames), what are the no-no’s? The fact that this may be more a refurbishment than a renovation does not make the planning and budgeting any less important.

The 5 key steps, in order of priority, are: 

1. Energy conservation

Insulation and draught proofing. This means working out the heat load in the same way as for a new build and planning the insulation and air-tightness to meet the desired consumption figure. This is not as easy as it would be for a new build as the U-values of each element (wall, window, roof, etc.) need to be calculated.

2. Windows & Doors

To replace or not. Replacement double-glazed windows are not necessarily essential and consideration should be given to alternatives. Secondary double-glazing can be more cost effective and give more flexibility. The decision will impact on the overall heat load and will feed back into the calculations.

3. Heating system & controls

A gas or oil boiler over 10 years old will probably need replacing but so will the control system. Good controls that allow the temperature and timing of heat delivery to each room are essential to a good system. In this case the night-storage heaters will have to be replaced (woefully inefficient) and a new distribution system installed as well. 

4. Heating distribution

Radiators, skirting heating or underfloor heating. The decision on this will influence the decision on the primary heat source (oil or gas boiler, heat pump, solar or biomass). Underfloor heating will allow any primary heat source as it operates at very low temperatures. Radiators generally need very high temperature water and essentially exclude heat pumps. Skirting heating can be cheaper and easier to install than underfloor and some (Climaboard) will take low temperature flow. 

5. Renewable energy options

This will relate to the site and the demand from the house. Once all the other issues have been decided on (and the heating system is likely to incorporate some renewable heat technology) the requirement can be calculated more accurately and the budget needed arrived at. 

The 6th step, is to feed all these decisions back into the plan and work out the budget, and maybe go through the whole process again.  

The authour of the this blog first published on YouGen was Tim Pullen,  eco-editor for Homebuilding & Renovating magazine, author of Simply Sustainable Homes and founder of sustainable property consultancy WeatherWorks and YouGen Energy Expert.

For more information on energy efficient or renewable energy, please visit the YouGen website.

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Last winter was one of shivering on the sofa, extra jumpers, and exorbitant heating bills. If you haven’t already done anything to make your house a bit cosier, and warmer for winter, now’s the time to get on and do it.

The great news is that there are lots of small, practical and cheap things that make a big difference. My favourite one at home is stuffing bubble wrap down holes in the floor, left when a radiator was removed, to stop the howling draughts that used to swirl around my ankles whenever I was watching TV. It’s not the most beautiful repair I’ve ever done. But quick, free and very effective!

YouGen will be bringing you a series of practical ideas of things you can do between now and the end of November to help you keep warm and keep your bills down this summer. We’ll be adding a new idea on YouGen’s facebook page every weekday, and we hope you’ll join us there with your ideas and questions, and examples of things you’ve done that have worked in your house.

Also, watch out to for our new poll. We want to know whether you expect to be warm enough at home this winter (at a cost you can afford). Please let us know by voting on the home page. And we’ll be running competitions for the best idea and the best picture submitted, with prizes that you’ll be able to use to improve your home energy efficiency.

It all kicks off on facebook on Monday – we look forward to seeing you there. And if you can’t wait, then there’s lots of things to get started with on our energy efficiency pages, or you could browse our learning from the pioneers section for inspiration on a massive scale.

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The Spending Review has confirmed that the RHI will be going ahead from June 2011, with £860 million funding allocated from 2011 to 2015.  DECC (Department of Energy & Climate Change) has pledged a commitment to using the RHI to drive “a more-than-tenfold increase of renewable heat over the coming decade.”

One major change is that the RHI will now be funded directly by government, rather than by consumers as proposed by the previous government.  The DECC press release states: “The Government will not be taking forward the previous administration’s plans of funding this scheme through an overly complex Renewable Heat levy.”

There are as yet no details on tariff levels and it appears that funding levels may be lower than originally planned.  Details of the actual design of the scheme are due to be published before the end of the year.

The confirmation of its move from ‘proposed’ to ‘approved’ is a great result for both homeowners and the renewables industry and will help the UK to meet required energy targets for 2020. 

DECC says that this confirmation will help in “shifting renewable heat from a fringe industry firmly into the mainstream”

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Chris Weightman, Nu-Heat’s Senior Development Engineer comments on the recent concerns about heat pumps and HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) gases (‘greenhouse’ gases) that have arisen after a report from Atlantic Consulting. HFC gases are completely manmade and can be harmful if released into the atmosphere.

Heat pumps do use HFC chemicals as part of the refrigerant process. However, Nu-Heat can state that the Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) is zero for all the refrigerants we supply. Most practical refrigerants do have a high Global Warming Potential (GWP), however manufacturing processes are carried out under extremely controlled conditions and no gas is allowed to be released during manufacture. After manufacture, all of the heat pumps supplied by Nu-Heat are hermetically sealed so that the chance of any gas being released is highly unlikely.

Nu-Heat’s view on this issue, therefore, is that although the HFC gases used in heat pumps are theoretically harmful, in practice there should never be a situation where any damage is done.

The Energy Saving Trust, author of a topical report on heat pump performance which reinforced Nu-Heat’s principle that optimum performance can only be achieved with first-rate design, said it is interested in looking into the issue of greenhouse gases and heat pumps and the findings of the study.

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An Air Source Heat Pump is generally a simpler, more straightforward system, than its ground source cousin.

An air source heat pump is best suited to houses that do not have sufficient room for ground collectors, have an outdoor pool or generally have a smaller heating requirement. Well installed systems will happily purr away, offering quiet, unobtrusive and consistent heating and hot water to a property.

This does not mean, however, that the equipment, or the people installing it, are infallible. Here is a list of the challenges faced by air source heat pumps that has resulted in most of the UK’s installed air source heat pumps costing more to run than a gas boiler. 

1. Cheap equipment: This is by far the most frequent problem with poorly installed systems. The vast majority of air source heat pumps are designed for climates radically different to that of the UK. Consequently, the equipment inside the machine is less well equipped to deal with the high levels of water in the British climate. A practical example of this can be seen in any cheap air source heat pump in winter. The water in the air gathers around the heat pump’s heat exchanger and freezes. This causes the heat pump to go into a “defrost cycle”, where the machine stops heating the house and uses electricity to defrost the exchanger. The defrost cycle is never discussed or modelled when manufacturers make COP claims about their equipment. The more expensive air source heat pumps feature much larger exchangers to avoid longer defrosting periods even in the dead of winter. This keeps more heating going into the property and keeps everyone (and their wallets) happier. A more expensive ASHP will also be noticeably quieter. There is nothing more down heartening than having an inefficient and noisy machine rattling away in the corner, constantly reminding a home owner of all the money it’s not saving them.

2. Knowing when to use an air source heat pump: Many installers focus only on one make and type of heat pump and sell it as the solution to every problem. This is far from the case. Making the distinction between and air source and a ground source heat pump is an important first step, followed by what type of air source, what make, and what kW rating. While two or three air source heat pumps working together is acceptable, bolting four or more under-powered and inefficient machines together is costly, irresponsible and most infuriatingly, still going on today. 

3. Siting: Knowing where to site an air source heat pump is essential to maximising efficiency and minimising noise generated. Poorly sited machines will cause undue noise, kill plants, bother neighbours and hurt the wallet by consistently recycling their own cooled air and decreasing efficiency. 

4. Lack of installer knowledge: As with ground source heat pumps, air source heat pumps are only as good as the company that installs them. Despite the comparative simplicity of an air source heat pump system, it is not a plug-and-play solution and it still requires experienced and specialised engineers to maximise the system’s potential. Insulating the wrong pipes, fitting the wrong valves and a general misunderstanding of how the system works will only serve to frustrate owners.

About the author: Duncan McIntosh works at isoenergy.

This article was first published on the YouGen blog. For more information about air source heat pumps or renewable energy, please visit the YouGen website.

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Thinking of installing solar thermal panels? Watch this video to weigh up the pros and cons of flat panel versus evacuated tubes.

The main difference comes down to the efficiency. With evacuated tubes, the vacuum provides almost perfect insulation. A flat plate panel has insulation at the back and sides, with glass on top, and isn’t so efficient per square metre. Flat plate panels are generally slightly cheaper.

During the summer months, there’s very little difference in performance between the two. In winter, when we have cold days, and lower light levels, the evacuated tubes will perform slightly better.

We install both systems. They suit different people. The argument often come down to aesthetics versus efficiency. A lot of people prefer the look of the flat plate panels, but if you want the more efficient, then it’s evacuated tubes.

About the author: First published on YouGen blog.  Gabriel Wondrausch is founder and director of SunGift Solar, which installs solar thermal and other renewable energy systems in the South West of England.

For more info on solar thermal or renewable energy visit the YouGen website.

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