Tiptree Fire Station cuts heating bills with HeatingSave

Tiptree Fire Station is a retained rural fire station serving the village of Tiptree and surrounding areas. It is situated between Colchester and Chelmsford in Essex and is part of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.

Matt Lyon, a surveyor at Essex County Fire and Rescue, explained that in early 2010 the service wanted to save money on its radiator-heated isolated rural locations which are very costly to keep warm. He said: “People tend to leave the heating on when exiting the station which means we can waste a lot of fuel”. Matt explained that it was very difficult to regulate the heating system because the old time clock was not adjustable to fit the working schedule of the fire fighters. “The system used to stay on at weekends, bank holidays and other breaks” he explained. Matt pointed out to the HeatingSave reporter how public services, facing cuts and higher winter fuel bills, simply cannot afford to run heating systems they way they used to.

A HeatingSave Building Energy Management System, which reduces business fuel bills by 25% to 30%+, was installed the spring of 2010. The HeatingSave unit immediately started to learn the heat-loss profile of the Tiptree fire station, resulting in the boiler only being used in the most efficient way.

Matt said there were no problems with the installation of the system. He added “The use of the heating diary and the occupancy sensors have made a difference”.

Matt described to the HeatingSave reporter how the heating can also be controlled separately within each zone, while passive infra-red sensors play a crucial part by turning the temperature down to a background level when fire fighters are not present.

Matt said he would recommend HeatingSave to other Fire and Rescue Services and ended the conversation by saying he was looking forward to making even greater savings this autumn and winter, especially as one energy giant has already put its prices up.

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Customer Information

Tiptree E23 Fire Station

Church Road

Tiptree

Essex

CO5 0SU

www.essex-fire.gov.uk/