CIBSE AWARDS | LAWLER CONSULTING Engineers are the architects of energy consumption. We are the only ones who really understand it Daniel Ring GOING TO GREAT LENGTHS IN SWIMMING POOLS Leisure centres characterised by long run hours, and high internal air and water heating loads in the pool hall are a great opportunity streams, according to Lawler Consultings Daniel Ring. He says his company has come to understand their DNA through the design and that work dynamically with building use and recommissioning and seasonal commissioning are also important in tuning an engineering bearing on energy use, and making occupiers included: lighting and lighting control upgrades; AHU and air conditioning upgrades, Changes implemented by the engineer included the installation of variable speed drives on the pools air handling units. A simple energy intervention, achieved though deck-side wireless switching, also brought operational improvements, as swimming instructors previously had to shout above water features. After the success of its initial EPC, Lawler Consultings next venture was an eight-year contract with Dublin City Council across three leisure centres. For this project, the firm had to invest in new combined heat and power plant, boilers, pumps and heatrecovery air conditioning systems, and in upgrades to the lighting and pool plant. The modifications were anticipated to result in a 30% annual cost saving for the leisure centre, based on 170,000 (148,000) energy savings and 70,000 (61,000) annual maintenance savings. Impressively, Lawler Consulting achieved savings of 42%. Unsurprisingly, it won a second EPC with the council and is in discussion with two other local authorities. A major benefit of focusing on the operation of a facility to save energy is that it provides a feedback loop from the site to the designers. Were nimble and agile enough to ensure that any learning isnt contained in a silo, but gets fed back to the entire business, says Ring. EPC also presented the company with an opportunity to diversify further through European Union (EU) research. Weve just finished a three-year EU project, where we looked at the revenue stream generated from energy-efficiency initiatives and coupled that with a demand-response revenue stream, to help reduce paybacks on energy-efficiency projects for supermarkets and high energy users, Ring explains. The practices next project is looking at the locked-in opportunity for energyefficiency improvements for landlords and tenants, when a tenant will not pay for improvements that have a payback longer than the length of their lease. Alongside the benefits of EPC, there is a financial challenge, because the energyefficiency modifications need to be paid for up front. When we do energy contracting, we have to go to the bank to raise the funds; that sends our balance sheet south, so we need to offload that debt by wrapping it into a contract with a financier, says Ring, who adds that it is not difficult. There is a market for this, because it is seen as a very sound investment for pension funds because of the ethical and sustainability aspects of EPC. The EPC team is based within Lawler Consultings sustainability arm, which also includes energy monitoring, targeting and reporting services. Our business is currently 30% energy and sustainability and 70% traditional consulting, but I do see the pendulum swinging the other way really quickly because of the amount of enquiries from clients that want to establish a pathway to net-zero carbon, Ring says. EPC also appeals to investors looking for something more responsive than standard Leed and Breeam. The in-use versions of the ratings offer evidence that gives ongoing certainty about their assets environmental performance, and this is an increasingly important metric. They want dynamic and ongoing monitoring, which is what we can do with EPC, says Ring. The company is also talking to investors about preventing stranded assets or buildings where the yield or value is falling. Picking the decision-makers and pitching Lawler Consulting has carried Lidl in the UK and Ireland interaction between the pool water, to see a return. 22 May 2021 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE May 21 pp20-23 Lawler Consulting.indd 22 23/04/2021 15:55