BGEN NetZero, ThingWorx Real-Time Monitoring

ThingWorx real-time monitoring

Client Requirements:

A refurbishment of the BGEN Head Office in Warrington was required to support their commitment to achieving NetZero carbon emissions and to actively seek solutions to address its various sustainability challenges. Including, the impending end of life of the gas boilers, a growing demand for electricity due to an increasing number of EV users, which persistently overloaded the switchboard, excessive water consumption and safety concerns in the car park.

The primary objective of the initiative was to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to help transition to renewable energy, reduce carbon emissions and address the growing electricity demand. Alongside this, an application to monitor and measure the efficiency of the building and help accurately identify opportunities for further improvements and savings was developed.

Solution:

A solution was provided with the support of Tunley Environmental and a system championed by Rockwell Automation “ThingWorx”, to refurbish and enable consumption and performance monitoring of the building without any structural changes. A multi-faceted approach was taken to incorporate smart technology to allow usage monitoring of individual circuits, through “ThingWorx”.

After reviewing several methods to improve efficiency a plan was put in place to incorporate PV panels strategically to diminish reliance on the grid providing renewable energy to help supply the newly installed smart energy-efficient LED lighting, complemented by intelligent controls, Smart EV chargers which replaced outdated counterparts, and upgraded car park lighting with smart, renewable-powered LED lights to improve safety.

Furthermore, the installation of a water meter to provide real-time monitoring, had an instantaneous return on investment, identifying a leak, that if left untreated would have compromised the integrity of the building foundation. Water-saving technologies e.g. split-flush toilets and push taps were also installed to reduce water usage, with upgraded water heaters to further enhance efficiency.

Solar film application on the windows minimised reliance on air conditioning by reflecting sunlight, further reducing energy consumption. An air source heat pump was introduced replacing the traditional gas boiler to offer both heating and cooling the model was trained using historical gas usage and weather data. In return, Technological

integration played a pivotal role, in facilitating precise monitoring of usage metrics and environmental indicators. Bespoke systems, supported by APIs and various industrial protocols, enable calculation providing insights into CO2 emissions, costs, and overall returns and by using “ThingWorx” machine learning capabilities, we were able to calculate a saving.

The savings included approximately 440,000 litres of water saved a year, approximately 19,339 kWh generated by PV in 2023 and by using “ThingWorx” machine learning capabilities, we were able to calculate a saving of up to 6,000 kgCO2e in three months.

Benefits

Through “ThingWorx” now the client can see real-time monitoring, which indicates cost and CO2e savings. BGEN realised an annual carbon reduction saving of approximately 23 tCO2e (Jan – Dec 2023). This is the equivalent of driving over 58,000 miles in an average Diesel Car.

Using “ThingWorx” can help Identify any irregular usage e.g. if there is a leak, there is an equipment failure or the bill from the energy provider isn’t correct.