Understanding and balancing energy management issues
December 1st 2004

Alan Aldridge, executive director, Energy Systems Trade Association, reviews the key energy management issues following the Association’s recent series of Energy Solutions in Action conferences

Energy management is increasingly a priority issue for many organizations.

The factors behind this rising importance are clear – spiraling fuel costs, increasing demands for sustainability and reduced pollution, legislation on building performance and climate change, and business demand for cost cutting.

Whatever the relative importance of individual factors on respective building projects, one thing is certain; energy, estate and facilities managers are under greater pressure to respond positively to these current and emerging challenges.

As a result, there is a thirst for knowledge: about the issues; about how to manage energy better; about how to acquire the right advice and find out about the latest techniques and solutions on the market.

In this context, energy management remains for many a question of balance.

For energy, estate or facilities managers and, above them, the finance director and property owner, there is the requirement to balance capital and running costs. At present, it would be fair to say that the bias typically skews towards low capital investment in equipment and, as a result, regrettably high running costs. Then, there is a balance to strike between energy costs and the internal environmental conditions, with the huge impact this equation has on employee productivity.

Some organizations have to balance a commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) against the real investment budget available, if any. And, finally, they have to find a balance between the time spent collating data from meters and the time spent in taking action to reduce energy waste.

“Energy Solutions in Action” was designed and, we believe, delivered on ESTA’s objective of helping delegates, first understand and then demonstrate how they could resolve these key balancing issues. Over 370 delegates attended the four one-day conferences held in London,Wakefield, Glasgow and Birmingham during October and November; with the conference programme itself structured to combine leading edge presentations, interactive clinics and case study demonstrations for maximum benefit.

In “The Low Carbon Economy – reality or aspiration?” speakers from The Carbon Trust identified how achieving step changes in energy efficiency could benefit business and the environment. A presentation on the “Fundamentals of Monitoring and Targeting” from Vilnis Vesma of Degree Days Direct showed how using regional ‘degree-day’ figures could explain variations in a building's energy consumption, detect energy waste caused by random technical faults or human error, and improve budget forecasting and tracking. Kris Szajdzicki from Northern Design informed delegates how novel metering techniques could be used to measure the electricity consumption of many loads from only one meter. He also provided an introduction to Signature Analysis, comparing it to traditional metering methods, whilst “Putting the “E” back into BEMS” from Julian Miller at Automatic Environmental Controls examined the principles of efficient building energy management. Meanwhile, Stephen Welsh of Parkersell (L&E) Services provided an insight into the energy cost of lighting, explaining how maintenance can offer readily justified reductions of up 40% of current consumption.

Presentations were given added weight during each day through a selection of real-world case study presentations.

These demonstrated the impact of different energy management strategies and techniques in different private and public sector organizations, covering Whitbread plc, South Yorkshire Police and Aberdeen City Council.

Special interactive energy clinics held as part of the conference programme also proved very popular. ESTA hosted the clinic covering on-site Low and Zero Carbon LZC solutions, an issue which will become more important as new Building Regulations and the EU Energy Efficiency in Buildings Directive are implemented.The Carbon Trust led sessions at each venue looking at the technical and financial support available through Best Practice, Design Advice, Energy Technology List and interest free energy loans. And Northern Design provided delegates with a demonstration of Signature Analysis metering and example applications in commercial and public buildings.

“Energy Solutions in Action” was a comprehensive energy management event. It allowed delegates to review available technology, to look at the relative financial benefits, and it demonstrated how facilities and services in commercial, public and industrial buildings could be successfully managed to maximize energy efficiency, reduce fuel costs and minimize environmental impact. If you were unable to attend or wish to access specific details, please download any or all of these presentations from the ESTA website at www.esta.org.uk.

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