Creating low energy environments

In the UK, controlled environments often have to be housed in old, pre-existing buildings, which makes achieving energy efficiencies and reducing the carbon footprint a challenge. Susan Birks reports on Cavendish Engineers’ recent London seminar that showed that even in old buildings, low energy cleanrooms can be achieved.

Much of the building stock in the UK is old; this means that many controlled environment contracts involve putting new facilities into old buildings and, consequently, upgrading the existing facilities. These controlled environments are often “mission critical”, which means that the facility’s daily work programme may not be interrupted, and they have tight tolerance levels for humidity, temperature and cleanliness. The challenge is to ensure that the upgraded facilities meet the latest requirements for energy efficiency and reduced carbon footprints.

Specialist contractor Cavendish Engineers hosted a recent one-day seminar in London that addressed this challenge. The event consisted of six presentations covering the planning of a controlled environment project and what low energy technology to consider – ranging from modern chiller applications to new humidity controls and energy efficient lighting. Case studies were presented from a range of sectors, including the space industry and electronics, and there were a number of presentations specifically focused on energy efficiency in data centres.

Steve Allen, Managing Director, Cavendish Engineers, opened the event with an overall view of how to plan a low energy cleanroom project. He suggested that any energy efficiency project should start with a review of the new BSI (ISO) 50001 standard. Developed by energy management experts from more than 60 countries around the world, this international standard looks at the latest best practice in energy management. “Use this as a principle and you will achieve what you want to get in terms of energy efficiency,” said Allen.