Managing & Monitoring Gas Consumption
A large comprehensive school achieves a 42% reduction in gas consumption simply by implementing smart metering.
The school, with 1,600 pupils and a large leisure centre, has seen gas costs rise inexorably over recent the years. New boilers and efficient controls were tempting choices, but the first step was to install a Gas Logger to analyse consumption patterns, usage profiles and to identify potential waste. The results confirmed that significant amounts of gas were simply being wasted and provided crystal clear evidence of the volume and time of the wastage.
Overview: Prior to the start of the program the school had an approximate annual gas consumption of 1.7 million kWh. This was projected to reach 2.2 million kWh within a year. The current cost was £39,000 per annum and would rise to £50,000 if nothing was done to reduce consumption. To compound this, gas prices are forecast to increase over the coming years, putting even more pressure on budgets.
To accurately report on gas consumption and costs it was decided to install a logger on the main fiscal gas meters.
Half hourly consumption analysis clearly indicated high levels of gas consumption when the building was only partially occupied as well as when completely unoccupied, with peak demand often between 1 and 2am.
High levels of demand continued for several hours, only returning to a more typical base load profile from 4pm onwards. Excessively high early morning consumption patterns were found to be consistent throughout except for holiday times.
The school with 1,600 pupils and leisure centre facilities needs to reduce gas consumption.
Our Solution: A full appraisal of all processes, controls, timers and thermostats revealed that there was no summer/winter-time compensation in place nor a coherent approach to time of use considerations.
The length of time needed to get the building to temperature in readiness for occupancy in the morning was grossly exaggerated and thermostats and timers were incorrectly set.
The facilities manager instituted a comprehensive review resulting in a resetting of all relevant controls and procedures Chart identifying early morning Gas wastage.
Following implementation of the changes the data has been compared with previous months and historic averages to assess the effectiveness of the measures introduced.
The Result: Following the introduction of revised timer settings and an assessment of weekend heating requirements, consumption showed a 40.2% reduction over 16 weeks with a corresponding lowering of Carbon Emissions.
Energy management, utilising advanced reporting software, can have a significant impact on gas, electricity, and water consumption. It is an inexpensive and commercially viable technology that offers a rapid return on investment.
It is a proven and effective solution that can dramatically lower consumption levels.
In a time of diminishing budgets, it is the first step in cutting energy wastage and its effectiveness continues indefinitely into the future.
Chart identifying early morning Gas wastage
Chart showing reduction in consumption over the following 4-month period
