Appointed by Cannock Chase District Council to conduct a review of the existing mechanical and electrical services installations that serve the Civic Centre Building, Cannock, advise in respect of anticipated timescales for their renewal and replacement with estimate costs to assist with the future planning of work.

The Civic Centre Building and Offices were constructed circa 1975, consisting of Reception, Civic Chambers, Function Suite with Core ground to 5th floor being offices, and a detached Area Housing Office Annex. Although major plant replacement had been carried out at the property a large proportion of the existing mechanical and electrical services were installed at the time the property was constructed.

Cannock Chase Council have joined other Councils in declaring a Climate Emergency and have committed to the vision of carbon neutrality by 2030 at the latest and this study considered the various options for replacement of the existing mechanical and electrical services with low energy / nett zero carbon alternatives. In line with Cannock Chase Council’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions, it was proposed that the use of natural gas, fossil fuel would be discontinued.

The current gas fired boiler heating and domestic hot water installations would be replaced with alternative heat pump air conditioning systems, VRV / VRF and high temperature (HT) heat pumps. The installation of heat pump air conditioning units, with heat recovery, will also provide cooling in conjunction with heating, improving the building’s internal environment during periods of warm weather.

All existing fluorescent lighting and the external façade lighting would be replaced with new low energy LED luminaires, improving lighting levels, reducing energy consumption, and reducing maintenance costs.

Mechanical ventilation is to be introduced in the main office areas to always ensure adequate airflow that is not reliant on opening of windows, thus improving the building’s internal environment all year round and reducing risk of virus transmission e.g., COVID-19 amongst occupants.

In conjunction with the upgrade of the building’s electrical installations, smart metering of plant and equipment would be provided and the BMS utilised to automatically collect consumption data, assisting with the monitoring, and targeting of the building’s energy consumption.