carbon reduction

Technologies paving the way for carbon reduction in our homes

There are several government proposals on the table signalling a transition from where we are today to net zero 2050. Technical solutions have not been decided, but there is talk of certain technologies favoured for carbon reduction – among these are hydrogen-ready boilers and heat pumps. In the short term,

Read More »
Latest Issue
Issue 325 : Feb 2025

carbon reduction

Hospitals, prisons, military bases & other public sector sites can cut carbon emissions by 70% by 2032

Complex public sector sites – such as hospitals, prisons, and military barracks – could achieve a 70% reduction in carbon emissions by 2032 with an average capital cost of £12.6m per site, according to a two-year innovation pilot. The Modern Energy Partners (MEP) innovation programme was tasked with exploring how to decarbonise the public sector estate, by developing repeatable methods that enable large campus-style sites to meet UK Government commitments on net zero.  MEP was driven and funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through the £505 million Energy Innovation, and overseen alongside Cabinet Office, and other estate-owning departments, with Energy Systems Catapult providing programme delivery, analytical and technical support. The MEP pilot used a test bed of 42 sites responsible for over 294,000 tCO2e carbon emissions – equating to 8% of Ministry of Defence (MOD), 17% of Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and 6% of NHS sites. MEP found that on average for a campus-style to achieve 70% emissions reduction by 2032 the capital cost was £12.6m per site. The MEP final report provides independent recommendations for stakeholders involved in public sector decarbonisation for campus or similarly challenging sites: Strategic plans to help speed up and scale up action are important: An increase in the pace and scale of decarbonisation across the public sector estate is urgently needed to reach targets. Agreed-upon, organisation-wide and long-term decarbonisation strategies can help simplify processes and cut timelines. More broadly, a public sector-wide reporting framework alongside appropriate carbon valuation will incentivise action. Tailored plans at site level are vital: A tailored and detailed approach is needed for each site. The design stage should consider all aspects of Departmental and site-level governance as well as the appetite for investment in low carbon technology. Working with multiple consultancies in the development of individual design plans can increase idea sharing and avoid technology bias. Delivery capability must be considered: Appropriate resourcing, capacity-building and prioritisation is urgently needed. This includes the capacity building of roles focussed on coordinating the planning and delivery of decarbonisation strategies into existing asset life replacement programmes on site. Important responsibilities of this role will be to select the technology appropriate delivery route and ensure sign-off and access are obtained in a timely manner. The programme focused on “learning by doing”, MEP tested out the practicalities of scalable decarbonisation through three primary activities: 1. Tested rapid deployment of data gathering technologies and analysis techniques to appraise future net zero progress across 36 of the 42 testbed sites. 2. Developed a systematic and repeatable appraisal approach for the decarbonisation of campus-style public sector sites at 24 of the sites, showing estate-wide programmed deployment can be planned. 3. Worked intensively with four “pathfinder” sites to test out different commercial deployment routes, seeking quality and value for money: Sheppey Prison Cluster HMS Collingwood NHS Goole and District Hospital Catterick Garrison Energy Systems Catapult chief executive, Philip New, said: “The public sector only accounts for around 2% of total UK emissions. But by both reducing its own emissions and demonstrating an ambitious, systematic and scalable programme of work, it offers an opportunity to demonstrate that it is possible to decarbonise at scale. The potential to procure at scale is likely to drive value for money for the public purse, encourage innovation, support skills building, help levelling up across the country and push technology prices down benefiting the wider economy. “The Modern Energy Partners programme demonstrated that it was possible to put individual sites on track to hit net zero targets through a sustained effort by people with a mix of skill-sets. “While some action has already being taken towards reducing emissions within the public sector estate, MEP experienced multiple barriers to delivery which must be overcome to deliver decarbonisation at scale. “Firstly, each Government department needs a deliverable net zero strategy, which captures the scale and pace required to meet national net zero commitments. “Secondly, the cost of decarbonisation is a key barrier. To make decarbonisation scalable, funding must be available and deployed efficiently within a department.  “Thirdly, MEP found that capability was limited to centrally based sustainability teams and, rather than embedded throughout departmental estate management. Under current conditions, delivery that relies on these small central teams is time-consuming and not scalable. “Finally, we found that in the future decarbonisation of campus-style sites, like prisons, military bases and hospitals could be possible and could be delivered at the scale and pace required, however it needed to follow a systematic, repeatable and scalable approach.”

Read More »

Technologies paving the way for carbon reduction in our homes

There are several government proposals on the table signalling a transition from where we are today to net zero 2050. Technical solutions have not been decided, but there is talk of certain technologies favoured for carbon reduction – among these are hydrogen-ready boilers and heat pumps. In the short term, it is likely we will see carbon free gases such as hydrogen and bio methane introduced into the current gas grid, neither of which would require home appliances to be replaced. However, should the hydrogen blend exceed 20%, which it eventually will, a hydrogen-ready boiler would need to be installed. 100% hydrogen blend may not be possible for another 10 to 15 years, so in the interim it is likely that government policy will legislate only hydrogen-ready boilers can be placed onto the market from as soon as 2025 – effectively future-proofing existing homes in the UK. Positively, hydrogen-ready boiler installations are simple and straight forward. They connect to the existing gas grid, look like any boiler we see today, the installation process is the same, and will run on natural gas until hydrogen becomes available. At this point, it takes an hour of an engineer’s time and two or three components before the boiler is ready to run on 100% hydrogen. I expect some social housing providers might wish to move forward with this before hydrogen comes online. Heat pumps are another solution to reducing carbon. They are not the easiest of technologies to install, as changes will generally need to be made to the heating and hot water system, as well as the very fabric of the property. While some are pioneering these technologies into existing homes, others may wait until government policy becomes firmer. There may be a middle ground where a gas boiler is supplemented by the installation of an air to water heat pump, a hybrid system which is very common in parts of Europe. We expect there to be various solutions, if not already there, available over time. The general trend of the country, in fact, the world, is to reduce carbon – this is one of the biggest challenges that anybody with housing stock faces. Martyn Bridges is Director of Technical Communication and Product Management at Worcester Bosch

Read More »

Facilities Management Companies May Be Core to Achieving Energy Efficiency Goals

As previously reported, the integration of facilities management practices in the initial stages of any given project may prove to be an essential step forward in ensuring that projects are completed in a way which meets the effective brief, targets and ambitions from the design and planning stages. This can be highlighted most prominently within the arena of energy management and relative carbon emission goals. As facilities management organisations have recently been seen to integrate energy divisions within their own offerings, the way in which these organisations can then advise on, and support the delivery of projects which can meet the long-term goals of developments is undeniable. With a large proportion of energy usage boiling down to the various areas of facilities management also, the import of consulting such specialists with an invested interest in the performance of buildings is key. Without interaction from facilities management and energy specialist organisations, it is actually predicted that both government, and individual organisational goals for the management and reduction of carbon emissions may not yet be possible. As such, organisations are urged to see the important role played by facilities management organisations in ensuring that the design specification for a building will suit that of the energy-efficiency goals of its continued use – an area where complete facilities management companies have a great deal of expertise. It isn’t, however just a case of understanding how carbon emission goals can be hit. Often, it is, in fact the case that organisations may regard viable methods of long-term carbon reduction methods, such as green energy, as too costly and expensive; something which sometimes cannot be debated. In such cases, however, the involvement of facilities management specialists can point organisations in the right direction for alternative methodologies for carbon reduction, as, in many cases, there are always alternatives.

Read More »