AdEPorto: Lipor and the energy efficiency intervention in Baguim do Monte
2020-12-10
Gas bill reduced to 60 %. An AdEPorto intervention with Lipor in Gondomar.
The goal had been set. Assess how to improve energy performance and reduce energy use - and the consequent energy bill - at the Social and Parish Centre of Baguim do Monte, in Gondomar. This was an effort undertaken jointly by AdEPorto and Lipor (The Greater Porto Intermunicipal Waste Management Service).
After a technical visit, attention turned to the Social and Parish Centre's Nursing Home building. The diagnosis was clear: a primary system with two propane gas boilers - used for meal preparation, heating and hot water - was found to be about 30 years old. With the lack of maintenance, the system's performance had deteriorated even further.
The potential for energy savings was great and identified precisely in the heating and water heating system. This was followed by AdEPorto and Lipor's joint intervention: renovating the primary heating circuit with the installation of high-efficiency condensing boilers and changing the propane petrol supply to natural gas.
If, in 2017, propane petrol costs amounted to about 20 thousand euros per year, more than a year after this intervention, its contribution to the energy bill dropped about 60 %. Moreover, the intervention has an estimated return on investment period of two years, and throughout the useful life of the equipment, it will still allow for very significant annual savings - in energy use, GHG emissions and energy costs.
The achievement was great, but it is not over yet. The next step in this study by AdEPorto and Lipor may focus on the more detailed characterization of the building and its use of energy to study the potential for intervention in the centre's other systems - which result in better performance, increase the building's comfort and energy performance, and can lower energy and environmental costs.
The goal had been set. Assess how to improve energy performance and reduce energy use - and the consequent energy bill - at the Social and Parish Centre of Baguim do Monte, in Gondomar. This was an effort undertaken jointly by AdEPorto and Lipor (The Greater Porto Intermunicipal Waste Management Service).
After a technical visit, attention turned to the Social and Parish Centre's Nursing Home building. The diagnosis was clear: a primary system with two propane gas boilers - used for meal preparation, heating and hot water - was found to be about 30 years old. With the lack of maintenance, the system's performance had deteriorated even further.
The potential for energy savings was great and identified precisely in the heating and water heating system. This was followed by AdEPorto and Lipor's joint intervention: renovating the primary heating circuit with the installation of high-efficiency condensing boilers and changing the propane petrol supply to natural gas.
If, in 2017, propane petrol costs amounted to about 20 thousand euros per year, more than a year after this intervention, its contribution to the energy bill dropped about 60 %. Moreover, the intervention has an estimated return on investment period of two years, and throughout the useful life of the equipment, it will still allow for very significant annual savings - in energy use, GHG emissions and energy costs.
The achievement was great, but it is not over yet. The next step in this study by AdEPorto and Lipor may focus on the more detailed characterization of the building and its use of energy to study the potential for intervention in the centre's other systems - which result in better performance, increase the building's comfort and energy performance, and can lower energy and environmental costs.
