1. Entrance
The latest energy-saving solutions and technical improvements offer great potential for energy savings.
However, in order to ensure the long-term, energy-efficient and efficient operation of a building, it is essential that the technical installations are operated and maintained continuously and properly. In order to meet these requirements, an Action Plan has been developed outlining the energy saving measures to be implemented to meet the energy efficiency criterion of the building during its lifetime. In addition to concrete actions, the Action Plan also includes commitments to adopt general principles of good energy management. It identifies the tools that will make energy efficiency a priority for management at every stage of the life cycle of a building and its systems.
The following Action Plan covers issues related to environmental policy elements, operation and maintenance of technical building installations and a measurement and verification plan contributing to optimising energy consumption and ensuring a high quality indoor environment in the building. It also highlights the impact of the use of technical installations by the building personnel on the final energy consumption and the need to raise the awareness of the users. In addition, a number of actions are described to ensure an optimal environment for the building user. The adopted parameters of the internal environment have a direct impact on the health, efficiency and comfort of the users. Maintaining high standards inside buildings allows to achieve higher efficiency of work or leisure, which, for example, by reducing absenteeism can be a measurable benefit for the employer, the owner of the building and, consequently, for the whole society.
2. Energy Efficiency Action Plan
Operation, maintenance and technical supervision
Technical installations of the building will be under constant supervision provided by an external company providing 24-hour service and monitoring.
Technical safety will be guaranteed through maintenance and efficient and safe operation of technical installations in accordance with the set parameters and regulations. Constant monitoring of the condition of equipment and periodic inspections may contribute to prolonging the life of equipment, and the preventive system of preventing failures implemented in this way will allow for optimization of energy consumption, reduction of costs of building maintenance and elimination of unforeseen events.
The process of maintaining and maintaining the installation in the building will be fully documented. Data and information on all failures and service events, including detailed descriptions, will be collected.
In order to ensure the most accurate measurement results and to comply with legal requirements, the equipment will be periodically verified and calibrated.
High-quality, long-life equipment will be used, and operation and maintenance will be carried out in accordance with the principles of energy conservation and user comfort. Periodic cleaning of ventilation ducts and filters will be performed to prevent the accumulation of dust and microorganisms and excessive increase of air flow resistance, and thus increase the energy consumption needed to transport air to the rooms.
Additionally, a system of reporting corrections and faults by employees, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, will be implemented. For this purpose, specialist software will be used to support technical service and provide “help desk” services.
Full operation will guarantee the efficiency of the installation in the long term, quick intervention in the event of a possible failure and will give the possibility to plan fixed costs in the long term.
The principle of agreeing on all major changes in the structure and systems of the building in the context of the impact on energy consumption will also be implemented.
Measurement and verification plan
A measurement and verification plan will be implemented to assess the energy efficiency of the building and to ensure its continuous optimisation.
It will provide the necessary infrastructure to continuously measure the energy consumption of a building over a given period of time. Technical installations of the building will be controlled and monitored by the Building Management System BMS (Building Management System) ensuring simultaneous reporting on the technical condition of the installation. In this way, easy and quick access to information on the current and past condition of the building will be guaranteed through a logical system of data archiving. Additionally, energy invoices will be collected and archived and an electronic document circulation system will be implemented.
The collected data will be used to study the energy efficiency of the building and its installation, comparing the expected energy consumption with the actual one. Annual reports will be created interpreting the results of measurements and indicating the most important energy consuming elements. These analyses will enable the optimization of energy consumption in the coming years.
Further optimization, in addition to standard measurements of electricity, water consumption, etc. will allow for control measurements of the main air streams in the hygienic ventilation system, allowing to maintain the required amount of fresh air supplied to the individual rooms of the building.
Energy simulations of a building
In order to obtain reliable information about the building, it is assumed that extended analyses based on energy simulations will be carried out.
Two energy analyses will be carried out as part of this step:
- Computer simulation using software based on Hourly Analysis Program – Hourly Analysis Program
- Analysis carried out on the basis of the methodology of developing an energy performance certificate in Poland.
Adjustment of the installation
Technical installations shall be adjusted after the commissioning of the buildings and individually, separately within the framework of building occupancy, to take into account the individual requirements of the Tenants, the number of users and the actual working hours.
Further regulations will be implemented periodically on the basis of the results of employee surveys on thermal comfort and indoor air quality.
In this way, optimum operation of the systems will be guaranteed, while at the same time ensuring appropriate working conditions. The risk of excessive energy consumption caused by excessive heating or cooling of buildings will be reduced.
Action plan for respecting the quality of the indoor environment.
3. Action plan on quality assurance for the internal environment
Segregation of waste
Buildings generate significant amounts of waste every day. To reduce the amount of waste, a waste management policy will be put in place that will identify public areas for the separation of recyclable waste such as paper, plastic, glass and batteries.
In this way, it will be possible to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
Removal of air pollution sources
Materials that are as least toxic as possible should be used to prevent the emission of pollutants in the building.
Paints, floor coverings and other materials used for minor renovations should contain a minimum number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde and should not contain carcinogens or volatile sensitisers.
Ventilation and air-conditioning system maintenance
The maintenance of ventilation and air-conditioning systems should be carried out regularly in the New Market Square B building.
The frequency of maintenance depends, among other things, on the number of failures and the associated operating problems, as well as on whether the previous maintenance operations have been carried out correctly and with the necessary accuracy.
The ventilation system will ensure an adequate level of air filtration by using at least F6 class filters on the supply air duct. In order to keep the purity of the air supplied to the building at a high level at all times, installed filters should be replaced in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations, at least once a year or immediately after the discovery of their improper condition. In addition, the ventilation and air conditioning system should be cleaned mechanically. The units should be cleaned of dust and harmful substances, such as bacteria and fungi, which can cause allergies and respiratory diseases.
A malfunctioning ventilation and air-conditioning system may contribute to the deterioration of the air quality in the facility. Persons staying there may complain of tiredness, shortness of breath, reduced concentration, allergies and respiratory system diseases. All maintenance should be carried out by a specialist company.
Carbon monoxide and gas detectors
Take care and control the control devices – measuring the concentration of carbon monoxide (CO) and gas (LPG) placed in underground garages.
Check the equipment regularly and rectify any faults or malfunctions immediately.
Carbon dioxide detectors
It is necessary to take care of CO2 measurements in rooms intended for permanent residence of people.
In order to avoid a loss of comfort for people in the room, sensors will be used to measure the carbon dioxide concentration in the room. In this way, it will be possible to control the ventilation intensity on the basis of the current measurement results. This is an optimal solution, as it is tailored to the current needs of the employees, ensuring the appropriate level of thermal comfort in the room.
Maintenance of the water and sewage system
Faults in the water and sewage system, fire protection system, central heating system, technological heat, air conditioning and heat distribution system should be regularly eliminated in the building.
Installations should be serviced by specialist companies. Warm water from the water supply network and humidity control devices may contain Legionella bacteria causing legionnaires’ disease.
Improperly functioning kitchen installations can contribute to gastrointestinal diseases.
Water policy
A cold water leakage detection system will be installed so that significant water losses can be avoided, which would otherwise be unnoticed.
In addition, a system to prevent uncontrolled water leaks from the toilet installation will be used by using motion detectors coupled to solenoid valves.
Supervision and control of building parameters
In order to ensure the highest possible comfort of building users, it is necessary to supervise and control companies dealing with internal installations.
Proper control and supervision of the work carried out by specialist companies will ensure the proper performance of services, and thus ensure the proper parameters of the indoor environment. Additionally, the technical condition of the building should be regularly monitored. The building should be periodically inspected and inspected in accordance with the Act of 7 July 1994. Construction Law (Journal of Laws No. 89, item 414) and the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 12 April 2002 on technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location (Journal of Laws No. 75, item 690). Inspections and inspections should apply to building partitions, flue pipes and other internal installations.
4. Raise awareness of employees, staff and users of the building
The energy consumption of a building largely depends on the occupants and the way in which they use the installed equipment and systems.
Therefore, it is very important to make the staff aware of and provide them with the necessary knowledge about the individual components of the system and their correct operation in order to contribute to the minimisation of energy consumption. With this in mind, public information for the building’s employees will be prepared to show the correct, energy-efficient operation of the systems in the workplace. In addition, a web portal will be created – a building website where information on energy saving measures as well as HVAC systems installed in the building will be placed and how to regulate them in order to ensure the highest possible comfort of use of the building.
