RE:FIT PROJECT A step forward to decarbonise the buildings of the borough
The Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk (BCKLWN) is committed to safeguarding the environment and has established a position as a sustainability leader by focusing on implementing innovative and cutting-edge energy generation and efficiency technologies in its buildings. These reflect its values and deliver on the commitment it made to tackle climate change when it declared a climate emergency in 2021. BCKLWN, in collaboration with Ameresco, has completed and is continuing to pursue the Re:fit Project, which aims to gradually decarbonise council buildings, as part of its many efforts to combat climate change. We are putting in place a set of measures that includes solar, LED lighting, heat pumps, amongst others in our Re:fit work. Some of our completed and in-progress retrofitting measures are shown below. Picture bottom right: Cllr Paul Kunes and representatives from the borough council, Ameresco and Finn Geotherm inspecting the on-going work at the Dutton pavilion Pictures top and bottom left: Installation of ground source heat pump at Dutton pavilion Picture top right: installation of ground source heat pump at Council Depot
- LED AND LIGHTING CONTROL
In many of the selected sites, fittings of lights that were previously high-consumption fluorescent lamps have been converted to high efficiency LEDs. Some of the successful examples are the buildings of Alive Lynnsport, Downham Market Leisure Centre, St James Pool and King’s Court.
- GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMPS
The UK government has identified heat pumps as one of the primary low-carbon options for decarbonising buildings. Heat pumps use electricity rather than gas, so where the electricity source is renewable, heating will be completely zero-carbon. Other advantages of ground source heat pumps (GSHP) include no fuel storage requirements, a long lifespan, and heating technology that is safe, silent, unobtrusive and out-of-sight. Ground source heat pumps are more efficient than air source heat pumps since heat is transferred through the ground via the movement of water, and water has a greater capacity to hold heat compared to air. Moreover, the temperature of the ground is fairly fixed at a constant 10 – 13°C all year round, so a ground source heat pump remains consistently efficient throughout the year, unaffected by seasonal changes. The Downham Market Leisure Centre and Dutton Pavilion are two successful sites with newly installed GSHP.
- EQUIPMENT OPERATING SCHEDULES OPTIMISATION
Ameresco conducted a thorough night survey on the selected sites to identify equipment that was left running overnight and on weekends. For example, the half-hourly data at Downham Market and Oasis Leisure Centres show a baseload ranging from 15-25 kW and 20kW respectively during closing hours (23:00 to 06:00 and 22:00 to 05:30) for all seasons. This was caused by the pool circulation pumps, AHU fans, lights, UV filters, and other equipment remaining on. These load sources were identified, and then control strategies were implemented to avoid them, resulting in immediate savings. Based on prior experience, identified assets, and the type of activities carried out in the building, Ameresco estimates that at least 10% of the night load would be reduced now.
- VSD INSTALLATION/OPTIMISATION
The amount of power consumed by a fan or pump increases as the cube of the speed (or frequency) at which it operates. As a result, a 20% reduction in operation speed can result in a nearly 50% reduction in power consumption. To achieve this, a Variable Speed Drive (VSD) is installed in fans and pumps. Further, many other measures such as BMS Upgrade/Optimisation, Heat Recovery and Utilisation, Combined Heat and Power (CHP), Solar Photovoltaic, PC Power Management, Boiler Replacement/Optimisation and Building Fabric Improvement are either already installed or in the process of being installed to the different selected sites under this project. The first 14 sites selected for the first phase or Re:fit 1 and their projected savings are listed below. Click on the following links to watch Cllr Paul Kunes of the borough council explaining the council’s goals and efforts to decarbonise the big carbon-intensive buildings in our fight against climate change: https://youtu.be/WIlZTgk_pIo https://youtu.be/kLlLGqA6b94 https://youtu.be/vtkIKpgNZk0 Join us at the King’s Lynn Climate Change Expo on 21st June. Free entry, simply register your details here.