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From the analysis of the campus’ targets and current system several areas were identified that offered an opportunity to improve, add, or innovate to help the university on the road to a carbon neutral campus. After reviewing data and literature, four areas where the university could find viable solutions were outlined.

 

These four areas are as follows: 

• Optimising the current system 

• Integrating renewable energy 

• Lowering demand

• Finding a replacement energy source 

 

A strategy was developed in each area that would be analysed in depth. The first strategy was to increase the efficiency of the current system, as data analysis proved that the controls for the current system could be altered to allow higher efficiencies, potentially resulting in several benefits for the university. When tackling the grid electricity demand, integrating renewables could prove difficult due to the space restrictions associated with a campus located in a bustling city centre. However, the university currently has an existing photovoltaic network with potential room for growth, which led to the second strategy, expanding the PV supply. Finding a strategy to lower the university’s demand, with regards to heat, was straightforward after carrying out analysis on the heat meter data provided. The university’s buildings, in comparisons to standards, could perform a lot better. For this reason, the third strategy selected was retrofitting buildings to improve performance. Finally, finding a replacement energy source would require a strategy that looked beyond the immediate boundaries of the campus, and to the university’s neighbours for inspiration. It was decided that a waste heat recovery system, using ‘Tennent’s Brewery’ as a case study, was to serve as the final strategy for the project.

 

To find out more and view the technical work, please click on the hexagons below to be taken to the corresponding strategy.

 

 

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Strategy Selection 

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As mentioned before, four areas were outlined as potential opportunities to help the university:

• Optimising the current system 
• Integrating renewable energy 
• Lowering demand
• Finding a replacement energy source 

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Potential strategies were generated that could help achieve the four goals seen above. After, a strategy selection process was carried out to identify the most promising strategies believed to have the potential to make a real difference to the university and could provide a solution to the concerns in reducing carbon emissions. Criteria were chosen that were believed to be vital in judging if a strategy was to be taken forward. A pairwise comparison chart (PWCC) was used to rank each criterion against each other. Table 1 shows the final completed PWCC. 

  Table 1: Pairwise comparison chart for chosen criteria and final weighting

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From the table above it can be seen that each criterion was ranked against each other scoring either 1 or 0. Scoring 1 against another criteria demonstrates the opinion that this criterion is of more importance. Using this method, it was found that most important criterion was CO2 resulting in its weighting being the highest. 

Thereafter, a decision matrix was created with all the potential strategies outlined. Each strategy was scored against the weighted criteria to give a final total score. Table 2 shows the decision matrix with the suggested strategies and their final score. The selection process resulted in four strategies being identified and further developed, aiming to support the decision to carry them forward in the project.

Table 2: Decision matrix for final strategy selection

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