Two water saving projects have recently been completed which will save over 12,000m3 of water annually.
Water use is becoming an increasingly important issue and in 2012, the University set itself a 10% water reduction target, which the Sustainability Team have been working hard on to understand how water usage can be cut.
During 2012 the School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy approached us regarding their current chiller plant’s water consumption. After some research, we agreed to jointly fund the purchase and installation of a new, recirculating compact chiller. Since its installation in February 2013, we have seen a significant decrease in the building’s water consumption, equivalent to 7,200m3 annually. This equates to saving £6,186 per year in water bills, and has reduced its carbon footprint by 6.5 tonnes of carbon a year too!
Another success story has been the installation of a sophisticated liquid ring vacuum pump in the Food Biosciences Hall in April this year in place of a fresh water vacuum system, which has reduced the building’s water consumption by 4,838m3 and made annual net savings of 2 tonnes of carbon a year, saving the University a cool £7,183 per year in water bills!
There is still a lot more that can be done around the University to prevent water waste. We are now looking at water consumption in other buildings and for opportunities to reduce their water consumption too.
For further information please visit http://www.reading.ac.uk/cleanandgreen/energy or feel free to contact us at sustainability@reading.ac.uk.
