Background:

Milton Park is described as a Science and Technology Park which is home to 270 companies. It is situated in Oxfordshire between Didcot and Abingdon. The Park is known to be extremely diverse with businesses from environmental, pharmaceuticals, chemical, engineering and many more industries. Milton Park is under a single ownership which supports growth opportunities. It has nearly 3 million square feet of floor space over 300 acres.

Acorn is currently supporting Milton Park through our client CBRE with a six-member team and 4 on-site engineers available accommodating the facilities management within the various buildings across the park.

Services Delivered:

Throughout the energy performance review of the building 99 these services include:

• CHW Ambient Hold off
• Modulate CHW Pump Speed
• Building Drift Strategy and checking boiler control
• Increase dead bands on local room units
• Match extract operation to occupancy

Problem: Main Challenge?

The issue which has been identified is reviewing the energy usage of building 99. Noticeably there was raising concerns over operational inefficiencies and increasing utility costs for CBRE. Initial energy consumption data indicated potential wastage across several core building systems, including HVAC and extract systems, but without clear insight into the root causes or their financial impact.

CBRE required a detailed technical review to understand where inefficiencies were occurring and to determine how the BMS strategy could be improved to optimise performance. One key obstacle was the lack of alignment between system run-times and actual building occupancy, which was suspected to be driving more unnecessary energy consumption.

The building’s energy profile needed to be evaluated, including system setpoints and schedules to control logic and sensor accuracy. To help determine whether assets required to be modified, minimised, or even deactivated without compromising compliance and comfort issues within the building.

Examples: The Solution

It was necessary for AIS BMS to complete a full desktop energy performance review of Building 99. A meeting was held with the client CBRE to explain in detail any key improvements. AIS and Acorn had to demonstrate the energy performance report results and introduce cost saving exercise for all the BMS changes to the strategy.

Key Results

All the proposed changes listed for systems included Room ventilation, chilled water system, boiler system and extract system. By implementing these changes within the strategy the client was presented, cost savings of over £300k benefiting the client. Technical elements such as matching boiler operation to occupancy as they have been observed and running all the time, wasting more money. Boilers should only be run within the hours 6am-6pm on weekdays. Also, extract systems previously had been running 24/7, if this matched the occupancy then brings the client to around £10k+ in savings

Overall Conclusion:

CBRE approved a few recommendations which were completed by AIS on May 2023. Acorn requested the 2024 Gas hourly usage meter readings for AIS to analysis the data against the BMS strategy changes to confirm costs savings. This data will be used to measure the effectiveness of the BMS strategy changes which was introduced during the project. The comparison will help validate whether the adjustments have resulted in measurable energy efficiencies and cost savings, providing clear evidence of the impact and value of the improvements delivered.

Project Delivery: Completed on schedule – all project works carried out on time.
Ongoing Relationship: Acorn continues to work close partnership with CBRE at Milton Park, providing consistent support and facilities management expertise. This ongoing collaboration reflects our shared commitment to operational excellence, energy efficiency, and the long-term success of the site. Our Milton Park team remains delivering promised high standards of service while identifying new opportunities to help optimise performance across the estate.

Contact us today to discuss how Acorn can provide tailored facilities management solutions for your buildings. Whether you’re managing a commercial business park, corporate office or even industrial sites. Our expert team will work closely with you to achieve your specific needs providing reliable, cost-effective solutions.