Helping towards better energy management
Today energy is a scarce and costly resource, to be managed rather than just used or consumed. Energy management implies that the consumption of energy is carefully planned and controlled, so that its cost is always justified in terms of value to the user. This is where the Electricity Supply Industry can help.
Before the 'sixties very little effort was made to use energy efficiently in large buildings. The Electricity Boards were among the first to recognise the importance of re-thinking contemporary building design with specific regard for energy use. They sponsored research by the Department of Building Science at Newcastle University into the performance of different building designs and their effect on the internal environment—the latter from the viewpoint of working efficiency, comfort and energy usage. The results from the research have enabled Electricity Boards' engineers to advise knowledgeably on the energy consumption implications of applying various building forms.
Taking our own medicine
The first buildings in the UK designed and constructed to Energy Management principles were for various Electricity Boards. The very first was the Wallsend meter testing station which was designed and erected in close collaboration with Professor Hardy's research team at Newcastle.
The lessons learned from these early buildings, gained by continuously monitoring the performance, have been invaluable to designers and engineers of more recent projects. For example, the Leeds area office for the Yorkshire Board, designed in 1968, achieved high thermal efficiency; but a second project at Bradford, of similar design, achieved an even bigger saving in energy costs—thanks to the practical experience from Leeds.
The Bolton office of the North Western Electricity Board is a recent
example of the progress that is being achieved by synthesising the experience from previous energy efficient building projects. This singlestorey building has a floor area of 4,029 m2 (43,368 ft 2) Excellent working conditions are achieved throughout the year with minimal expenditure of energy. Efficient heat-recovery techniques are employed which make it self-heating down to 7°C (45°F). The total building energy costs for the full year of 1975 were just under L3 per square metre (10 -28p/ft2).
Shared experience
The experience acquired by the Electricity Supply Industry in the design and operation of its own buildings is available to private industry and already many of these energy management concepts have been applied to good effect in private projects. Just one of the many ways in which Electricity specialists are helping commerce and industry to use energy more efficiently.
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