CHP helps Bloomberg to achieve ‘world’s most sustainable building’
Date: 03/10/2017
Combined heat and power (CHP) technology is playing its part in helping Bloomberg achieve the status of world’s most sustainable office building for its European headquarters.
Opening later this month in the City of London, the building achieved an ‘Outstanding’ rating against the BREEAM sustainability assessment method, with a 98.5 per cent score. This is the highest design-stage score ever achieved by any major office development.
The CHP generation centre on-site supplies heat and power in a single, efficient system with reduced carbon emissions. Waste heat generated from this process is recycled for cooling and heating and, in use, is expected to save 500-750 metric tonnes of CO2 each year.
Bloomberg has been a zero-landfill operation in London since 2010; instead waste is recycled, composted or converted to energy. This commitment will continue at the new site, with better waste streaming to enable a greater proportion of waste products to be reused and recycled. Globally, Bloomberg currently diverts 75 per cent of its total waste away from landfills and is targeting 90 per cent diversion by 2020.
Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. said: “We believe that environmentally-friendly practices are as good for business as they are for the planet. From day one, we set out to push the boundaries of sustainable office design – and to create a place that excites and inspires our employees. The two missions went hand-in-hand, and I hope we’ve set a new standard for what an office environment can be.”
Compared to a typical office building2, the new Bloomberg building’s environmental strategies deliver a 73% saving in water consumption3 and a 35% saving in energy consumption and associated CO₂ emissions4. Innovative power, lighting, water and ventilation systems account for the majority of energy savings. Designed to utilise waste products, respond to the building’s external environment and adapt to its occupancy patterns, many of these solutions are first-of-a-kind.
The building, located between the Bank of England and St Paul’s Cathedral, was designed by Foster + Partners and also has Smart Airflow technology, allowing air to be distributed according to the approximate number of people occupying each zone of the building at any given time. The ability to dynamically adjust airflow in response to occupancy hours and patterns is expected to save 600-750 MWhr of power per annum, reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 300 metric tonnes each year.
Source: Decentralised Energy
