Microgeneration

Call Centre Energy Audit / Renewable Energy Study

SgurrEnergy were commissioned to carry out a renewable energy audit of an 18,000sqm call centre near Liverpool, UK.

The audit process uncovered exceptionally high out-of-hours power consumption which, for the preceding 12 months, had been running at a level of 80% of peak demand.  The predominant reason for this was that staff had been advised to leave computers on over night to allow for software updates to take place.  Several energy conservation technologies were identified which would limit night time power consumption and an economic case made for their purchase.

As part of the audit SgurrEnergy investigated the feasibility of using a number of renewable energy technologies onsite.  Both wind and solar photovoltaic technology were found to be technically viable with the wind option showing the most promise.  SgurrEnergy modelled the output of various scales of wind turbine using local climatic data.  Costs from suppliers were also sourced in order to provide the client with an idea of payback times and economic attractiveness of each option.

A further study was carried out on behalf of the client investigating the constraints to the use of wind turbines in more detail.

Independent School Renewable Energy Study

SgurrEnergy recently conducted a study to assess the options for making use of low and zero carbon technologies at an Independent school in Hertfordshire. The school has six buildings on campus in total including a standalone leisure facility. SgurrEnergy visited the site to assess constraints and opportunities present that would influence the use of renewable energy technology onsite. Due to a lack of space, a centralised plant room and proximity to neighbouring dwellings the opportunities for the installation of renewables at a comparable scale with demand was limited. Potential sites were identified where a 6kW wind turbine and PV array of up to 16kWp scale could be accommodated.

Although only making a small contribution to the school’s overall energy demand it was felt these installations would have additional benefits. The installation of either technology would provide a powerful educational resource to help educate and inform pupils about the challenge of climate change, and to highlight the importance of efficient energy use and renewable energy.