Case study 6 April 2023

Case study: System upgrade saves £75,000 for government buildings

  • 1.8GWh of energy saving verified during the measurement and verification period
  • 350 tonnes of carbon emissions saved
  • £75,300 gas and electricity savings for the pilot project

Overview of the challenge

A large government department needed industry expertise to upgrade its Building Management Systems (BMS) and optimise 47 sites across its estate. As a public sector organisation with multiple sites, sustainability was high on its agenda. It recognised that building control would be key to achieving its Greening Government Commitment targets.

The department wanted to improve the operational control of its sites while reducing energy use, improve the environmental performance of its estate and save carbon. It needed a partner that could work effectively on a diverse property portfolio, across the UK, who had the capability and expertise to survey, design, install, commission and verify savings associated with a BMS solution.

Mitie was chosen to survey the sites, commission and install BMS upgrades and implement the operational changes required with the site teams. This included delivering a measurement and verification service to help sustain improved building performance.

Modern office building with green leaves
Building control is key to achieving Greening Government Commitment targets.

A three-step approach

Our Plan Zero team agreed a three-step approach with the customer, which covered:

  • Site intervention and set up – delivering good site connectivity, upgrades of the BMS hardware and making sure that system back-up routines were optimised.
  • BMS centralisation and optimisation – investigating and altering the BMS set points, plus identifying wider building and HVAC energy conservation measures.
  • Measurement and verification – ongoing collection and data analysis to make sure that optimisation measures were maintained, and energy and carbon savings verified.

Optimised BMS led to better control and energy performance

The site investigations highlighted opportunities to implement simple measures to reduce energy use. Baseline data collation was strengthened, through the project, using accurate half-hourly data for both electricity and gas. This led to an improvement in the validation of energy baselines and performance optimisation.

1.8GWh of energy savings were verified, carbon emissions were reduced by 350 tonnes, and savings of £75,300 on gas and electricity made during the project.

Mitie’s team also made recommendations to widely deploy energy efficiency measures and renewable technologies across the sites.

The improved BMS technical solution, and data analysis, has enabled the customer to achieve and maintain a better level of control and energy performance.

Man looking at screen that displays data
Mitie’s ongoing data collection and analysis made sure that optimisation measures were maintained, and energy and carbon savings verified.

Why choose Mitie?

As the incumbent FM partner, Mitie already had an excellent level of site knowledge and system know-how. However, our extensive BMS capability and experience across numerous customer accounts, in both the public and provide sectors, was what made the difference.

By selecting and working with Mitie, our customer was able to work with a solution provider, and partner, who took the time to understand their needs. We developed a solution that serviced the customer’s need to reduce current energy use and enabled the testing of a robust estate-wide solution for the future.

Get in touch to find out more

Find out how Mitie can help your organisation to hit your net zero targets through the design and delivery of smart and effective energy solutions.

Contact our Plan Zero team today

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