Electrical Contracting News (ECN) May 2017 | Page 40

SPECIAL
FEATURE
HVAC
FUTURE HEATING COSTS POST BREXIT
– IT’S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM!
Leaving the EU could cost the UK up to £500m per year in energy bills in the next few years according to an
independent report commissioned by National Grid. The country imports about six per cent of its electricity
from the continent, and 50 per cent of its gas from inside and outside the EU, but it is not all doom and gloom
according to Nick Winton, divisional manager for Nortek Global HVAC, particularly when it comes to heating.
C
urrent industry
regulations obviously
insist that staff
cannot work in cold
temperatures but with
factory and warehouse
owners faced with
an ever increasing
overhead, the temptation is to resort
to fi nding the cheapest heating system
available, even though it is rarely the most
energy effi cient.
Most manufacturers of heating
systems are now looking to systems that
deliver whole life costs as a way of making
real energy savings. Short term, a cheap
system might seem the right way to go,
but don’t be deceived. Although paying
for more energy effi cient heating systems
may not be a popular idea in the current
economy, it makes tremendous sense
when true value is looked at, rather than
initial costs.
According to government information,
the most reliable indicator of ‘value’ in the
construction industry is the relationship
between long term costs and the benefi t
achieved by the end user. And when it comes
to the heating system, best value is gained
from the system that achieves the required
functionality at lowest cost when calculated
over the whole life of the equipment.
Whole life cost analysis is an
economic evaluation process
solely for the purpose of
assessing the true cost of
constructing and running
a building over a period
of time, based on the
functional requirements of
the building. It is effective
for new buildings, including
design and build projects, and has
been a pre-requisite for PFI contracts.
The technique was originally used
by the accountancy profession to
compare outcomes when income
varies over time, using today’s value
or net present value as a starting
point. Today, the methodology is
used widely in many industries,
although uptake in the construction
industry is ‘quite small’, according to a
spokesperson at BSRIA.
40 | May 2017
Using these calculations, some modern
manufacturers have proved that they can
deliver energy savings of up to 70 per cent,
a signifi cant reduction in running costs.
It’s a technique that has been in
existence for decades. With more and
more people seeing the benefi ts of
whole life cost analysis, its popularity in
construction is increasing. Rather than
focusing on the cost of instalment and
payment for the system, it focuses instead
on the building’s requirements, how well
each solution tackles them and the costs
of doing so.
Going cheap might look good in an
initial payment. But compare its whole life
cost to that of an energy effi cient system,
and the difference can be thousands;
wasted money that businesses cannot
afford to lose.
When considering each building’s
needs, it shouldn’t be simplifi ed to just
simply ‘the building must be heated’,
as the full requirements are far more
specifi c. Value management and value
engineering are indispensable factors in
fi nding the more effi cient solution. The
system should match the needs of the
occupants, as well as the building’s shape
and size. This means knowing exactly
where and when heat will be needed and
how it can best be delivered.
Functional needs
Radiant tube
heating burns fuel
at the point of use
so there is no loss
of effi ciency in
distributing heat
around the building.
In specifying a heating system, it is
important to base requirements on
output and functional needs, rather than
describing the process by which these will
be achieved. This allows for fl exibility and
perhaps more thoughtful or innovative
approaches to a heating solution, one
that will fulfi l needs over the system’s
life. For example, it should respond to
alterations in the work pattern, downsizing
or expansion.