Energy Management Behind the Scenes

While many of the Energy and Sustainability Team’s projects are visible across campus—like solar panel installations and infrastructure upgrades—much of the real impact is happening quietly every day through diligent monitoring and data analysis.

The team oversees more than 3,000 utility meters across the university campus, covering electricity, heating, gas, solar PV, and water. These meters include both main meters and specialized submeters that track usage in specific systems or areas of buildings, such as HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) units. For example, submeters on Air Handling Units (AHUs) monitor the flow of electricity or heat, helping to isolate performance data for these critical systems.

To manage this vast network of meters efficiently, the Energy Team uses automated reporting systems that flag anomalies or inefficiencies. These reports are customized by utility type and function. For instance, to identify potential heating inefficiencies, a form of regression analysis is used: historical consumption data from the previous year is compared against current usage, taking weather conditions into account. If a building is consuming significantly more energy under similar conditions—for example, 20% more heating energy than expected—it triggers further investigation.

Each flagged issue is brought to a weekly meeting with the Building Management Systems (BMS) team, where engineers review and diagnose the problems. Some issues are straightforward and can be quickly resolved, while others may require deeper investigation or additional investment. Once resolved, the Energy Team calculates the avoided cost—an estimate of what would have been spent had the inefficiency gone unnoticed. This quantifies the value of catching and correcting issues early through this proactive monitoring process.

From January 2025 to May 2025, this process has avoided additional costs of approximately £36,000 in HVAC-related energy costs alone, not including water or other electricity related issues. Just as importantly, it has avoided carbon emissions equivalent to taking 53 average petrol cars off the road for an entire year—a clear demonstration of how behind-the-scenes energy management directly contributes to both financial savings and environmental goals.

These results underscore the critical role of data and collaboration in running a sustainable campus—and show that sometimes, the biggest wins happen quietly in the background.

Read our latest Energy and Carbon Report here.

Ahmad Alhelwe, Energy and Sustainability Technician

Snapshot from the Energy and Carbon Report