In November 2012, Mid Devon Council, in partnership with energy services company Anesco, entered into a ground breaking energy services contract (ESCo) to save the council energy and carbon emissions.

The ESCo involved installing a range of new energy efficient and renewable energy equipment in several of the buildings owned by the council. Anesco funded the initial upfront costs of this equipment and the savings over the next 12 years will be shared between Anesco and Mid Devon Council. After 12 years, the Council will keep 100% of the savings for the remaining life of the equipment.

Several items of new energy equipment were installed in April and March 2013 at Lord Meadow Leisure Centre. Some of those will give savings from electricity use and others will give savings from heating use.

Heating Savings Equipment

199 kW Biomass Boiler - Renewable heating system using wood chip as a fuel 

Biomass boilers use wood as a fuel which is a low carbon source of energy. The biomass boiler at Lords Meadow works alongside the existing gas boilers to reduce the carbon emissions from the site. 

Gas boiler optimisation

Boiler optimisation units were fitted on the gas boilers at Lords Meadow. They recognise when the boilers are
operating below full capacity and adjust the temperature of the boiler by a small amount so they operate more
efficiently, using less gas and saving carbon. 

Air handing unit upgrade 

Air handling units (AHUs) are used to control the temperature, humidity and flow of air in buildings. The air
handling unit at Lords Meadow were upgraded to more energy efficient models as part of the ESCo. This will mainly
reduce the amount of heating required but also save some electricity.

Valve insulation

The pipework insulation in the boiler room was topped up with new valve insulation, reducing heat losses.

Electricity Savings Equipment

Lighting upgrades

Most of the lights and fittings in the centre were replaced with the latest energy efficient fluorescent and LED bulbs.

Variable Speed Drives (VSD)

VSDs allow the flow rate of pumps to be controlled, so they use less power than fixed speed pumps, but still operate efficiently. VSDs were used at Lord Meadow to control the water pumps in the pool.

Pool dosing system upgrade

The system that doses chemicals into the pool was upgraded to a more energy efficient system.

Vending machine controls

Vending machine controls are used to reduce the energy used by vending machines. They switch off vending
machines when the areas around the machines are not occupied, but they also periodically repower the machines
to keep the products cool.