Places for People - Installation of Renewable Technologies & Associated Works

Places for People are one of the largest property management companies in the UK, managing over 143,000. The organisation provides a wide range of support and focuses on providing sustainable tenancies by working closely with tenants, supporting their communities and improving the environments in which they live.

Places for People were looking to meet the sustainability challenge by making their existing homes more energy efficient and cheaper to heat. One of the ways in which they achieved this was through retrofitting a range of renewable technologies in existing schemes.

Following a restricted procurement process, J Tomlinson were appointed the sole contractor to the Places for People Renewables Framework Agreement. Nine sites were initially identified by the client as requiring energy efficient improvements to reduce both carbon emissions and fuel bills.

J Tomlinson started work at Places for People’s Mellors Lodge site in Nottingham in May 2013. This site provides specialist accommodation and support facilities for homeless people with children. After thorough consultation with the client, we carefully tailored our service delivery to respect the sensitive needs of these particular residents during the works.

Places for People provided the initial specification which our in-house design team developed, resulting in J Tomlinson taking responsibility for the design and installation of the systems. In accordance with the agreed specification, we installed a 48kW biomass boiler and a 240kW energy efficient gas boiler. We upgraded the existing plant room to house the new boilers and pipe work. New controls were fitted in each resident’s room to improve the efficiency of the systems and provide greater control.

Following the structural surveys, we installed solar photovoltaic and solar thermal systems on the roof at Mellor’s Lodge. A 1957kW solar thermal system and a 10.2kWp PV system now provide renewable energy for the building. All the systems have been installed in accordance with our MCS accreditation, meeting eligibility for the Feed In Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive.

The new heating systems have been designed and commissioned to be priority-led, with the renewable technologies providing the base demand and the gas boilers only switching on to meet peak loads. The gas boilers are commissioned sequentially to ensure optimum performance. The metering equipment installed meets the MCS requirements and enables the client to monitor the new systems’ performance.

• MINIMAL DISRUPTION - the plant room refurbishment and works on the roofs were all undertaken over an eight week period, working in a live building with no disruption to residents.

• HIGH-QUALITY FINISHES - the project was completed on time and to budget, gaining commendation from the client.

• CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH CLIENT AND CONSULTANT - all parties worked collaboratively to provide a cost effective solution, which meets the performance requirements of the specification.