Greater Manchester Police worked with IMServ to gain a better understanding of their energy usage, and further drive their passion to be more sustainable.
Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was formed in 1974 and serves more than 2.5 million people, covering an area of 500 square miles. GMP has a number of specialist units including; canine and mounted police units, underwater search and marine unit, road policing and automatic number plate recognition units, North West Air Operations Group and a civil contingencies and resilience unit. Each division has radically different infrastructure requirements.
Helen Wilson, Sustainability Officer at GMP explains: “GMP is responsible for over 80 sites across Manchester, which cover everything from a 19th century police station renovated into a museum, to brand new purpose built buildings. We have offices, workshops and even stables.
“In the current economic climate there is a growing pressure across all police branches to reduce costs and carbon emissions. One of the ways we are approaching this challenge is to understand our energy usage, thus allowing us to make informed decisions on how we can reduce energy consumption and ultimately lower our bills.”
The Energy Management System
IMServ Europe, one of the UK’s largest independent energy management providers, worked with GMP to gain a better understanding of their energy usage, and further drive their passion to be more sustainable.
Helen continues:
“We installed IMServ’s micro-building management solutions (BMS) into one of our smaller buildings which houses part of the IT department. This building is too small to warrant installing a full BMS system, however we had limited control over its energy usage and were keen to assess any areas for potential cost savings.”
IMServ’s micro-BMS is specifically designed to enable companies or organisations to monitor, understand and control building energy consumption such as lighting, heating, air conditioning and boilers. This can be done remotely and automatically, without interference from local staff.
The Results
Helen explains:
“Usage in this building is quite high, but we were particularly concerned with the level of energy being used to heat the premises. Prior to installing the micro-BMS we struggled to match heating times to occupation and there was no way to remotely monitor or control it. IMServ’s service allowed us to set a particular temperature for the building while the staff were at work, then during the night and at weekends the heating would switch off.
“With an automated system in place you also don’t have to rely on other people remembering to switch the heating on and off, or worry about people tampering with the boiler controls.
“Over the three month pilot period, the micro-BMS service provided us with an energy saving of 70%, with a return on investment achieved well within that time frame. There has obviously been considerable cost savings involved in this, which help towards our ultimate goal of reducing our energy bill.
“IMServ has enabled us to install a BMS system where it would not have been possible otherwise. By doing so we have been able to investigate, and improve energy consumption in the building, contributing to our ultimate goal of reducing the cost of energy used by the GMP.”