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Adastral Park: Energy efficiency in action
Adastral Park is BT’s global innovation and development centre. From pioneering work in optical technologies to work in advanced software techniques and protocols, Adastral Park is recognised as one of the leading centres of technical innovation in the communication world.
However, development of the Adastral Park site has been constrained due to limits around the incoming power supply at a time when demand for power was increasing.
But there was a solution. The installation of Combined Cooling, Heating and Power (CCHP) systems on-site provides an independent power source aside from the National Grid. CHPs tend to consume a fuel - usually natural gas although biomass and waste matter can also be used - to produce cooling, heat and electricity.
By producing electricity on-site - rather than from a centralised power system - energy loss is markedly reduced and efficiency increased.
Energy efficiency
With Adastral Park’s increase in demand for power – and the strong focus on energy efficiency within BT – the decision was made to install two 1.25MVA CCHP systems.
The CCHP systems provide heating/cooling energy as a useful by-product, by harvesting the waste heat from the gas-fired engine element of the generator plant. This waste energy source is used to supplement the existing heating and cooling systems in buildings reducing the gas and electricity that would have otherwise been consumed.
Energy savings are made when using the heating/cooling output from the CCHP systems. Installing the CCHP systems has reduced BT’s reliance on the national grid. The CO2 emissions saved by not using electricity generated by the grid is 670 tonnes CO2/yr.
