Project Details
The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) made a commitment in 2008 to achieve 40% CO2 savings. It has established a Climate Change Programme to ensure the Council works toward this target as part of its various projects and initiatives.
The Council?s SPACE programme is an initiative derived from the requirement to refurbish the aging mechanical and electrical services to Kensington Town Hall which is now over 35 years old. This significant work has prompted a review of how the Council uses its office accommodation and is focused on ensuring shared use of finite resources by staff, better use of ICT and using the refurbished facilities to allow business changes that will enable more effective working and significantly, reduce energy consumption and the Council?s carbon footprint.
This not inconsiderable task is phased over a number of years and includes a ?16m refurbishment of Kensington Town Hall. More staff will be able to use the refurbished Town Hall allowing a number of buildings to be relinquished. The Town Hall, as a 1970?s design uses a significant amount of energy and had the potential to be significantly improved in terms of Carbon Emissions.? Butler & Young were engaged for both the M&E services design and the work to further increase energy efficiency by better insulating the building.
Butler & Young?s role
CO2 reduction is a Key Benefit of RBKC?s SPACE programme
BYA specialist energy input has been 2 fold.
The first requirement was to carry out a study to accurately assess the increase in energy efficiency, the reduction in carbon emissions and the cost involved of installing double glazed windows and increased wall insulation to the Town Hall.
A wide range of replacement window and window/wall combination design options were investigated relating to cost, energy use, carbon emissions, practicable installation issues, including programme and the effect on the final Building DEC.
The Council?s Climate Change Programme team?s brief to Butler & Young was to establish if there was a technical business case to replace the glazing and better insulate the building. Butler & Young delivered this to them, allowing them to garner support and funding for this initiative within the organisation. This was possible particularly as Butler & Young?s wider role allowed them to review the wider design remit, including an active chilled beam system that significantly reduced fan power from the central plant.? This approach also resulted in a greater net usable floor area, taken into account within the payback calculations.
Our energy report enabled the Climate Change Programme team to justify the additional capital cost to Cabinet and to proceed with these passive CO2 reducing measures.
The second and more significant from our viewpoint has been our reworking of the HVAC systems and in particular the air handling plant, by our energy department, to achieve potentially huge energy savings (in excess of 40%).? The mixing box dampers on central plant are programmed, through the BMS control system, to establish the most appropriate position with the lowest CO2 overhead.
NB this project is being carried out with the Town Hall in occupation with decants on a half floor basis.
First phase of construction is now complete.