Posted By The toecap
What do you guys and gals out there in 'E' land know about an 'Enegry Management Plan'.
I've got the basics but what do others do?

Posted By The toecap
Perhaps i should have added 'no smart a***' replies please.

Posted By SeanThompson
Again, another post ruined from a seemingly innocent query. If you don't like the question don't post.

Posted By Merv Newman
Energy management starts with the construction of your building. Heavy insulation on all inside walls and in the roof. A cellar or at least a decent cavity under the floors helps to insulate from the ground. Double or triple glazed windows with heavy blinds or shutters to be closed at night.

All lighting should use long-life bulbs, preferably with detectors to switch on when room is occupied. (doesn't help much for those who spend too long on the loo)

Central heating can be generated by wood-chip boilers, not gas, electricity or oil.

Solar panels and or geothermal or air-air heat exchangers help with hot water.

Do not install air-conditioning. Do not install a wind turbine (unless you are located in the Orkney's)

Electronic equipment should be on timers to switch off at the end of the working day. This also helps to send employees home where they can pay for their own energy. As a corollary to that, encourage working from home.

During winter all employees will wear thick socks and woolly vests. In summertime shorts and sleeveless T-shirts will be mandatory.

Have I forgotten anything ?

Merv

Posted By William
You have forgotten about the food in the canteen Merv serve lots of baked beans then attach a hopepipe to a particilar part of the body, then attach that to a generator and there you have it a steady supply of electricity powered by methane, and on really cold days add some garlic and chilli powder to the beans to cope with the increase in energy consumption.

Posted By William
As it has already been pointed out by others, many people have additional responsibilities for environmental issues as well as healh and safety, the legislation and tools used can also overlap (COSHH & RA, for example), so if others do not want to have anything to do with environmental threads then they need not read or reply to threads.

Posted By Alexander Falconer
Try looking at www.envirowise.gov.uk for practical hints in addition there are a number of free publications and software which can assist you.

Posted By Martin Bromley
A couple of other big issues to think about:

1. Getting staff on board - when it comes to things like making sure equipment gets switched off and preventing the building from reaching sauna-like temperatures, it helps to have the support of staff.

2. Monitoring - when you're trying to implement changes to save energy, it helps to be able to see how well they've worked. If you've got access to good quality energy data (e.g. 15-minute or half-hourly data), you can analyze to find out what times of the day you're wasting energy, and to see if you're improving as time goes on. Energy management software such as Energy Lens (www.energylens.com) can be helpful for these purposes.

Most organizations can make big energy savings by purchasing new energy-efficient equipment (new lights etc.), but the savings are often offset by high capital costs. It's often sensible to start by minimizing wastage using the equipment that is already there: simple measures such as ensuring equipment is switched off when not needed, turning thermostats down, and fitting simple timer or occupancy sensing controls (usually pretty cheap).