The facts
Client: BBC
Location: Nationwide
Services: Project management, business
case development, establishing employer’s requirements, asset
database creation, ongoing management
Completion: November 2011
The project
From 1st January 2015 the R22
refrigerant gas, used in wide variety of air
conditioning plant and cooling equipment, will be banned across
Europe under the EC Regulation 2037/2000 as it is an ozone
depleting gas.
There are increasing risks relating to the maintenance and repair
of R22
dependent cooling plant which could affect an installation today,
such as:
- It is now illegal to use virgin R22 gas which makes repairs and
top up
difficult.
- By the end of 2012 it is anticipated that manufacturers could
withdraw
maintenance support for R22 dependent plants.
- From 1st January 2015 it is illegal to use recycled R22.
In order to mitigate the risk to the
BBC’s operations and to ensure legal
compliance, we have developed a programme methodology and
established a
Programme Management Office (PMO) for the removal of the R22 HCFC
gas
across the entire BBC UK estate (over 300 premises).
For a number of reasons, including
non-compatibility, inappropriate size/
capacity, exceeding its economic life and other plant
inefficiencies, it was
necessary to replace much of the existing R22 plant with new
equipment.
Quick & Easy
Replacement
In many instances, we were able to re-use the existing
infrastructure including
pipes and in some cases electrical installations. This reduced the
impact on
business operations, in most cases allowing the business to run as
usual and had
the added benefit of being more cost effective than a complete
replacement.
By undertaking a partial replacement
solution, a saving of 30% of the initial
cost of installing a complete new system was achieved with the
added value of
minimal disruption to business operations.
Inverter Technology
In addition, working with equipment manufacturers enabled us to
select the latest cooling plant with inverter technology which
helped to reduce ongoing utility costs. The inverter gradually
increases its capacity based on the requirements necessary to cool
down or heat up the room. It will ramp up with a soft start,
whereas a non-inverter will start and stop abruptly. This
comparison is illustrated below:
For example the power consumption measured during a continuous
operating environment (24/7) using the existing plant ranged
between 10 — 77 Amp with an average of 13 Amp. Whereas, using the
replacement unit, these measurements were 1.2 — 3.6 Amp with an
average of 3 Amp. In this particular example, energy
consumption would be reduced by up to 80%. While in a typical,
normal business operating hours installation, a 66% reduction was
recorded.
We have developed a robust and proven Programme Management function
capable of managing the implementation across a single building or
entire portfolios.