Carbon Management

1
Carbon Management

• The Association of University Engineers
• London, July 2007
• Dr Keith Pitcher
• EAUC Director
• Environmental Officer University of Leeds
• www.leeds.ac.uk/environmental

2
Carbon - background

• An area with lots of expertise knowledge of
  energy environmental managers
• Trend of reducing energy costs in 1990s
• Until recently not always given importance it
  deserves
• not enough money
• not enough staff
• new builds often chopped out (value
  engineered???) good (or even best) energy
  practice
• Recent changes
• increases in energy costs
• more legislation to reduce carbon emissions AND
• increasing energy consumption, year on year
• Something needed to be done!

3
External drivers

• Legislation to reduce carbon impacts
• Changes in new build (Part L, PPS1, Merton Rule)
• Changes in energy management (EU ETS, CRC, EPC,
  DEC etc.)
• Requirement for Travel Plans
• At home
• Huge increases in electricity gas costs
• Switch to low energy appliances
• Purchase of green electricity
• Much more awareness of climate change links to
  personal institution carbon emissions

4
Why bother?
Fuel Production, Extraction Transport
Electricity Consumption
Powerstation
Transmission
Light
10
50
54
120
133
Every unit of electricity saved at work/home
results in a 13 fold saving in fuel
5
Process

• Get principle understood at high level in
  institution
• Get vice chancellor to commit to start the
  process
• Establish carbon management team
• environment, energy, finance, academics,
  students, residential services, communication
  etc.
• Calculate baseline
• Develop programme
• Set targets
• Get vice chancellor to sign off the carbon plan
• Get new finance
• Manage and monitor programme
• This has helped to refocus energy management and
  including finance has been a big plus.

6
Targets

• Carbon reduction targets
• 10 by 2010
• 3 in 2007/8
• 60 by 2050 (will probably change to 80)

7
Carbon profile

• Carbon management components
• energy reduction and efficiency
• renewable energy
• water sewerage
• transport
• waste

8
CO2 emissions baseline
Total annual emissions 57,500 tonnes
9
Multi track approach

• Design buildings and refurbishments for
• low energy usage
• 10 in situ renewable energy requirement
• Install energy efficient / low energy appliances
• standard systems (computers, domestic white goods
  etc)
• low energy lighting systems including controls
• Supply / purchase energy from low carbon sources
• Carry out audits to find out what is happening
  and where we can improve
• Reduce consumption by switching off when not in
  use
• Develop IT power down programme

10
Half hour metering
A 130kWh per half hour baseload for 7000 hours
costs 143,000 every year
11
Example of behaviour savings

• Reduction in baseload of 50and total consumption
  of 33 following seminars
• Annual savings of 6k

12
Example of behaviour savings
13
Computer switch off

• 14000 computers on campus
• 9 - 10,000 items left switched on at nights and
  weekends
• 8760 hours in a year, but only 1760 at work
• Short term
• Set monitor to standby after 10 mins non use
• Switch computer monitor off manually at the end
  of every day
• Medium term
• IT team installing auto shutdown systems,
  starting with clusters

14
IT equipment usage
Staff 14,000 items in use in day 9 - 10,000
items left switched on at nights and weekends
15
IT power down

• Phased programme developed
• Liverpool university started work on this
• student cluster PC monitors revert to standby
  after 15 mins and then power down after 35
  minutes
• staff PCs trial
• if logged in reverts to standby after 20 minutes
• if logged out power down after 35 minutes
• ability to opt out only for units that must run
  24/7 (carefully assessed!)
• roll out starting July 2007

16
Computer energy costs

• 10,000 PCs on campus
• If left running 24/7, c. 72/PC/annum direct
  electricity cost
• For normal office hours, c. 15/PC/annum direct
  electricity cost
• Annual saving of up to 57 per year for every
  computer
• PLUS reductions in building cooling / air
  conditioning costs by switching equipment off at
  the end of each day

17
Renewable electricity

• Costs of renewables continue to fall
• Buying green is at no additional cost
• From October 2005 all large off campus
  electricity supplies are from Scottish
  Southerns Hydro Green Energy scheme
• This is 9,244 MWh per annum and represents 15 of
  the Universitys total electricity supplies
• A requirement for all new buildings and
  refurbishments gt 1000m2
• 10 energy to be provided from insitu renewables

18
Renewable energy projects
19
Investment programme

• 150k new carbon investment programme
• Projects include
• Auto lighting controls in public areas
• Reduce overall building heating set point by 1C
• Increase cooling set point in computer machine
  rooms by 1C
• Set IT clusters to auto standby
• Staff student participation in switch it off
  programme
• First photovoltaic and solar thermal systems
• Light reflecting blinds on southern aspect of a
  1930s building
• First savings achieved

20
Energy performance

• Carbon/energy management is a top priority in our
  Environmental Management System
• Leeds campus
• rising electricity demand
• 3 rise each year
• 8.5 rise in 2005
• rising energy costs well above inflation
• 2005/6 cost 8.7 million (was 6.3 m in 2004)

21
Future programme

• More detailed audits in campus building types
• examination of BEM strategies and controls
• calibration / replacement of sensors
• air handling fans, motors, drives etc
• laboratories fume cupboard ventilation controls
• Very low energy lighting more details needed
• Renewable energy systems including solar thermal
  and biomass

22
Capital programme

• All construction/refurbishment projects have to
  meet new environmental criteria
• Sustainability will be a key issue, with all new
  buildings and refurbishments being designed to
  BREEAM environmental standards, ensuring reduced
  energy consumption and carbon emissions. (Estate
  Strategy 2006)
• Sustainability advisor appointed for a 20m Earth
  Environment construction project (new build
  refurbish)
• All new build refurbishment gt 1000 m2 to have
  at least 10 energy from insitu renewable energy
  technologies (YH planning requirement)

23
Benefits

• Wider understanding in institutions of issues
• Gets it central to institution, not just
  operations
• Gets carbon/energy back on the agenda
• Gets whole life cycle costing as a fundamental
  requirement
• Sets time related targets
• Long short term initiatives developed
• New financial resources provided

24
Summary

• Carbon management has helped get energy
  management back on the agenda
• Dissemination materials should be produced
• case studies
• lessons learnt
• constraints
• overall benefits
• financial gains
• Resource is one of the key issues still to resolve