Retrofit for purpose?
Leafing through the latest joint Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) report, one statistic stands out more than any other. It sits neatly in the introduction, effortlessly framing the challenge for European energy managers today. It is, simply, this: “Approximately 40 per cent of Europe’s building stock predates the 1960s, and is in dire need of renovation.”
While this is a Europe wide challenge, it has particular implications for the UK. In its own report last year, English Heritage drew attention to the fact that of all the buildings that are likely to be in use in this country in 2025, more than 80 per cent are already being occupied. In simple terms, the buildings of the future are here, and we’re already living and working in them.
Both of these points have huge relevance for the role of energy managers today. As the BPIE report goes on to suggest, the depreciating value of this huge volume of building stock has now been laid bare by recession. The days of soaring growth are gone, leaving in their place the reality that many of these properties are both outdated and woefully inefficient.
That transforms a transactional energy efficiency issue into a long-term commercial one. Making these buildings more effective from an energy consumption standpoint not only reduces the ongoing running costs, but heightens their value for potential future investors too. Energy efficiency is no longer just a concern for the energy manager; as a tangible and effective way of boosting stock value, it becomes a much wider organisational concern.
Judging by some new data produced by built asset consultancy EC Harris, this will be a familiar story for energy managers within the NHS.
While the consultancy readily admits that the NHS has some way to go if it is to unlock the remainder of a £2.3bn asset management “prize”, its 2012 Estate Efficiency Annual Review highlights the good work done by the health service in keeping energy output cost increases to just 1.6 per cent over the past three years. With prices soaring nationally, such a low increase across a property portfolio the size of that owned by the NHS is undoubtedly worth highlighting.
What is notable about that figure though, is that EC Harris attributes much of the saving to a more sophisticated buying process – “more collaboration on buying decisions to form lower unit costs between the NHS and commercial utility providers”.
When we consider that around 16 per cent of the NHS’ property portfolio was built before 1948 (and more than 20 per cent between 1948 and 1965), it’s difficult to shake the feeling that more could probably be done to improve energy efficiency as well as the purchase cost.
Voltage optimisation can play a key role here. Integrating with the incoming electrical supply and reducing power consumption at source, it is a compelling way of rapidly improving the efficiency of a building at an infrastructure level.
The NHS, of course, is a very specific case when it comes to energy efficiency. The EC Harris report makes repeated references to the NHS’ need to manage its assets more effectively while remaining “safe and legal”, a factor that can’t be underestimated. Few other kinds of organisations, after all, need to support the same kind of life-critical equipment as hospitals.
The “safe and legal” requirement is one of the driving forces behind the adoption of dynamic voltage optimisation within the healthcare industry. Automatically adjusting to volatile voltages to give a standardised output within a fixed band, dynamic voltage optimisation provides a level of control that is crucial for sites with critical equipment or unstable supplies. Naturally, that makes it a clear choice for hospitals with a need to guarantee a stable voltage at all times.
But the specific needs of the healthcare industry shouldn’t distract us from the fact that fixed reduction voltage optimisation is suitable for the vast majority of sites that don’t run critical equipment.
Much of the “40 per cent of European building stock that predates the 1960s” will have no such critical need, and can be confidently and effectively optimised with technology that alters the incoming supply at a fixed ratio.
Understanding that and knowing which technology to deploy where can make all the difference when it comes to effectively planning and managing an energy efficiency strategy.
Dynamic or not, though, perhaps the most important thing of all is that we are beginning to see the real potential of energy efficiency and voltage optimisation; not only as a path to savings, but as a necessary route to growth.
Ben Martin is director of Strategy at powerPerfector
