Blog

We’ve been out and about this month exhibiting at both IRPM and The Distributed Energy Show, where we’ve had lots of great conversations about our energy solutions..

We were a Silver Sponsor of IRPM, which took place on 1st December at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, Westminster. Our Head of Sales Katy Lister, along with Business Development Executive, Glenn Harrison, showcased our Operation & Maintenance and Metering & Billing capabilities to managing agents and property managers from across the country.

We enjoyed discussing our energy solutions including decentralised energy generation, energy conservation measures and multi-utility network distribution schemes based on low carbon or zero carbon technologies at The Distributed Energy Show in Telford on the 8th and 9th December.

In addition to our exhibition space at the show, Vital’s Chief Strategy Officer, Nick Gosling, joined Dr Joel Hamilton and Tim Ward from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to discuss Heat Network Innovations – a session which was very well attended.

We’re looking forward to attending more events like this in 2022.

The impending price increases for energy are set to have a profound effect on the UK public. With many families already in fuel poverty, and facing further increases, it is a difficult time for many, and we have a commitment to giving them accurate information in an easy to understand format.

The heat network sector will be hit hard as there is no price cap in the commercial gas market. It is therefore essential that we help our customers understand how their bills are likely to be affected and the reasons for these increases.

To support our customers and clients we have developed templates to communicate these changes and explain why there will be price rises.

This will have a direct impact on the customers of communal heating and heat network schemes; therefore, we are proactively communicating with our customers, where we are the ESCo, in order to help them understand why their bills are increasing.

We’re also working with partners and industry groups to influence government to try to help develop support for customers of heat networks.

If you’d like to keep your customers informed, we will happily share our resident communication tool kit with you. If you are interested, please email [email protected].

We are passionate about giving back to the communities we are working in, so as part of our solar installation project at Islington Waste Recycling Centre, we organised a charity football tournament for local girls’ teams to get involved in.

We contacted Kentish Town F.C., who do great work championing girls’ football, five under-12s girls’ teams took part in the Vital Energi Cup, which took place last weekend at Market Road Football Pitches in Islington.

All five teams competed against each other, with the teams finishing first and second competing in the final for the Vital Energi Cup, and the teams finishing third and fourth battling it out for the Vital Energi Plate. Camden Youth were crowned the overall winners after an intense final with London Football School which ended with penalties.

The Mayor of Islington and the Mayor of Camden were both in attendance to hand out medals and talk to the players, and they took part in the charity penalty shootout too.

Dr Michael Bennett, who is the Director of Player Wellbeing at the Professional Footballers’ Association (P.F.A), was also there to give a speech to the players about his time as a professional footballer and to highlight the importance of education.

Kentish Town F.C. provide game time to children for as little cost as possible, and are able to operate thanks to fundraising and donations. The tournament helped raise more than £700 for Kentish Town F.C., which will go towards equipment and pitch hire, and we will soon be providing a new kit to one of the Kentish Town teams.

Vital Energi’s Contracts Director, Paul Campbell, who attended the tournament and is playing a key role in the delivery of the Islington Waste Recycling Centre project, said:

“Having witnessed first-hand the sheer excitement generated at the charity football event, I feel very privileged to have been involved with the organisation of the tournament. As part of Vital Energi’s commitment to improving the environment and engaging with local communities, events such as this are heartwarming with great team spirit from everyone involved.”

We are undertaking decarbonisation works at Islington Waste Recycling Centre which includes the installation of solar panels and striping out gas pipework to aid in making the centre carbon neutral. Click here to read more about the project.

Plans to bring an affordable new source of low carbon heating to the town centre are gathering momentum as Solihull Council partners with Vital Energi to deliver its exciting Low Carbon Energy Network.

Emissions from heat are the single biggest contributor to UK carbon emissions, accounting for around a third of the nation’s carbon footprint, however addressing this issue building by building can be difficult and often very expensive.

The new energy network will generate low carbon heat and power (electricity) from a single energy centre and distribute it directly into town centre buildings via a system of underground pipes and cables. The Energy Centre will be built on land next to Tudor Grange Leisure Centre and will house a range of renewable and low carbon energy solutions including Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP).

This scheme forms part of a wider strategic approach Solihull Council is developing to decarbonise the borough over the next 20 years.

Following a competitive tendering process, Vital Energi Ltd have been selected as the contractor who will take this exciting project forward – building, operating and maintaining the new network. Vital Energi is a leading national player in the heat network and low carbon energy sector and has successfully delivered a range of exemplar, high-profile networks including Leeds PIPES and Mersey Heat.

Since its inception, the project has been supported by expert technical advisers from Sustainable Energy Ltd. They will continue to play a crucial role as the primary client engineer throughout the construction phase.

The first phase of the network will provide heat and power to public and private sector customers, including Council-owned buildings and education campuses. It is intended that future phases will then connect other buildings in the town centre and link to planned commercial or residential developments in line with the Council’s Town Centre Masterplan.

The funding required to get this carbon saving scheme off the ground was provided by the government’s Heat Networks Investment Programme (HNIP) and West Midlands Combined Authority alongside the Council’s own investment in the project. Underpinned by detailed financial modelling, the scheme is projected to repay this investment over time.

Early works have already taken place with a series of site investigations and ecological surveys in March. With contracts now signed and planning permission for the all-important energy centre in place work is expected to get started later this summer and first phase customers could be hooked up and start benefitting from the network as early as next year.

Click here to find out more about the Solihull Energy Network

We joined partners Ener-Vate and The Peel Group, in marking the beginning of the Mersey Heat Network £5.2m Phase 1C Extension. This next phase will see 3 landmark buildings connected to the network

Since the opening of the energy centre last year, the network continues to progress with momentum. Breaking ground on this extension represents the next major milestone, expanding the network to connect to more of Liverpool’s infrastructure, including the Cunard Building, Georges Dock Building and the Museum of Liverpool.

Representatives from The Peel Group, Ener-Vate, Vital Energi, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the National Museums of Liverpool gathered to mark the occasion.

The network supplies low-carbon heat from the Mersey Heat Energy Centre via a network of underground pipes, with heat generated form a two-stage water source heat pump which harnesses energy from the Leeds / Liverpool canal, transforming the way heat is supplied throughout the city.

As part of this latest development, Vital Energi will install a further 2km of pipework to further expand the network, the expansion is expected to save up to 8,600 tonnes of carbon.

This next phase is being funded through circa £2.2m in from the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP), and £3m through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) and will add to the growing list of buildings connected to the innovative scheme.

In 2022, Leeds Beckett University connected its City Campus to the Leeds PIPES District Heat Network, which takes heat from the local energy-from-waste plant and distributes it through a 30 km network to over 4,100 homes and 29 non-residential buildings.

The connection was grant-funded through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, with the main driver being to reduce scope 2 carbon emissions and contribute to the University’s overall goal of achieving net zero by 2035.

Three years on, with careful monitoring in place, there is now a clear picture of how the new connection has performed, and, more importantly, the practical benefits it has delivered.

Initial forecasts predicted that the University would save around 370 tonnes of carbon per year. In practice, the monitored data shows that the actual savings have reached 530 tonnes annually, well above the original projection.

The financial impact has also been significant. Gas accounts for 41% of the University’s energy costs and, by transforming its heating infrastructure, the University has cut these costs by 42%. That equates to almost £250,000 in annual savings.

Not all these savings came directly from the PIPES heat network connection though. Alongside the heat network interface works, the University installed a new Building Energy Management System, which makes intelligent decisions about how buildings use heat while continuously monitoring performance. This improvement alone reduced heat consumption and accounted for 23% of the total savings.

Ben Mohatta, Associate Design Director for Vital Energi, led the team that designed the Leeds PIPES project and its interface connections and explained, “The Leeds PIPES heat network can connect to a wide range of buildings, however optimising the efficient usage of energy within the buildings is a fundamental element to creating successful heat networks.

“This is a great example of how an extended commitment from the end user can result in an amplification of the energy savings and carbon reduction benefits of connecting to a heat network.”

It is important to note that Leeds Beckett is just one of thousands of success stories. The Leeds PIPES network has now expanded across the city, connecting over 4,100 homes, civic buildings, and dozens of other buildings to bring similar benefits across the community.

We’ve hit another milestone at Berkeley Homes’ Woodberry Down development as we took delivery of the 800kW air source heat pumps (ASHP), which will extract heat from the air and supply heating and hot water to the development, and crane lifted them to the roof of Block A1.

On the day of delivery, we had a full team present on site including our Project Manager, Stan Cullen, along with Lifting Operations Manager, Catalin Morosanu, and MEP Manager, Chris Way, from Berkeley Homes.

The heat pumps weighed around 4.5 tonnes and anti-vibration mounts were placed securely underneath each of the units before they were lifted into the air to place on the building. The anti-vibration mounts are to help reduce noise and vibrations, they absorb the sound and vibrations from the heat pump’s to reduce damage and wearing out.

“The installation of the air source heat pumps will be a big contributor to low carbon homes and help to lower the energy costs for the residents,” said Stan Cullen.

“We are looking forward to our next milestone which will be the commissioning of the systems, flushing of the Low Temperature Hot Water (LTHW) pipework and the gas going live into the Energy Centre in a couple of months.”

Discover more about the project here.

Lisa Martin leads our customer care programme where the ultimate focus is to listen to our clients, share the feedback to our teams and ensure we continually align our service and approach to their individual and project needs.

Lisa speaks directly with our clients on a one-to-one basis throughout the project as this provides a more personable but valuable insight, and by reviewing within the project period rather than on completion, we can maintain high levels of satisfaction.

This feedback provides a tool for us to learn what our clients want, what we are doing right and also where we need to change.  We are delighted to have some outstanding comments which is a great form of positivity and motivation for the staff. Lisa also facilitates the constructive feedback which allows us to continually adjust and tailor our operations.

Lisa explains, “Having 100% of our clients say Vital have met their expectations and would be happy to work with us again is a fantastic reflection on our staff.  Our collaborative culture, open and honest approach is a consistent high performing benchmark across our reviews and one which alongside our technical ability is seen as a strength from clients when working through any challenges projects bring.

Mike Cooke, Managing Director for the North and Scotland said “It’s important to celebrate the many positives we’ve received, but it is essential to also listen to our clients and focus on continuous improvement. As a turnkey provider we have incorporated our customer care programme into all our divisions as an invaluable tool to ensuring Vital and our supply chain provide a positive delivery from bid to design, installation, O&M and customer service.”

Some of the highlights of the Engineering North 2021 summary include:

• Our people, flexible and project management approach consistently outperforms our benchmarks
• 90% overall performance score
• 100 Net Promoter Score
• 100% of clients would like to work with us again

Congratulations to The Diverse Heat Network on such an insightful and inspiring launch event on the evening of Wednesday 22^nd February.

As a group, they aim to promote diversity and inclusivity, encouraging collaboration and enabling change across the wider industry with partners, supply chain and beyond. We’re proud to be active members of the DHN working alongside TriplePoint, Vattenfall, Fairheat, Buro Happold, EQUANS and The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

A huge well done, and thank you, to Vital representatives Gemma Dyson, Proposals Manager, and Trainee Energy & Commercial Modeller Millie Cooney, who have been fundamental to the success of the event. Gemma opened the event and explained how the DHN came together and their plan to move forward alongside our partners across the sector, and Millie spearheaded the events working group to plan and organise the launch event, which over 100 people attended. DHN founding member and Chairman of Vital Energi, Gary Fielding, also attended alongside Veronica Hamilton, Lead Development Manager, and Mike Cooke, Managing Director North & Scotland, to support the initiative.

The evening featured an incredible line-up of speakers who shared their experiences and best practice around how we can make a meaningful impact as a collective to retain and attract talent, with diversity at the forefront.

Guests arrived at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in London to learn more about the DHN and hear from inspirational guest speaker, Ayo Sokale, who led a session on neurodiversity. She then answered questions from the audience, with some really insightful answers around practical things we can do in the workplace to recognise individual needs and embrace diversity by playing to peoples strengths, rather than their weaknesses.

Billy Aldridge from the newly formed “Department for Energy Security and Net Zero” (formerly BEIS), then chaired a panel of experts who discussed different ways in which we can retain and attract new talent to make our sector more diverse. A highlight for Millie was the discussion around how we continue to educate and showcase the career opportunities and behind the scenes of our industry to make our sector more visible to children and young people.

Children often aspire to work in roles that they have been exposed to and seen firsthand in their everyday lives. Heat networks by their very nature are not visible – they are buried underground! This means we have our work cut out to tell a new story to the next generation. Anna Burrows from “See it, Be It” shared her experiences from sharing videos from members of the Diverse Heat Network sharing their stories of how they got involved in this sector, to generate interest, enthusiasm and awareness in schools across the UK. The storytelling in the videos enables pupils to make a connection with the industry and understand the wide range of roles available, making our sector more visible, accessible, and inviting for all.

We’re incredibly proud to have such passionate employees leading initiatives to drive change. Learn more about the DHN and their upcoming initiatives and events here.

Vital Energi (VE): What were you hoping to achieve through the Duffryn Heat Network Replacement Scheme?Mark Chircop

(MC): From a social value perspective, although this contract was based over a short period of time, our Community Development Team were able to carry out Asset Mapping before Vital Energi won the contract. We spent time talking to community members, charities, and community groups to really understand the wants, needs, and aspirations of the people in Duffryn. Our aim was to work in partnership with Vital Energi and pass on what we’d learned so that we could support the community and leave a long-term, positive legacy.

VE: Do you think that goal was achieved?

MC: Personally, yes. Together we tackled urgent needs, like donating Christmas food packages to the local food bank, and invested in long-term projects, such as the Nurture Farm at Tredegar Park Primary, which will benefit the community for generations. We focused on where we could maximise the collective impact on the community.

The Duffryn community has long felt unheard, but Vital, in partnership with Hedyn, showed they were truly listening and took meaningful action based on what the community had identified.

VE: Social value is clearly important to Hedyn…

MC: Absolutely. Social Value is very important. Utilising localised knowledge to help us make informed decisions. We were very focused on delivering something with longevity in the heart of the community.  While short-, and medium-term initiatives are essential for urgent needs, we’re also thinking about the wellbeing of future generations.

Our mantra is: “Doing the right thing. Making it happen. Being the Difference”,  connecting communities where everyone can live well and creating a lasting legacy.

VE: How did Vital Energi align with that mantra?

MC: Like any partnership, it took time. Vital isn’t a local contractor, so we had to help them understand the community’s wants, needs and aspirations. What they did well was listen. There was no arrogance on their part, and they were open to the research we’d been doing and the options we were able to provide.

They worked with us to build initiatives that would have real impact. Once we understood each other, it was clear our missions were aligned. We found shared passions and worked hard to deliver on them. The Vital team was really positive and, overall, their mission and ours was very similar in that we want to help create stronger communities. Once this had been created, we were able to introduce them to the options in the community.

VE:  Hedyn seems to have a deep understanding of Duffryn. How did you get to this point, and what advice would you give other housing associations?

MC: It’s an ongoing journey. We’ll never fully understand everything, but we’ve spent a lot of time engaging with groups and individuals, building an asset-based community development model. We look at what exists, what the challenges are, and how to remove barriers and unlock potential.

You also have to be honest, learn from what worked and what didn’t. Accept criticism and use it to improve. That way, we can help contractors maximise the good they can do whilst they’re working in these communities.

Not all contractors listen, and that’s their choice. But Vital made it clear they weren’t just an energy partner, they were a full partner, which is when this kind of work really shines.

For example, they funded a Carpet Kurling competition for the over-55s for a year. That one initiative promoted activity, wellness, mental wellbeing, and tackled loneliness. It had a real positive impact on that community and culminated in an away day visit to Rodney Parade stadium, where the sessions were put into practice, with other schemes from around the City. This also left somewhat of a legacy, as it continues to this very day, growing every year.

VE: How important is the pre-construction period in building shared values and goals?

MC: : It’s crucial. I attended the mobilisation meetings and got to know the team early on. This was a shorter contract, just nine months, so we had to hit the ground running. We started mapping opportunities three months before the project began, so we had ideas to bring to the table.

That early dialogue helped us build strength and focus on real community needs.

VE: What advice would you give to organisations planning similar heat network replacement projects?

MC: Be open and honest.  Have challenging conversations early on if necessary.  Build understanding and gather feedback. Decisions should be collective and informed.

Balance short-term needs, like food bank support, with long-term goals, like the Nurture Farm.

VE: What can these Public/Private Partnerships Achieve at Their Best?

MC: I think the Tredegar Park Primary School’s new Nurture Farm, which Vital part-funded, is a fantastic example of what can be achieved.  It’s created a new, outdoor space which promotes an active learning model.

In an age where it’s tempting for children to stare at their screens, the kids at Tredegar Park Primary are out in nature, learning practical skills and connecting with nature.  This new facility now serves 430 children and the headteacher is sharing it with the wider community so more people can enjoy this fantastic facility.

If you want a metric that matters, look at the faces of the kids when they’re outdoors, looking after goats, chickens and tending vegetable beds… You really can’t put a price on that.