ENERGY
FACILITIES AND
ENERGY MANAGEMENT –
A KEY COMBINATION
T
he scope of facilities example would be assessing the cleaning can offer a complete service to a wide
management is changing. regime and how the cleaners operate on range of clients, confident that the skills
Gone are the days when the site. If the cleaners come on site at, say, are available to meet their varying needs.
FM role centred on ensuring 4am and switch all the lights on until they Maintaining those skills is the
that heating and ventilation leave, they are using far more energy than consultancy’s expense so that, apart from
worked and that utility supply if they progressively light the areas they possible retainer, costs to the FM are
and general maintenance duties were are working in, and any lighting controls project based. Forging such an alliance
efficiently undertaken. Environmental installed cannot necessarily overcome this gives the Facilities Manager the extra
compliance and energy saving have now problem and help avoid the wastage” technical capability the market now
come to the fore, with clients increasingly No two buildings’ energy consumption demands without the financial
demanding sophisticated background patterns are identical and by outsourcing commitment of taking on permanent staff.
knowledge and the monitoring and to trusted consultants Facilities Managers It’s a winning situation.
management of their energy use.
Market demand is growing for a more
proactive service, incorporating carbon Energy saving opportunities – a case study
management and energy efficiency
both from the environmental and the Constant innovation puts a premium exhibition in February this year saw UK
financial viewpoints. on technical expertise and current market launch of an inexpensive retrofit
For FM companies reluctant to incur awareness necessary to capitalise on new plug which, placed on the end of a T5
the heavy fixed overhead of maintaining a energy saving developments. A typical tube, both provides the necessary H/F
dedicated and highly-skilled energy and example is recent emergence of reliable ballasting and extends tube length to fit
utilities department, alliance with external retrofit conversion units for existing luminaires already in place.
energy management specialists is a highly fluorescent fittings – slashing the cost of The product of some seven years of
cost-effective way of meeting the new lighting efficiency upgrade. development and testing, these ‘Save It
market need. Peter Stockwell, Operations Large energy savings and longer lamp Easy’ units can inexpensively convert every
Director at consultants Energys Ltd, who life are offered by new generation size of commonly encountered luminaire
work in that role with a number of major Triphosphor T5 tubes but to use them it to high efficiency operation.
FM companies, shares his thoughts: was previously necessary completely to Combined circuit and lamp energy
“Expert energy management is an replace existing ceiling battens (luminaires) savings are claimed range from 26% to
integral part of most businesses today. with high-frequency ballasted units 56%, depending on application, and plug-
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for FM matching the shorter length of the new in installation reduces down time,
service providers increasingly include lamps. Capital investment outweighed relinquishes the need for highly-qualified
building energy management, which benefit for all but new build or the most electricians and avoids new attachment
can be a complex issue particularly in strongly environmentally motivated. problems, including possible asbestos
larger buildings.” The London ARC’07 lighting ceiling materials in older buildings.
As part of their range of energy This is the sort of new technology
management skills, Energys specialise in clients would expect to be informed of by
data monitoring to track and accurately a proactive FM. Details can be found on
assess the times and areas where www.saveiteasy.co.uk. Assessing its merits
companies are needlessly overspending and indicating its applications is where an
on energy. With remote access to main energy consultancy could add value and
energy meter data and sub-metered client retention benefit to the work of the
consumption information, sometimes via Facilities Manager .
real-time online tracking, Energys’ FM
allies can be enabled to provide their
The table below shows the typical Save It Easy conversion strategy for existing technology lamps
clients with clear graphical evidence
pinpointing exactly how energy is being
used both by location and by time of day.
“From the point of view of timing,
seemingly small things - like ensuring
lights and computer monitors and
processors are off at weekends and during
bank holidays - can contribute significantly
to overall savings” explains Stockwell. “It’s
important to look at the building’s
overnight baseload - and a simple
These results are achieved in addition to increased lamp life, reduced circuit power losses and less demand on air
46|
5SUSTAINABLE FM | OCTOBER 2007
conditioning due to lower heat output
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