Energy Review Pays Dividends
August 2007
A review of energy usage at the centre is under way and has already identified the potential for significant cost savings.
Efficiency consultants Midas were called in to carry out an audit of energy, water and waste.
Its work identified improvements to the laboratory lighting, heating and ventilation system, which would reduce energy consumption.
Midas estimated that, along with other efficiency work, the improvements would save £120,000 each year for a single laboratory block, repaying the necessary investment in two years.
The consultants said that the changes could also be rolled out across other laboratory blocks on the site, bringing about smaller but still significant savings.
Senior managers at the centre are now considering the findings of the audit and discussing with tenants how best to implement them.
Engineering Manager Richard Short said: “Energy issues have been high on our agenda for some time, but the support we‘ve had from Midas is some of the first outside help we‘ve had in addressing them.”
The Lecture Theatre on B1 has been fitted with an evaporative cooling system, which uses less energy than traditional air conditioning. The unit works by using the latent heat of evaporation of water.
As part of the project, the room has been added to the Building Management System, which controls heating and cooling as well and turns the fans off outside normal working hours.