Halving power consumption at the Scottish Parliament
The fans
ebm-papst EC fans were used to upgrade Airedale aircon units in the building’s computer room, leading to a reduction in power consumption of approximately 50%.
The project
The Scottish Parliament is dedicated to reducing both carbon footprint and energy bills. Environmental Performance Manager David Fairhurst had already made significant improvements to the building, including a reduction in carbon emissions of 25%.
After presenting him with details of the possible energy savings of upgrading HVAC equipment to EC fans, he asked ebm-papst to carry out a survey on the HVAC equipment. This identified the HVAC equipment that would offer the greatest potential for energy savings, based on measurements taken of power consumption and performance. Measurements taken include: current draw, power draw and power factor.
Based on the data collected, ebm-papst UK was able to design a suitable EC fan solution and produced estimates of energy savings and paybacks. They then worked alongside equipment manufacturer Airedale to provide the optimum solution.
Computer room cooling offered the best potential for energy savings, so an initial trial was carried out on one computer room air conditioning (CRAC) unit. Power measurements were repeated on all units after the upgrade to EC fans. After excellent results, further installations were carried out on both CRAC and air handling units (AHUs).
“The Scottish Parliament is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by more than 40% by 2020. To achieve this we need to reduce electricity use by at least 40%. ebm-papst UK claimed that it’s fans would deliver at least this level of reduction and this claim has proven to be true. EC fans are a step change technology, much like LED lighting, which has been a very welcome addition to our carbon management plan.”
David Fairhurst- Environmental Performance Manager
As well as halving power consumption, the project resulted in initial savings of 11.5 tonnes of carbon per year and a payback period of 21 months. Further savings are expected when a second phase is implemented. Overall financial savings of £13,500 per year are expected, with a reduction in carbon emissions of 20 tonnes per year.
