Out with the old
Using a new BEMS for greater efficiency and improved comfort. UBS, one of the world’s premier financial servicesfirms, is benefiting from lower energy bills and increased occupancy comfort.
UBS, one of the world’s premier financial servicesfirms, is benefiting from lower energy bills and increased occupancy comfort thanks to a new building energy management system (BEMS), designed and installed by ABEC.
The journey began with UBS instructing ABEC to carry out an energy survey at its offices in central London. Initial surveys on the site not only identified numerous energy savings but also obsolete BEMS.
ABEC provided two solutions:
• Optimise the existing BEMS using the survey’s findings, which would reduce energy use but be limited by the obsolete system;
• Install a new, bespoke system, utilising the latest technologies. This involved a larger initial capital spend but offered unrivalled long-term savings and payback period.
UBS recognised the long-term benefits of a state-of-the-art system and opted for ABEC’s redesign.
The new system
The re-design not only captured the energy savings identified by the survey but, in utilising the latest technology, improved upon these and future proofed UBS’ energy management. ABEC was able to design and install the system cost effectively, resulting in payback in just under 3 years.
When installing the system, a temporary shutdown of the office was not an option for UBS. ABEC provided a way around the most time intensive process of projects like this – that of installing new controls in the motor control centres (MCC).
ABEC’s solution lay offsite – developing new, standardised boilerplates, designed and manufactured ahead of time for the building’s MCCs, containing all the required wiring and controls. Using this method, new controls were installed on the MCCs in a single weekend, compared to the 1-2 day per panel period traditionally required.
Further work was managed through careful timetabling, detailed programming and phased working. The result: the installation of a new system in a safe and reliable way, without the building’s weekday staff being aware any works were going on.
Throughout the project, ABEC worked closely with UBS to ensure the required infrastructure for controlling the new system was in place and understood. ABEC technicians integrated into the client’s building management team, explaining aspects of the system as they came online. This kept the ongoing comfort of building users at the heart of installation and meant the client team was comfortable working with the new control equipment.
Reaping the rewards
By taking part in an energy journey with ABEC, UBS has been able to unlock significant energy efficiencies. Through the adoption of new energy routines and the installation of new BEMs, all stemming from an initial energy survey, UBS is now saving in excess of £200k p/a.
Date:
April 2014
ABEC optimised the existing BEMS using our survey findings, which would reduce energy use but be limited by the obsolete system.
We then installed a new, bespoke system, utilising the latest technologies. This involved a larger initial capital spend but offered unrivalled long-term savings and payback period.