This document is intended to assist you in understanding programme and activity terminology and the organisations commonly used/referred to across the Public Sector Decarbonisation Guidance (PSDG).
Resource
This document is intended to assist you in understanding programme and activity terminology and the organisations commonly used/referred to across the Public Sector Decarbonisation Guidance (PSDG).
Background Terms
| Term | Definition |
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) | The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is the central Government Department responsible for UK energy security and ensuring energy policy and markets deliver Net Zero emissions targets. The department was established in February 2023 and takes over responsibilities from the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). |
| MEP Programme | The MEP Programme was an innovative programme that ran from 2019 to 2021. It looked at testing out the practicalities of decarbonising public sector estate on a testbed of 42 sites across the UK. Split roughly in thirds between MOD, MOJ, and NHS, the sites reflected a reasonable representation of the challenges faced, both technical and other. |
| Modern Energy Partners (MEP) |
Modern Energy Partners (MEP) was a ground-breaking collaboration between the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Cabinet Office (CO) and Energy Systems Catapult (ESC), working with SALIX Finance Ltd, Crown Commercial Service (CCS), and the public sector estate. |
| Office of Government Property (OGP) | The Office of Government Property (OGP) function supports Government and the wider public sector to manage their estate more efficiently and effectively. |
| Public Sector Decarbonisation Guidance (PSDG) | A part of a programme funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and working with the Office of Government Property (OGP), Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) has produced a suite of guidance to help the public sector decarbonise its built estate, based on findings from the Modern Energy Partners Programme. |
| Salix Finance | Salix is a non-governmental departmental body that is wholly owned by the Government and operates as a Non-Departmental Public Body under the sponsorship of DESNZ. The body is responsible for delivering the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and Low Carbon Skills Fund, as well as working with the Scottish and Welsh devolved administrations to deliver financial support and loan schemes. |
Theme 1 – Developing and Delivering Your Decarbonisation Strategy
| Term | Definition |
| BAU modelling | Business as usual (BAU) modelling produces a view of a site’s energy consumption ‘as is’ and projects this into the future based on available information regarding current energy consumption data and any future plans to alter your estate’s boundary, e.g., building sales/acquisitions or demolitions. |
| CapEx | Capital expenditure accounts for the upfront cost incurred for the purchase of materials and installation, e.g., the purchase and installation of a heat pump. |
| Decarbonisation Programme | A holistic plan for delivering on decarbonisation targets. It should cover an overall strategy, a list of identified projects, reporting and communications approaches, and resourcing. |
| Decarbonisation Project | A project will likely be part of a larger portfolio of projects/interventions that will help deliver the decarbonisation programme. Projects are likely to include: · No regrets measures, such as energy efficiency improvements · Electric vehicle charging · Generating or increasing the capacity of on-site or local renewable generation · Electrification of heating |
| Decarbonisation Strategy | An overall decarbonisation strategy is a live document that covers the scope, high-level objectives, and emissions reductions targets for your decarbonisation programme. This should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure it is an accurate representation of organisational progress. |
| Heat Decarbonisation Plan | A heat decarbonisation plan should outline how an organisation will reduce direct GHG emissions by replacing traditional fossil fuel-run heating systems with low-carbon alternatives across an estate. The plan should take a ‘whole-building approach’. |
| Interventions modelling | Interventions modelling takes the BAU forecast as a baseline and projects this forward to get a counterfactual. A range of key decarbonisation options can then be modelled including heat, renewables, and energy efficiency improvements. These interventions can be applied to a building/site portfolio to measure potential carbon and cost savings relative to the BAU scenario. |
| No-regret measures | Measures put in place that are often a well-established energy technology, and implemented as a site’s first set of energy interventions – typically they are LED lighting, BMS control, and building fabric upgrades. |
| OpEx | Operational expenditure is the ongoing expenditure from running the asset, e.g., electrical capacity requirements, fuel costs, maintenance, component replacement, etc. |
| Whole-building approach | A whole-building approach combines heat decarbonisation projects (e.g., installation of a heat pump) with other energy-efficiency measures (e.g., building fabric improvements and using a BMS), to take the most cost-effective approach to heat decarbonisation in particular. |
Theme 2 – Feasibility and Design
| Term | Definition |
| Building fabric | The term building fabric encompasses the structural materials, cladding, insulation, and finishes used in building construction. Good design can improve the performance of buildings, allowing for reductions in heating and cooling loads, reduced energy consumption, and lower carbon emissions. Retrofitting can be used for existing buildings to improve energy efficiency where building fabric is poorly designed. |
| Building management system (BMS) | Building management systems are computer-based systems used to monitor and control building services such as lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and smart-meter data. |
| Detailed design study | A detailed design study is carried out by a design engineer and provides an independent and unbiased proposal with detailed design drawings to help find the optimal solution. The drawings and specifications can then be taken forward and used for tendering to get a detailed quote for installation by a contractor. |
| District Network Operator (DNO) | DNOs are licensed companies responsible for stepping down electricity from the high-voltage transmission network (owned by the National Grid) and distributing at the local/regional level. When seeking to decarbonise buildings/sites, an assessment needs to be conducted to determine whether the local network has the capacity to support heat electrification projects and installation of EV charging infrastructure. Additional sub-stations may be required, where there are local electrical capacity constraints. |
| Energy audit | The BS EN 16247-2:2022 energy audit standard sets out the various stages that need to be completed when conducting an energy audit for a building/site. These include initial desktop research, site/building surveys, and feasibility studies, through to detailed design and investment grade proposals. |
| Feasibility study | A feasibility study is conducted to consider the feasibility of a series of decarbonisation interventions for a site, based on a set of agreed criteria. A cost-benefit analysis is likely to be used to determine the relative cost and carbon savings under each scenario. |
| Investment Grade Proposal (IGP) | Investment Grade Proposals are similar to detailed design studies; however they are often offered by an installer as part of an end-to-end solution. The choice of installer is likely to influence the solution that is installed. |
| Retrofitting | Carrying out an energy-efficiency retrofit on a building helps reduce energy consumption through upgrading its existing building fabric and systems. This includes lighting, BMS, and building fabric upgrades as well as heat decarbonisation projects, e.g., installation of a heat pump. |
| Site/building survey | Once an initial desktop analysis has been conducted, a building/site should be surveyed to identify energy-efficiency opportunities. This can help feed into a more detailed feasibility study, or a detailed design study. |
| Thermal imaging survey | Thermal imaging surveys are conducted to assess the thermal performance of a building, with infra-red cameras creating a temperature map to identify where a building is emitting large amounts of energy from. This is useful for identifying areas where building fabric improvements could enhance energy efficiency. |
Theme 3 – Procurement
| Term | Definition |
| Competition | Competitive bidding allows multiple vendors to bid for a contract, helping an organisation pick the supplier that will deliver the best value for money. |
| Direct award | When there is only one supplier in a framework, or there is an option for direct award, an order can be placed directly with a supplier, without the need for a competition. |
| Dynamic Purchase System (DPS) | A DPS can be used to search for suitable suppliers using specific criteria for goods and services. A further competition can then be run to select one out of the shortlist. |
| Facilities management (FM) | General day-to-day running of an estate may be outsourced to a facilities management (FM) company/contractor or provider to allow an organisation to focus on its core activities. Outsourced services could include building operation and management, where the FM company would be responsible for maintenance and replacement of building systems. How the FM provider operates could greatly impact your organisation’s delivery of Net Zero, therefore targets should be set for an FM provider. |
| Procurement framework | A procurement framework is an agreement put in place with a provider or range of providers to place orders for services without running lengthy full tendering exercises. |
| Procurement process | The procurement process covers securing resources up until the point of purchase where the goods or services are handed over from the contractor to your organisation. It is the strategic process of researching and identifying needs as well as navigating tendering processes and contract negotiations. |
| Tender | In the public procurement process, a tender is a contract opportunity published by a public sector organisation to invite suppliers to bid for the contract. |
Theme 4 – Funding
| Term | Definition |
| Business case | A business case supports organisations or sites in putting forward a strong case for investment in its energy or Net Zero requirements. A business case is normally required at specific decision points in a project or programme’s life and may require different levels of detail depending on the proposed expenditure or risk level within the project or programme. |
| Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF) | The LCSF is delivered in partnership by DESNZ and Salix Finance to provide grants for public sector organisations to engage the specialist and expert advice and skills needed to create a heat decarbonisation plan and/or detailed designs to prepare for heat decarbonisation and energy-efficiency works. |
| Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) | The PSDS is funded by DESNZ and delivered in partnership with Salix Finance. Funding is to help public sector buildings meet their built-estate emissions reduction target of 75% by 2037, relative to a 2017 baseline. Applicants are encouraged to take a ‘whole-building approach’ to heat decarbonisation, with evidence of building fabric considerations. |
Theme 5 – Commissioning and Handover
| Term | Definition |
| Commissioning | Commissioning is the phase of work that takes place at the end of any installation project. The installation is switched on and run to ensure it is working correctly and safely. Programming may also be required to ensure the system delivers the set point parameters that were agreed. |
| Energy set points | Energy set points are usually set on a thermostat as the desired temperatures to which a building should be heated and cooled. These will likely vary with building occupancy across the day/week and year. |
| Handover | The handover phase occurs towards the end of commissioning, where the supplier is coming to the end of its contract and is ready to handover the running of the system or project to the “operations team”, who will be using it on a day-to-day basis. |
| Minimum performance standards | Minimum performance standards are set out to ensure that internal building conditions meet occupier needs and that environmental or decarbonisation criteria are met. |
| Operational set points | Operational set points for a building will help determine the required energy set points as they cover the time the building is occupied and in operation, how occupancy varies across the day/week, and expected temperatures and air changes. |
Theme 6 – Monitoring and Evaluation
| Term | Definition |
| Automatic meter reading (AMR) | An AMR meter facilitates one way communication from customers to utility companies. Energy readings are typically recorded on a half-hourly basis, providing a better picture of energy usage data than through monthly or quarterly energy bills. |
| BMS metered data | A building management system (BMS) can act as a central server or platform to aggregate and store data from a range of sub-meters across a site. This option is preferable if the communication infrastructure and data storage are already in place, and the BMS has the capacity and sufficient hardwire connection points to communicate with sub-meters. |
| Fiscal metered data | Fiscal meters monitor how much energy is consumed by a site and are used by energy providers to calculate bills. You can request records from your bill provider as a starting point when benchmarking your site’s energy usage. If sites only have one incoming fiscal meter, additional sub-metering is required to break down how, where, or when energy is used across a site. |
| Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) | A post-occupancy evaluation is carried out after the commissioning and handover stages of decarbonisation works. The aim is to conduct a post-project review to evaluate the project delivery process and assess performance of buildings/sites against objectives, i.e., energy savings delivered. This can be conducted internally by a building occupier, or externally. Lessons learned can be carried forward for future projects. |
| Smart meter | Smart meters allow for two-way communications between energy suppliers and customers, which provides additional functionality compared to AMR meters. Utility companies can instruct the meter to update the metering tariff, change meter reading frequency, and play a role in shifting consumption through demand side response (DSR). DSR is where organisations increase, decrease, or move the time of their electricity consumption, in response to signals from the electricity grid, to help balance the grid overall. |
| Sub-metering assessment | An initial assessment should be carried out to determine how additional sub-metering could improve the quality and availability of energy data across a site. A site survey should be undertaken to identify the state of existing metering and control systems as well as proposed new meter installations to determine feasibility. This can then be used to determine installation requirements and scope. |
| Sub-metered data | Sub-metered data provides a much better understanding of energy consumption of individual buildings across a complex site. Metering information should provide the opportunity for analysis to determine whether any energy is being wasted on site, leading to energy savings and cost reductions. |
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