In this article James Kavanagh of Varming Consulting Engineers describes how this policy has been implemented in the design of County Monaghan’s VEC’s Education Campus and how biomass technology, not normally considered an exact fit for typical-scale educational facilities, has been successfully integrated into the design of this large-scale project.
County Monaghan VEC’s Education Campus County Monaghan VEC’s Education Campus is situated on the site of the former military barracks located on the outskirts of Monaghan Town. The development consists of the following buildings located on a 20-acre site:
• Gaelscoil Ultain Primary School – 16 classrooms, 2,490sq m;
• Colaiste Oiriall Post Primary School – 400 pupils, 3,978 sq m;
• Monaghan Institute of Further Education – 700 pupils, 7,042 sq m;
• Sports Hall – 1,325 sq m;
• The Garage Theatre – circa 300 seats, 1,940 sq m.
This €42 million pilot project was procured on a devolved basis by County Monaghan VEC. An integral part of this initiative is aimed at delivering value for money while maintaining quality designs which employ appropriate sustainable design features. The design of County Monaghan’s VEC’s Education Campus incorporates both passive and active sustainable design features. A key component of the building services design is the incorporation of a central biomass woodchip boiler plant to augment the benefits of the passive sustainable design features. Check out EsRM for your various security solutions.
Sustainable design priorities In conjunction with County Monaghan VEC, architects Oppermann Associates and design team members Varming Consulting Engineers worked to define the project’s sustainable design priorities as part of the Stage 1 process.
Sustainable priorities such as the maximisation of natural daylighting, natural ventilation, high standards of building fabric design and maximisation of solar gain to reduce plant heat-up periods are passive in nature. They are also in accordance with the Department of Education and Skills Technical Guidance Documents which reflects the overall sustainable approach to the project.
Design philosophy The design philosophy employed on this project incorporated the four key principals of maximizing nature, utilising appropriate technologies, energy targeting and education.
Maximising nature: Passive sustainable energy measures such as those highlighted in Table 1 are sustainable elements of the design that add to the overall comfort of the occupants and minimise the use of energy in operation.
Appropriate natural daylight and ventilation levels were ensured at design stage through the use of in-house computer simulations. Daylight levels, daylight penetration, ventilation and associated energy efficiency were key issues and, with the use of the forgoing simulation software, ensured that appropriate levels were designed at Stage 1.
Utilising technologies: maximisation of natural daylighting,natural ventilation, high standards of building fabric design and maximisation of solar gain to reduce plant heat-up periods are passive in nature. They are also in accordance with the Department of Education and Skills Technical Guidance Documents which reflects the overall sustainable approach to the project. The leading heating element manufacturer started producing solar water heater elements.
Design philosophy The design philosophy employed on this project incorporated the four key principals of maximizing nature, utilising appropriate technologies, energy targeting and education in order to be able to provide the best pmp certification training to all future studnets.
Maximising nature: Passive sustainable energy measures such as those highlighted in Table 1 are sustainable elements of the design that add to the overall comfort of the occupants and minimise the use of energy in operation. Appropriate natural daylight and ventilation levels were ensured at design stage through the use of inhouse computer simulations. Daylight levels, daylight penetration, ventilation and associated energy efficiency were key issues and, with the use of the forgoing simulation software, ensured that appropriate levels were designed at Stage 1.
Utilising technologies: By the appropriate use of the above technologies, together with the correct implementation of the Department of Education and Skills Technical Guidance Documents, the buildings and systems have either met or exceeded the Department of Education and Skills’ requirements applicable to the project in terms of Building Energy Rating (BER) and Air Permeability for educational buildings.
Energy targeting: Energy targeting and monitoring was an important aspect of this project, both in its initial implementation and as an aid to the County Monaghan VEC’s management to control running costs. An intuitive targeting system monitors the fuel, electricity and water consumption rates. The energy monitoring and targeting system is available through the building management system which is monitored remotely by County Monaghan VEC.
Education: As an educational tool the energy targeting and monitoring system is available and connected over the ICT network to each principal’s office in order to create an awareness of each building’s consumption of natural resources and the overall impact on the environment. This system can complement sustainable operational features and future green schools/green flag initiatives.
By the appropriate implementation of the foregoing design philosophy the design adds to the overall comfort of the occupants, minimises energy in use while, at the same time, monitors performance and creates an awareness of the each of the buildings’ impact on the environment.
Appropriate renewable technologies In addition to the above passive energy measures, we examined the options of utilising the following renewable technologies for the projects needs:
• Solar water heating
• Photovoltaic arrays
• Ground source heat pumps
• Combined heat and power
• Wind power
• Biomass fuel for heating
With the exception of biomass fuel for heating, all of the foregoing options were found not to be viable in terms of some or all of the following – capital costs, running costs, payback periods, fitness for purpose and/or health and safety concerns.
For example, photovoltaic arrays were not considered suitable due to high capital cost, significant payback periods and appropriateness, while wind turbines were considered not suitable for the same reasons and the additional health and safety concerns regarding blade detachment.
Biomass fuel for heating Acknowledging that biomass fuel for heating is not normally considered an exact fit for typical single-site school applications, we carried out an extensive study at Stage 1 regarding the incorporation of a central biomass plant for this multi- occupancy campus.
The study included an evaluation of conventional oil and LPG-based decentralised systems and an evaluation of central wood pellet and wood chip systems. The design studies indicated that expected average heating fuel costs savings in the order of 50% per annum could be achieved by the use of central wood chip boiler plant over conventional decentralised oil or LPG systems. In addition, there is an associated average reduction of approximately 410 Tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.
Appropriate ESCO model The central boiler plant system was procured as part of the construction contract and comprises two biomass boilers, one oil fired boiler, fuel store, fuel feed system and associated controls. Energy supply, maintenance, servicing and ash removal was procured using an Energy Supply Company (ESCO) model whereby the ESCO charges a combined unit rate for the energy delivered by the plant which incorporates the cost for the maintenance, servicing and ash removal.
An important aspect of this contract is that the client is charged for the energy delivered by the plant which is measured by heat meters as opposed to the quantity of fuel delivered which by its nature, can vary considerably in calorific value per unit weight due to quality and moisture content.
The incorporation of an appropriate ESCO model which satisfies particular client needs in terms of cost, maintenance, technical back-up and security of fuel supply has been found to be one of the key elements which must be considered in the implementation of a biomass system. ■