A problem shared...
February 1st 2008 With a wealth of energy efficient technologies on the market , the challenge for
businesses looking to build a more sustainable future is not finding the right solutions,
but understanding how to integrate them.The brainchild of Warmafloor MD Mike
Lamb,The Sustainable Energy Centre brings together eighteen manufacturers'
products under one roof to showcase how an integrated approach can cut the energy
consumption of an 'ordinary' building by more than half.Georgina Bisby reports
Set against the backdrop of
over 200 trees, which were
planted to offset the carbon
used in the building's construction,
The Sustainable Energy Centre in
Hampshire, is the almost accidental
result of underfloor heating and
cooling specialist's endeavour to
maximise the sustainability of its
new headquarters.
"We needed larger premises, and I
saw this as an opportunity to take
up the sustainability challenge,"
explains Warmafloor's Mike Lamb.
"The Government is looking for a
20% reduction in carbon emissions
by 2020, but I believed that if we
took an integrated approach then at
least 60% reduction was achievable,
beating the Government's future
carbon-dioxide target for 2050."
For Mike the important challenge
was not just to use these different
technologies, but to integrate them in
a way that maximised their benefits.
"Individually heat pumps or
underfloor heating systems could
give 20% reduction each – working
together they develop a synergy
greater than the sum of the
individual elements. In most
commercial or public buildings, this
kind of carbon saving in the h&v
system allows 'trading' with other
parts of the building, for example
allowing larger glazed areas in a
building yet still beating overall
targets.At the SEC we've also made
carbon savings by specifying
building materials from responsible
manufacturers (energy/carbon
embodied in the manufacturing of
building materials can account for
10% - 30% of a building's lifetime
footprint), and by ensuring that the
buildings controls are integrated
and usable, allowing each element
to perform to its optimum."
The success of the new premises
and the interest shown in it by
architects and specifiers inspired
Mike to open up his facilities to
share the technologies and thinking
that made it possible and The
Sustainable Energy Centre was born.
Sustainable technologies installed
and integrated in the new building,
include both ground source and airto-
water heat pumps that heat and
cool the building via water circuits in
the floor and ceiling, and also via an
air-handling unit to give
temperature controlled ventilation.
Standard floor heating and cooling
circuits are embedded in the
concrete floors to give high thermal
mass which smooths out the
temperature peaks and troughs of
the daily cycle, and ceiling panels are
chilled by a polybutylene piping
circuit linked to the heat pump. In
the meeting rooms where the
south-facing windows create a high
solar gain these water circuits are
complemented by air convector
units that are also heated or cooled
by the heat pump output.The three
systems can work together or
independently to optimise comfort
and are sized to meet 100% of
demand.A small high-efficiency gas
condensing boiler provides top-up
heating in extremely cold weather.
Mike explains,"even on the
hottest day with all our people and
computers generating heat, the
building can be chilled to the point
of being too cold simply by using
energy from under the car park via
the heat pump."
Efficient heating and cooling is also
achieved through a high standard of
insulation using PUR (polyurethane
resin) panels on the walls and roof.
To provide hot water, solar power
is used with an electrical heater as a
backup.To reduce the demand for
mains water, rainwater is harvested
from the roof and used for tasks
such as WC flushing and car
cleaning.The trees which were
planted to offset the building's
construction emissions are irrigated
with water from the rainwater
harvesting system; silver birch trees
outside the south-facing meeting
rooms also provide shading in
summer while letting the maximum
light into the rooms in winter.
Visit www.Sustainable
EnergyCentre. co.uk for an
introduction to these solutions, or
call them to arrange a visit t More articles from Warmafloor (GB) Limited: | 
