Government Sector

Aggressive deadlines and critical pathways

The parliament building was established to make decisions on areas such as health, education, and justice. Based in the UK, it represents people through elected MPs who debate and shape laws, serving as a cornerstone of the UK governance.

During Phase 2 of the Parliament BMS upgrades, SSE managed a high volume of work within a tight 8-week summer recess. Over 70 control panels in the MSP Block were successfully replaced, with more than 60 panels requiring challenging underfloor access. Despite these obstacles, all installations were completed, tested, and fully operational by the deadline, demonstrating SSE’s commitment to the project’s ambitious timeline.

Beyond panel replacements, SSE also upgraded key back-of-house infrastructure, including main plant equipment, boilers, and air handling units (AHUs), all while ensuring that essential services remained uninterrupted. Precise temperature control was maintained in high-demand areas, where even a minor deviation, such as a 1°C increase, could have impacted operations. Rigorous planning and preparation were critical to meeting these demanding objectives and ensuring seamless continuity.

Phase 2 also marked a major shift to a hybrid Distech and IoT system with LoRaWAN wireless technology, enabling minimal visible wiring to preserve the building’s architectural integrity. This wireless approach kept the building operational while work continued, setting a strong foundation for Phase 3, scheduled to complete across remaining areas by October 2025.

Ensuring correct optimal technical design is achieved

This prison facility houses 1,145 male individuals as a Category B prison estate, operating within 24/7/365 environment with high security measures. The prison was facing BMS and network obsolescence across the whole estate. The challenges comprised of legacy closed protocol controllers restricting future upgrades and the installation of a new network was restrictive due to the disruption it would cause to prison operations.

Our approach was to prioritise the needs of the building using our extensive experience and technical capability. An in-depth technical survey of wiring, topology and cable health checks, allowed SSE to create alternative options to the specified scope, that were reviewed by our technical experts and senior delivery team.

Recommendations were presented to the client and agreed. A staged network transition and installation of a TREND and IQVision, an open protocol BMS, was achieved without compromising the prison operations. Project was managed and delivered by a dedicated Project Management Team.

This approach provided substantial benefits to the prison, including enhanced system performance and reliability. Furthermore, SSE's meticulous planning ensured that the site remained fully operational throughout the upgrade process, with no disruptions to the day-to-day operations.

A prominent judicial complex, officially known as the Justiciary Buildings, is located in a major city in Scotland. This Category A listed building serves as one of the principal venues for the country's supreme criminal court.

SSE proposed an ISO52120-based energy management strategy to enhance comfort, air quality, and energy efficiency in the aging court buildings, addressing post-COVID ventilation concerns. Leveraging experience from our project at other sites, our recommendations included optimising the Building Management System (BMS) with variable speed drives (VSD), temperature sensors, and seasonal adjustments. The project was further refined to consider the customer's budget and include the most effective strategy.

ISO 52120 Project included:

• Analysis of seven months of energy data
• Site visits
• Benchmarking
• Assessing existing control systems
• Well-being assessment of HVAC equipment.

Recommendations implemented:

• Recommissioning and/or replacement of meters.
• Addition of VSDs on fans and updating BEMS strategy to reduce energy costs.
• Installation of space sensors to provide a better spread of temperature control.
• Introduction of LoRaWAN AQS sensors mitigating the need for wiring and associated costs.
• Introduction of winter/summer software switching.

"SSE are a key strategic partner in the delivery of its contracts to a number of high-profile public sector organisations. SSE provide a high-quality service covering planned, reactive maintenance and projects with a focus on innovation to help drive forward building performance.”

Energy Services Manager

Multiple energy conservation measures to reduce carbon and energy cost

A County Council declared a climate emergency in 2019. An action plan focussing on energy systems, transport, green spaces, waste, and procurement was adopted with the aim of reaching net zero by 2030.

SSE Energy Solutions in partnership with a County Council has reduced carbon emissions from 22 council-owned buildings to date, with schools, offices and leisure centres being retrofitted with smart energy, solar PV, heating, and lighting systems, amongst other measures. Additionally, SSE has installed a large number of bird and bat boxes across the region to help increase biodiversity.

The Council and SSE are now working on developing and delivering a second phase that will involve additional buildings and a wider scope of decarbonisation measures.

Aim

To reduce the energy impact of public sector-owned owned buildings by introducing energy efficiency measures and accessing public sector decarbonisation scheme funding

Overview

• Re:fit Framework
• Salix Funding
• 20 Council buildings
• Schools, Leisure Centres and Community Hubs

Solutions

• Solar PV
• LED lighting
• Boiler replacement
• Building controls design
• Project Management

"SSE provided a great solution to this challenge by successfully identifying and delivering a number of meaningful actions that have made a significant number of community buildings much more energy efficient. For example, at a Comprehensive School and Leisure Centre, the LED lighting, high-efficiency boilers and CHP, new air handling unit and solar carport combined will save over £100,000 of energy costs and 226 tonnes of carbon every year.”

Council Spokesperson