The times are a changing
April 1st 2005

Alan Aldridge, executive director,Energy Systems Trade Association examines what energy managers can do to face up to the challenge of increased costs

We are all aware of rising energy (and water) prices.

Over a third of the delegates to a recent ESTA conference had faced price rises of more than 30% in the last year.At the same time, energy and facilities managers are facing new legislation on energy use.

Under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), new airconditioned buildings will have to use 28% less than is permitted under existing standards, for example.The Directive will also affect refurbishment projects.

One feature of this new measure that will have consequences for all building operators is the need to have an up to date energy performance certificate: these are required after construction and at any time when a building is sold or rented out. In the case of many buildings used by the public, these certificates will have to be on display.

For the energy manager, this is just one of the aspects of the Directive that will mean more work and greater legal responsibilities.Anyway, who wants to have a G-rated building (the lowest performance band)! Responding to the challenge So, faced with both legislative and price pressures,how do energy and facilities managers respond? The first thing to say is that both these drivers can make senior management more responsive to energy efficiency initiatives.Paradoxically, they offer opportunities for projects and programmes that would not have attracted funding just a year or so ago.

Before formulating and implementing these plans, though, there is a need to know what the exact regulatory requirements are going to be – and also just what the options are to increase performance and cut consumption (and bills!) To help, ESTA is running a series of free one-day events around the country.

These aim to clarify the requirements of the EPBD and the associated changes to the Building Regulations – and explain how today’s energy saving technologies can address these effectively.

The energy management industry has not stood still over the last decade.Newer technologies, such as energy efficient lighting,advanced control techniques and variable speed drives (to name but a few) have become more widely available.

Meanwhile the tasks that make up Monitoring & Targeting – regular collection of data, analysis and interpretation – have been revolutionised by the application of standard software techniques so that today we have tried and tested automatic systems (aM&T).Indeed, it should be much easier to save energy today than it was 10 years ago!

The format The ESTA conferences will feature a speaker from the ODPM, the Government department with lead responsibility for implementing the EPBD and the Building Regulations.

Specific areas to be addressed at the conferences will include,among others: the new carbon targets for energy performance; control and management strategies for optimising performance; on-site renewable energy options; automatic Monitoring & Targeting (aM&T);EPBD energy performance certificates.

The Falkirk event will focus on issues directly relevant to Scotland, which is implementing the Directive within a different legal framework.

The events are free to attend,being sponsored by Schneider Electric, British Gas Business and Water, Energy and Environment journal.

The implementation of the Directive will result in significant change to design and operational practice.These events will give a solid foundation for understanding the issues involved and for developing an effective strategy to address them.

For more details of the conferences and to register, visit www.esta.org.uk or use the enquire below:

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