Case Study – EnergyAwarenessBiosciencesBuilding

The college has a long history of technical energy initiatives and improvements to its credit but it was apparent over the last few years that it was important to engage with staff and students on issues such as energy saving and sustainability in the University.

As part of the ongoing energy drive it was obvious that staff awareness was crucial and the recruitment of Energy Champions in Departments and units was necessary. The Buildings & Estates staff are responsible for putting in place buildings and control systems that are energy efficient and the Building Management System (BMS) provides an efficient day to day control of the heating in particular. But it was recognised that a major proportion of electrical usage in buildings is controlled locally by departmental staff.

Routine checking of our electrical meters highlighted the high electrical night load in the Biosciences building and as a result of these observationsin March 2011 consumption graphs were sent to Anne Daly, Secretariat Manager of the BiosciencesBuildingpointing outthe high night load and asking for assistance in reducing it.

Anne responded by arranging a meeting of relevant staff in the Biosciences and Buildings & Estates personnel on 24th March 2011. The attendees were:

Colette Manley, BSU Annex, Mary Murphy, BSI Biochemistry, Tara Foley, Anatomy, Aron Kumar, CRUB, BSU, Yvonne McCarthy, Microbiology, Kate Twomey, Microbiology, Maurice Ahern, Buildings & Estates, Elmer Morrissey, RPS, Kate Cotter, BSI, Anne Daly, BSI, Myriam Cotter, BSI.

Arising from the meeting detailed analysis of the electricity consumption in various parts of the building was undertaken by Pat Murphy of the Buildings & Estates Office assisted by RPS. Biosciencesstaff were engaged in their respective sections and equipment consumption was measured for them and equipment specific stickers put on equipment. There were also regular reminders from Anne Daly to staff. Electrical day and night consumption was measured and reported to staff. The electrical consumption was measured locally with loggers by Pat Murphy and RPS consultants.

During the examination of the building the operation of the heating system was alsoexamined by Buildings Estates staff and adjustments and additions were made to the time zones to save gas consumption.

Three documents were prepared for the staff as part of this programme:

a)General document detailing a methodology that could be employed to structure the management of energy in a laboratory environment (see attached – ref culture change in labs)

b)The second document was tailored to lab 226.(see attached – ref lab 226 Energy Management)

c)Energy efficiency guidance notes for laboratories (see attached – ref lab guide).

Lab 226 was examined in detail to provide a template for other labs in the building and the programme for the building in turn was designed to be a template for other areas of the University in the Science areas particularly.

An update of progress was provided in September 2011 as follows:

Energy Awareness Paying Dividends in the BiosciencesBuilding

A recent initiative undertaken in the BiosciencesBuilding during the summer has already begun to yield significant reductions in the electricity and gas usage throughout the facility.

A campaign was undertaken to raise the awareness of the occupants of the building about their energy consumption and the environmental impact of same. The building was broken down into different areas according activity types and research groups with each specific area having an Energy Champion appointed. The Energy Champion’s role is to liaise with the Building and Estates personnel to gather information to be circulated to lab users in order to encourage energy efficient practices and housekeeping. The Energy Champion is also responsible for completing a monthly checklist detailing the equipment within their area that has been left running unnecessarily.

An energy report was developed for each area detailing the breakdown of energy use within the areas with specific energy saving opportunities identified for each area. Large energy consumers were targeted during the awareness campaign and equipment specific stickers were attached to give users guidelines on the environmental impacts of its misuse.

The graphs on this page detail the electricity consumption for the Biosciences building and the gas consumption for the Western Campus. When the 2011 energy consumption figures are compared to their 2010 equivalent it is clearly evident that significant reduction has occurred in both electricity and gas consumption over the three months from June through to August. There has been a 6.4% reduction in electricity consumption and a 21.9% reduction in gas consumption. These savings are equivalent to a reduction in carbon emissions of 35.9 Tonnes annually. This is comparable to the emissions associated with driving and Range Rover just over 1.6 times around the equator, the total annual emissions from almost 3 Irish homes or the carbon absorption capability of just under 2,300 trees.

  • A spot check of electrical consumption in February 2012 v 2011 shows that the electrical consumption was down by 6% indicating continued reduction in electrical consumption. The involvement of Biosciences staff in the campaign was crucial and the energetic work of the Energy Champion, Anne Daly was a vital element of it. Their interaction and cooperation with the Buildings & Estates staff resulted in considerable savings and this report could be used as a template for other areas of the University, particularly in the Science/Research sections.
  • In November 2011, the University obtained ISO 50001 (Energy Management System status). UCC was the first University in the world and the first public sector body in Ireland to obtain this international standard. The practical effect for the college is that it now has a framework which should be followed by staff and students and all activities in the energy saving areas should be informed by these policies and protocols.
  • Considerable time and expertise is required to set up and implement these policies but the rewards in terms of reduced electricity consumption are impressive. If the 6% improvement noted in this report for Biosciences was replicated in the main campus, it would result in a saving of 883,000 KWhrs (€110k) which would be a major step on the road to achieving the 33% target set by the government for the public sector to achieve by 2020.
  • In a recent pilot scheme with 17 other public sector institutions, UCC came a very creditable fourth. This equates to a 13% saving achieved to date on our target of 33% and the electricity and gas consumption submitted covered all sectors of the University estate (including Campus accommodation, Mardyke Arena etc.)

Examples of electrical measurements taken in the building:

Example 1:

Cabinet / Average Amp Draw per Phase / 1st Phase / 2nd Phase / 3rd Phase /
1st Floor / 19.3 / 30 / 16 / 12
2nd Floor / 26.3 / 19 / 30 / 30
3rd Floor / 22.0 / 20 / 16 / 30
4th Floor / 26.7 / 20 / 33 / 27
5th Floor / 29.3 / 27 / 26 / 35
BoilerHouse / 14.7 / 22 / 15 / 7
Boilerhouse MCC / 53.7 / 55 / 54 / 52

Example 2:

Room/floor / KWhrs / %of total
Plant / 35 / 11% /
Fifth / 28 / 9%
Fourth / 47 / 15%
Third / 33 / 11%
Second / 27 / 9%
First / 30 / 10%
Ground / 29 / 9%
New Bldg / 77 / 25%
Sum / 306

Example 3:

Building / Floor / Parent Board / Board / Phase 1 (amps) / Phase 2 (amps) / Phase 3 (amps) / Voltage / Power Factor / Power (kW) /
Old / Plant / MSB2 / LPG7 / 20 / 15 / 3 / 230 / 0.9 / 8 / Old
Old / Fifth / MSB2 / LGP6 / 22 / 23 / 26 / 230 / 0.9 / 15 / New
Old / Fifth / MSB2 / CB10 / 22 / 12 / 17 / 230 / 0.9 / 11
Old / Fourth / MSB2 / LPG5 / 17
Old / Fourth / MSB2 / CB7 / 19 / 14 / 17 / 230 / 0.9 / 10
Old / Fourth / MSB2 / CB8 / 12 / 4 / 0 / 230 / 0.9 / 3
Old / Fourth / MSB2 / CB9 / 28 / 20 / 19 / 230 / 0.9 / 14
Old / Third / MSB2 / LPG4 / 27
Old / Third / MSB2 / CB6 / 0 / 2 / 4 / 230 / 0.9 / 1
Old / Third / MSB2 / CB5 / 0 / 2 / 4 / 230 / 0.9 / 1
Old / Second / MSB2 / LPG3 / 17 /
Old / Second / MSB2 / CB4 / 0 / 3 / 1 / 230 / 0.9 / 1
Old / Second / MSB2 / CB4 / 18.5 / 18.5 / 0 / 230 / 0.9 / 8
Old / First / MSB2 / LGP1 / 17
Old / First / MSB2 / CB2 / 0 / 0 / 19 / 230 / 0.9 / 4 / Total Power
Old / First / MSB2 / CB1 / 18 / 12 / 11 / 230 / 0.9 / 8 / Plant
Old / Ground / MSB2 / LGP0 / 14 / 19 / 37 / 230 / 0.9 / 14 / General Services
Old / Ground / MSB2 / Kitchen Board / 8 / 30 / 2 / 230 / 0.9 / 8
Old / Plant / MCC 1 (Plant Room) / 27
Old / Ground / MCC 2 (Grnd Floor) / 6
Old / First / MCC 3 (1st Floor) / 5 / 1 / 1.5 / 230 / 0.9 / 2
Old / Second / MCC 4 (2nd Floor) / 3 / 2 / 1 / 230 / 0.9 / 1
Old / Third / MCC 5 (3rd Floor) / 4 / 11 / 3.5 / 230 / 0.9 / 4
Old / Fourth / MCC 6 (4th Floor) / 5.5 / 4 / 3 / 230 / 0.9 / 3
Old / Fifth / MCC 7 (5th Floor) / 3 / 4 / 5 / 230 / 0.9 / 2
New / Plant / MCC (Extension) / 22
New / All New Bldg Floors / "no name" / 55
Measured / 306

A further update was provided in January 2012.

A further update was provided in January 2012.
2010 / 2011
June / 158,745 / 149,765
July / 164,705 / 150,994 /
August / 161,459 / 149,902
September / 153,770 / 149,693
Oct / 161,673 / 152,132
Nov / 159,797 / 147,769
Dec / 159,387 / 140,602
Total / 1,119,536 / 1,040,857

The accelerated decline for December was also assisted by a combination of the introduction of a new frost protection strategy for the University and the introduction of the extra time controls in the building.