A web-based virtual simulation tool that enables organisations to see the business value in building refurbishment as a front to a carbon reduction strategy has been developed by Alloa-based CADmeleon.
Based around energy efficiency facilitated through a SaaS (Software as a Service) driven business model, Carbon Estates is a visionary concept that has caught the attention of major utility provider Scottish and Southern Energy, which has participated closely in the proof of concept for the system. The methodology of an online data model is seen as a fresh approach that challenges traditional enterprise models.
Development of Carbon Estates comes at a pivotal time for organisations that, following the launch of the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme, now have to account for their carbon emissions. This UK mandatory scheme is designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce CO2 from the UK’s top 5000 organisations.
“With buildings currently accounting for 45 per cent of our carbon emissions, the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is central to the UK’s strategy for improving energy efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions," said CADmeleon managing director Bernard McKeown. “Measuring an estate's energy performance is just one side of the focused retrofit equation. Measuring its potential efficiency and quantifying those gains with real numbers, letting people see the ‘what ifs’, is just the beginning of what Carbon Estates can do.
“The development of Carbon Estates allows users to monitor energy use both on an individual building level and on an estates level. Buildings can be compared on a like-for-like basis using parameters such as age, construction type, usage and floor size. A key feature of the software is that it allows an instant comparison to be made on how the building should perform optimally against how it is actually operating.”
Energy benchmarking
Scottish and Southern Energy is a long term customer of CADmeleon and has contributed to the development process of the energy benchmarking software. Its technology development manager Nigel Ellis said, “We are responsible for providing sustainable energy services through a broad range of innovative energy-based products and service offerings. Carbon Estates can help manage, monitor and mitigate carbon emissions from the built environment and we are delighted to be involved in the development of this concept which we believe to have tremendous potential.”
Carbon Estates incorporates virtual retrofit simulation using a combination of individual parameters — such as lighting, heating and building fabric modifications — that allows users to view instantly the changes in consumption across building portfolios before physical alterations have been applied. This allows for a cost-benefit analysis of asset costs against energy consumption savings, giving users an indispensable tool, streamlining the procurement procedure and ensuring that costly mistakes are avoided.
“The ability to forecast without capital risk, and to estimate savings in cash, kWh and CO2, is hugely beneficial to an organisation’s bottom-line, especially when relating to missing target penalties and carbon allocation repayments," says McKeown. “Non-domestic buildings currently emit over 100 million tons of CO2 per year, representing some 18 per cent of the UK’s total emissions. The widespread implementation of Carbon Estates technology would greatly assist the government in its efforts to address energy inefficiencies in non-domestic buildings and help it achieve its targets for reducing CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008.”
