Business Energy Saving Measures

Commercial Buildings Energy Management

Business Energy, whether your business is a large corporation or a SME reducing energy costs can lower company overheads and increase profitability by investment in energy saving measures.

Commercial Boilers & Hot Water Systems
Energy Saving Measures to reduce costs, and provide CO2 Reduction.

Businesses should consider installing an energy efficient heating boiler and hot water system controls, condensing boilers (Band A) heating boilers are the most efficient. Boiler and heating control systems will be subject to inspection by a Commercial Energy Assessor.

Make sure that your heating and hot water system is serviced and maintained on a regular basis, this ensures that the system is working efficiently, which lowers energy costs. You should operate your heating and hot water system and, or air conditioning system effectively and energy efficiently, make sure controls are set to turn the system off when not required. Energy Management - an energy efficient system which is operated efficiently, will save your business money and reduce CO2 emissions. Heating and hot water systems greater than 20kW capacity and which is more than 15 years old, should be assessed by a competent heating engineer. New boiler and control technology can provide energy efficient systems, in addition it will save you money and the cost and pay back period can be reduced by these savings.

An energy assessment of your heating system can identify specific areas where the energy efficiency of your current system could be improved, consider installing energy sub-metering systems designed to monitor energy consumption of plant within large installations using air conditioning (HVAC) systems for example. Metering used in this way can identify under-performing components which are increasing your energy costs.
An assessment of the system installed can assist in commercial buildings energy management by assessing:

• How well your heating and hot water system is performing compared to new energy efficient systems and can assess the type and age of any boiler, water heater, and the property hot water storage and controls.

• Can assess your heating, hot water equipment and boilers are the correct capacity for your property. Heating systems that are considered too large usually cost more to buy, they do not work as efficiently, and will cost more to run, increasing your overheads.

Buildings energy efficiency improvements and recommendations may include:
Installing an advanced metering system, monitoring energy consumption, these meters take regular readings of how much fuel you use, and can provide reports that show where your heating system is wasting energy.
Replacing the following types of equipment (depending on the type of system you have installed currently):

• Space heating boilers, water heaters, pumps and other components that make up the system.
  Air heaters, radiant heaters and heating controls

• Advice on how to manage the energy efficiency of the system so that the installed system works as efficiently as it can

Improved heating and hot water system controls. Typically this may include fitting advanced thermostats, optimiser thermostats and zone controls to control temperature in different areas of the building (for space heating), advanced programmers and sequencing controls for multi-boiler applications or multi-water heater systems for hot water distribution.

Existing buildings which have an indirect hot water system installed (such as a boiler and indirect
cylinder or calorifier), can benefit from energy saving by installing an independent, fast-recovery direct-fired water heater. Installing such a system will allow you to switch off your main heating boiler system during the summer months, resulting in lower energy bills and reducing emissions.

• Facilities managers should consider installing improved insulation (where this is cost effective) for: distribution pipework, boilers, water heaters, piping, valves, hot water storage tanks and any fittings on hot water distribution systems (using lagging), this includes ductwork on hot air distribution systems installed within buildings.

• Installation of high level heat recirculating units to recirculate heat that may be trapped in the roof of a high building

• Installing renewable energy supply systems to supplement fossil fuel heating and hot water systems, for example PV or photovoltaics (solar panels) to convert sunlight to heat water used in the building.

• Get an assessment at least every four years for gas fired boilers and space heaters. For oil fired or solid fuel boilers and space heaters which are greater than 100kW, assessments should be conducted every two years, maintaining all the above plant and associated controls will help ensure that the energy ratings obtained by an energy assessor will be better than non-maintained systems with little or no planned maintenance programme in place.

Servicing space heating and hot water systems
If you conduct regular inspections of your heating and hot water system and have it serviced regularly by a professional engineer you will benefit from the following:

• Your heating and hot water system will be safe use and operate

• Enables preventative maintenance, before a failure will occur, and will increase service life

• Your equipment will operate at its maximum energy efficiency and give you the heating service you require for your needs.

• Poor servicing of equipment, and is not subject to PPM (Planned Preventative Maintenance) could mean that the building uses too much energy, which harms the environment, costs more to run, and also might not be safe to operate.

As part of energy assessment the following factors may be taken into account, and recommendations made, where applicable, a service plan for the energy efficiency of your system be adopted which should include (where fitted)
Combustion efficiency checks
Running maintenance of the parts and rolling replacement of parts where appropriate
Service check to establish if your water heaters and hot water cylinders have limescale present in the system (especially in hard water areas). The presence of limescale can substantially reduce the efficiency of the system. If limescale is detected consider applying water treatment and, or periodic de-scaling to remove deposits.
Advice and suggestions to improve the energy efficiency of your existing heating. hot water and air conditioning systems.
Any servicing and inspections of air conditioning, hot water heating, and space heating should be carried out by qualified heating and ventilation engineers.

Energy performance standards for heating and boilers.
Improve your energy rating by operating your heating and hot water systems in an energy efficient way. Don’t overheat -by turning down your heating by just 1°C could reduce your annual heating costs by up to 8%, and reduces carbon dioxide emissions.
Set your heating and hot water systems to ‘on’ using time controls only at times when the building is occupied.

In cases where the hot water is served from the main heating boiler or boilers, it may save you money to use an independent water heater. This will mean you can switch off the main heating boiler in the summer months and save energy and money.
Act quickly to repair faults in your installed system.
Check for leaks at the boiler, water heater, pipes, valves and flanges, the feed tanks, expansion tanks.
Warm-air systems, check that outlet louvres are correctly set, and for radiant heaters, make sure that reflectors are clean.
Keep air vents clear of obstructions to maintain optimum operation and safety.
Consider setting up a system to monitor and maintain the performance of gas flues using a qualified person to measure:

• The efficiency

• The temperature

• The chimney conditions

Check your energy bills! -  The Carbon Trust can assist business and organisations, to help identify energy saving opportunities and can offer practical advice on how to achieve successful energy saving measures. This includes free surveys (subject to terms and conditions) to businesses with annual energy bills of over £50,000.


Buying new heating and air conditioning equipment
The following is an extract from CLG regarding tax allowances and energy efficiency loans for business.
"Investment in new equipment is a big decision for most businesses. Tax relief may be available in the form of Enhanced Capital Allowances. Consider whether these improvements will mean that you will need to make more improvements afterwards in order to meet Building Regulations. The Consequential Improvement requirement applies to proposed work in buildings over 1000m2 which include:

• An extension

• The initial provision of any fixed building services such as heating, ventilation or air handling

• An increase to the installed capacity of any such fixed building service

If these apply, then you will have to carry out further improvements as long as they are technically, functionally and economically feasible. For more information see Approved Document L2B at www.planningportal.gov.uk.
The Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) scheme encourages businesses to invest in energy-saving plant or machinery. The ECA scheme provides certain businesses with 100% first year tax relief on their qualifying capital expenditure. To qualify the equipment must be specified on the Energy Technology List (ETL) which is managed by the Carbon Trust on behalf of Government. The scheme allows businesses to write off the whole cost of the equipment against taxable profits in the year of purchase. For further information visit: www.eca.gov.uk/etl

Further information relating to heating and ventilation systems can be found at:

Heating and Ventilating Contractors Association
This organisation works on behalf of firms involved in the design, installation, and maintenance of heating and ventilating products and equipment.
Website: www.hvca.org.uk

Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
The professional body for building services including heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
Website: www.cibse.org "

Further information regarding energy ratings and inspection of premises:

SAP & SBEM Assessors
Energy Assessment of industrial buildings and Commercial EPC will require inspection of premises using Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) for New Build property developments and existing property, where for example an extension has been added to an existing home. Larger complex commercial/industrial buildings will be assessed using computer software using SBEM methodology (Simplified Building Energy Model) or DSM (Dynamic Simulated Model) methods.. All inspections will be carried out by an energy assessor, a competent person as defined under the National Occupational Standards. Where required, existing properties require Energy Ratings, this will also include public buildings. Refer to EPC Timetable.

Inspection and Energy Assessment will be split into the following groups:

Air Conditioning:
Energy Assessors for Inspection of Air Conditioning Systems - Existing installations will require inspection by an air conditioning inspector - Ensure your system is energy efficient, and have your system checked on a regular basis, please refer to Air Conditioning Inspectors for a register of specialists, also Air Conditioning Inspection procedures. For the scope of the inspection please refer to Air Conditioning Energy Assessors

Newly Constructed Homes & Dwellings:
Energy Assessors for newly constructed dwellings For newly constructed dwellings, (i.e. New Build Homes) the approved software will make use of the SAP approach. These are also known as On Construction Energy Assessors. See also SAP Assessors

Public Buildings:
Energy Assessors for Public Buildings (Display Energy Certificates) - Assessment procedures will consist of either one or all of the following methods - SBEM & DSM (Dynamic Simulation Model).

Non-Dwellings:
Energy Assessors for non-dwellings (Existing Buildings) - Non Dwellings consist of all buildings that are considered to be non-residential homes, i.e. for commercial or industrial use. Assessment procedures will consist of either one or all of the following methods - SAP, SBEM & DSM (Dynamic Simulation Model).

Commercial Energy Assessor Directory of SAP & SBEM Consultants - Commercial Property Energy Performance Certificates EPCs and providers of energy assessment will be required for all other properties in the future including energy certificates for Social Housing inspection and Rented Property sectors. A Commercial Energy Assessor Forum is available online, with discussion board with matters relating to energy certificates for commercial/industrial buildings.

Commercial Buildings EPC Energy Training - A guide for available courses and assessment centres for Energy ratings and calculations for non-residential dwellings.

Commercial Energy Performance Certificate DEC Provider, SAP Ratings Assessor, or SBEM Consultants?  Surveyors - Please refer to contact page and send your details to us for inclusion in the directory.