The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme will have a huge impact on large business energy users. Whether this is positive or negative depends on how good companies are at saving energy and cutting emissions. Mark Northcott, director of commercial products at Remeha, explains.

Reflecting the fact that it is keen to see the focus shift from reduction of emissions to saving energy, government has changed the name of its environmental initiative from the Carbon Reduction Commitment to the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRCEES).

Nonetheless, the scheme remains important not only to the UK's goal of improving organisations' energy efficiency, but also to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008.

This act - the first legislation to contain a long-term, legally binding framework to tackle the dangers of climate change - sets ambitious targets of at least an 80 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, to be achieved through action in the UK and abroad. It also demands a reduction in emissions of at least 34 per cent by 2020. Both these targets are against a 1990 baseline.

CRCEES is essentially a 'cap and trade' scheme whereby companies which are able to reduce their emissions easily can sell carbon allowances to those that have not met their targets.

The scheme requires large public and private sector organisations to measure and report the energy they use. Those that succeed in reducing their energy use will, of course, cut their energy costs. However, that is not all. They will also be well placed to demonstrate their energy efficiency improvements publicly through a league table, increasing their reputation for environmental rectitude and gaining more from the payments from the CRCEES.

Buy allowances

From April 2011, organisations which qualify for the scheme will buy allowances from government equal to their annual emissions. The overall emissions reduction target is achieved by placing a cap on the total allowances available to each group of CRCEES participants. Within that limit, individual organisations can determine the most cost-effective way to reduce emissions. This could be through buying extra allowances or investing in ways to decrease the allowances they need to buy.
All the money raised through the allowances will be recycled back to participants, according to how well they perform.

Any organisation that used more than 6,000MWh of electricity through a half-hourly meter in 2008 will be affected by the CRCEES. In practice, this will include many companies with annual electricity bills of around £500,000 and over. So, around 20,000 large public and private sector organisations will be involved in the scheme.
The question is, how do these organisations lower their emissions while, at the same time, boosting energy efficiency?

In terms of commercial heating, it is a given that condensing boilers are energy efficient. However, it is less well publicised that they are also extremely effective in terms of lowering emissions.

Although referring specifically to domestic boilers, author and climate change expert Chris Goodall calculates in his book, How to Live a Low Carbon Life, a large household using a boiler of mid-'70s vintage to supply 15,000 usable kWh of energy to heat the property during a year would save more than two-thirds of this by installing a condensing boiler. This equates to a saving of 1.92 tonnes of CO₂ a year.
The carbon saving on a commercial condensing boiler installation would, of course, be correspondingly higher. Condensing boilers certainly demonstrate impressive efficiency figures with some models producing up to 110% net efficiency. This slashes fuel consumption and, therefore, dramatically cuts carbon emissions, while also burning what fuel is used in a far cleaner way and reducing NOx by more than 90 per cent.

Huge reductions

However, specifying a top quality, reliable, energy-efficient condensing boiler is not enough on its own. In larger installations - such as those covered by the CRCEES - you also have to consider the contribution renewable or Low To Zero carbon fuel sources can make. Boilers like the Remeha-Gilles biomass range can make huge reductions in carbon emissions.

It is also the quality of the system that can really make a difference in terms of both energy savings and lower emissions. And the system includes controls.

The efficiency of even the most energy efficient boiler can be severely damaged if it is not controlled properly. Effective controls prevent the boilers operating when they are not needed and eliminate wasteful on and off cycling. Controls also boost design flexibility by increasing the options for zoning on larger sites such as schools and hospitals.

So specifying the right boiler controls is as important as specifying the right boilers. If the system includes several boilers, then sequence control is critical. Not only do these controls save energy and cut emissions but they also prolong the life of the boilers by ensuring they are not overworked.

Weather compensation controls prevent the unnecessary stop/start operation of boilers by working with external sensors which monitor outdoor temperatures and adjust the boiler output accordingly.

They also keep the boilers in their condensing mode for longer, further boosting efficiency, and prevent large temperature fluctuations that can adversely affect comfort levels.

The message is clear. Larger organisations prepared - quite literally - to take control of their heating systems will have a good chance of appearing high up on the CRCEES league table and will therefore be in the best position to take advantage of the scheme.