Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/670690
18 | MAY 2016 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Project focus Water and Energy Wessex Water's operations centre gains a sustainability upgrade ● Award-winning sustainable building in Bath ● 961 roo op solar PV panels installed to generate 230,000 kWh per year ● New Building Management System currently being installed T he installation of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system on the roof of Wessex Water's Operations Centre in Bath has underlined the utility's commitment to sustainability. Wessex Water's Operations Centre was designed with sustainability in mind; the natural ventilation, motion and light level sensitive lighting, solar thermal water heating and rain water harvesting have all helped the building to outperform similar sized buildings for the past 15 years. As part of the company's ongoing commitment to sustainability there have been various improvements to the site over the past few years and these will be continuing for the foreseeable future. Timeline In 2013, 35 AMR sub meters were installed to enable the identification of opportunities for energy improvements. These meters not only provided greater visibility of building and staff requirements but were also a key tool for staff engagement. In 2015, various teams across the business worked with contractors to design and install a solar PV system that would provide the most cost effective renewable generation system on the available space whilst being sensitive to the rural setting. During 2015 the facilities management team started the process of replacing the existing Building Management System with a new and improved system. This is a phased project, with plans to integrate the previously installed sub meters and newly installed solar PV system. Site improvements are always on-going, such as the replacement of old inefficient light bulbs with more efficient LEDs as they come to their end of life. Solar PV Installation By far the most significant impact to the building sustainability rating has been the implementation of the 250kW roo–op solar PV system. This system was installed by Your Power Ltd in November and December 2015 and was commissioned in time for the Feed in Tariff (FIT) deadline on 31st December 2015. The designed was tailored for the building to work with the existing folded aluminium seam roof, electrical setup and staff requirements. As the Operations Centre is the The completed solar PV system on the roof of the operations centre JulIa CarlIng, EnErgY gEnErATion AnAlYsT, WEssEx WATEr