Harbour Exchange is a multi-tenanted office building consisting of two towers located at Canary Wharf. The towers which are fully glazed, blue facades, were constructed in 1989 and have had numerous fit-outs over the years that have resulted in a mix of systems across towers and floors.
KJ Tait was instructed to investigate three aspects:
What we did
We conducted a site visit to investigate the current installations, conduct a condition assessment of the plant and facade, review the building management system in detail noting the systems across each floor and setpoints, and gather O&M information.
A full review of the current utility billing was carried out with the towers benchmarked against REEB Best Practice and Typical benchmarks.
We used IES Apache HVAC to create an accurate representation of the HVAC systems across the floors including flow rates, control, off coil temperatures and operational profile. Seven different systems were constructed in Apache HVAC with the original VAV system being the predominant system across the building. Other floors had additional MVHR units installed, fan coil units on some floors and VRF on others.
We compared our modelling against the actual gas consumption and found a good correlation. We further compare the electrical data against virtual meters within our model and again found a good correlation. These virtual meters have allowed us to give the client a better understanding of where energy is consumed within the buildings in absence of sub meter data.
Due to the VAV system, the building currently has an ‘F’ rated EPC. This is because the NCM methodology assumes high energy usage for pumps and fans. Under each of our upgrade scenarios, we demonstrated there would be a path to EPC ‘B’.
Added Value
Using Apache HVAC to produce an accurate representation of the systems within the building allowed us to provide the client with a more robust means of establishing savings associated with carrying out upgrade works that can be used to promote a robust business case for decarbonising the building.
Our Engineers are skilled at providing a holistic solution where the heating on the floors and the heat required for ventilation are both investigated when considering the requirements to decarbonise. Our Engineers understand how these systems should operate and are able to provide advice to reduce the energy demand of the building by operational adjustments alone.
Results
Working with the Colliers team to produce accurate costing, we have documented an investment grade report across three scenarios:
Under each scenario, the towers could achieve Net Zero Carbon accreditation and achieve at least an EPC ‘B’ standard by 2030.