As the latest iteration of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) allocates £635m across the sector, many organisations are replacing out-dated fossil fuel heating systems with modern, sustainable, alternatives. Dr Alex Mardapittas, CEO at Powerstar, looks at the benefits of the ‘whole building’ approach at the heart of this latest round, and shows how local authority clients are already benefitting from greater energy efficiency and cost savings.
The UK’s building stock is among the least energy efficient in Europe with heating the biggest issue. Unsurprising, then, that the latest PSDS funding round is making old heating system replacement a mandatory component of any bid. That said, up to 58% of a PSDS grant application can be focused on energy efficiency as part of the overall proposal. Since the cheapest, and greenest, unit of energy is the one you don’t use, resilient energy management technology plays a vital part in any organisation’s roadmap to Net Zero – helping to reduce energy consumption; to better-manage onsite renewable power generation; to facilitate new revenue through grid balancing, and to keep vital services running during power disruptions. In the current energy crisis, two technologies – Voltage Optimisation (VO) and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) – offer demonstrable benefits, addressing the critical issues of the Energy Trilemma: affordable, sustainable, and secure power supply.
When Copeland Borough Council in Cumbria approached Powerstar they had already identified voltage supply as an area of improvement and were looking for a reliable and secure system that would be highly efficient and provide demonstrable reductions to energy consumption, costs, and carbon emissions. While the UK and the EU regulate for mains supply voltage at 230V +10%/-6%, the permitted voltage range can be anywhere between 216 and 253V. The National Grid typically supplies higher than 230V, to ensure that supply meets legislative requirements, far higher than the 220V at which most electrical equipment is rated to operate within the UK. Working at a higher voltage not only leads to possible equipment damage, shortening the lifespan of business-critical equipment and leading to greater maintenance costs, but it also means higher energy bills. Lowering the incoming voltage, through voltage optimisation (VO), reduces overall electricity usage, and Powerstar have implemented this technology across more than 6,000 carbon reduction strategies for clients. VO technology has saved Copeland Borough Council 59,760 kWh a year, equivalent to 32.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Lowering incoming voltage reduces electricity consumption, saving on energy costs while also helping to decarbonise the organisation. As Former Councillor Allan Holliday, previous portfolio holder for the environment and sustainability at the Council, commented,
“The voltage regulation system is a great example of a change that we can make which helps the environment and saves money without any effect on the services we provide. By making this change, we can reduce the amount of energy we use in the building, yet still operate all of the same technology and systems that we currently use.”
In the current economic climate, resilient power – uninterrupted supply – and budgetary constraints are the issues at the fore for every energy and facilities manager. In this context, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are a vital aspect of any strategy, bolstering energy security while offering the flexibility to maximise sustainable energy options and generate new revenue to help offset unexpected price increases. South Staffordshire Council’s requirements exemplify these dual priorities. The Council needed Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) but also wanted any investment to allow them to maximise income generation and ensure payback from their solar array – managing this green energy power for their own use while also bolstering income through the sale of energy generated on site to the Grid.
Powerstar installed a 250kW BESS, providing full UPS and enabling the Council to store excess solar-generated power and to then export this to the Grid, meaning additional revenue. Being able to store energy – whether drawn from the Grid at off-peak prices and stored to be used when needed, or whether generated on-site and stored for use at peak times – enables the Council to manage its energy budget in the most cost-effective manner. Similarly, control over storage and supply means that the Council can manage its export of power back to the Grid, which is critical to avoid exceeding their agreed export capacity, thus eliminating the risk of penalties. Crucially, in day-to-day operations, the BESS installation has protected the Council’s site from numerous blackouts, providing site-wide resilience for up to 2.5 hours at peak load. In one outage, a transient power cut for around three minutes, the full load for the site was supported by the BESS, keeping all electrical equipment functioning normally.
We are all looking towards Net Zero targets in the midst of an energy crisis. The three arms of the Energy Trilemma – sustainability, security, and affordability – are critical issues. In the context of a ‘whole building’ approach to energy management, the benefits of an energy strategy that incorporates modern power resilience, are clearer than ever before.
To see how Powerstar’s energy management technology could benefit your organisation, try our new energy saving calculator tool: https://powerstar.com/energy-saving-calculator/
W: www.powerstar.com E: info@powerstar.com T: 0333 230 1327