Scottish energy consultancy firm, CADmeleon is set to launch a piece of software that will help organisations with large estate portfolios measure and manage their carbon emissions. CADmeleon, based in Alloa, have developed a system that compares asset and operational data to a level that adds real value and depth to existing operational data that is typically held on a building.
The launch of this product comes at a pivotal time for organisations that face the prospect of accounting for their carbon emissions, as the government prepares to launch the inaugural year of the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme this April. The mandatory scheme is designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) from the UK’s top 5000 organisations. The scheme is central to the UK’s strategy to reduce their carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008.
The product which is called Carbon Estates™ allows users to monitor their energy use 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. One of the key features of the software is that it allows an instant comparison to be made on how the building should optimally perform against how the building is actually being run.
There appears to be a false belief that there is great cost attributed to the refurbishment required to reduce energy consumption in these buildings as asserted in a survey for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Delivering a low carbon refurbishment doesn’t require significant increases in complexity, or the adoption of high risk or unproven technical solutions. The risk falsely attributed to this can be greatly reduced with energy forecasting and modelling to demonstrate and justify any improvements.
Carbon Estates incorporates a virtual retrofit simulation that uses a combination of 64 parameters such as lighting, heating and building fabric modifications that allows managers to instantly view changes in consumption across their portfolio before physical alterations have been applied. This allows for a cost-benefit analysis of asset costs against energy consumption savings, giving managers an indispensable tool, making the procurement procedure streamlined, and ensuring that costly procurement mistakes are avoided.
The ability for asset managers to forecast without capital risk and the ability to forecast savings in £’s, kWh and CO2 is hugely beneficial to a company’s bottom-line especially when relating to missing target penalties and Carbon allocation repayments. The wide spread implementation of this technology would greatly help the government help address the inefficiency in non-domestic buildings and help them achieve an interim target of reduction of 26% against a 1990 baseline by 2020. Non-domestic buildings currently emit over 100 million tons of CO2 per year. This represents some 18% of the UK’s total emissions.
The culmination of all this preparation and diligence in developing this software arrives in Glasgow on 25th March as CADmeleon hold there launch party for the software at Òran Mór in Glasgow’s West End. The event is to be attended by local and central government figures, potential clients from the private sector and leading specialists from the protocol organisations.
