26 Feb, 2021, by Hayley Rothwell

Meridian Water Heat Network Recognised As BREEAM Excellent

BREEAM Buildingresearch Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology

Vital Energi is proud to announce that the Meridian Water Heat Network project has been rated Excellent in the design stage assessment by BREEAM, the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for projects, infrastructure and buildings.

BREEAM assess and rate the environmental impacts arising from a newly constructed building development at two life cycles; design stage and post construction stage. The Excellent rating relates to the performance of the building, including offices and meeting rooms, within the Meridian Water Energy Centre which fall under the new build assessment criteria and shows that they have been designed to high sustainable standards.

Measures we have included in the design will see us install a unique combined PV array and green roof, utilise rainwater harvesting and take waste heat from our energy centre to heat the offices.  The green roof combined with bat boxes and insect hotels within the structure will not only improve local biodiversity but will improve the local ecology by enhancing the habitat. The nearby brook will be enhanced by removing invasive species and adding native planting.

In addition, we will install submetering of services for the offices and toilets, including leak detection and flow control devices, cycle storage and changing facilities, and undertake seasonal commissioning, to ensure our installations perform as they are designed to.

Design Director Elliott Sharpe explains, “BREEAM has assessed the buildings performance at the design stage as excellent, which is fantastic news.  We implemented a range of sustainability measures to ensure the project performs well, and we made improvements to the surrounding ecology.   It is great that all these measures have been recognised with an Excellent rating at the design stage.

“Here at Vital, we’re committed to helping Enfield reach their Climate Action Plan carbon neutral target by 2030 and we’re proud to be implementing low carbon solutions for Energetik, across their community heat networks. This is a great first step for the project, and hopefully our dedication to sustainability will be recognised at the final stage too."

We are delivering the Meridian Water Heat Network project on behalf of Enfield Council’s heat network company, Energetik, who are passionate about providing better value energy that's reliable and environmentally friendly.

Requiring our energy centre to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating was a challenge in this light industrial area of Enfield where car travel is the norm, but Vital Energi have risen to the challenge and are on course to deliver a sustainable building that complements the company’s environmental ambitions and raises the standard for future buildings in this area.

Ian Guest , Energetik's Technical Director

The Meridian Water Heat Network forms just one part of the wider project of decarbonising heat within Enfield, along with the three already operational heat networks at Ponders End, Arnos Grove and Oakwood. All of these projects will work hand in hand to reduce CO2 emissions across Enfield, by providing thousands of homes and businesses with a near zero carbon waste heat source providing a sustainable and environmentally friendly heating solution.

The project will be assessed again during the Post Construction Phase which will lead to a final BREEAM rating.