Wessex Water and Honeywell Building Solutions work in successful partnership
Co-operative working between Wessex Water and Honeywell Building Solutions has achieved an energy consumption of 100 kWh/m2 per year for the head office and operations centre of Wessex Water.
The major maintenance contract of Honeywell with the head office and operations centre of Wessex Water has been extended, and Wessex Water has also contracted with Honeywell to manage 12 other buildings. The agreement includes a programme of planned preventive maintenance covering HVAC systems, 24/7 alarm monitoring with on-call response and the management of some 20 system and service sub-contractors. A resident engineer manages the operations centre, along with Wessex Water’s facilities-management team and handles extra works, planned maintenance visits, the critical-spares inventory and the subcontractor re-tendering process. The operations centre opened in 2000 and is regarded as one of the finest examples of energy efficiency in the UK. Design features of this 10 600 m2 facility include natural ventilation, solar panels, rainwater harvesting and passive temperature control, concrete coffers, precast concrete walls and energy-efficient lighting. The energy consumption of around 100 kWh/m2 per year is about a third that of a conventional office building. Mike Caple, facilities manager with Wessex Water, says, ‘Hitting the 100 kWh target was a big challenge and took a great team effort. With Honeywell’s help, we spent the first year monitoring the site and gathering data on electric, gas and water consumption. ‘We then developed an energy-saving strategy that entailed driving inefficiencies out of the building and ensuring the systems we had in place did the job they were supposed to do. The strategy was successful, and the energy target continues to be achieved to this day.’ Honeywell Building Solutions had already worked with Wessex Water at its previous head office in Bristol. Mike Caple says, ‘The construction and opening of the new building was a critical time for us, with around 20 key operational services, including heating, lighting, access control, water tanks, BMS, lifts and boilers being sourced from different suppliers. We needed assistance with the management and co-ordination of their activities, and Honeywell provided us with a co-ordinated and consolidated solution. The company makes an important contribution to maintaining and building on what we have achieved so far.’
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