Henry Cotton Building

Liverpool

Decarbonising for the future.

As a modern, pioneering university, Liverpool John Moores is committed to tackling climate change through research, education and innovation. Running its buildings sustainably is a key part of that journey, reducing carbon emissions year on year and re-investing the money saved on energy bills back into the university. As part of its goal to meet all national and sector specific emissions targets, CWC were commissioned to undertake an energy modelling study to determine the current energy performance of the Henry Cotton Building.

Sector

Education

Value

£869,430

Client

Liverpool John Moores University

The study was carried out using IES software and the results cross-referenced with meter readings for accuracy. The heating and air handling systems were both found to be past economic life expectancy, costing an excessive amount to run and maintain compared with modern technologies. CWC identified that LJMU would be eligible for a government grant as part of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to carry out the necessary upgrade works to improve the building efficiency and lower the carbon footprint. The scheme was designed to meet the grant criteria, including the requirement for the cost of works to be less than £325/TCO2e. CWC successfully applied for funding on behalf of LJMU and work was completed on site in December 2021.

The existing gas fired boilers will be replaced with 11 high efficiency air to water heat pumps, negating the need for gas on site. The existing air handling unit is also being replaced with a new high efficiency model. To meet the grant criteria the scheme had to include a strategy for ongoing energy monitoring, which was achieved through the inclusion of heat meters and incoming electrical meters.

These upgrades will be significant step towards LJMU’s aspirations to become a low carbon university in the near future.