Reducing Climate Change Levy

Many industrial companies defined as major polluters participate in Climate Change Agreements, which means they can reduce their Climate Change Levy payments by as much as 80%.

In exchange for this benefit, participants enter into contracts with DEFRA whereby they agree to meet energy efficiency targets and provide proof of improvements.

This proof is required in the form of meter readings, most often from sub-metering which identifies the energy use of the polluting process(es).

Some industries which are major energy users, such as plastics processors, are not eligible to seek relief from the Climate Change Levy, but there still remain significant areas for improvements in energy efficiency.

These improvements should be led by a system of metering which can be used to identify waste.

Also, non-domestic buildings are subject to the new Building Regulations 2000.

Part L2 of these regulations (Conservation of Fuel and Power in Buildings Other than Dwellings) came into force in April 2002.

This places many new energy efficiency obligations upon those designing and updating buildings and their services.

One of these obligations is to provide sub-metering of energy, so that at least 90% of end energy use can be quantified for each fuel type used.

This applies not only to all new buildings, but also to buildings where substantial material changes are being made.

Most industries have encountered the grand claims made by those selling energy efficiency products and services.

Many have suffered at their hands by buying the same without a formal method of contracting the minimum performance required of the product or service.

Sub-metering or even the metering of a single process of immediate interest, has presented the required method of measurement on many occasions, preventing mis-selling and putting the consumer back in the driving seat.

But, whilst the requirement for sub-metering of energy use is increasing Enormously, the range of reasonably priced, flexible products is still Limited, leaving uk commerce and industry to pick up a major cost for the new requirements placed upon them.

Procuro have recently announced the launch of their new e-scio range of Energy sub-metering equipment.

This simple, highly modular approach breaks the mould in terms of pricing and range of application.

The aim of the new range is to promote the understanding of energy use for all at a reasonable cost.

Five major design principles have been used in developing the e-scio range: (1) Maximised Modularity and Expandability: The e-scio range covers multi-channel pulse and analogue loggers, communication devices, data collection software and M and T software.

These standard modules can serve applications ranging from a single meter read with a Palm PDA every week, to a complex multi-site network encompassing hundreds of meters.

(2) Maximised Data Integrity: As e-scio networks consist of distributed, battery-backed loggers, contingency is maximised and data integrity far more assured.

(3) Flexible and Simple Installation: Loggers can be networked together using existing building Ethernet, modems, GSM, radio, RS485 or RS232 connections, meaning the system is extremely well suited to retrofit applications.

Additionally, all equipment is rugged and simple for contractors to install.

(4) Modular, Highly Functional Software: The e-scio data collection software handles all communications, scaling and data formatting functions.

The number of meters, sites and sub-networks is almost limitless, with most standard PCs being capable of capturing data from 240 meters without modification.

No penalties are experienced when users wish to upgrade the number of meters - simply add the meters to the e-scio software.

For all but the smaller applications, the e-scio data collection software costs less than ?10 per meter point! The stored data is then available for analysis by the exceptionally intuitive and highly functional Monitoring and Targeting software, which can be provided as part of the package.

Alternatively, data can be analysed using Microsoft Excel, or similar packages.

(5) Price: With loggers available which collect meter pulse data for less than £40 per meter point, this system presents a step change in the pricing of such offerings in the marketplace.

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