Whitehall Place, Department of Energy and Climate Change (UK)

The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have been effectively managing and reducing energy use since 2009. DECC have three office buildings in their London estate and have achieved great savings since the inception of the programme. Figure 1 shows energy consumption 2008/09 – 2011/12 for 3 Whitehall Place. At this site DECC achieved an 87% reduction in gas consumption and a 39% reduction in electricity consumption - a total energy saving of 60%. This was despite an increase in the number of staff from 782 FTEs in March 2009 to 1108 FTEs in March 2012 – an increase of 42%. The annual office energy use per FTE was reduced from 4520kWh in 2008/09 to 1287 kWh in 2011/12.

Figure 1: Energy use, 3 Whitehall Place, London (DECC), 2008 - 2012

These impressive cuts have been achieved by a variety of actions many of them focused on active management using the Building Energy Management system. These include:

  • A large number of electricity sub-meters monitoring high consuming areas or equipment
  • Floor by floor automated temperature settings (air conditioning switches on where the temperature reaches higher than 24°C, heating switches on when temperatures dip below 20°C.
  • Server room cooling kicks in at 25 – 27°C – previously they had been cooled to 19°C.
  • The Energy and Carbon Manager monitors the building parameters and adjusts the BMS controls on an ongoing basis to ensure both energy efficiency and occupant comfort. These adjustments are being automated in order that the level of energy savings is maintained
  • The Building Energy Management System was programmed in Summer to pre-cool the building at no cost in the mornings using relatively cool ambient air.
  • Grills were installed between colder rooms on the corners of the building and the generally warmer office areas to reduce heating requirement in Winter (DECC, 2012).

In terms of cost savings, DECC spent around £500,000 on energy efficiency projects between October 2008 and March 2012, and estimate they saved around £156,000 in 2011/12 on their energy bills as a result.