Breathe secures Cardiff University energy performance contract

Energy services and energy performance organisation, Breathe has been awarded a £16 million (US421 million) energy performance contract with Cardiff University.

The company will be overseeing a complete energy performance overhaul, aiming to get the 20,000 sq metres of the 73 academic buildings at the university up to grade and operating more sustainably. The project will also include a £5 million tower block fabric upgrade and is due for completion in 2021.

The project is underpinned by Cardiff University’s commitment to improving energy efficiency across its estate and is being funded by the Welsh Government Green Growth Fund through an interest-free loan.

“As part of our biggest campus upgrade in a generation, we are improving the energy efficiency of our existing estate through a number of innovative and sustainable initiatives,” Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University, Professor Karen Holford said.

“Our collaboration with Breathe and the Welsh Government will generate long term financial savings and enact a number of positive changes that will bring about environmental benefits for Cardiff, Wales and the wider world.”

The overhaul is a great opportunity for subcontractors that specialise in the energy sector.

The projects for consideration include: LED lighting and controls retrofit; combined heat and power (CHP) plant installation; private wire network and smart grid management; distributed heat network; ground source heat pumps; solar PV; HVAC upgrades; water supply borehole; systems recommissioning for operations and maintenance upgrading; BMS upgrades and consolidation.

Breathe are veterans of the energy efficiency game having worked across public and private sector projects in healthcare, education, government, banking, and retail. The company claims to have saved its clients over £9.8 million in total.

Once completed, the upgrades at Cardiff are expected to provide £1.6 million annual savings for the university.