Optimised heating control for Reaseheath College

Chalmor EMU energy management systems and temperature control sensors are helping Reaseheath College to reduce running costs through improved control of energy consumption and automation of routine tasks. The annual savings on energy and labour costs are expected to be in the order of £35,000 per annum, giving a projected return on investment of less than 1.3 years.

Reaseheath College is a specialist land-based college in Cheshire offering a diverse range of vocational programmes and qualifications. The main campus has a wide range of building types from administration areas, classrooms and workshops through to residential accommodation blocks – all serviced by 15 boiler rooms.

Before the new controls installation, the existing stand-alone analogue boiler controls only offered limited functionality and had to be set manually. As occupancy of the buildings varies considerably from day to day, this required regular visits by college staff to each boiler room to adjust the heating accordingly.

Installation of a Chalmor EMU in each boiler room, linked to temperature control sensors, has enabled the college to achieve tighter control of its heating systems. The controllers are linked to a central PC via the college’s IT network so adjustments can me made remotely, saving an estimated three hours a day of technician time.

In addition, the system monitors energy consumption of each zone and triggers an alarm if consumption exceeds expected rates, or if any plant fails. Precise monitoring in this way is helping the college to continue to fine-tune the performance of its heating systems.

“Following a competitive tender exercise, we selected Chalmor on the basis of both technical performance and competitive pricing,” explained Director of Resources Mark Embrey. “With so many variables affecting the heating system it hasn’t yet been possible to accurately quantify the savings we are making. However, through our experience of the systems it’s clear those savings make this a very worthwhile investment,” he added.

The EMU electronic controls allow more precise time control for each zone, working on a seven day programme to minimise the need for adjustments. They are also able to learn the characteristics of each system so that on/off switching is optimised to maintain comfort conditions with minimum energy consumption.

This feature is combined with weather compensation to match heating patterns to ambient temperature conditions, boiler sequencing and anti-cycling to maximise the efficiency of the boilers.