NUI Galway has announced its Energy Management System (EnMS) will be certified to International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 50001. The certification, which will be completed in September 2012, will cover the University campus in Galway, including more than 110,000 sq m of facilities, including teaching, leisure and sports, conference, laboratory and cutting-edge research facilities.

Energy is one of the biggest recurring costs NUI Galway faces annually. The implementation of an energy management system will not only help to manage and monitor energy consumption, but also to reduce it. This maximizes energy efficiency and reduces annual energy consumption and resulting expenditure on critical utilities. Savings made in this way will help to fund ongoing expenditure in other energy reduction programs and to invest in new energy efficient technologies.

Noel O’Connor, Buildings Services Engineer at NUI Galway, says: “NUI Galway has focused on energy management for many years. We chose to have our EnMS certified to give us, and our stakeholders, confidence that we are managing energy use efficiently in all our operations. We also believe that the regular audits will help us to keep energy at the top of our management agenda and help us to focus on continual improvement. NUI Galway intends to build on lessons learned from the ISO 50001 certification process into our fundamental design criteria for new buildings. We are also conscious of our role as a research-based university and we will share relevant data gleaned from our EnMS and improvement projects as an educational resource for our students and researchers; particularly those in the Environmental, Engineering and Economics programs.”

NUI Galway has an annual replacement program for existing building stock to install energy efficient lighting, heating, ventilation and cooling systems. The capital building program is heavily influenced by a focus and philosophy of improving the energy efficiency of buildings, beyond present day regulations and planning standards. 

A case in point is the newly opened Engineering Building. The building contains a wide- range of technologies such as large-scale rainwater harvesting for grey water use, combined heat and power plant, biomass boiler, solar thermal system, insulation and glazing properties in excess of planning requirements, intelligent control systems low-embodied energy materials such as zinc, grass roofs for water attenuation, and many other cutting-edge technologies. The structure is among the first inIrelandto employ the use of voided slab systems. The innovation introduces ‘plastic bubbles’ into the concrete, reducing the weight and quantity of concrete used.

It is estimated that the United Kingdom’s 115 universities could save up to £13.8 million a year if they adopted a new energy management standard from BSI (British Standards Institution). With the fluctuating price of energy one of the biggest costs for universities, a number of them have approached BSI about a new international standard – ISO 50001 – that sets out practical measures to reduce consumption and save money.

Sheffield Hallam University, one of the UK’s largest universities with around 36,400 students and 4,174 staff, implemented the standard across its facilities between January and May 2012 and has saved £50,000 on its electricity bill so far.

Although Sheffield Hallam is a large university, making its potential savings greater, if such changes were to be adopted by UK universities across the board they could expect to make similar savings to Sheffield Hallam

Introduced in June 2011, ISO 50001 has been developed with input from experts in 60 countries – making it the first internationally recognized energy management standard and the most comprehensive to date. The standard outlines practical measures organizations – from universities to global multinationals – need to implement to reduce energy usage.

These practical measures include insight on energy saving technology (such as smart meters which measure how much you use and when, helping users indirectly lower their bills) as well as guidance on how to measure and document energy consumption and build a culture of energy efficiency. By reducing universities carbon emissions BSI is also helping them meet their environmental, social and legislative obligations.

Howard Kerr, Chief Executive, BSI, says: “Each of the UK’s 115 universities could save up to £120,000 a year if they implemented the world’s newest energy management standard ISO 50001. From installing new energy management technology such as motion sensors to embedding a culture of energy efficiency, there is a lot more UK universities can do to save money. Working with Sheffield Hallam University, we have saved them a significant amount of money which means it can now allocate more resources to salaries and other essential front lines services.”

Tyndall National Institute at UCC has recently received certification under the ISO 50001 (Energy Management System) standard, and is one of the first research institutes of its kind in the world to receive this award. ISO 50001 is an international standard for energy management which assists organisations in their drive for energy efficiency, reduced consumption, a lower carbon footprint and lower costs.

Tyndall National Institute is one of Europe’s leading research centres, specialising in ICT hardware research, with about 450 staff, students and academic and industrial visiting researchers. Tyndall undertakes internationally-leading research into information and communications technology.

“We are delighted to have been awarded ISO 50001 certification, which is a direct result of the implementation of progressive energy management policies and initiatives as well as adhering to a sustainable design policy during our expansion programme over a number of years. Tyndall is a process-intensive research facility with exceptionally high levels of energy utilisation throughout the year. We implemented state-of- the-art energy efficient systems in our new research building and retrofitted the existing buildings with highly energy efficient equipment. Despite almost trebling our site footprint in recent years, we have reduced our energy consumption by 30% in real terms, an impressive result of our effective energy management policies.” says Cormac Harrington, head of operations at Tyndall National Institute.

University College Cork (UCC) recently separately became the first third level research institution worldwide to achieve the ISO 50001 standard.

University College Cork (UCC) has become the first third level institution worldwide to be recommended for ISO 50001 Standard (Energy Management Systems). ISO 50001 is an international standard that enables organisations to establish the systems and processes necessary to improve energy performance, including energy efficiency, use, and consumption.

UCC was the first third level institution to implement this internationally recognised standard since it was launched just over four months ago. UCC is also the first public sector body in Ireland to be recommended for certification to ISO 50001. Implementation of this standard can lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy cost, and other related environmental impacts, through systematic management of energy.

The university, which has 2,740 staff and 20,000 students, has a long track record in energy management and has been particularly successful in winning grant support from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to support energy saving initiatives. UCC currently has projects involving lighting, metering, heat recovery, ventilation, photovoltaics and wind energy. under way across the campus.

Enerit software was used to allow rapid implementation of ISO 50001. This standard became internationally recognised in June 2011 and promises to reach over 500,000 organisations worldwide.

The ISO 50001 award to UCC follows on the award of the world’s first Green Campus Flag for third level institutions by An Taisce and the FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) in 2010.

Against a background of rising world energy prices, ISO’s announcement of a third quarter 2011 target for publication of its ISO 50001 International Standard for energy management is particularly timely. ISO 50001 will help organizations to improve their energy performance, increase energy efficiency and reduce climate change impacts.

ISO 50001 will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities or entire organizations to manage energy. Targeting broad applicability across national economic sectors, it is estimated that the standard could influence up to 60 % of the world’s energy use.

The document is based on the common elements found in all of ISO’s management system standards, assuring a high level of compatibility with ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management). ISO 50001 will provide the following benefits:

* A framework for integrating energy efficiency into management practices,

* Making better use of existing energy-consuming assets,

* Benchmarking, measuring, documenting, and reporting energy intensity improvements and their projected impact on reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,

* Transparency and communication on the management of energy resources,

* Energy management best practices and good energy management behaviours,

* Evaluating and prioritizing the implementation of new energy-efficient technologies,

* A framework for promoting energy efficiency throughout the supply chain,

* Energy management improvements in the context of GHG emission reduction projects.

The future ISO 50001 standard for energy management was recently approved as a Draft International Standard (DIS). ISO 50001 will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities or entire organizations to manage energy. Targeting broad applicability across national economic sectors, it is estimated that the standard could influence up to 60% of the world’s energy use.

The document is based on the common elements found in all of ISO’s management system standards, assuring a high level of compatibility with ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management). ISO 50001 will provide the following benefits:

* A framework for integrating energy efficiency into management practices;

* Making better use of existing energy-consuming assets;

* Benchmarking, measuring, documenting, and reporting energy intensity improvements and their projected impact on reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;

* Transparency and communication on the management of energy resources;

* Energy management best practices and good energy management behaviours;

* Evaluating and prioritizing the implementation of new energy-efficient technologies;

* A framework for promoting energy efficiency throughout the supply chain;

*Energy management improvements in the context of GHG emission reduction projects.

Now that ISO 50001 has advanced to the DIS stage, national member bodies of ISO have been invited to vote and comment on the text of the standard during the five-month balloting period.

If the outcome of the DIS voting is positive, the modified document will then be circulated to the ISO members as a Final Draft International Standard (FDIS). If that vote is positive, ISO 50001 is expected to be published as an International Standard by early 2011.